Qn: I experience spiritual disturbances at night, like hearing footsteps, breathing, and feeling strange movements. What can I do about it?
Ans: At the core of Buddhism is the principle of karma — the idea that our actions, whether positive, negative, or neutral, leave imprints on our mindstreams. These karmic imprints shape not only this life but future lives as well. Some disturbances we experience today may stem from past actions or unresolved connections from previous lives, even if we have no conscious memory of them.
Spiritual disturbances often occur when sentient beings — ‘spirits/ghosts’ — who had past ties with us appear, seeking closure, help, or reconciliation. They may carry emotional bonds, unresolved debts, or simply be lost and looking for guidance.
One way to help these beings (and ourselves) is through engaging in virtuous activities — such as chanting buddhist prayers, participating in buddhist pujas or making offerings at a monastery. After performing these acts, it’s important to dedicate the merits generated, wishing for these beings to find peace and liberation. A simple dedication could be: “May the merits of this practice be dedicated to the beings disturbing me. May they find peace, be free from suffering, and swiftly attain happiness.” If a name is required to be written for the dedication purpose, you can state it as “Karmic debtors of 《Your Name》” or in Chinese, “《你的名字》的冤亲债主”.
You can check out BW Monastery’s offering website for both pujas and online offerings.