The Preta Realm (Hungry Ghosts)

In Buddhist cosmology, pretas, or hungry ghosts, are beings reborn into a realm of existence defined by insatiable craving and perpetual deprivation. They are typically depicted with tiny mouths and enormous bellies, symbolizing their inability to ever satisfy their endless hunger and thirst.

Buddhist teachings describe the Preta Realm as a destination for beings whose lives were dominated by greed, stinginess, and obsessive attachment to material desires. The realm is one of the six realms of rebirth in samsara, the cycle of suffering and reincarnation.

In Buddhist cosmology, no realm of samsara is permanent, including the Preta Realm. Once the negative karma that caused rebirth as a hungry ghost is exhausted, the being can be reborn into another realm, potentially including the human realm where spiritual progress is possible.

In many Buddhist traditions, particularly in East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism, practitioners make offerings of food, water, and prayers to benefit beings in the Preta Realm. Ceremonies such as the Ghost Festival in Chinese tradition are specifically designed to help ease the suffering of hungry ghosts through acts of compassion and merit transfer.