stirring a kettle
of soup over the fire
all the hungry ghosts
Who or what are the hungry ghosts? Even if I had no idea, the setting alone, outdoors near a fire where the poet is stirring a kettle over the flames, creates a primal feeling.
In China and Japan, the egui or gaki are thought to be lower, more animalistic spirits, driven by passion, malice, or greed, or souls of people who were murdered, committed suicide, or did not receive a proper burial. Knowing this, it is not hard to imagine why they might be lurking around the living, trying to satisfy unresolved issues and quell their inner hunger.
Humor is derived from the idea of hungry ghosts being satisfied by a bowl of soup. Soup, or any other kind of human food, would pass right through them, leaving them just as hungry as before.
In Buddhism, the realm of hungry ghosts is one of the less fortunate realms of existence in the cycle of rebirth. Those who are reborn there have led lives consumed by greed and spite. It is said that hungry ghosts have enormous stomachs and tiny mouths. No amount of food can satisfy them.
As a metaphor, a hungry ghost refers to human feelings of emptiness, that no matter how much a person seeks satisfaction, if they are seeking it from things that are outside themselves, they will always feel empty and always seek more.
The remedy for healing our own hungry ghosts is to examine our behavior and identify patterns or habits based on greed, jealousy, judging others, worrying, and striving for perfection, etc. These things inhibit our ability to feel satisfaction in the present moment. When we let go of them, we can live more fully in the moment.
The best way to deal with hungry ghosts is to show compassion toward them. Thus, in China and in other Buddhist countries or communities hungry ghost festivals are held annually to give the poor creatures relief. Participants offer the ghosts food, paper money (fake, not real currency), and diversions such as dancing, plays, and operas. I’m going to eat my words and say that offering them soup may be a good way to show the hungry ghosts, our own and someone else’s,genuine compassion.
—Susan Polizzotto