A Presentation of a good Zen story with some Dhamma teachings pertaining to the mind. Download the Powerpoint ppt for some animation effects. For the Video, please check out the Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo2y1kbwd8I

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There was once a husband and wife
who loved each other very much.
One day the wife of the man became very sick.
Her sickness deteriorated. On her deathbed,
she said to her husband certain words.
I love you so much! I don't want to
leave you, and I don't want you to
betray me. Promise that you will not
see any other women once I die, or I
will come back to haunt you.
I too love you very much
Darling! You will remain
my only true love. I will
not love another woman.

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Not long later the wife died. For several months after
her death, the husband did avoid other women, but
one day he met someone and fell in love.

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On the night that they were engaged to be
married, the ghost of his former wife
appeared to him.
You
Promised!
You
Promised!

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She blamed him for not keeping the promise, and every
night thereafter she returned to taunt him. The ghost
would remind him of everything that transpired
between him and his fiancé that day, even to the point
of repeating, word for word, their conversations.
It upset him so badly that he couldn't sleep at all.

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Desperate, he sought the advice of a Zen master who lived near the village.
"This is a very clever ghost," the master said upon hearing the man's story.
"It is!" replied the man. "She remembers every detail of what I say and do.
It knows everything?" The master smiled, "You should admire such a ghost,
but I will tell you what to do the next time you see it."
Oh Master!
Please help
me!
I’m tormented
by the Ghost
of my dead
ex-wife. She
knows all that
I do on my
own or with
my
fiancé.
.
This is a
very
clever
Ghost!
It knows
everything
, really?
I will tell
you what
to do the
next time
you see it.

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That night the ghost returned. The man responded just as the Master had
advised. "You are such a wise ghost," the man said, "You know that I can
hide nothing from you. If you can answer me one question, I will break off
the engagement and remain single for the rest of my life."
"Ask your question," the ghost replied.
If you can answer me one question,
I will break off
the engagement and remain single
for the rest of my life."
Ask your
Question!

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The man scooped up a handful of beans from a large
bag on the floor and asked the Ghost,
"Tell me exactly how many beans
there are in my hand."

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The Ghost could not answer.
(The man too did not know the answer.)
At that moment the ghost disappeared
and never returned.
The man found peace at last.

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"The ghost kept coming back because the
man was always impressed by how it
seemed to know everything. It had power
over him. But when he finally stood up to it,
and challenged it, the ghost disappeared
forever."
* When the mind has great feelings of regret, remorse
and guilt it weakens. Conquered by Mara, it suffers
mental Dis-ease, worry and fear.
* A strong mind develops through good Dhamma
practice – doing charity, keeping moral precepts,
learning the Dhamma, doing Metta & meditation.

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Ghosts cannot know or do anything that a
human can't.
No one knows everything. Not even a spirit.
You can be wise in some ways,
but not in all ways.
* In the Buddhist cosmology, the Ghost realm is a
woeful state – the others are Hell and the Animal
Realm.
* Most ‘encounters’ or experiences of the
supernatural kind can be traced to the mind that is
weak – lacking in spiritual qualities and blessings.
Some are due to psychiatric disorders.

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The reason something haunts us is
because we keep our attention on it.
When we move on
beyond it, it will disappear."
* A mind that is filled with greed, anger or hatred
and delusion will experience much Dukkha.
* Wrong views or ignorance of the way things are
gives rise to superstition, deluded beliefs and
attachments. This is the ground for fear.

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The ghost is actually a part of the man. So it
couldn't know anything that
the man himself didn't know.
The ghost comes from the man's own mind. He
created it. It is his own guilt that
came back to haunt him.
* We create the world – the external world through
our 5 senses; the internal world through our mind.
* The human mind can conjure all sorts of images
and visions due to memory, conditioning, perceptions
and deluded beliefs and superstitions.
* A developed mind with morality, calmness,
understanding, wisdom and metta will be peaceful.
No spirits, ghosts, other supernatural forces or
charms can disturb or ‘attack’ it.

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The End
With Metta,
Bro. Oh Teik Bin