The granddaughter visits a psychic seeking to contact her deceased grandmother. During the seance, a voice claims to be the grandmother speaking in English. However, the granddaughter questions this since her grandmother did not speak English when she was alive, revealing the psychic was a fraud. The reflection warns against dabbling in the occult and relying on supposed "spiritual powers", advising living righteously according to Dhamma instead.

1. Wisdom
From A
Laugh 73
"Spiritual Power"
A woman went to the local psychic in the hope of contacting her dearly
departed grandmother through a seance.
The psychic's eyelids began fluttering and she began moaning.
Eventually, a voice came, saying, "Granddaughter? Are you there?"
The granddaughter, wide-eyed responded, "Grandma? Is that you?"
"Yes granddaughter, it's me."
"It's really you, Grandma?" the woman repeated.
"Yes, it's really me, granddaughter."
The woman paused for a moment and said to the psychic, "Grandma, I
have just one question for you."
"Anything, my child."
"When did you learn to speak English?"
Reflections
* Beware! Don't dabble with the occult. There are many con-
men out there who claim to have spiritual powers and the
ability to communicate with the dead. Oftentimes, such
people resort to fraud to gain money and material things
from gullible clients . They try to have power over another
weak mind through trickery and so-called 'magic'. Their
actions are rooted in greed and delusion.
* Your life is in your hands ... you chart your own future
through your present actions. Don't resort to so-called
'spiritual powers'.
* Lead a righteous life based on Dhamma; practice Dana,
Sila and Bhavana. Then good Kamma will ripen for you.

2. Wisdom
From A
LAugh 74
Grass Eaters
One afternoon, a wealthy lawyer was being driven in his big car.
Looking out of the car window, he saw two men eating grass by
the road-side. He asked his driver to stop
and he got out to investigate.
“Why are you eating grass?” he asked one of the men.
“We are hungry. We don’t have any food to eat,"
the poor man replied.
“Oh, come along with me then,” the lawyer said.
“But sir, I have a wife and two children.”
“That’s fine. Bring them along. And you,” he told the other man,
“can come with us too.”
“But sir, I too have a wife and two children,”
the second man said.
“No problem,” the lawyer said. “Bring them all along.”
And so all the poor people got into the big car. Along the way,
one of the poor fellows said, “Sir, you are so very kind. How can
we thank you for taking all of us with you to your home?”
The lawyer smiled wickedly and said, “No problem, the grass in
my backyard is about two and a half feet tall.”
Reflection
Beware! The very people whom you think are kind and helpful can have
selfish intentions. They may be out to exploit you. Today, our
materialistic world is full of people blinded by greed, covetousness and
delusion. There are so many out to deceive and cheat for easy gain.
Sincerity, honesty, kindness and compassion seem to diminish in our
present world. Dhammaduta workers need to work hard to try to
inculcate true moral virtues and values especially among the young.