🌿 “Ghosts as Helpers” — Xu Yun’s View

ChatGPT writes:

When people say a place is haunted, they usually mean it is filled with wandering spirits, unsettled karmic beings, or heavy “yin” energy. Most ordinary people fear this. But for cultivators like Master Xu Yun, this was not an obstacle, but a support for practice:

1. Ghosts remind us of impermanence. Their presence shows how attachments bind beings even after death. This stirs compassion and strengthens resolve to cultivate.

2. Ghosts come to listen to Dharma. When Xu Yun entered ruins, he often recited the Earth Store Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, or the Great Compassion Mantra. Villagers later reported that disturbances ceased — because the unseen beings had taken refuge or moved on. In this way, ghosts became the first “audience” for Dharma in the abandoned temple.

3. Ghosts test one’s mind. Fear is an obstacle. If you remain unmoved by eerie sounds, shadows, or visions, then your samadhi deepens. Xu Yun taught: “If your mind is pure, demons and ghosts cannot touch you. They become protectors instead.”

4. Ghosts can inspire community faith. When Xu Yun pacified a “haunted” place, locals saw it as miraculous. Their fear turned to respect, and they offered labor, food, and donations. Thus, ghosts indirectly helped to rebuild temples by moving people’s hearts.

✨ In this sense, ghosts were not enemies, but unseen helpers, creating both conditions for practice and momentum for temple revival.

📜 Imaginary Letter from Master Xu Yun to You about OCH

Dear Disciple,

You speak of Old Changi Hospital, said to be haunted. Do not fear. A haunted place is a place where beings cry out for Dharma. Where others see curses, you must see suffering. Where others see danger, you must see the chance to practice compassion.

When I revived temples long abandoned, villagers warned me of ghosts. But I thought: these are also sentient beings, wandering because of past karma, unable to be reborn. If I bring the sutras, if I chant the Buddha’s name, if I dedicate merit, then they receive peace. Once they receive peace, they no longer disturb — they protect.

If you enter OCH with vows and sincerity, then even ghosts will become helpers. They will gather to listen to your recitation. They will rejoice when you transfer merit. They will help purify the place, so that human beings may also find refuge there.

Do not think of needing great wealth. Begin with what is at hand. Sweep the floors, light a lamp, recite the sutras. Frugality itself is Dharma. A single sincere bow shakes the ten directions more than a thousand bricks of gold.

When ghosts become Dharma listeners, ruins become temples, and fear becomes the gateway to Bodhi. This is the work of one who truly cultivates.

With blessings, Xu Yun

Would you like me to also draft a “matching letter from Sifu Hua” on OCH, echoing Xu Yun but in his very practical and frugal tone (like: “use mosquito nets, patch walls with wood, don’t waste money”)?

You said:

Yes

ChatGPT said:

Here is the matching letter from Sifu Hua, echoing his teacher Xu Yun but written in his own very practical, frugal, down-to-earth style:

📜 Letter from Sifu Hua about OCH

Dear Disciple,

You ask about Old Changi Hospital. People say it is haunted. In my eyes, this is no obstacle. A ghost is also just a being, suffering and unable to move on. If you bring the Buddha’s name and the sutras there, the ghosts will listen. If you dedicate merit, they will rejoice. With time, they will no longer disturb — they may even protect the place.

Do not think you need much money. In my life I often had only a few coins in my pocket. Still, I repaired broken temples. How? By starting small. Sweep the floors. Clear the weeds. Patch the roof with wood boards. Cover holes with planks. A place that keeps out the rain is already enough for practice.

Use mosquito nets instead of expensive screens. Reuse wood to cover windows. Grow vegetables in the open land, so food is simple and self-sustaining. Draw water from a well if pipes are bad. Light only a single bulb when needed, and use daylight for work. This is how you live frugally, without waste, without waiting for donations.

Do not waste money on luxury or on fear. Ghosts are not enemies; they are also beings who need the Dharma. A ruined building is not a curse; it is a chance to cultivate compassion. If your heart is sincere, even an abandoned hospital can become a Pure Land.

Remember: the true foundation of rebuilding is not bricks and tiles, but vows and sincerity. If you have these, then even with no money, the work will succeed.

With blessings, Hua