Supranormal or Occult Powers

Supranormal Powers

“With his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to the modes of supranormal powers.

He wields many of them:

• Having been one he becomes many; having been many he becomes one.
• He appears. He vanishes.
• He goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, and mountains as if through space.
• He dives in and out of the earth as if it were water.
• He walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land.
• Sitting cross-legged he flies through the air like a winged bird.
• With his hand he touches and strokes even the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful.
• He exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds. Just as a skilled potter or his assistant could craft from well-prepared clay whatever kind of pottery vessel he likes, or as a skilled ivory-carver or his assistant could craft from well-prepared ivory any kind of ivory-work he likes, or as a skilled goldsmith or his assistant could craft from well-prepared gold any kind of gold article he likes; in the same way — with his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability — the monk directs and inclines it to the modes of supranormal powers…

He exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds.

This, too, great king, is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime.

Clairaudience

With his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to the divine ear-element. He hears — by means of the divine ear-element, purified and surpassing the human — both kinds of sounds: divine and human, whether near or far.

Just as if a man traveling along a highway were to hear the sounds of kettledrums, small drums, conchs, cymbals, and tom-toms.

He would know, ‘That is the sound of kettledrums, that is the sound of small drums, that is the sound of conchs, that is the sound of cymbals, and that is the sound of tom-toms.’

In the same way — with his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability — the monk directs and inclines it to the divine ear-element. He hears — by means of the divine ear-element, purified and surpassing the human — both kinds of sounds: divine and human, whether near or far.

“This, too, great king, is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime.

Mind Reading

“With his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to knowledge of the awareness of other beings.

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.

He discerns a mind with aversion as a mind with aversion, and a mind without aversion as a mind without aversion.

He discerns a mind with delusion as a mind with delusion, and a mind without delusion as a mind without delusion.

He discerns a restricted mind as a restricted mind, and a scattered mind as a scattered mind. He discerns an enlarged mind as an enlarged mind, and an unenlarged mind as an unenlarged mind.

He discerns an excelled mind [one that is not at the most excellent level] as an excelled mind, and an unexcelled mind as an unexcelled mind.

He discerns a concentrated mind as a concentrated mind, and an unconcentrated mind as an unconcentrated mind.

He discerns a released mind as a released mind, and an unreleased mind as an unreleased mind. Just as if a young woman — or man — fond of ornaments, examining the reflection of her own face in a bright mirror or a bowl of clear water would know ‘blemished’ if it were blemished, or ‘unblemished’ if it were not.

In the same way — with his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability — the monk directs and inclines it to knowledge of the awareness of other beings.

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… a released mind as a released mind, and an unreleased mind as an unreleased mind.

“This, too, great king, is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime.