"Bases Of Psychic Power" Series: Myriad Psychic Powers (6/7)

I studied & practiced with the "Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta — An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power" for about four months of daily practice. These Roads To Power are desire, persistence, intent and discernment. Most of this 7-part podcast series are my considerations, questions, experiences, explorations, suggestions, interpretations & practices from working with this sutta. Part 6: The “Psychic Powers” themselves, practice combinations for topics within the sutta and some miscellany

Transcript

This part six of a seven part series is called,

Quote unquote,

Psychic powers,

Practice combinations and miscellany.

In the series,

The Iripata,

Fibbanga Sutta,

An analysis of the basis of power.

This is a section on quote unquote,

Psychic powers.

The specific powers enumerated here are repeated in various suttas.

There'll be a link in the show notes about that.

This brings to mind like childhood fascinations with superpowers.

You know,

That's now mainstream in Marvel and DC.

Comic book movies has been for a while and comic books,

Even before the movies,

Got really popular and there's become a lot of them.

So in somewhat modern parlance,

These powers are labeled clairvoyance,

Clairaudience,

Psychokinesis,

Levitation,

Telepathy,

Invisibility,

Precognition,

Teleportation.

And there's a type of bilocation here,

But not just two places at once,

But materializing multiple versions of oneself,

Then transforming them all back into one.

And again,

I'll link to a wiki,

Psychic Abilities article,

And also the previous blog post on references in the polycanon on these so-called psychic powers,

As well as linking to information about the prohibitions on public display of psychic powers for monks.

There's interesting stories behind that.

But just diving into the details here.

But before I do that,

Why don't I just read the short section on these powers.

I'll just read the Bante Sujato translation here.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way,

With clairaudience,

That is,

Purified and superhuman,

They hear both kinds of sounds,

Human and divine,

Whether near or far.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way,

They understand the minds of other beings and individuals,

Having comprehended them with their own mind.

They understand mind with greed as a mind with greed,

And a mind without greed as a mind without greed.

They understand mind with hate as a mind with hate,

And a mind without hate as a mind without hate.

They understand mind with delusion as a mind with delusion,

And mind without delusion as a mind without delusion.

They understand constricted mind as a constricted mind,

And scared mind as a scattered mind.

They understand expansive mind as expansive mind,

And unexpansive mind is unexpansive mind.

They understand mind that is not supreme,

As mind that is not supreme,

And mind that is supreme,

As mind that is supreme.

They understand mind,

Immersed in Samadhi,

As mind is immersed in Samadhi,

And mind not immersed in Samadhi as mind not immersed in Samadhi.

They understand freed-mind as freed mind,

And unfreed-mind as unfreed mind.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way,

They recollect many kinds of past lives.

That is 1,

2,

3,

4,

5,

10,

20,

30,

40,

50,

100,

1000,

100,

000 rebirths.

Many eons of the world contracting,

Many eons of the world expanding,

Many eons of the world contracting and expanding.

They remember,

There I was,

Named this,

My clan was that,

I looked like this,

And that was my food.

This was how I felt pleasure and pain,

And that was how my life ended.

When I passed away from the place I was reborn somewhere else,

There too I was named this,

My clan was that,

I looked like this,

And that was my food.

This was how I felt pleasure and pain,

And that was how my life ended.

When I passed away from that place,

I was reborn here.

And so they recollect their many kinds of past lives with features and details.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way,

With clairaudience,

Clairvoyance,

That is purified and superhuman,

They see sentient beings passing away and being reborn,

Inferior and superior,

Beautiful and ugly,

In a good place or bad place.

They understand how sentient beings are reborn according to their deeds.

These dear beings did bad things by way of body,

Speech and mind.

They spoke ill of the noble ones.

They had wrong view,

And they acted out of that wrong view.

When their body breaks up after death,

They're reborn in a place of loss,

A bad place,

The underworld,

Hell.

These dear beings,

However,

Did good things by way of body,

Speech and mind.

