Dibba cakkhu (one of Buddhism's "higher knowledges" or abhijñā) is the "divine eye," namely, directly knowing others' karmic destinations, their comings and goings according to former deeds; by remembering one's own past lives, one sees how it was all happening in accordance with karma (our own deeds). The latter comes from the previous higher knowledge, to "remember one's former abodes" (pubbe-nivāsanussati), causal memory, that is to say, recalling one's own past lives in their tens, thousands, ten-thousands, hundred-thousands, and more.
The attainment of these six higher powers or knowledges is mentioned in a number of sutras (Buddhist discourses), most famously the "Fruits of Monastic Life Discourse" (Samaññaphala Sutta, DN 2) [8].
The attainment of the first four (of eight) meditative absorptions (jhanas) is considered to be a prerequisite for the attainment of the higher powers [5].
The sixth type is the ultimate goal of Buddhism, which is the end of all suffering and the destruction of all ignorance [9].
According to the Buddha, indulgence in these supranormal powers or abhiññās should be avoided, as they can easily distract one from the ultimate goal of enlightenment [4] and liberation.
Sire, those who have penetrated to a direct understanding of the Four Noble [Ennobling, Enlightening] Truths, seen the truths, understood the Teaching, who have crossed over from perplexity to the Four Fruits of Recluseship and, having obtained the bliss of these fruits, share these fruits with others who are practicing rightly — practitioners such as these, sire, are called fruit-vendors in the Blessed One's City of Dhamma. More (I.B. Horner, Bodhi Leaves 130, BPS)
Similarly, the Three Knowledges or Wisdoms (tevijja or tivijja) are:
"Remembering one's former abodes or rebirths" (pubbe-nivāsanussati);
The "divine eye" (dibba-cakkhu), the ability to see with inner vision not dependent on the external eyes; and,
The "extinction of mental defilements and intoxicants" (āsavakkhaya) [10].
The Three Knowledges are mentioned in numerous sutras, including the Maha-Saccaka Sutta (MN 36) in which the Buddha describes how he obtained each of these Three Knowledges respectively on the first, second, and third watches of the night of his great awakening (bodhi, enlightenment).
These forms of special knowledge are typically listed as arising after the attainment of the fourth meditative absorption (jhana) [11], which is the first of four immaterial absorptions. More
Pinocchio Day is celebrated on February 23rd every year. The day marks the anniversary of the release of the Disney film of the same name in 1940. Disney’s “Pinocchio” went on to become a global sensation due to its familiarity as a folk tale in Europe. It was based on the 1883 Italian book The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. “Pinocchio” followed as Disney studio’s second animated feature-length film after “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” The animated film follows a puppet named Pinocchio in his attempt to become a real human.
“The Adventures of Pinocchio” was originally published in a serialized format under the name “The Story of a Puppet” in a weekly magazine, starting on July 7, 1881. The popularity of the series led to all the installments being compiled and published as a novel in 1883. Since then, the misadventures of Pinocchio have become deeply ingrained into the cultural zeitgeist. The book is now considered a canonical piece of children’s literature. The character of Pinocchio has either featured in or been referenced in many pieces of popular fiction since. Source: nationaltoday.com
Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit; NationalToday.com, Feb. 23, 2026
In the years following Alexander the Great’s conquest of the East, a series of empires rose up along the Silk Road. In what is now northern Pakistan, the civilizations in the region called ancient Gandhara became increasingly important centers for the development of Buddhism, reaching their apex under King Kaniska of the Kusanas (Kushan Empire) in the second century CE.
Gandhara has long been known for its Greek-Indian (Greco-Buddhist) synthesis in architecture and statuary, but until about 20 years ago, almost nothing was known about its Buddhist literature (Gandhāran Buddhist texts).
The insights provided by manuscripts unearthed over the last few decades show that Gandhara was indeed a vital link in the early development of Buddhism, instrumental in both the transmission (Journey to the West, Monkey King) of Buddhism to China and the rise of the Mahayana tradition.
The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara surveys what we know about Gandhara and its Buddhism, and it also provides translations of a dozen different short texts, from similes and stories to treatises on time and reality.
