Before

At Sāvatthī.

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

At Sāvatthī. Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way, they wield the many kinds of psychic power: multiplying themselves and becoming one again; materializing and dematerializing; going unobstructed through a wall, a rampart, or a mountain as if through space; diving in and out of the earth as if it were water; walking on water as if it were earth; flying cross-legged through the sky like a bird; touching and stroking with the hand the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful; controlling the body as far as the realm of divinity. *Technically, it is the “varieties of psychic power” (iddhividhaṁ) listed here that lend this practice its name. But the text goes on to include the other forms of higher knowledge as well. Further details are given at SN 51.22. | “Psychic powers” (iddhi) were much cultivated in the Buddha’s day, but the means to acquire them varied: devotion to a god, brutal penances, or magic rituals. The Buddha taught that the mind developed in samādhi was capable of things that are normally incomprehensible. | Only a few of these are attested as events in the early texts. The most common is the ability to “materialize and dematerialize”, exhibited by the Buddha (AN 8.30:2.1), some disciples (MN 37:6.1), and deities (MN 67:8.1). The Pali is āvibhāvaṁ tirobhāvaṁ, literally “manifest state, hidden state”. Also found in Chāndogya Upaniṣad 7.26.1.

Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhu, catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu, anekavihitaṁ iddhividhaṁ paccanubhoti—ekopi hutvā bahudhā hoti, bahudhāpi hutvā eko hoti; āvibhāvaṁ, tirobhāvaṁ; tirokuṭṭaṁ tiropākāraṁ tiropabbataṁ asajjamāno gacchati, seyyathāpi ākāse; pathaviyāpi ummujjanimujjaṁ karoti, seyyathāpi udake; udakepi abhijjamāne gacchati, seyyathāpi pathaviyaṁ; ākāsepi pallaṅkena kamati, seyyathāpi pakkhī sakuṇo; imepi candimasūriye evaṁmahiddhike evaṁmahānubhāve pāṇinā parimasati parimajjati; yāva brahmalokāpi kāyena vasaṁ vatteti. *abhijjamāne → abhijjamāno (pts1ed, mr) | parimasati → parāmasati (bj, sya-all, km)

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way, they wield the many kinds of psychic power: multiplying themselves and becoming one again; materializing and dematerializing; going unobstructed through a wall, a rampart, or a mountain as if through space; diving in and out of the earth as if it were water; walking on water as if it were earth; flying cross-legged through the sky like a bird; touching and stroking with the hand the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful; controlling the body as far as the realm of divinity. *Technically, it is the “varieties of psychic power” (iddhividhaṁ) listed here that lend this practice its name. But the text goes on to include the other forms of higher knowledge as well. Further details are given at SN 51.22. | “Psychic powers” (iddhi) were much cultivated in the Buddha’s day, but the means to acquire them varied: devotion to a god, brutal penances, or magic rituals. The Buddha taught that the mind developed in samādhi was capable of things that are normally incomprehensible. | Only a few of these are attested as events in the early texts. The most common is the ability to “materialize and dematerialize”, exhibited by the Buddha (AN 8.30:2.1), some disciples (MN 37:6.1), and deities (MN 67:8.1). The Pali is āvibhāvaṁ tirobhāvaṁ, literally “manifest state, hidden state”. Also found in Chāndogya Upaniṣad 7.26.1.Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhu, catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu, anekavihitaṁ iddhividhaṁ paccanubhoti—ekopi hutvā bahudhā hoti, bahudhāpi hutvā eko hoti; āvibhāvaṁ, tirobhāvaṁ; tirokuṭṭaṁ tiropākāraṁ tiropabbataṁ asajjamāno gacchati, seyyathāpi ākāse; pathaviyāpi ummujjanimujjaṁ karoti, seyyathāpi udake; udakepi abhijjamāne gacchati, seyyathāpi pathaviyaṁ; ākāsepi pallaṅkena kamati, seyyathāpi pakkhī sakuṇo; imepi candimasūriye evaṁmahiddhike evaṁmahānubhāve pāṇinā parimasati parimajjati; yāva brahmalokāpi kāyena vasaṁ vatteti. *abhijjamāne → abhijjamāno (pts1ed, mr) | parimasati → parāmasati (bj, sya-all, km)

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 heavenly, whether near or far. *“Clairaudience” is a literal rendition of dibbasota. The root sense of dibba is to “shine” like the bright sky or a divine being. The senses of clarity and divinity are both present.

Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhu, catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu dibbāya sotadhātuyā visuddhāya atikkantamānusikāya ubho sadde suṇāti—dibbe ca mānuse ca, dūre santike cāti.

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 heavenly, whether near or far. *“Clairaudience” is a literal rendition of dibbasota. The root sense of dibba is to “shine” like the bright sky or a divine being. The senses of clarity and divinity are both present.Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhu, catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu dibbāya sotadhātuyā visuddhāya atikkantamānusikāya ubho sadde suṇāti—dibbe ca mānuse ca, dūre santike cāti.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way, they recollect many kinds of past lives. That is: one, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand 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 that 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. *Empowered by the fourth jhāna, memory breaks through the veil of birth and death, revealing the vast expanse of time and dispelling the illusion that there is any place of eternal rest or sanctuary in the cycle of transmigration.

Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhu, catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu, anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussarati, seyyathidaṁ—ekampi jātiṁ dvepi jātiyo tissopi jātiyo catassopi jātiyo pañcapi jātiyo dasapi jātiyo vīsampi jātiyo tiṁsampi jātiyo cattālīsampi jātiyo paññāsampi jātiyo jātisatampi jātisahassampi jātisatasahassampi anekepi saṁvaṭṭakappe anekepi vivaṭṭakappe anekepi saṁvaṭṭavivaṭṭakappe: ‘amutrāsiṁ evaṁnāmo evaṅgotto evaṁvaṇṇo evamāhāro evaṁsukhadukkhappaṭisaṁvedī evamāyupariyanto, so tato cuto amutra udapādiṁ; tatrāpāsiṁ evaṁnāmo evaṅgotto evaṁvaṇṇo evamāhāro evaṁsukhadukkhappaṭisaṁvedī evamāyupariyanto, so tato cuto idhūpapanno’ti. Iti sākāraṁ sauddesaṁ anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussarati.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way, they recollect many kinds of past lives. That is: one, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand 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 that 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. *Empowered by the fourth jhāna, memory breaks through the veil of birth and death, revealing the vast expanse of time and dispelling the illusion that there is any place of eternal rest or sanctuary in the cycle of transmigration.Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhu, catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu, anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussarati, seyyathidaṁ—ekampi jātiṁ dvepi jātiyo tissopi jātiyo catassopi jātiyo pañcapi jātiyo dasapi jātiyo vīsampi jātiyo tiṁsampi jātiyo cattālīsampi jātiyo paññāsampi jātiyo jātisatampi jātisahassampi jātisatasahassampi anekepi saṁvaṭṭakappe anekepi vivaṭṭakappe anekepi saṁvaṭṭavivaṭṭakappe: ‘amutrāsiṁ evaṁnāmo evaṅgotto evaṁvaṇṇo evamāhāro evaṁsukhadukkhappaṭisaṁvedī evamāyupariyanto, so tato cuto amutra udapādiṁ; tatrāpāsiṁ evaṁnāmo evaṅgotto evaṁvaṇṇo evamāhāro evaṁsukhadukkhappaṭisaṁvedī evamāyupariyanto, so tato cuto idhūpapanno’ti. Iti sākāraṁ sauddesaṁ anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussarati.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way, with 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 a bad place. They understand how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds. ‘These dear beings did bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. They denounced the noble ones; they had wrong view; and they chose to act out of that wrong view. When their body broke up, after death, they were 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 denounced the noble ones; they had right view; and they chose to act out of that right view. When their body broke up, after death, they were reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.’ And so, with 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 a bad place. They understand how sentient beings are reborn according to their deeds. *Here knowledge extends to the rebirths of others as well as oneself. Even more significant, it brings in the understanding of cause and effect; why rebirth happens the way it does. Such knowledge, however, is not infallible, as the Buddha warns in DN 1:2.5.3 and MN 136. The experience is one thing; the inferences drawn from it are another. One should draw conclusions only tentatively, after long experience.

Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhu, catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu, dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passati cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe, sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajānāti: ‘ime vata, bhonto, sattā kāyaduccaritena samannāgatā vacīduccaritena samannāgatā manoduccaritena samannāgatā ariyānaṁ upavādakā micchādiṭṭhikā micchādiṭṭhikammasamādānā; te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ nirayaṁ upapannā. Ime vā pana, bhonto, sattā kāyasucaritena samannāgatā vacīsucaritena samannāgatā manosucaritena samannāgatā ariyānaṁ anupavādakā sammādiṭṭhikā sammādiṭṭhikammasamādānā; te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā sugatiṁ saggaṁ lokaṁ upapannā’ti. Iti dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passati cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte, suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe, sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajānāti.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way, with 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 a bad place. They understand how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds. ‘These dear beings did bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. They denounced the noble ones; they had wrong view; and they chose to act out of that wrong view. When their body broke up, after death, they were 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 denounced the noble ones; they had right view; and they chose to act out of that right view. When their body broke up, after death, they were reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.’ And so, with 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 a bad place. They understand how sentient beings are reborn according to their deeds. *Here knowledge extends to the rebirths of others as well as oneself. Even more significant, it brings in the understanding of cause and effect; why rebirth happens the way it does. Such knowledge, however, is not infallible, as the Buddha warns in DN 1:2.5.3 and MN 136. The experience is one thing; the inferences drawn from it are another. One should draw conclusions only tentatively, after long experience.Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhu, catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu, dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passati cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe, sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajānāti: ‘ime vata, bhonto, sattā kāyaduccaritena samannāgatā vacīduccaritena samannāgatā manoduccaritena samannāgatā ariyānaṁ upavādakā micchādiṭṭhikā micchādiṭṭhikammasamādānā; te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ nirayaṁ upapannā. Ime vā pana, bhonto, sattā kāyasucaritena samannāgatā vacīsucaritena samannāgatā manosucaritena samannāgatā ariyānaṁ anupavādakā sammādiṭṭhikā sammādiṭṭhikammasamādānā; te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā sugatiṁ saggaṁ lokaṁ upapannā’ti. Iti dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passati cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte, suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe, sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajānāti.

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.” *This is the experience of awakening that is the true goal of the Buddhist path. The defilements—properties of the mind that create suffering—have been curbed by the practice of ethics and suppressed by the power of jhāna. Here they are eliminated forever.

Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhu, catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu, āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharatī”ti.

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.” *This is the experience of awakening that is the true goal of the Buddhist path. The defilements—properties of the mind that create suffering—have been curbed by the practice of ethics and suppressed by the power of jhāna. Here they are eliminated forever.Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhu, catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu, āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharatī”ti.