Seeing reality as it is: the Buddhist way

(Buddhism Podcast) Seeing reality as it is: The Buddhist way of seeing life

The Buddhist Way: As it is

(Bhikkhu Bodhi) Intro to Buddhism Series, Lecture 01. The Buddha

Levels of reality and real-life levitation

(Jason Gregory) Siddhis: the magical powers of spiritual masters

Real magic is really possible? - Yes.

In Dharmic (Indian) religions, the siddhis (Sanskrit सिद्धि siddhi, fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, magical powers, abilities, and attainments, such as levitation (paranormal).

They are the products (sometimes byproducts) of yogic advancement through daily practices (sādhanās) such as meditation (jhana, dhyana) and eight-limbed yoga [1].

The Pali term iddhi ("psychic powers," ṛddhi) is often used interchangeably in Buddhism.

Etymology

Illusion in Prague using steel armature

Siddhi is a Sanskrit noun that can be translated as super "knowledge," "accomplishment," "attainment," or "success" [2].

Method

Buddhism's Path of Purification (Visuddhi-magga) is one of the great commentarial texts to give explicit details about how meditators and spiritual masters can actually manifest supernormal abilities [3].

• [These powers are not really "supernatural" because, however uncommon, they are our natural potential.]

It states that abilities such as levitation (flying through the air), walking through walls (solid obstructions), diving into the ground as if it were water, walking on water as if it were land, and so forth are achieved through changing one element, such as the earth element (Pali pathavi), into another element, such as air (vayu) [3].

• [This is done at will because one has mastered the absorptions (jhanas) via that element. How this is done is explained in practice by Buddhist teachers and meditation masters. Theoretically and conceptually, it is laid out in The Path of Purification, an ancient Buddhist text compiled by the great monk and commentator Buddhaghosa.]

The individual must master disc (kasina) meditation before this is possible [3]. The modern Buddhist Master Dipa Ma ("Dipa's Mother"), who trained in The Path of Purification via her personal teacher Anagarika Munindra, had these abilities -- according to her closest American students who went on to become world famous meditators and teachers (Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sylvia Boorstein). Their claims were verified in Calcutta and the USA but, of course, never to the satisfaction of Western science or the impossible standards of the great skeptic the Great Randi. See the great book about her by an American admirer Amy Schmidt, Knee Deep in Grace. Not only did she develop these powers with Anagarika Munindra's instructions, she taught them to her enlightened daughter Dipa and others around her. More: Siddhi

• Levitating monk | Stable Diffusion; Aperture, The 7 Levels of Reality; Jason Gregory, Siddhis; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Jewish Israel's 'genocide' plan for Gaza: Get Egypt to kill 'em all

"Perish or leave": Hundreds of thousands flee as Israeli military invades Gaza City

(Democracy Now!) Sept. 17, 2025: Zionist-Jewish-Israeli forces has a War Machine pushing deeper into Gaza City as the full-fledged military ground invasion continues despite mounting international opposition and condemnation.

Settler colonial genocides

Is Israel just more Western (CIA) imperialism?

The Black History They Tried to Hide from You

Hundreds of thousands of human beings have been forced to flee Gaza City, where nearly one million Palestinians (whom racist Israeli Jews call "Arabs") have been living among rubble and ruins ahead of Israel's ground offensive.

"Just open your eyes and look at what's unfolding there," says [Democracy Now! guest] Muhammad Shehada, a writer and analyst from Gaza. "It's impossible to see what's happening and conclude that there's anything else but genocide unfolding." More

 

(Middle East Eye) UN: Israel committing 'genocide.' Now what?

UN declares Israel is committing literal GENOCIDE: What happens next?

(Middle East Eye) Sept. 16, 2025: Every eight minutes since October 2023, [hypocritical Zionist Jews in Israel have been killing] a Palestinian in Gaza -- one child every hour.

Now, in its strongest report yet, the United Nations has concluded: Israel IS committing "genocide."

The two-year investigation identifies four genocidal acts:

1. mass killings,
2. torture and displacement,
3. starvation and deprivation, and
4. even measures to prevent births.

It also cites dehumanizing statements by officials and Israeli leaders as evidence of intent. Under the Genocide Convention, every UN member state now has a legal duty to act.

Yet, the UK continues to sell arms to Israel while [lying and] insisting there is “no evidence of genocide.”