Afghanistan's Buddhas: The Ancient Art of Gandhara || Overlooked Art History
(Athena Art Foundation) Feb. 20, 2023: The history of ancient Gandharan art is a reminder of Afghanistan's diverse and beautiful history, in poignant contrast to its current political turmoil. 🇦🇫 Gandhara was an ancient region located in parts of present-day northeast Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. Gandharan sculpture is characterized by its combination of ancient Greek and Buddhist styles, highly influenced by the conquest of Alexander the Great in 327 BC. #sculptor #arthistory #learnart
Superiority of Solitude in Early Buddhism: "The Rhinoceros Sutta"
(Doug's Dharma) Nov. 27, 2023: Is solitary practice superior? [The best companionship is with a kalyana-mitta or "noble friend," and the second best, if no such friend can be found, is to go alone.] Let us consider the problem through a look at one of the most powerful and enigmatic early Buddhist poems, the Rhinoceros Sutra. What does it tell us, and who composed it?
00:00 Intro — viewer question and a poem
02:26 What does the poem say?
04:37 The central tension of Buddhist practice: solitude and community
08:06 Who composed the poem, when, and why?
09:14 Pre-Buddhist origin?
["Pre-Buddhist" refers to when there were only silent or non-teaching (pacceka-) buddhas, considered pre-Buddhist because the historical Supremely Enlightened Buddha (samma-sam-buddha) Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni has not yet arisen in the world; however, there have been other supremely awakened teaching buddhas in the distant past. This means there were Buddhists before Buddhism even if they were not called that and a long line of at least 28 teaching-buddhas mentioned by the Buddha as having preceded him.]
09:59 Buddhist origin?
14:10 Both origins?
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The Early Ideal of the "Lone Buddha" or Pacceka-buddha — • The Early Ideal of the "Lone Buddha"...
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Buddhism teaches that it is possible for all of us to “awaken” and reach “enlightenment.” This is the realization of wisdom that puts an end to the cycle of samsara or the endless round of rebirths -- and with it all suffering and ignorance.
Full enlightenment is the highest state of spiritual awakening and liberation from the cycle of pain and suffering inherent in rebirth. Above all, enlightenment is the summit of the Buddhist path to freedom. Enlightenment is bodhi in Pali and Sanskrit, which may also be rendered awakening. It is penetrating the depth of the four ennobling (enlightening) truths the Buddha laid out as fundamental: problem, cause, solution, antidote.
If the problem is PAIN of all kinds, the cause is ignorance (which is linked to craving and fear/aversion), and the prognosis is good that there is a cure, which is this Enlightening (Noble) Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths are not articles of faith but truths to penetrate, for until we see just what "suffering" is and how widespread, we will not even think to find a cause or seek an escape.
Seeing suffering and its cause(s) and seeing that there is a solution, the Buddha points the way to our own awakening. No one can awaken for another.
(Jat 190) The Buddha told this story at Jetavana, the Jeta's Grove Hermitage, about a virtuous lay follower. One evening, when this faithful disciple came to the bank of the Aciravati River on his way to Jetavana to hear the Buddha, there was no boat at the landing stage.
[What is "noble" friendship (kalyāṇa-mittatā) in Buddhism? The greatest thing about a "noble" (enlightened) friend, whether a layperson as in this case or a monastic, is the opportunity to HEAR the Dhamma, the Buddha's Teachings that lead to enlightenment and nirvana. They speak of it when they speak, though often pleased just with quietude and noble silence, are just by their being fine examples of good conduct, virtuous, uplifting (although capable of misconduct and even immorality until they reach the stage of arahant even if the popular misconception is that a stream-enterer immediately becomes morally flawless and of perfect conduct, never mind what the Ratana Sutta has to say about it). The Noble Sangha(lit., "community of enlightened beings"), which includes every being attained at least to the stage of stream-entry or possibly even the two preliminary stages (saddhanusari and dhammanusari), is one of the "Three Treasures" (ti-ratana) or Jewels, the ultimate guides for beings subject to suffering (disappointment in this unending Cycle of Rebirth, which can be brought to an end (nirodha) but never ends by itself). There are by this reckoning seven such "noble ones." However, Ven. Upatissa's Path of Freedom has more details on the three types of stream-enterers (the sattakkhattu-parama facing as many as seven more rebirths, the kolaṅkolaor "passing from one noble family to another" is the stream-enterer who may be reborn fewer times and travel from teacher or school until settling down with the right one and reaching nibbana, and the eka-biji or "one-seeder" or "germinating only once more" stream-enterer, each weakening the further fetters binding one to ignorance and the Wheel of Becoming or Cycle of Rebirth, see AN9.12), which is more helpful than the standard condensed Path of Purification enumeration of just four stages of enlightenment/awakening.]
The ferrymen had pulled their boats onto the far shore and themselves gone to hear the Buddha. However, the disciple's mind was so full of delightful thoughts of the Buddha that even though he walked into the river, his feet did not sink below the surface: He walked on water, going across as if on dry land.
