Chat With the Afterworld: Peace In the Afterlife Realm Has a Relationship With Peace In the Living Realm

By TG Minh Thanh

This Buddhist e-book “Chat With The Afterworld” is the e-book of the dead and afterlife. In this e-book you will learn what is the relationship between the physical world and the afterworld. If you have karmic debts with the dead people, will they influence your life and how can you practice to be in comfort and always in a joyful direction?
The writer will share some methods to practice to transform sufferings and pangs, to practice love with an honest heart towards a life of serving, plainness, to protect life even the core of cells. He also tells you how to guide afterworld spirits to practice to be quickly delivered.
This Buddhist e-book is perfect for the beginners to learn about the dead and life after dead and basic practice for Buddhist practitioners to follow to lead a peaceful life and solve the karmic debt with the dead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781365955815

Book preview

Chat With the Afterworld: Peace In the Afterlife Realm Has a Relationship With Peace In the Living Realm

Chat With the Afterworld

By TG Minh Thanh

Peace In the Afterlife Realm Has a Relationship With Peace In the Living Realm

Copyright

CHAT WITH THE AFTERWORLD

Peace in the afterlife realm has a relationship

with peace in the living realm

Translated from Vietnamese by Lam Quang Tuan Duy

Edited by Dieu Nhung &TG Minh Thanh

Copyright©2010 by TG Minh Thanh

Originally published in Vietnamese under the title Chat Voi The Gioi Ben Kia by TG Minh Thanh

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

Published in the United State of America

English translation©2017 by TG Minh Thanh

2017 – First Edition

ISBN: 978-1-365-95581-5

Preface

People in this physical world usually assume that death is an end. Because of this opinion, they incline to live their life without believing in karma. Humans are actually formed by four great elements: earth, water, fire, and wind; when dying, they dissolve in the four great elements, and if so, death is not an end, but it is continuity of life; it is just transformed from a form to different ones.

According to Buddhism belief, people are reborn in different realms because of the result of their karma that they have produced in uncountable eons, especially the previous one that has just been experienced. People usually talk about the world of the dead or the afterworld or the realm of spirits; actually, the realm of spirits exists parallel with the realm of the living people, but because those worlds’ energies are different from each other, people in the living realm cannot see the ones in the afterlife realm.

Although a living person has relatives such as his grandparents or parents who are dead, his body still contains their gene; this was proved by scientists. If we suppose the realm of spirits or the afterworld is the world of the dead and the living realm is the world of the living people, saying that the realm of spirits and the living realm have interrelationship to each other is totally not wrong. Therefore, peace in the afterlife realm has a relationship with peace in the living realm. So, the question is, to have peace in both of the worlds, how do the living people as well as the dead ones practice to be in comfort and always in a joyful direction, regardless of the realm?

Here the writer will mention the interrelationship between the afterlife realm and the living realm; then, the writer will share some methods to practice to transform sufferings and pangs, to practice love with an honest heart towards a life of serving, plainness, and protecting life even the core of cells, and also guide afterworld spirits to practice to be quickly delivered.

Contents

Chat With the Afterworld

Copyright

Preface

Contents

Minh and the Invisible Chat Friend

The Confidence of Afterworld People

Making Offerings to Forsaken Spirits

The War in the World out of Sight – Division of Classes in the Afterworld

Karmic Debt between the Afterworld and the Living Realm

The Powers Hindering Afterworld People

Meditation Practice for Forsaken Spirits

The Life Has Borrowing and Repayment

The Hell on Earth

The Servant

Stop! Don’t Wander Aimlessly Anymore!

Spreading the Mind of Loving-Kindness

Praying for Deliverance and  Requiem Ceremonies

The Conduct of Listening

If There Had Been Only One Day to Live

The Honest Heart

Practicing Repentance

Transforming Sufferings and Pangs

Bringing Love Back

Protecting Life, Even the Core of Cell

The Trojan Horse

Making a Vow and Saying a Prayer

Paramita Almsgiving

The Embodiment of Good God  and Evil God

About the Author

Next Steps

Minh and the Invisible Chat Friend

Saigon streets, in every late afternoon, are always crowded and almost all of the streets are the same. People are nearly suffocated by the hustle and bustle of buses, cars, motorbikes, and bicycles. The hot afternoon becomes hotter due to annoying noises, people lines in a hurry, and the pungent smell of the burning sunlight. Roadworks grow as mushrooms and no one slightly cares about cleaning them up. Minh is not hurried. He is riding a red Taurus which has just been bought and has to be paid in 12 monthly installments. He has just got a new job and the new workplace is far away from home; thus, he had no hesitation in buying a new motorcycle. His tired face cannot be hidden behind the mask and the huge helmet. He is rolling street by street. It seems that he is not riding, but everyone is pushing him to move. He is trying to enjoy the evening and search for something interesting to contemplate, but there is nothing excluding the green trees in Hoang Van Thu Park. He feels partly comforted.