They never spoke ill of the noble ones.

They had right view,

And they acted out of that right view.

When their body breaks up after death,

They're reborn in a good place,

A heavenly realm.

And so,

With clairaudience,

That's purified and superhuman,

They see sentient beings passing away and being reborn,

Inferior and superior,

Beautiful and ugly,

In a good place or bad place.

They understand how sentient beings are reborn according to their deeds.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way,

They realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom in this very life.

And they live having realized it with their own insight due to the ending of defilements.

So now,

Getting into the nitty-gritty here,

Some of these things are going to seem a little bit out there,

Outlandish,

Perhaps.

Some really won't make much sense.

Some of these inquiries won't make much sense without some kind of esoteric background,

Some inner-standing of how in esoteric teachings and circles,

Some of these powers and teachings and practices are considered,

Carried out and taught.

But here he goes anyway.

So,

Having been one,

He among becomes many.

Having been many,

He becomes one.

Could this be in any way related to reproductive ability yet being celibate?

So that section of the sutta,

Having been one,

He becomes many.

Having been many,

He becomes one.

So monks take a vow of celibacy in the Buddhist order,

Yet I would just guess that many of them still retain reproductive ability,

At least until our hot ship,

According to some,

Realizing full awakening.

So then,

Basically with this little inquiry here,

Looking into parallels to reproductive ability,

And also celibacy with this power to divide oneself or replicate oneself into many,

And then collapse that back down into one likeness or being.

And then also,

Let's look at this with money,

If money is a symbol of power that enables the acquisition of multiplicity.

But monks aren't really allowed to handle or be directly involved with money.

Could this also play into this so-called psychic power here?

In the Theravada tradition,

Monks aren't allowed to handle money,

But we know for some in the late world,

Money at its root is just an idea,

But it also symbolizes power currency and allows acquiring a multiplicity of things.

And then also,

What about a consideration for those who aren't monks,

The opposite,

The ones who aren't celibate,

And whose creational energy is entangled with monetary systems?

What kind of effect,

What kind of causes,

Conditions,

Our surrounding situation like that,

In reference to this specific psychic power?

And again,

Just to sum up here,

This is kind of an obscure modern-day consideration.

Would any kind of entanglement in the monetary system,

Especially one that buys,

Where one can buy a representation of influence with money,

Would that in any way have any influence on this ability to being one,

Than becoming many,

Having been many become one?

And then more symbols with money about being involved with reproduction are an inverted symbol for natural reproduction,

And how that might or might not influence this ability of replication,

Division,

Or the appearance of,

Or multiplication of oneself,

And then a unification back into one.

So the next thing here,

Why gain these powers?

And are they only for monks?

Well,

The Buddha advised training to attain them.

One can even summon the purported psychic power,

This motivation for practice,

Especially having a wholesome desire,

If this so motivates one to practice.

And I'd say don't be afraid of or dismiss your worth and spiritual power when it comes to this.

I mean,

The Buddha was very wise and helpful in so many things,

And he's saying this is okay to practice and develop,

And these attainments are quite possible.

Furthermore,

These are similar powers.

These can address usually unseen influences to acquire knowledge to help alleviate suffering,

Or contribute to less suffering.

So without some of these psychic powers,

There's unseen influences that remain unseen.

But if these normally unseen influences can become seen,

Then one might have better knowledge on how to act to alleviate suffering better for oneself and others,

And also contribute to less suffering in the world.

And this also just might be by acquiring knowledge about this,

Either by seeing and knowing,

Maybe talking to other beings or observing them,

Ones that aren't normally perceived by uninstructed worldlings.

And so I'm also going to include some of the scientific studies of past lives in the show notes,

At least articles that mention them.

There's a whole section on discerning one's own past lives,

And also seeing,

I don't know if it's called the transmigration of beings after death,

But kind of seeing and knowing their karma,

Seeing their life stream,

Start,

Continue,

End,

Then continue on to start,

Continue,

End,

At least when perceiving birth after birth in the relative reality here.

