http://www.chan1.org/ddp/channews/10-1987.html
The Buddha explains to Ananda that beings on different levels,
although they may look at the same thing, will really see it
according to their own perspective. The Buddha then continues to
talk about different levels of vision. The Buddha sees all things
as equal, undifferentiated, but he can also see things as ordinary
beings see them. The Buddha explains how things are perceived from
five different levels. They are:
The eye of ordinary sentient beings
The heavenly eye
The eye of an arhat
The eye of a bodhisattva
The eye of the Buddha
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The article is too long, so I've only pasted a small summary of it.
The eye of ordinary sentient beings is what we all have. The
heavenly eye is the eye being able to view greater distance and the
sight penetrate into the supernatural world. The Buddha's eye is
that with immense wisdom, able to see through the nature of reality
across the universe and beyond - the nature of emptiness. Please do
read the article, it may answer your question.
Some people are born with a "third eye", does that mean that
they have a
deva eye?
Usually these people have spiritual eyes, but not necessary deva
eyes. There are limitations, and Venerable Sheng-yen has mentioned
about his encounter with people having "spiritual eyes":
Have you ever seen a ghost or a
god? Normally people can't see things that are too far, near, big,
or small. But some people borrow the power of a ghost or other
spiritual being, and gain spiritual vision. There are also cases of
heavenly beings who are born into the human realm, who still retain
some ability to see ghosts and spirits in the realms below. They
can no longer see into the heavenly realm, nor can they see ghosts
and spirits in the human realm.
I had a student who came here for a beginner's class. She claimed
to have some psychic power. She said that when she was
well-concentrated, she could see into people's past, but I had my
doubts. I asked her if she could see into my past. I have heavy
karmic obstructions, which have their root in past lives, but still
she could see nothing of my past. Why? People are not always reborn
into the human realm. They might be born into a distant world, and
ordinary psychic power would be too limited to see that far. It
would be similar to a person who commits a crime in Taiwan and
moves to New York. The New York police would have no record of the
crime.
The ghostly or deva eye stands at a level between the fleshy and
heavenly eyes. This phenomenon occurs when a spiritual being uses
the eye of a human being as a medium. People who have experienced
this believe that they have been endowed with great spiritual
powers, but it is really the power of the spiritual being at work.
There is a book about a spirit called Seth who used a woman's body
to talk to people in this world. He could only talk through
her.
The whole article is very interesting, I've only pasted part of
it.
but then they are people who are born with clincial
depression...
Certain mental illnesses, like amnesia, or even insanity, I
classify them as "Karmic Obstruction Diseases". These people have
commited some bad karma in previous life and have to suffer from
certain mental disorders.
However, I believe clinical depression can be treated - but
Medicine is usually not enough. Medicine can decrease the
depression symptoms by causing chemical reactions in the brain,
however, if he does not treat the root cause of samsara, depressing
thoughts are sure to arise after the medicine has worn off.
If a friend of yours have depression, you can ask him to go for a
meditation course, it can calm his mind. Ask him to go to a dharma
centre to learn about Buddhadharma, and to apply it in everyday
life. There'll surely be positive effects.
