‘Hungry Ghosts’ ritual set for U.Va.

Over the past 1,000 years, Chinese Buddhists have created an enchanting and colorful public meditative rite to ease the suffering of “hungry ghosts.” These supernatural beings are believed to be tortured by emotional and spiritual hunger, said Hun Lye, a U.Va. doctoral candidate in religious studies. The “Rite of Universal Liberation” is thought to ease physical, mental and emotional anguish and heal the troubled spirits of ghosts and people alike.

This ritual, rarely seen in the West, will be performed by Chinese Buddhist monks and nuns for the first time at an American university, according to Lye, on Saturday in Newcomb Hall Ballroom. The performance will be in two segments, the first beginning at 10 a.m. and the second at 1:30 p.m. PowerPoint slides will explain the significance of each element of the ritual as it is performed.

Admission is free, but seating is limited to 200. Audience members are asked to take their seats at least 15 minutes before the beginning of each session.

Also this weekend, Dan Stevenson, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Kansas, will give a talk, “Troublesome Crossings: The Chinese Buddhist Rite of Water and Land and Distribution to Hungry Ghosts,” at 3 p.m. Friday in Campbell Hall 158.