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Sufferings: Preta Realm

• Place – Burned-tree stumps. Trees without leaves. No flowers. Poisonous thorns everywhere. Grass is dry, and sharp. Rivers and swamps are dry, vast, desolate, dusty. Land is full of stones, desolate, dried out. Body is skeleton [like]. Skin like dried leather. Big head. Small mouth. Dry. Narrow throat. Big belly. Thin limbs. Difficulty to stand. Sparks come from joints when a preta being moves. Hundreds are born at a time from a womb. Suffering is constant hunger and thirst. There is no food. Nobody has seen food. No word ‘food’. The mind continues to think “I don’t have.” If they have, the mind thinks “This is not suitable.” They are not content. They hallucinate - lakes, orchards. Disappear upon approach. Lifespan is hundreds and thousands of years.
• Generate a strong feeling of how unbearable it is. We cannot bear even one day of hunger. Think about how we would go hungry for this long.
• The cause of being born a preta is miserliness: not giving to the needy, not offering to the Three Jewels, opposing generosity.

• External obscurations: They cannot find food. They see food in distance. It disappears. Food is guarded. It takes long to get there. They are unable to even stand. These pretas live in groups.

• Internal obscurations: They cannot consume food. In fact, they don’t dare eat. Small mouth, long neck, big stomach with fire inside. These pretas can travel. There are many different types. They cause harm and sickness.

• Specific obscurations: Suffering tailored to each preta’s karma. Food is molten iron, blood, pus. Food becomes flame, comes out from mouth and nose. In winter, sun feels cold. In summer, moon feels hot.