In this next section,

I'll quote really briefly here,

It at least for me,

Clearly shows empathy that goes beyond empathing,

Just feeling and emotions.

Quote,

He knows the awareness of other beings,

Other individuals,

Having encompassed it with his own awareness.

He discerns a mind with passion as a mind with passion and a mind without passion as a mind without passion.

And I'll just stop there,

Just goes on as I read in the other translation.

Another interesting,

Kind of more obvious question,

I guess,

Too,

In one way is,

Why might some of these powers be harder to gain than others,

Especially at this time?

And could collective karma,

If that is a thing,

Play into this?

If so,

How?

Could developing certain powers be more conducive to certain eras than others?

For example,

Intuition and the knowing of minds might be found more in today's cultural climate of valuing the thinking mind so much.

I mean,

We put this huge emphasis on cognition and thinking and getting worth from the mind and brain,

Knowledge workers and whatnot.

But maybe in other eras where the means and modes of physicality were more dominant,

The related physical,

Developed spiritual psychic powers were more prevalent.

I don't know.

Or perhaps considering some claims of highly advanced,

Prohibiting and controlling technologies upon matter forms.

So that's kind of a somewhat convoluted way of putting the very deep,

Esoteric information,

Metaphysical information that I'll link to in the show notes.

Getting into these net static fields,

Net mutations,

Corrupted elementals and nets,

AI network of brain net and frequency static fences.

And you'll see if you're interested in this,

What the word net means here.

It's not necessarily the Internet.

And then,

Of course,

You know,

If people think that's all a bunch of mumbo jumbo,

That's OK.

So then we have to ask,

How do the powers mentioned in the Iri,

Pada,

Vibhanga Sutta correspond with any accepted mainstream studies in scientific community establishments?

You know,

What are the parallels here between what's mentioned in the Sutta and what everyday modern current science says?

In today's quantum science allows for much of this phenomena like temporary replication and the phasing of particles to waves and vice versa.

But this is only on the micro level and especially when external technology is involved.

So when will we have the popularly established scientific community consider scaling this up?

And will they ever be open to things they can't measure without machines and technology?

Beyond just theoretical physics.

And what are the benefits of this?

With his hand he touches and strokes even the sun and moon.

Is this to be taken literally?

If it is,

Does this mean the physical body is touching and stroking?

The sun and the moon?

If so,

Is it just a display of power?

Does it have a purpose beyond that?

I mean,

Metaphorically,

Could it mean influence in and from realms beyond our everyday reality?

Like if one is that intimate and close to the sun and moon,

Then it seems like such a being might be privy to certain experiences that many don't currently have access to.

And yeah,

If it's not literally touching,

It's just a close knowledge and access of that on a metaphoric level or an energetic level.

Then there still seem to be keyed in to and privy to things many everyday folks,

If they consider it all.

It says fiction,

Fantasy,

Our impossibilities.

And then how does perception play into everything here?

All these psychic powers mentioned,

Or so-called psychic powers,

Are supra-mundane abilities.

I like that term even more.

Seems more accurate.

How does perception influence,

Decipher all these different abilities listed?

Does an expanded perception help better understand?

These help aid in developing these,

Or maybe even with ill intent,

Help cover these up and hinder these for other beings.

So such a being could keep more power for themselves.

And that's the end of the section on psychic powers.

Now on to practice combinations for the practice combinations section.

So here I'm going to mix and match the previous sections and see if it's possible in general to look into these things and combine some of the different portions of the major sections of this sutta.

This is first one,

And second one too,

Concerning the 32 parts of the body.

How is the subtle energy of the 32 parts of the body in various environments and after ingesting various substances,

Like food,

Drink,

And medicine?

And does this correlate to perceptions of day and night?

If so,

How?

So basically,

If you're in a stressful environment,

How are the 32 parts of the body then compared to a peaceful,

Relaxing environment?