But when he noticed the waves as he reached the middle of the river, his ecstasy subsided and his feet began to sink. Then as soon as he again focused his mind on the qualities of the Buddha, his feet rose and he was able to continue walking joyously over the water.
When he arrived at Jetavana, he paid his respects to the Teacher and took a seat respectfully to one side.
"Good layman," the Buddha said, addressing the disciple, "I hope you had no mishap on your way."
"Venerable sir," the disciple replied, "while coming here, I was so absorbed in thoughts of the Buddha that, when I came to the river, I was able to walk on water and cross it as though it were solid."
"Friend," the Blessed One said, "you are not the only one who has been protected in this way. In olden days, virtuous laymen were shipwrecked in mid-ocean and saved themselves by remembering the virtues of the Buddha." At the man's request, the Buddha then told this story of the past.
Story of the past: Jataka
It's not a sutra, Homer, it's a jataka. - Shut up, Flanders! *Whisper* I'll be back for those eggs.
.
This ship is going to sink, friend.
Long, long ago, at the time of the Buddha Kassapa [3], a lay [stream-enterer] disciple who had already entered the path [reached the first stage of enlightenment] booked passage on a ship with his friend, a rich barber.
The rich barber's wife asked the disciple to look after her husband. But a week after it left port, the ship sank in the middle of the ocean.
The two friends saved themselves by holding on to a plank of wood and were eventually cast up on the shore of a deserted island rookery.
Famished, the foolish barber raided egg nests, killed birds, slaughtered and cooked them, offering a share of his bloody meal to the Buddha's disciple.
"No thank you," the disciple answered, "I'm fine" [not wishing to encourage the foolish barber in his defilementsor unskillfulkarma]. He thought to himself, "In this desolate place, there is no help [guidance] for us here except the Three Jewels [the Buddha, Dhamma, and noble Sangha]."
As he sat meditating on the Three Jewels, a naga (reptilian, dragon, CDs) king who had been reborn on that island magically transformed himself into a beautiful ship filled with the seven precious things [4]. Its three masts were made of sapphire, the planks and anchor of gold, and the ropes of silver.
The naga king transforms into a ship to save the good man
The helmsman, who was a sea spirit, stood on the deck and yelled, "Passengers for Jambudipa [earth, subcontinent, or India] now boarding for immediate passage!"
"Yes," the virtuous lay disciple called back, "that's where we're bound!"
"Then come aboard," the sea spirit invited.
The virtuous layman climbed aboard the beautiful ship and turned to call his friend the foolish barber.
(The Simpsons) Stealing to kill and devour mother and their offspring
"You may come," the sea spirit declared "but he may not."
"Why not?" the disciple asked.
"He is no follower of the pure life," answered the sea spirit. "I brought this ship for you, but not for him."
"If that's the case," the virtuous layman announced, "then all the gifts I have given, all the virtues [restraints and exertions] I have practiced, all the powers I have developed — I give the fruit of all of them to him!"
"Thank you, Master!" cried his friend the barber.
"Very well," relented the sea spirit, "now I can take both of you aboard."
The ship carried the two men across the sea and up the Ganges River that pours into it. After depositing them safely at their home in Baranasi [the holy ancient city of Varanasi/Benares], the sea spirit used his magic power to create enormous wealth for both of them. Then, poising himself mid-air, he instructed them and their friends:
"Keep company with the wise and good. If this barber had not been in the company of this virtuous layperson, he would have perished in the middle of the ocean."
McDharma's: Can the US get Beyond Meat?
[Taking eggs from nests, killing birds to survive, the foolish barber was engaged in things that make sense to worldlings even though they are very unskillful karma capable of bringing one to ruin, storing up unwholesome deeds avoided by the wise who neither encourage nor engage in them. That is the high cost of eating eggs, bloody handed, eating babies (bird fetuses), depriving them of life. Who would eat the womb of a woman with the excuse, "No, this womb was not a baby yet because sperm hadn't impregnated it"? The same people eat eggs with blood, indicating the eggs were fertilized and ready to produce a baby chick. Similarly, people eat murdered chicken-mothers, hens who lay eggs, and their rooster partners, calling them "poultry," ignoring that they are sentient beings, conscious entities killed to keep human-ghouls fed on corpses. Going vegan/vegetarian might be a better and more compassionate, environmentally-conscious option.]
Finally, the sea spirit returned to his own abode, taking the naga king with him.
