It’s not that easy to love others.

FEAR OF GHOSTS

He was extremely scared of ghosts. Nobody knew why. Maybe during childhood, he was told so many ghost stories that he became obsessed with them. Even though he is in high school now, he remains scared of ghosts. He could never sleep alone. The bathroom was outside the door, so he always woke his brother up to escort him to the bathroom at night. He threatened to pee in the potty if his brother refused to escort him. Even in the daytime, he dared not go upstairs alone to take things on the altar for his mother. It became so serious that nobody could stand his phobia anymore. So they brought him to a psychologist.

The psychologist explained in detail that ghosts do not exist, that they were made up and there was nothing to be afraid of. But he cried that he himself saw a ghost. Once, he went to the kitchen and saw his grandma sitting by the table, eating something while facing away. He didn’t pay attention to her and just hurried to take a spoon for his mother. After that, he saw his grandma playing with his baby sister, Hong, in the yard. He went back to the kitchen and saw nobody there. He went out to ask if his grandmother had been in the kitchen eating something before. She said she hadn’t. His face turned green. At night, while he was sleeping, someone went around the room, sometimes just looking at him and rummaging through his books. Nobody believed what he said, so he resigned himself to his phasmophobia (fear of ghosts) alone. He was telling his stories so intensely that the psychologist gave up treating him.

His family took him to a shaman to overpower this fear of ghosts. It was to such an extent that his family even started to believe in ghosts. The shaman whispered something and gave him a charm to protect him from ghosts. The next morning, he had to be absent from school because he had a sleepless night. He saw ghosts fighting each other in his room. His family immediately burned the charm.

Then, he was brought to a pagoda for treatment again. The monk just smiled and led him to a garden, talking aimlessly about everything in the world. The monk pointed to a colony of ants on the ground and asked him if he loved them. He answered “No.” The monk said that’s the reason why he was afraid of ghosts. Even with a doctorate degree, he could never understand that strange theory. Why would ants have anything to do with ghosts? The monk said that when people have enough love, they are no longer scared of the unreal. If he trained himself to love all beings, then he would naturally have the inner power to overcome his fear. He asked, “So, love can destroy these ghosts?” The monk smiled, “Love doesn’t destroy anything. But with it, we’re no longer afraid of anything.”

He came home and trained himself to love ants, his parents, his grandparents, his neighbors, his relatives, his teachers, his friends; the birds he saw in the morning, a frog he saw in the evening, soldiers under pouring rain and scorching sun, workers at construction sites, sanitation workers cleaning up the streets; even the trees, grass, flowers ...

After months of training, he saw the ghost again. When he brought some rice to feed fish in the pond, he suddenly saw someone across the pond, sadly looking at him. He felt very clearly that he’s no longer afraid, only love. Thinking the person wanted to eat, he went into the house and brought out some food. But that person had disappeared, so he left a bowl of rice there, whispered to invite the person to eat, and then went inside. He knew very well that he wasn’t scared of ghosts anymore.

One time, in his class, a bully threatened to hit him, but he calmly confronted him and talked with him. Surprisingly, the big guy listened and no longer bullied him. He realized that not only was he no longer scared of ghosts, but he was no longer afraid of many other things as well.

We don’t know for sure if ghosts exist. However, love is the best treatment for the feeling of fear. When people have love for all beings, they have a natural inner power; not noisy or expressive, just silent, and very capable. This inner power will increase other capabilities as well. People become more intelligent, more patient, more considerate, and thus more effective at work. In particular, they can naturally communicate with others in sympathy and affection.

But it’s not that easy to love others. People don’t love others by nature, except when they love us first, like parents and family. Normal people love others passively. Only wise and ethical people will “train” themselves to love all beings and all things. We need to tell ourselves, force ourselves, command ourselves to love all. Day by day, love will appear in our hearts gradually. And then miracles will appear to our lives.

Written by:
Janna

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