• [It's just regular killing, which we approve of and are glad to see the Ashkenazi population do so that they can be out of our hair in Europe and starting an imperial war empire that starts at the sea and expands to become "Greater Israel," consuming the most 'troublesome' part of the Middle East, bringing them to heel for Western powers like the US, UK, EU, and other 'Judeo-Christian' nations to exploit.]

This report sets out obligations not only for Israel, but for governments worldwide. Whether they act -- or ignore it -- will test the credibility of international law and the future of Gaza’s people.

Catch previous episodes of MEE LIVE, a biweekly news program exploring the stories shaping the world through breaking coverage, expert analyses, and hard-hitting interviews. Support stories that matter. Subscribe. Join the channel for access to perks: @middleeasteye. MEE Telegram. Follow on TikTok (middleeasteye), Instagram (middleeasteye), Facebook (middleeasteye), Twitter (middleeasteye). Auto-dubbed: Audio tracks for some languages were automatically generated. Learn more.

Report: "Our Genocide"

(The Guardian) 'Our Genocide': How do Israeli Jews feel about the war on Gaza, Palestine?

• FBI releases highly dubious Tyler Robinson text chain, Eurovision may BAN Israel, w/ Jose Vega (The Jimmy Dore Show)

ABOUT: Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8:00-9:00 am ET. Subscribe to Daily Email Digest: democracynow.org/subscribe. Latest Shows. Support this work: democracynow.org/donate.

• The Sun, 9/17/25; Amy Goodman, DemocracyNow.org; Middle East Eye, 9/16/25; Shauna Schwartz, Pfc. Sandoval, Sheldon S., Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Why we don't see things as they are

(Buddhism Podcast) Why we don't see things as they truly are: Buddhist perspective, 8/19/25

Vipallasa Sutta: Distortions of the Mind

These four, O meditators, are distortions of perception, distortions of thinking, distortions of view...

Sensing no change in the impermanent,

Sensing pleasure in the unsatisfactory,

Assuming "self" where there is impersonal process,

Sensing the repulsive as lovely —

Gone astray with wrong views, beings

Mis-perceive with distorted minds.

Bound in the bondage of Mara (Death),

Those people are far from safety.

They are beings who go on wandering:

Going again from redeath to rebirth.

But when in the world of darkness

Buddhas arise to make things bright,

They present this profound teaching

Which brings suffering to an end.

When those with wisdom have heard this,

They recuperate their right mind:

They see change in what is changing,

Suffering where there's suffering,

The impersonal in what is without self,

They see the repulsive as such.

By the regaining of right view,

They overcome all suffering.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE

Andrew Olendzki

These verses from the Numerical Discourses (AN) give the traditional list of the "distortions" (vipallasas). This Pali word is sometimes translated as "perversions" of mind, but I find this language too strong and prefer the "distortions" of mind.

The term is composed of a prefix (vi-), which carries the sense of division, separation, or removal, another prefix (pari-), meaning around or complete (as in our related word peri-meter), and a verb (-as), which can be taken as meaning "to throw."

Putting all this together, we have the image of the mind taking something up, turning it around, and throwing it back down — a distortion or perversion of reality by the perceptual and cognitive process of the mind.

The distortions are fundamental to the Buddhist notion of ignorance or delusion. It is not that we are inherently flawed in our nature. Rather, it is that we make some serious errors on many levels as we attempt to make sense of the world around us.

As we come to recognize — particularly through meditation practice, mindfulness, and stillness — some of the ways we misconstrue things about our experience, we become more able to correct for these errors and gain greater clarity.

The distortions of the mind work on three levels of scale. First, distortions of perception (sañña-vipallasa) cause us to misperceive the information coming to us through the sense doors. We might mistake a rope by the path as a snake, for example. Normally such optical illusions, or errors of vision, are corrected by a more careful scrutiny, but sometimes these sensory mistakes are overlooked and remain.

Distortions of thought (citta-vipallasa) have to do with the next higher level of mental processing, when we find ourselves thinking about or pondering things over things in mind. The mind tends to elaborate upon perception with these thought patterns, and if our thoughts are based on distortions of perception, then they too will be distorted.

Eventually such thought patterns can become habitual and evolve into distortions of view (ditthi-vipallasa). We might become so convinced that there is a snake on the path that no amount of evidence to the contrary from our own eyes or reason, nor the advice of others, will shake our wrong beliefs and assumptions. We are stuck in (clinging to) a mistaken view.