Having finished this recounting of the past, the Buddha identified the rebirth (jataka) and taught the Dhamma, after which the virtuous layperson listening to him entered the fruit of the second path [reached the second stage of enlightenment].
"On that occasion [in that past life]," the Buddha said, "that disciple attained full enlightenment (arahantship). Sariputta was the naga king, and I myself was the sea spirit." Source
"Meditators, be islands unto yourselves [1]; be your own guide, having no other.
1. Atta-dipa: Atta = "self." Dipa (Sanskrit dvipa) = "island" and "lamp." "Island" is well-established in this context, and "self" is the pronoun "oneself" (cf. SN 3.8, n. 1).
"Let the Dharma be an island and a guide to you, having no other.
"Those who are islands unto themselves... investigate to the very heart of things [2]: 2. It is necessary to withdraw, to be "an island to unto oneself," at least for a time (as any meditator knows), not because it is "selfish" but precisely to make a profound introspective investigation. Buddhists in another sense would, of course, agree with John Donne that "No man is an island."
"Change occurs in this person's body (form), and it becomes different. On account of this change and difference, disappointment, crying, pain, grief, and despair arise.
"But seeing [3] the body's impermanence, its changeability, its waning [4], its ceasing, one says, 'Formerly, as now, all bodies were impermanent and unsatisfactory and subject to change.'
3. Woodward remarks (in the Book of the Kindred Sayings, the PTS translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, Vol. III, 1924) that one would expect to find here the words he inserts in the text: "The well-taught [noble] disciple," as in many passages. For if one in fact directly sees these things and reflects on them as stated in the text, one will cease to be an ordinary uninstructed "worldling" and become a noble (any person in the stages of enlightenment) disciple. 4. Viraga, "dispassion" (SN 12.16, n. 2), is waning.
"Thus, seeing this as it really is, with full insight, one abandons all disappointment, lamenting, pain, grief, and despair.
"One is not worried at their abandonment, but unworried lives at ease, and thus living at ease one is said to be 'assuredly delivered'" [5]. [The same with feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness]. 5. Tadanganibbuto means rather more than Woodward's "one who is rid of all that."
The greatest country state in the world also has its own chain of Channel Islands (wiki).
Ajahn Jayasaro (born Shaun Michael Chiverton) is a British monk who trained with the famous Thai forest tradition Meditation Master Ajahn Chah.
Ven. Jayasaro was at Amaravati, a Theravada Buddhist monastic center in England, when he delivered this talk: "Your Ultimate Classroom is Here and Now."
It is slow, calming, and remarkable for its depth of wisdom and the usefulness of its advice. It's easy for us to start meditating in a way that is ineffective. Then a little advice from the heart puts us back on track.
The talk begins with a quote from Chekov who once ended a message, "I'm sorry this is such a long letter; I didn't have time to write a shorter one." Brevity and editing are the heart of wisdom.
He then quotes Ajahn Chah: "You have to bring your heart to the Dhamma (Dharma). You don't bring the Dhamma to your heart." You don't pick and choose. There is a subtle difference of great significance.
With the Dharma, it’s like going to the home of friends or family and they give you fruit. When you take the fruit in your hand, you don’t know whether it’s sour, sweet, or unripe.
In other words, if you simply hold the fruit, you can’t know its taste. To know its taste, you have to bite into it and savor it. That’s when you’ll know that it’s sweet or sour or what its various flavors are, in line with your own perceptions.
It’s the same with the Dharma, the Truth the Buddha made known. In everything, the Buddha has you take yourself as your own witness. You don’t have to look to anyone else.
Three things lead to full enlightenment.
The affairs of other people are hard to judge because they are the affairs of other people. If something is your own affair, however, it’s easy—because the truth rests within us. It has you as its witness, not anyone else.
When you hear the Dharma -- strange, never-before-heard Truth -- you have to meditate on it to be complete in three things: study, practice, and attainment.
Study is pariyatti, to make the effort to know.
Practice is patipatti: After you know, you apply it.
Attainment is pativedha, when knowledge in line with the Truth we've studied and practiced arises within us [as certainty, as verified faith, so that we know our confidence in the Buddha was well placed].
If we simply listen, our knowledge is just perceptions and concepts [mental fabrications, ideas, assumptions, distortions]. If we talk about it, we speak in line with our concepts. We aren’t bringing the actual Truth out to talk about. This means we haven’t reached the Dharma, haven’t contemplated the Dharma.
Our heart isn’t Dharma, but we can speak the Dharma and act as if we were Dharma. This is called being incomplete according to the standards of the Buddha’s teachings.
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