It's kind of the gross level of this,

But looking into the subtle energy of those 32 parts in different environments like that.

And also,

When taking certain substances,

Food,

Drink,

Medicine,

And how would this correlate to perceptions of day and night?

I mean,

Are there certain types of food we eat and drink during night and day,

Day and night?

What are the types of environments we're in during the day and during the night?

How does the subtle energy differ with these?

And then to flip it here,

How is the space and environment when focusing primarily on the 32 parts?

And flipping again,

How are the 32 parts when focusing on space and environment?

So we have the 32 parts of the body in the forefront of consciousness and awareness and have space in the environment in the background.

Can we still notice?

And then flip-flopping those as far as what's predominantly in consciousness and what's in the background of consciousness.

So how does one affect the other?

Or do they even?

At least for me,

It seems easier to notice what I mentioned before.

In certain spaces and environments that are more peaceful and calm,

You might notice some more relaxation or similar energies in the 32 parts of the body.

But can it go vice versa?

Can really strong concentration and ease in wholesome,

Wise,

And skillful states internally with the 32 parts of the body,

Can that ripple out and affect and have an influence on space and environment?

It's an interesting consideration up next here.

If possible,

How could one contain distracting energy within the meditation object itself instead of being pulled away from,

Or having one's attention lost to the meditation object?

So whatever is going on to distract energy or pull energy away or disperse energy,

How can that phenomenon even be contained within the meditation object?

So maybe instead of fighting that distracting,

Dispersing energy,

Can it somehow be included in the meditation object itself?

And how does perception play into that,

If at all?

The next three techniques here are similar.

So after actively practicing with the sutta for a while,

Equanimously allow the attention to work in a passive receptivity within the container of the sutta.

This is also perhaps applicable to other meditation techniques too.

So passively observing the fluctuation of attention from one theme to another theme,

From the 32 parts of the body to the environment to perceptions of light,

Etc.

So basically establishing a container around the sutta,

Or with this sutta as a container,

And then observing how the attention goes from theme to theme within the sutta,

Like the 32 parts,

The environment,

Situational awareness,

Perceptions of light,

And day,

Night.

If it's all contained within the sutta,

And those are the only options,

Let the attention fluctuate how it wants spontaneously,

Maybe unconsciously,

Or semi-consciously from theme to theme.

And then similarly,

After studying and contemplating and practicing with the sutta,

Establish as a meditation object and lightly hold an awareness the consciousnesses involved with the sutta,

And or feeling and tuning into the various energetic signatures,

And or the root or core energy involved.

So basically working with energy and consciousness as meditation objects,

But within the context of the sutta.

So can we tune into the different levels of awareness and consciousness and energy that are involved in the sutta,

Kind of basically taking a step back and looking under the hood of the energy and consciousness involved in all the various aspects here?

Or what about breathing in and out of,

And or blending the breath with this entire sutta as meditation object,

Allowing what may of it arise and pass.

So instead of going into and cognitively being active with this and that of the sutta,

What about a simple breath meditation in and out of just holding an awareness,

One's current understanding of the sutta as an entirety as a whole.

And for a potential practice of combining all the major constituents in the sutta,

Keep the mentioned perceptions of night or day steadily persistent in the background of awareness,

While in the foreground address the 32 parts of the body,

As well as the aforementioned type of situational awareness,

Both using the perception of light perhaps,

Or vice versa for the background and foreground.

So basically working with the major constituents here of the perceptions of day and night,

32 parts of the body and situational awareness.

And again,

I mentioned just a little while ago about keeping things in the foreground and background.

Maybe one of the more natural ways would be to keep these perceptions of night or day in the background of awareness,

While in the foreground addressing the 32 parts of the body.

And if possible,

Like juggling I guess,

Keep the situational awareness in there too.