Furthermore, these three levels of distortion are cyclical. Our perceptions are formed in the context of our views, which are strengthened by our thoughts, and all three work together to build the cognitive systems that make up our unique personality.

You will no doubt recognize that the particular distortions mentioned in this text correspond to the three characteristics (the Three Universal Marks of Existence).

1. Taking what is impermanent (anicca) as permanent,
2. what is inherently unsatisfactory (dukkha, unable to fulfill) as a source of satisfaction, and
3. what is impersonal (anatta) as constituting a self — these are the primary ways we distort reality to the profound disadvantage of everyone.
4. Seeing the repulsive (asubha, unlovely) as lovely rounds out the traditional list of four vipallasas.

I like the way these verses say that when under the influence of these distortions we have "lost our senses" (vi-saññino) and our mind is "broken" or "thrown" (khitta-citta). When the distortions are corrected by right view, clear thinking and careful perception, then the texts say that we have "gotten back" (pacca-latthu) our "true mind" (sa-citta).

This is the Buddhist view of mental illness and mental health. Delusion is a mental illness that causes all sorts of suffering; mental health can be restored by correcting the flaws in how the mind operates.

Fortunately, "buddhas arise to make things bright" and illustrate in detail how the recovery of natural health can be accomplished. More

• Buddhism Podcast, Aug. 19, 2025; Andrew Olendzki (trans.), Vipallasa Sutta (AN 4.49 PTS: A ii 52), edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Who is CONTROLLING reality now?

• 

  Who needs religion when we have mass media?

  Whistleblower David Icke
• Credo Mutwa's Encounters with Extraterrestrials: An Analysis (GardenShaman.eu)
• Revealed: Officials informed that Trump program [in South Africa] 'intended for white people' only
• Mass media has taken over the job of religions
• Who is controlling reality right now? The Anunnaki? The Chituari? (These Marvel Chitauri?)
• Stewart Swerdlow leans right (expansions.com)
• Mandela Effect is real, not "false memory"

Everyone's changed (timeline)

• DavidIcke.com; Jacob Whelan; Pat Macpherson (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Spiritual or Material? (Alan Watts)

Time is an illusion: Power of Now (video)

• Removing 95% of unhappiness, here's how | Eckhart Tolle

Time is an illusion, according to Einstein

Does time really exist? Buddhism’s view on the nature of time

The Time Paradox (social psychology)

(Buddhism Podcast) Buddhism Explained. Time: illusion or reality? This examination of "time" from a Buddhist perspective reveals intriguing parallels with modern science.

From Albert Einstein's pronouncements to the Buddha's wisdom in the Dhammapada [a collection of sayings], the concept of time as a construct is explored.

Dhammapada for Awakening

Quantum physics, with its baffling phenomena like entanglement and the observer effect, challenges [our consensus reality and] conventional understandings of time, mirroring ancient Buddhist insights on the subjective nature of reality.

The neuroscience of time perception is considered, exploring how our brains [thoughts] construct our experience of time's flow.

Buddhist practices like mindfulness meditation are investigated as potential pathways to experiencing the present moment more fully, even transcending the limitations of time.

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:12 - The Mystery of Time: Where Science meets the Buddha's wisdom
• 05:15 - The Grand Illusion
• 11:17 - Time is mind-made
• 17:05 - Quantum Buddhism
• 23:02 - Our Mind: Time's Creator
• 29:02 - Breaking free from time's prison
• 34:44 - Beyond time: The Power of Timeless Presence and the limits of science

Quantum Buddhism: Dancing in Emptiness (Smetham)

The Power of Now: A Guide...

The profound implications of time's illusory nature are considered, ranging from the science of neuroplasticity and memory reconstruction to the Buddhist concept of emptiness (sunyata) [the impersonal nature of all phenomena, particularly the Five Precepts clung to as self].

The intricate relationship between consciousness and time is examined, and practical methods for cultivating timeless awareness [flow states, jhanas or meditative absorptions, singleminded focus that purifies the mind] are offered.

Singleminded focus leads to flow and absorption

This inquiry aims to bridge scientific understanding and spiritual wisdom, offering a fresh perspective on the power of the present moment [like Eckhart Tolle's famous book, The Power of Now] and the potential for liberation from a time-bound existence.

• #time #BuddhismPodcast #Buddhism #Buddhist
• The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life (Audible): Philip Zimbardo, John Boyd, Matthew Josdal, Tantor Audio
• Quantum Buddhism: Dancing in Emptiness: Reality Revealed in the Interface of Quantum Theory and Buddhist Metaphysics (Graham Smetham)
• Buddhism Podcast, Jan. 13, 2025; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Control reality? Get what you want?

