While many Asian cultures don't believe in indulging in life's pleasures and attachments, they seem to be very indulgent when it comes to matters of death. I now understand that when a death is not dealt with properly, the spirit of the person can become desperate and hungry. Even worse is when a person's death does not allow for proper care; child deaths, deaths away from a family, or cases where a person dies without any living friends or relatives to care for them are unfortunate because the person will automatically receive inadequate treatment into the afterlife. Even worse is when a murder or suicide takes place because the hungry ghost of the person will roam around seeking revenge (Stepanchuk & Wong, 1991, pg. 72). Zhong Yuan Jie is a second chance to treat the victims of these unfortunate deaths with care and sacrifices so that they won't feel hungry or desperate, at least for a while. Some legends of Zhong Yuan Jie even include cases where hungry ghosts are released from their negative states entirely and placed into a comfortable and pleasant afterlife (Singapore Infopedia,
While many Asian cultures don't believe in indulging in life's pleasures and attachments, they seem to be very indulgent when it comes to matters of death. I now understand that when a death is not dealt with properly, the spirit of the person can become desperate and hungry. Even worse is when a person's death does not allow for proper care; child deaths, deaths away from a family, or cases where a person dies without any living friends or relatives to care for them are unfortunate because the person will automatically receive inadequate treatment into the afterlife. Even worse is when a murder or suicide takes place because the hungry ghost of the person will roam around seeking revenge (Stepanchuk & Wong, 1991, pg. 72). Zhong Yuan Jie is a second chance to treat the victims of these unfortunate deaths with care and sacrifices so that they won't feel hungry or desperate, at least for a while. Some legends of Zhong Yuan Jie even include cases where hungry ghosts are released from their negative states entirely and placed into a comfortable and pleasant afterlife (Singapore Infopedia,