And honestly supernatural powers sound quite boring to me, I
dont know whats the hype about it. Supernatural powers can only be
developed through meditative practises, and according to Buddha it
is quite a waste of effort to try to develope them on purpose. It
should be a byproduct of Precepts, Samadhi and Wisdom
cultivation.
That is not what non-volition/non-action or Wu Wei in Taoism
means. In fact non-volition in Taoism is quite similar to Buddhism,
where there is action but no doer, which means spontaneity.
Spontaneous action, Wei Wu Wei, is liberating. It is true that one
who can completely master non-volition (i.e an Arhant) no longer
creates karma but that does not mean he will be wreakless in
actions. But it does not mean one can escape cause and
effect.
There is a famous story here,
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
http://www.jenchen.org.sg/vol8no3c.htm
'All phenomena arise by the
aggregation of causes and conditions; all phenomena cease by the
dispersion of causes and conditions.' How do we apply this Law of
Causality?
Using the family to illustrate the Law of Causality, a family is
established as a result of the aggregation of causes and
conditions. Since the family has already been brought about by
these various causes and conditions, we should therefore live
peacefully and joyfully as a family. Fulfilling this positive
causality for the family will leave us with no regrets in the
future.
We shouldn't reckon presume that 'all forms are empty' (Buddhist
philosophy that all things and phenomena are empty because they
don't have an independent nature of their own.); you are 'empty', I
am also 'empty' and we are all 'empty', and so we don't care about
anything. This is wrong. Since all things result from aggregations
of causes and conditions we must make good use of these causes and
conditions.
As another example, it is only because I am here to give a Dharma
talk that this bouquet of flowers has been prepared. Therefore, we
should place these flowers nicely on the table so that people can
appreciate them. If while we are admiring the flowers, a person
comes by and declares, "Sigh, all phenomena arising from causes and
conditions are empty. What use is there in having such a beautiful
bouquet of flowers?" He then removes it and throws it away. This
person may not be of sound mind, because by now you know about the
Law of Causality, and you say that the flowers are empty. But, you
are still physically here. You, as a 'person' have not emptied
away! So how could you say that the flowers are empty? Therefore,
you should diligently learn and practise what the Buddha taught,
and cultivate. First of all empty the sentient being (i.e. the
arising and ceasing of thoughts and feelings) within you, and then
you will not find that things in the world are contradictory.
So from this, we see how that which is seemingly contradictory in
the world, stems from failure to properly grasp the principles.
Because when the principles have not been correctly
understood, there cannot be coherence in their application to
matters of the world. This leads to lack of roundedness
and harmony in the way we deal with things.
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