(6.6) Theravada - The Practice Guide (Five Supernormal Powers)

[Niết Bàn Tầm]

THERAVADA

3. THE PRACTICE OF PARI-AJNA EKAGRATA

3.3. FORM MEDITATIONS (Rūpajhāna)

3.3.5. FIVE SUPERNORMAL POWERS (Abhijñā)

This is for cultivators who have attained the Fourth Jhana.

 'The TV'

▪ Use your kasina to enter the Fourth Jhana. Once you are in that level, change your kasina to a rectangular screen (similar to a TV frame). The screen is 9cm x 12cm. Depending on the level of your meditation absorption (i.e, from light to deep), the color of the screen ranges from greyish black, grey, yellowish (i.e., dotted yellow), yellow, and egg white. This egg white color is very special because when you see this color, you can also see the depth of your TV. Your mind power will determine how clear, detailed, and lively the visualized image inside the TV is.
▪ Try to achieve the white TV and keep it 24/24 for a full week. Then, when you use this TV for worldly matters, it automatically lies horizontally. When you use it for religious services, it automatically turns vertically.
▪ The 'ingredients' for this TV operation include strict adherence to sīla, continuous mindfulness and alertness, and meditation.

 Five Supernormal Powers (Abhijñā)

When you have reached the Fourth Jhana, you can start developing these supernormal powers to control your mind. They are more like a piece of homework (in Buddhism meaning) rather than 'must be learned' powers because some cultivators attain arhatship directly without them. However, normally 70% of cultivators like to practice them. It's up to you!

(1) Divine Eye (dibbacakkhu): Visualize a TV screen, keep it transparent and stable, and think of a scene you want to view (You should choose a scene near your place, so you can check the accuracy of your TV practice after the meditation session).

(2) Divine Ear (dibbasota): Visualize a TV screen, keep it transparent and stable, think of a friend of yours, and want to know what that person is saying at the moment. Immediately, you can see him in the TV doing something and his voice goes through your head. Remember to check (with him/her later on) to make sure that is not illusory.

(3) Thought Reading (paracittavijāñāna): Visualize a TV screen, keep it transparent and stable, think of a friend of yours, and want to know what that person is thinking at the moment. Immediately, you can hear his/her thought running through your head. Remember to check (with him/her later on) to make sure that is not illusory.

(4) Recollection of past lives (pubbe nivāsānussatiñāna): Visualize a TV screen, keep it transparent and stable, think of your nearest past life. You will see a snapshot of you, as somebody else, doing something in that life. In a similar fashion, you could see what you did when you were 0, 1, 2 years old and so on. Remember to ask 'Then, what next?' so keep the TV play going.

(5) Magical powers (iddhi-vidhā): Before the experience, pour some flour on a disk and then put this disk on a table in your living room. Back to your meditation room and enter the Fourth Jhana. Next, visualize a TV screen, keep it transparent and stable, think of the living room where the disk is, and want to make a handprint on the flour. In a moment, you will see yourself in the TV standing in front of the disk and place your hand on the flour. Remember to check it yourself after the meditation or have someone do that for you. This is to avoid having illusions. Another experience is to think of taking something from a friend of yours (of course, do not forget to return it to him/her after the practice).

 Comments

+ Regardless of these psychic powers and even after you have reached the eighth level of samādhi, the Realm of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception (N'eva saññān'āsañña-yatana), you are still regarded as a pagan (i.e., one who has not attained the true Bodhi wisdom yet). As a result, you could not recollect more than forty incarnations of your past sammaric existence. It is not until you have reached the Realm of Cessation of Sensations and Perceptions (Nirodha Samāpatti) that you will become a mainstream Buddhism cultivator. After you have experienced samādhi of this level for seven times, you become a Pratyeka Buddha. [13]
+ We need to clearly differentiate between wrongful cultivators and unfinished rightful ones. The first group of cultivators will surely not able to attain emancipation and enlightenment of any sort. The second group is for those who are following the rightful path and are on the way to reach perfect enlightenment. Having said that it is not within our power and wisdom to judge who is whom and criticize their practice. We, still very much ignorant (avijja) ourselves, are even worse than them both.

 Warnings

+ The learning of abhijñā is for pious cultivators only; otherwise, you will see sexual scenes because you do not have the right 'password', and that will stop you for almost 10 incarnations.
+ The abhijñā work correctly only for sīla cultivators; otherwise, you will be disturbed by Mara, the Evil One, and may become a Mara yourself. That will stop you for 'a long time'. So, follow sīla word by word because sīla are the reactions of a Buddha in different situations. Doing so benefits all good cultivators (i.e., sīla are cultivators' benefits).
+ The abhijñā are 'tools'. They are developed to serve and never to demonstrate as in a circus. If misusing your abhijñā, you will be in the influence of Mara, which will again stop you for a long time.
+ The abhijñā are never for selfish cultivators. If you are one of them, these powers never work because you do not have the right 'password'. And only you can change yourself to become 'unselfish'. No mudras, mantras, or gurus could help you except yourself! A powerful 'flashing light' will reject you with a 'scared to death' feeling like this: "You cannot go far". This feeling occurs in all levels of meditation.
Solution: Always say "Yes" to all requests until you get hurt. This is my experience to fight against my selfishness.


Endnote:
[13] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratyekabuddha for more information on this type of enlightenment.