• Artwork,  Korean Temple Artwork

    Agwi – Hungry Ghosts: 아귀

    Introduction Hungry Ghosts appear in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and local folk religions. They have their origins in Indian religions. Later, Hungry Ghosts were adopted by Buddhism and spread eastward. In Sanskrit, Hungry Ghosts are known as Preta. Preta means “departed or deceased.” And Preta comes from the word “pra-ita,” which literally means “gone forth/departed.” The Chinese translation for Preta is Egui, which means ‘Hungry/Starving Ghost” in English. And Agwi, in Korean, is a transliteration of the Chinese Egui. What Are Hungry Ghosts (Agwi)? Most of what we know about the physical description of Agwi (Hungry Ghosts), at least historically, comes from the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthānasūtra (Sūtra of the Foundations of Mindfulness of…