Give this 18 minutes, and you can control your own REALITY

(Solace Fox) March 2, 2025: Everything we know feels solid — real. But what if reality isn’t as complex as it seems? What if everything is so simple once we look at it from the right angle? This video dives into the hidden truths of perception, consciousness, and the true nature of reality. Get ready to challenge everything you thought was real.

🕒 TIMESTAMPS

• 00:00 - The illusion of reality
• 02:15 - How our mind shapes everything
• 05:42 - What happens when we look closer?
• 09:10 - The secret behind perception
• 12:35 - Is everything we see just a social construct?
• 15:20 - Unlocking the simplicity of it all
• 17:45 - Final thoughts

Subscribe now for free ► @SolaceFox #purpose #god #selfhelp #motivational #consciousness #oneness #spirituality #mysticism #enlightenment #awakening #awareness #life #motivation #universe #ego

Why do we not get what we want? It is because wanting has no resolution. With wanting arises not having. The solution, then, is not wanting. But how can we not want? (And isn't not-wanting a kind of wanting?) The way to not want is simple: LOOK long enough to see things as they really are. This leads to revulsion, and the mind/heart lets go (renunciation or "inner letting go").

Of course. we don't do this because sensual pleasures are our only respite, our only chance at any kind of "escape" from dukkha (disappointment, unsatisfactoriness, the woe of never getting what we really want). What do we really want? Fulfillment, which is not available through endless wandering on life after life through samsara, chasing satisfaction first here then there and anywhere we imagine it might be hiding.

Even without wishing, if we calmed-and-intensified (which is what happens on the path of purification by stillness and insight or shamatha and vipassana) by the mind through the meditative absorptions and learned to look at four things (body, feelings, mind, and mind-objects), the heart/mind would let go. That is the ultimate solution. That is what the Buddha advocated as actual escape. One will not hear this terse explanation from the AI generator or Tan Geoff, but the answer is implicit amidst the misleading text and talk.

Not getting what you want? The Buddha’s solution

Ego Podcast (Buddhism) March 2, 2025: Sadly, while "Ego Podcast" seems smart and thought out, it is just an uncredited reading of American Ven. Thanissaro's poorly worded opinions. It's a scam unless Tan Geoff is behind it, but if he were, why would he use AI instead of his own melodious voice?

These writings, though read by Ven. Thanissaro himself on his website and made freely available at WatMetta.org, are fed to an AI voice that mispronounces Pali terms and names. (This particular talk is about Ajaan Fuang Jotiko). The reading sounds confident but translates Pali terms in an extreme and idiosyncratic way. Instead of being of benefit, they are sure to mislead.

Then to give a pretense of depth, AI is used to generate and add unrelated images. Just to get views and seem important? They sound smarmy for a reason: that is Tan Geoff's personality. Revolting to some (like us), soothing to others.

These opinions are offered free at accesstoinsight.org and Tan Geoff's dhammatalks.org. Sadly, AI or "Ego" has little understanding, so every summary of a lifted talk is misleading. Why do we often fail to get what we want? No reason is given. This video talks about connection between suffering and conviction. This video is a rip off of this talk:

• Not Getting What You Want | dhammatalks.org

The Buddha teaches that the pain of not getting what we want can spur us to put an end to the vicious circle of "wanting, not getting, pain, wanting more." Unfulfilled desires are therefore not only negative — they can spark a determination to follow a path that leads to liberation from suffering.

Or we could just keep wanting and wanting and never finding fulfillment in all the ordinary things we wished for (because the sensual world told us we'd be happy through sensuality). This is why millionaires take drugs and are miserable. They have come to know that getting what one wants does not work to end the desperate craving that keeps us working like slaves to get them. Word to the wise: let go. Or keep going, and in that Zen spirit of which Alan Watts speaks, "a fool who persists in his folly will become wise."

• "If a fool persists in his folly, he becomes wise" - What does that mean? : r/NoStupidQuestions
• The Fool Who Persists in His Folly Will Become Wise | by Adam Aushaf | Mind Cafe | Medium
• One thing this might mean, as a teacher who encourages students in more and more austerities and a hard path that builds their egos, is that by doing the impossible (foolishness), one will realize this is not the way to liberation (a wise realization). So what is? The Middle Way that avoids extremes