Getting home, Minh lies in his bed for a rest. Closing his eyes without sleeping, he is enjoying the peaceful moment in his little room. Outside, the sun of the late afternoon which is still blazingly red makes the landscape pink. He takes a shower and has dinner with his family. The single life makes him have more time to relax and take care of his parents. Many friends of his have got married too soon and sometimes, he becomes their complaint-listening machine. Going to cafes with his friend almost no longer takes place; instead, he chats online. His school and university friends just have chances to chat with him in few sentences through the Internet; then, one by one signs out. Minh loves his school time; no much worries, friends got together to have heart-to-heart talks, eat at vendor stalls, or cycle for picnics in the streets under the shade of the trees. Working now, friends have little time to be together, sometimes sending regards to each other through SMS on the mobile phones. It is also happy because friends still remember him. The habit of chatting on the cyber world takes most of his time. Until today, an unheard-of chat day, it is so true that it changes his attitude before.

He clicks the face icon on the computer screen, typing his nickname: m_80 and password; the Yahoo! Messenger window appears. No friend is online. He looks for new friends in chat rooms, but there is still no nickname he likes. All of the sudden, a strange nickname appears and something unknown forces him to click on it. The nickname is chieclarungroi. He assumes it to be falling leaf. Maybe this person is feeling so sad or lonely that the nickname sounds so miserable. He starts his adventure.

m_80

Hi there!

chieclarungroi

…

m_80

Can I chat with you?

chieclarungroi

…

m_80

I’ll stop if you’re busy.

chieclarungroi

…

m_80

Goodbye. Have fun!

chieclarungroi

Hi!

m_80

Can we chat? I’m 30, male.

chieclarungroi

I’m a ghost; I don’t want to make you scared, but I truly want to chat with you. I’ve been observing and knowing you for a long time. I’ve seen you going to work, meeting your friends, and usually read your chat. I don’t want to kid you. It’s just because you’re a nice guy, wanting to confide in you, or sharing with you to lower my loneliness and harassing feeling in me. Don’t be afraid. I’m a ghost, but I’m not going to harm you. I just want to make friend with you. I hope you won’t be offline and will give me a chance to be listened by you.

m_80

Is this a joke?

chieclarungroi

I was a very young girl. My family is well-off and got a villa on Pasteur Street. In front of my house there is a cowslip creeper trellis about five meters from the street surface. The house is quite near the Notre-Dame Basilica and I always passed a stuffed animals shop before biking past the poetic park in front of the Independence Palace. Being a girl, I couldn’t avoid my dreamy thinking. I didn’t really want to wear uniforms, especially the white ao dai; I liked wearing skirts, clothes with short sleeves, and a bag on my back. Sometimes I sang while walking, even more muttered my lessons.

m_80

Why are you a ghost? How can you use the computer?

chieclarungroi

My dad passed away when I was a child and my mom got married again. I lived with my mom and the stepfather who always looked good-natured, but had a cruel heart. In a heavily rainy evening when my mom didn’t still return home from her work, he raped me and had threatened to kill my mom and me if I’d have revealed that incident. I felt so deeply hurt and humiliated that I determined to kill myself. One night, also in heavy rain, on the way to the English class, I threw myself into a container truck.

m_80

Is this true?

chieclarungroi

Believe it or not, it’s up to you, but I haven’t been delivered for many years. I sometimes visit my mom; she looks haggard and much older. For many nights she’s so missed me that she can’t sleep. That husband is not faithful to my mom. He had another young woman and usually pretended to travel for work. However, that wasn’t his only woman; he’s slept with a lot of women and there haven’t been few ones being deceived by him.

m_80

May you be the one who like reading or watching intricate love stories?