This way with keeping the night and day perception in the background in one way,

Perhaps it could be considered as that would be the more natural way because this constant perception of night and day until it switches over,

It's one of the most unbroken,

Constant,

Noticeable,

Consistent,

Continuous in a way,

Maybe contiguous perceptions that's apparent to everybody.

However,

It's fairly subtle too because,

I mean,

How much is one solidly noticing day or night consciously in life?

Sure,

We kind of have a sense of it obviously all the time,

But how much in the fore of consciousness is it?

It's usually there kind of unconsciously,

If I had to guess,

But that's another thing that's worthy of investigation perhaps.

So in this way,

Something that's always there but we don't pay much attention to,

Maybe the breath would be an analogy,

If we keep that in the background of our meditation,

Then perhaps it'll be more like it is in everyday life where it's not a huge thing,

We pay a lot of attention to all the time.

And then kind of more of attention grabbing things like a situational awareness,

That is very common in today's society,

Being aware of the environment,

Especially depending on what one does throughout the day and night most often times.

But the 32 parts of the body,

Some are more subtler than others.

So this is like juggling and a lot of stuff to pay attention to and awareness.

It is possible though,

At least for brief moments.

Then how about swapping the background and foreground for this,

Keeping the 32 parts and the environment in the background and paying more attention to the subtle perceptions of day and or night.

Also,

Since the mind will likely want to be included,

What about inviting the mind into exalted participation with however you practice this?

So instead of berating and belittling the mind,

Wanting it to not be involved,

Especially the thinking mind,

If we took portions of practice and actually lauded and exalted the mind and allowing it to help and aid in the practices here.

And if one happens to experience hindering doubt,

How about asking,

Is whatever is happening in my approach to it a skillful and helpful means of practicing with the sutta?

And what adjustments and balancing are needed?

Not too much,

Not too little in order to progress and gain mastery.

Is my approach wise,

Helpful?

How can this be balanced?

What's needed?

Another way to check the practices mentioned here are against the five faculties or powers.

So the faith and conviction faculty or power addresses doubt,

Energy,

Effort,

Persistence,

Addresses laziness,

Mindfulness addresses heatfulness,

Concentration,

Samadhi addresses distraction,

Wisdom and discernment addresses ignorance.

And so some other benchmarks,

Check-ins,

Gauges,

Feedback mechanisms,

And audits to be touched on briefly when feeling lost and unclear about all this.

What's the attitude like?

What kind of relationship am I having to whatever's going on with this practice?

And what is the attitude to that relationship?

And what's the relationship to that attitude?

What kind of pleasure is involved here?

Is it present or absent?

What hindrances are present?

And without blaming,

Criticizing or being judgmental,

What are the strengths and weaknesses going on here?

So then just a couple things in the miscellany section here.

Where does the heart or chitta come into this sutta?

Can this sutta be explored while abiding in the Brahma Vaharis of loving kindness,

Compassion,

Vicarious joy and equanimity?

So this has already been mentioned in the hindrances portion.

But again,

What exactly does this fabrications of exertion mean?

And here this will get into some fairly,

Maybe woo woo questions here.

Does this mean making up and knowing well a certain energy and intent with persistence to carry out what's mentioned in the sutta?

And with similar stuff like the eightfold noble path factors and stuff directly or indirectly involving attainments?

So basically,

Are you making this exertion type energy up in order to help attain and train towards what's called for in the sutta?

If there's a fabrication of exertion though,

Is there then a type of non-fabricated exertion for humans?

So here's my speculation alert.

So then if so,

Depending on what it is,

Like for example,

If the non-fabricated or minimally fabricated exertion of breath was established,

Operated and happening somehow outside the 3D human realm,

Could the phrase the fabrications of exertion be a subtle humor of types,

Hinting at some beings or forces who think they significantly influence and control the unconscious human breath?

That too is a fabrication and thus sapping their notion of power over these humans without breath mastery.

For whatever reason,

The word Sankara comes to mind here and that's going to do it for this section on quote-unquote psychic powers,

Practice combinations and miscellany.