Paranormal Buddhists of Tibet (video)

The Mystery of Tibetan Monastics' Paranormal Abilities: Unparalleled Skills and Secrets of Practice

(Mr. Y Talks) May 18, 2023: This video goes deep into the extraordinary paranormal abilities of Tibetan nuns and monks and reveals the secrets of their practice. Some are "living buddhas," which is a misleading translation for bodhisattvas ("being bent on supreme enlightenment, buddhas-to-be"). Westerner Alexandra David-Neel traveled to Tibet in the 1930s and wrote about her experiences in Magic and Mystery in Tibet.

COMMENTARY

Are such things really possible, Wisdom Quarterly? Yes, they are. The basis is samadhi (stillness, superconsciousness, states of emerging from single pointed focus or concentration, which temporarily purifies the mind/heart, leading to a breakthrough in recovering our innate ability as a human species). These powers are known in Buddhism as the abhinnas or iddhis (Sanskrit siddhis). They are well known even outside Buddhism, where they are also warned against. Hinduism and the older Vedic religion is well aware of these miraculous powers and calls those who master samadhi "saints."

These are not saints in Buddhism, which reserves the term for those proficient in calm and insight, who are liberated from the mental hindrances and defilements. The Buddha possessed these powers but was very reluctant to use them, seeing great danger in them. It is hard to attain these powers and they are fickle. They may easily drop away. The Buddha spoke of 11 imperfections in their development to be mindful of if one should wish to exercise them.

But a more telling event about the Buddha's attitude towards them is found in a story in the ancient texts. One day the Buddha and his attendant monk, Ananda, were walking down the road and saw some old yogis who possessed these powers. They were renowned and respected.

The Buddha turned to Ananda and said something to the effect of, "How sad these two."

Ananda replied, "But they are well respected and possess supernormal powers."

"Yeah, but had they developed those powers in this Dharma (herein within the Buddha's Doctrine and Discipline), they would not only have those powers, but they would also be liberated (enlightened and free from suffering and rebirth).

"As it is, although they have spent many years of spiritual effort to develop these trifling 'powers,' they have not worked on the much more important skill of release, of making an end of ignorance, of uprooting the defilements of the heart/mind greed, hatred, and delusion. Now they have these powers, but they will eventually lose them. Having gained nothing else because they were so busy to develop them, if they are not destroyed by these very powers, what will they have? They will have wasted all those years and, what's worse, wasted the opportunity to strive for real liberation (moksha) and actually be free."

Who needs Buddhism? Let's do magic instead

This is a shocking thing to say because within their own tradition, they were regarded as "saints" the way a Catholic nun or monk could live cloistered, fasting, praying, purifying their morality, faith, karma, and concentration and, in doing so, may indeed gain mysterious abilities, magic powers. If anyone sees them displaying such powers, they will be hailed as "holy" and "saved" and "destined for heaven," objects of veneration, respect, and petitionary prayers and prayers to intercede on behalf of the faithful.

But they will not be "saints" in the Buddhist sense. They are not free of the defilements (which have only been suppressed by many and various spiritual practices). They will not have made an end of greed, hatred, and delusion only of obvious and overt signs of them while they are still latent in their psyches (layers of their personality bundles within the Five Aggregates clung to as self). They may even be reborn into a heaven, but as that heaven is not the end all be all it is advertised as being, they will neither be "saved," purified, free, attaining to the deathless, nor anything else of note. It will be as if all those side effects were for not nothing but not anything really worthwhile, admirable, or spiritually desirable like nirvana, awakening, the end of rebirth or, there is a remainder of defilements, rebirth in exalted worlds where they are able to complete the training in very conducive circumstances and be freed from there.

We can meditate to purify the mind then practice for insight to be free?

Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism is very esoteric, partly because it is mixed with the more ancient indigenous Himalayan shamanic practice of Bon and partly because it is a Mahayana school, which itself is very much mixed with Hindu, Vedic, yogic, and Brahmanical ideas. These are ideas and assumptions the historical Buddha rejected and went to great pains to point out for disciples to avoid.