In Buddhist and other texts throughout the Far East, Hungry Ghosts are depicted as
teardrop shaped, with bloated stomachs and necks too thin to pass food—representing
our futile attempts to feed ego patterns: we can never find satisfaction, like drinking salt water to quench our thirst.
This is a useful analogy for our addictive personality patterns. And it won't help anyone to suggest, metaphorically, "You needn't be so hungry" -- or worse -- "You really need to go on a diet."
Instead of theorizing about or labeling behavior, it's important to see the path of our Hungry Ghosts with compassion, not judgment -- to identify, embrace, and learn from the nature of our hungers.
