AboutAlex Wilding Expertise I have practiced and studied Tibetan Buddhism in the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions since the early 1970s, and have a good knowledge of theory, history and of the struggles of trying to practice the teachings, including meditation, while leading a normal, modern life.
I am also available to provide background information for journalists.
Experience I have been a practitioner since the early 1970s; have run a small Buddhist centre in the English Midlands and was vice-president of Kagyu Benchen Ling e.V. in Germany, for whom I managed three large Buddhist summer-camps. More importantly, I maintain a habit of personal practice.
I am the "owner" of the Kagyu list at Yahoo.
Education/Credentials My first degree was an M.A. from Oxford. I later obtained a Master of Philosophy degree for a research thesis in "Initiation in Tibetan Buddhism" from Leicester University. I also have engineering and educational qualifications.
Question After spending several months researching Buddhism in an effort to find the religion associated with our theories on life we have reached a point where questions are not easily answered. Me and my partner both believe in most aspects of Buddhist religion and practices yet have found few answers on spiritualism in this regard. we are wondering whether Buddhism and buddhist believe in spirits or ghosts and in the human capabilities of communicating with these spirits, such as in the form of deceased reletives protecting a loved one until rebirth. Do buddhist's believe this is possible? Do Buddhists believe ghosts or spirits will remain until a task is completed?
Thank-you
Liam
Answer Dear Liam,
Generally speaking Buddhists believe that everything is impermanent, and when someone dies the winds of karma will blow them in a direction over which, in most cases, they have little control.
It is of course possible that a "ghost" will hang around for some period, and it would be foolish to specify a fixed length for that period, so some kind of communication might indeed be possible. But we would expect it to be garbled, unclear, and of doubtful value.
People are thought to be reborn in circumstances that depend on their past actions. Continuing an incomplete task would, technically, be possible, but would be very much the exception rather than the rule.
I hope that helps a bit.
Alex W
