The Buddhist Petavatthu Ghost Stories
- Date of account
- Canonical material with layers from the late centuries BCE to early centuries CE
- Location
- Sri Lanka and wider Theravada Buddhist world
- Source
- model_recalled_reference
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
Record summary
The Petavatthu consists of verses about petas, beings suffering after death because of ethically significant past actions. Several narratives frame encounters between living people and these dead or quasi-dead beings, often resolved through gifts, merit transfer or recognition of prior conduct. The collection is important for comparing apparition reports with moralized afterlife testimony and ritual repair. Its date is layered, and the surviving Pali text reflects canonical transmission rather than a documentary archive. Translation choices can also obscure distinctions among peta, ghost and other nonhuman beings.
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