Facing the Hungry Ghosts – How can we awaken to our deep interconnectedness?

Andy Rotman is a professor in the Religion Department and Buddhist Studies program at Smith College; he also spent long periods in India and studied with several Buddhist teachers. In this conversation for our evolve Magazine with the title “Living with Light and Shadow” we speak about the Buddhist view of light and dark forces or qualities in the human person. In this context the teaching of the hungry ghosts is particular interesting for Andy Rottman: “The teaching of hungry ghosts within the contexts of Buddhism gives us a case study on how humans can be overcome. Early Buddhists talk about the idea of mat-sarya, double meanness. It's meanness of being stingy and clinging to one's possessions, but it manifests in the meanness that is cruelty and spite. They link those two together. They rise up and then we latch on. The goal of the practice is to not latch on.”

In this view of forces that can overcome us, compassion is fundamental: “That’s why Buddhism starts with the principle of compassion. We're always struggling as humans; we are mumbling through and we're all in it together. There's this strong sense of interconnectedness. And maybe I can help someone just a little bit when I extend my compassion and wisdom to help them follow a better path. That also helps me follow a better path. Once you realize that you're part of a collective, if you can help someone else, then you're also helping yourself.”

From this truth of connectedness, a new way of being with each other and with the world opens up: “If we could imprint our brains and discipline ourselves into a different way of being in the world in recognizing the interconnectivity of beings, recognizing that beings at times can be overcome and recognizing that there are ways of cultivating the sensibility for sharing and charity, we could combat those forces and live in a less divisive world.”