About supernatural powers, I once wrote:
Regarding psychic and supernatural abilities, I must first say
that Buddhism discourages the seeking or cultivation of psychic
powers.. Supernatural powers in Buddhism should only comes as a
side effect of our Buddhist practise.. if we try to seek or develop
these supernatural powers before gaining insights and wisdom, they
can even lead us astray and deviated from the path of the Dharma as
we will become attached to many of the paranormal phenomena and
therefore not be able to develop true spiritual wisdom. Therefore
it must be emphasised that though non-locality activities may be
experienced such as the 5 powers, one may still not necessarily
realise the non-locality of our true nature.
Also to try to develope these supernatural powers may be just a
waste of time... one better cherish our precious lifetime as a
human being and devote our entire energy to the practise of the
Dharma that leads to wisdom and liberation. Therefore there is a
Buddhist story,
amazing abilities by concentration
One day the Buddha met an ascetic
who sat by the bank of a river. This ascetic had practised
austerities for 25 years. The Buddha asked him what he had received
for all his labor. The ascetic proudly replied that, now at last,
he could cross the river by walking on the water. The Buddha
pointed out that this gain was insignificant for all the years of
labor, since he could cross the river using a ferry for one
penny!
Regarding supernatural abilities, generally speaking in Buddhism
there are six kind of supernatural abilities, the first 5 being
able to be developed by any one -- not necessarily Buddhists,
non-Buddhist yogis that practise any form of shamatha, and many
other religions also develope these abilities, or even through
occult practises and so on. Only the sixth supernatural ability is
restricted to those who have attained enlightenment, those who have
transformed consciousness to wisdom. With regards to the six
supernatural powers, you can read yourself: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/tinhla01.htm
That URL also states: ...It must,
however, be understood that the Buddha did not consider every
trance to be necessarily good, for it must aim at the right end.
He, however, realised that there were those who devoted to yogic
exercises to acquire supernatural powers. So the Buddha refined the
practice by telling them that even such powers could be acquired
only through the practice of righteouaness and wisdom. ( Akankheyya
Sutta, S. B. E. Vol. XI, ) Acquisition of supernatural powers does
not confer any spiritual advantage. It was for this reason that the
Buddha forbade his disciples to work miracles for
display...
My taiwanese teacher (even before he had met my Master he was
very strong in the area of supernatural powers) had first hand
experience of the really bad situation he got himself into by
misusing his supernatural powers. He almost lost his life as a
result, and was reprimanded by my Master.
Now, he does not allow his students to try developing supernatural
powers prior to attaining Wisdom.
