Ghost month haunts

July 31, 2022 Opinion

I am not Chinese, a Buddhist nor a Taoist, so I technically do not adhere to the tenants of the fabled ghost month which starts July 29 and ends
August 26, but since there has been a lot of talk about ghosts the past weeks, what the heck, might as well join in the festivities of Ghost Month. Officially, Ghost Month starts on Friday (29 July), taking place during the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar, this marks a period when it is believed the gates of heaven and hell are open, and ghosts and spirits of the deceased can return to the land of the living.

This month is likened to a horror movie or the music video of Michael Jackson’s thriller with many taking necessary precautions and much superstition.

The peak of Ghost Month is said to be August 12, when almost all the “hungry ghosts” have made it out of the gates of hell and mingle with the living, causing havoc and mischief. For those who fear the month, there are instructions to follow to keep yourself and your business safe from the vacationing ghosts of the month, following instructions to the letter to avoid mishaps and trouble as mischievous ghosts linger.

It is said to be a bad time to make major decisions in life, invest money and start new ventures, if you allow the myth of ghost month to get to you, life would be at a standstill this time.

You will just get by with a few calculated movements in the fear of irritating the ghosts who have gone to the world of the living. They say the ghosts who have queued in the gates of heaven and hell to return to the realm of the living are those who have died violent deaths, those who have been taken quickly without time to let go of all their worldly business.

Come to think of it, it would be difficult to become a ghost, especially if your had no idea it was coming, those who perished in accidents, those who were taken suddenly, they all did not have time to transition from the living to the dead.

No come ghost month, the time that is allowed of them to roam free the earth they left, if myth becomes truth then they are now here amongst us. Now here are my thoughts on hungry ghost month.

The total number of drug suspects murdered Duterte Administration’s war against illegal drugs has reached 6,235, as of the February count of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), owing the deaths to the campaign against abuse and labelling the killings as “Tokhang.”

If the 6,235 tokhang ghosts take the window of opportunity the ghost month offers, then where will the hauntings take them?

To the spot where they were gunned down? Will they haunt the police who took their life? Or will they haunt the person who ordered their death? I wish the ghosts of this month a happy hunting.