Venerating the Dead
In my last blog, I wrote about the spirits in Sindhi folklore and mentioned two creatures, Asuras and the Prita. I promised to come back next time with more about them, so here I am, with a piece on the mention of Asuras and Prita in Buddhist myths.
As per Buddhist cosmology, the world’s existence takes up the form of thirty-one planes, that are classified under three broad categories. Each of these realms has a guardian spirit. Four guardian spirits, guarding the higher worlds in Buddhism, are the Gandharvas, Yakshas, Nagas, and Kumbandas, who guard the Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern realms respectively.
Kamaloka: the world where humans exist in form, and sensual desire exists.
Rupaloka: the world where form exists, but rather than desire, it is a place where intellect and intelligence manifest as joy.
Arupakola: the realm of existence without physical forms, and without desire or sensation.
The lower worlds are the domain of the Asuras and Prita, with the former being demons, and the latter, ghosts. Asuras are often referred to as arch enemies of the Gods and are a permanent sub-category of the supernatural. The Prita however, are considered to be the ghosts of humans, former inhabitants of the world, who haunt the places they roam, and their descriptions are often abominable. These creatures, gigantic in size, with dried-up limbs, extremely large bellies, and hanging skin, are said to wander about in search of food and water, but can never eat enough to calm their hunger, or to quench their thirst, for they have small mouths, constricted throats, and their bodies seem to be on fire, releasing an immense amount of scorching heat.
Abnormal deaths invariably translate to not finding peace in Buddhist belief, hence it is feared. The attachment of the Prita with this world is explained by the fact that they left the world before they should have, thus, they continue to wander it, hoping to complete their wishes, or their bucket list goals perhaps, that they had when they were alive. Transforming into an evil malevolent spirit isn’t exactly the best of approaches I believe, but so goes tradition.
Should a loved one die violently, in an accident, or from suicide, or any form of sudden death from non-natural causes, rather than the usual ritual of cremating the body, the Buddhists bury their dead quickly. Monks are called, incantations and prayers are said, coffins aren’t awaited for, the corpse is wrapped up in a mat, and buried immediately, even if the hour is as odd as past midnight. Keeping the disposal of the body entirely devoid of ritual has one purpose: to protect the living, particularly first-degree relatives amongst the family, children, parents, siblings, and spouse. It is feared that should they be granted the customary last rites, the spirit may come back and haunt the living. Interestingly, in case the dead are buried, the second part of the funeral, cremation of the remains is performed exactly three months after burial, in hope that they may find peace.