chieclarungroi

My story’s probably able to be adapted to a novel and those who don’t understand might consider it a down-market horror fiction. My family, friends, and teachers haven’t ever known that I’m dead, assuming I’ve left home. Why they haven’t thought how such a gentle person as me could run away from home. There’s been no one worshiping me. My mother goes to pagoda monthly, wishing for not my being delivered but my returning home. There’s been no week I haven’t visited her, but she hasn’t known it. I couldn’t make her a cup of tea. I’ve wandered on the street, sometimes visiting my school, watching my friends and teachers, and going back to see where I died again. That day my body and bicycle was crushed, being unable to be recognized. I didn’t also carry any identity documents but a notebook and an English book without a name.

m_80

So, what’s your name?

chieclarungroi

Nguyen Thanh Truc. In this metaphysical world, I’ve met many of my relatives, and also dead soldiers including Vietnamese and American ones. I’ve also met those who’d been minor or great officials; they can’t be delivered due to their too bad karma. Wandering souls of monks also abound. It’s simply because some close-shaven heads put monk clothes on, but it’s not actually their impersonation. Committing offences in pagodas, they’ve been maltreated in this afterworld for over 500 years. The living see them as great men, but here they’re just like starving ghosts waiting for their relatives’ trickle of merits.

m_80

Sounds too unreal!?

chieclarungroi

There’s nothing mythical or frightening. Being generals, officers, or monks without focusing on practice, they’ll definitely be damned in hell after death. A king who usually pronounces death sentences or declare wars can’t be reborn in higher realms after his death unless there’s someone praying for the peace of his soul and guiding him to practice. If a monk living by the help of people and bowed to by people disobeys the religious taboos, instead of focusing on leading a religious life, he’ll commit more serious sins than ordinary people. I, due to dying from miserable thinking without anyone to pray for the peace of my soul, have become a wanderer.

m_80

How do you feel now?

chieclarungroi

Lonely and hungry. There’re many times I want to listen to sutras and eat in pagodas, but it’s impossible. The pagodas have too many Buddha statues, and people read the great compassion mantra to drive evils and ghosts away; so, it’s counterproductive. If there’s someone calling my name or inviting the ghosts, I’ll go inside easily. When I got a chance to practice, I’ll be quickly delivered. Now I desire to listen to a sutra or gatha, but there’s a group of gods and Dharma protectors keeping watch, so I can’t go inside.

m_80

So, you haven’t eaten anything?

chieclarungroi

Many companies and families usually make offerings to ghosts. I’ve been living on such things. Of course I haven’t eaten much, if any, mostly thanks to the heart of the ones offering me. They’ve made offerings, but they’ve asked me for many things. So, I’ve had to satisfy them but I had to choose which ones I should or should not do. However, people don’t make offerings to ghosts every day. Most of ghosts are hungry and got few friends. Ghosts also divide into factions hating each other; hence, the afterworld is full of wars no less than living realm. Afterworld people having strong karmic debt with the living ones will get together to create a great power. Earthquakes or forest fires will be produced as a result of the enormous hatred energy.

m_80

So, the earthquakes are an outcome of the karmic debt between the living people and the afterworld ones?

chieclarungroi

It’s just somewhat right. Disasters, epidemics, or even political crises are caused by karma of previous and current life of living people. Countless bad karma from previous lives will be paid for one day; a country suffering wars, faction separation, and fights for power among parties will cause its people worries. Earthquakes are an example of collective karma. To have no disasters and epidemics, the living people have to practice a religious life. If not, the Globe will become increasingly warmer, calamities and plagues will continuously happen, and the end of human will get closer. The monks still have to pay for their karma. Killing my own life makes me pay for this karma in an unknown period of time. Now I’m starved of love, Dharma, and food as well.

m_80

Have you disturbed people if too starved?

chieclarungroi

Sometimes, but not usually like other ghosts. I usually search for unfaithful men lying to their wives and children, making them waste their money and suffer illnesses. It’s a way to revenge myself on the life for my unclean stepfather. Many times I’ve heard pagodas’ bells and felt fear so that I don’t dare to disturb people anymore. Knowing that I shouldn’t disturb living people, but I’ve got no choice. The living ones sink into vice and they themselves get heaven demons beside; no one wants it.

m_80

It’s sinful!

