From "Touching Peace - An Evening With Thich Nhat Hanh - 1993-10-19, Berkeley, California (re-mastered version)"
Our society is organised in such a way that we produce tens of thousands of hungry ghosts everyday. They have not received love from their parents, their society, their tradition. Nobody has understood them. That is why they are very hungry of love and understanding. And they are looking for something to believe in. And hungry ghosts, even if they have a big belly like this, they have a very tiny throat, as small as a needle, it is described in the sacred text. Hungry ghosts have a throat that is as small as a needle. So even if you have a lot to offer, it is very difficult for them to absorb. Even if you have plenty of food, plenty of water, plenty of love, to offer, it is difficult for them to absorb because nobody has understood them, nobody has loved them, they suspect everything, they suspect everyone. We have helped a certain number of hungry ghosts like that. We know that it is difficult. We know that we need each other in order to help. We have to recognise our society in such a way that we stop producing more hungry ghosts. It is very important. We should practice looking deeply in order to be able to understand these hungry ghosts, and not to continue to blame them. Because they have not received any understanding, and therefore, any love.
[Bell]
