Possible Case of Spirit Possession

Occasionally, people ask me whether I’ve had any ghostly encounter. I usually attribute such “encounters” to psychological issues, but there were a couple of occasions where I believed otherwise.

Once after a food dāna, there was a commotion. Curious, I went over to see. A woman was sitting on the floor, speaking loudly in Mandarin in the manner of a little kid. Her elder sister whom I knew well was present. She told me her sister actually didn’t know Mandarin, and spoke only Hokkien and Cantonese.

While I was trying to assess the situation, the “little kid” woman said to me, “你说要带我去的嘛, 你都没有带我去!” (“You said you’ll take me there, and you didn't!”)

I asked, “去哪里?” (“Where?”)

“去西方极乐世界嘛!” (“To the Western World of Ultimate Bliss (Pureland) mah!”)

At this point I was pretty sure she mistook me for someone else. Anyway, I decided to assume that this was a case of spirit possession, and asked the elder sister for the woman’s name.

Having gotten her name, I called her by her name and asked, “Lu thia eh tiok wa kong-ua bo? (Can you hear me speaking?)”

She nodded quietly, looking dazed.

“Lu eh kam-kak lu ti chuan-khui bo? (Can you feel yourself breathing?)”

She nodded quietly again.

“Lu eh kam-kak lu eh seng-ku bo? (Can you feel your body?)”

Again she nodded quietly.

“Lu eh khia-khi-lai bo? (Can you stand up?)”

She shook her head. She looked kind of tired anyway, besides still dazed. I supposed she just needed some rest. So, I left.

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