chieclarungroi

The life of a ghost is very boring; if I don’t do that, there’s nothing funny. Wanting to lead a religious life, but I haven’t got a chance yet, there should be someone invite me so that I can go into pagoda. Ghosts usually enter the mind of monks who practice perfunctorily to make them violate the precepts and when we free them, they regret. We’ll come to living people whom we have a karmic debt with to demand payment of the debt. Husband and wife or families argue due to not only their bad karma but also their karmic debts toward the ghosts. Fights among countries are also by the same reason; because of collective karma, whole of country has to suffer poverty. Those who got little merit are born in poor countries, undergoing constant wars. Those who got much merit are born in prosperous countries; however, living in such countries doesn’t mean you’ll be rich.

m_80

So, how can you have enough merit?

chieclarungroi

I usually enter monks’ dreams to ask for merits. The monks usually got lots of merits by practicing meditation and chanting sutras. Also, their mind is quite clean and doesn’t prevent others from asking for merits. Those monks of course got relationship with me such as my relatives, friends, co-workers, or those who’ve met me when I was alive or my relatives. They’ll see me or my relatives in their dreams. Their practice energy makes me able to rely on their merits and got an opportunity to meet the true Dharma or be reborn faster.

m_80

So, when’ll you be reborn?

chieclarungroi

It’s probably still a very long way off. I myself have to practice and pay for enough karma to think about rebirth in upper worlds. Committing suicide violates the first precept in Five Precepts of Laypeople; in other words, I killed my own life. I knew and practiced that when I was alive, but the karma perhaps pushed me to kill myself. I want to receive Five Precepts of Laypeople again, wishing that someone guides me to practice. Due to lack of merit, I’ve conducted the precepts wrong and been maltreated like this. The monks got lots of merits; I rely on their merits; however, theirs aren’t lost but sometimes grow up.

m_80

Chatting with you is interesting, but I don’t really believe what you were talking about. Bye.

The Confidence of Afterworld People

On the way home from work this late afternoon, Minh turns to Pasteur Street to figure out if there is a cowslip creeper trellis there. He swings into Ham Nghi Street to ride along the one way Pasteur Street. Like Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, Pasteur Street is loaded with green trees. The nutrition restaurant H2O is no longer there. It seemed to be moved to Tran Hung Dao Street for few years. Few years ago, Minh and his friends regularly ate there when they went out on Christmas Night. The restaurant was dense at night rather than in the morning, and sometimes the tables are arranged in the restaurant’s yard. The University of Architecture remains the same; it has not changed after many years, but the amount of students seems to be a lot more than before. In front of the university’s gate at night, people sell embryonic eggs of ducks and quails. Boys and girls loving that dish are not a few; now is still the same. Some drinking men are singing Night City song boringly. Whether it is night or day, Pasteur Street is always cool as it is covered by leafy trees. The trees lining two pavements are very large; all of them are perennials. There are not many fashionable and wealthy young people on the streets at this moment. It is really crowded at around 9.00 pm. The Saigonese’s habit is not walking, but riding motorcycles, around the city. They keep riding from streets to streets, laughing and chattering nineteen to the dozen, and of course, avoiding streets with a lot of trucks. Minh has been riding, but he has found no cowslip creeper trellis. He has been riding along the street three times, watching his left and then right. He is too hungry, feeling himself wasting his time on looking for an unreal thing for some unknown reason. It was possibly an online girl teasing him.

Minh turns back to Mac Dinh Chi Street for eating chicken congee in a well-known congee shop opposite Asia Commercial Bank. The shop does not enjoy large custom like it does in the morning, but the business looks fairly good. However, it is not as crowded and noisy as chicken vermicelli shop on Ky Dong Street. After eating, Minh rides back to Pasteur Street and makes one more round. Suddenly, he thinks if the house would be in an alley. He has been looking at only the front of the street and has left out all of the houses in the alleys. Somehow, he determines to ride into every alley to find the house with its cowslip creeper trellis. The night streets become more crowded, with more young people dressing attractively. He rides into alley after alley, but the bowl of chicken congee perhaps brings him back to life. Happening to remember that people usually offer forsaken spirits chickens, he feels shivery and anxious. He turns into an alley next to a stuffed animal shop. Striking his eye, a villa has a large courtyard and a fence covered by a cowslip creeper trellis. Few blossoms are coming out, so their scent is not really charming. The night weather is softly cool, but a light breeze also makes his skin crawl. The entire fence is fully covered with the cowslip creeper trellis. The courtyard is scattered with fine gravel. On