What is the meaning of Siddhis or 'special powers'?

[3bob]

compassion can not be hidden away in secret places and remain so

[3bob]

I'd say a Being of Truth knows that the greater power is not theirs, although they are granted enough power by it to maintain a level of stewardship for same. 

Edited August 9, 2015 by 3bob

[Jeff]

compassion can not be hidden away in secret places and remain so

 

33. Jesus said, "What you will hear in your ear, in the other ear proclaim from your rooftops. After all, no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, nor does one put it in a hidden place. Rather, one puts it on a lampstand so that all who come and go will see its light."

 

Gospel of Thomas

[3bob]

further yet,  those that come with faith and hope to see - even though they be blind - may then be given vision to see what had seemed hidden before. 

 

(I'd say somewhat like the example Seth gave related to healing)

Edited August 9, 2015 by 3bob

[Spotless]

Everyone possesses a brilliance of siddhis but they subjugate them and deny them and even fear and abhor them.

 

What cannot be heard by western heads and by most heads in general is that we have a pole up our ass that is so stiff and ridged that it makes our relationship with our incredible vehicles look like a clusterfuck on two legs.

 

The highly realized Master - the Dali Lama cannot but help laughing amid this spectacle - and he does not do it because he is laughing at the spectacle - it just is what it is.

 

Everyday every human on earth uses a vast array of siddhis - but they attribute it to the pole they imagine that they are constructing up their ass and well up their spines. The set of rules and constrictions and pasts and futures and hopes and fears and judgements.

The jail is this unbending stiff pole creating a myopic view and limiting our movements.

 

Subjugate a horse and the only thing it wants to do is get back to its stall.

This is what we do to our great vehicles - they want their insulated stall - we think we are not the horse, that we are not the ground we stand on, that we "do" in the sense that we are not entirely in the flow of all and everything. We pride ourselves on everything - and when we think we are snapping out of it - we pride ourselves in thinking we are swimming upstream.

We are never swimming upstream - but in the upstream swimming mindset we are most asleep and at the same time we may be making what could be seen as headway.

 

Because at some time we may become exhausted and just stop for a moment - this is the most likely moment for awakening.

 

Siddhis come forth in accordance with fuel and the flow of energies throughout our being space.

Practice in Yoga, Qi Gong and other energy arts including deep meditation develop flow - by breaking up un-natural patterns and increasing natural patterns. They also dissolve blocks and restore balance and equilibrium.

 

Intentional suffering - the practice of work on ones proclivities and reactionary mechanisms - (dis-assembly of our identifications)

creates higher fuels that will active what emerge as siddhis in addition to higher heart and higher awareness (the word Mind is often used but it is simply unbearably misleading - since at the higher levels it has no resemblance whatsoever).

 

We think we operate from our head - and we allow the baffoon to rein our lives - basically a reaction chamber of completely mechanical happening. We really suppose that we are in control and we subjugate the greater portion of our entirenty to this certain assumption. We are the Democrat who understands with certainty that the Republican is an idiot or the Republican that understands with certainty that the Democrat is an idiot - we are one with the pole up our ass and we are asleep in these positions and identifications.

 

Underneath this tirade we have an assortment - a fine and vast array of siddhis - in every sense of the word - that work with us through life sensing here and afar on the finest imaginable levels. Frequently we are guided by these abilities with our automated features complying with no fuss - this runs the best in us - not what we perceive to be our choices.

 

Practice in so many ways teaches us how to move from the posture of "making choices" to the awareness of the moment.

A "choice" is only made in the past.

 

As we move to the moment - or become "in the moment" - and awaken to a life in this - siddhis come forth in a greatly enhanced way but they may not have practice and we will still have remaining patterns of the pole which is now clearish and limp but still visible and still mechanically active on some levels.

 

Prior to awakening the siddhis will emerge under the tirade in some cases prominently but often without recognition. I remember being asked once to look (clairvoyantly) at a room full of people and give them readings - I was put in an unexpected situation but was in a sense left with no choice so look at them I did.

 

All was going fine and then I came to one young woman who had unusually high telekenisic levels - levels not usually "allowed".

I mentioned this to the group and gave a brief explanation regarding what this ability might look like in practical application such as moving large objects more easily - the room burst into laughter.

 

I had no idea why they were laughing and asked what the joke was? It turns out that the young woman owned a moving company and though she was quite petite - it was known that she could often move large pieces of furniture that men much large than her had trouble with.

 

A great teacher will feel the tone of a room - possibly hear it - he will often with no concrete knowledge hear the frequencies that are about to break and by this the topics will come forth that break through the knots in those listening to him/her. Each will feel as though he/she is speaking directly to them. The siddhis here may be scanners in the second chakra, heart resonance, geometric patterns, "visual" light - we tend to think - third eye - it is so far beyond this it is unimaginable.

 

Each chakra has enormous sensing capability - each is a array of brilliant knowing - the universe comes through us in these - in spite of the pole that mesmerizes us and subjugate this flow of universal awareness.

 

We live in the pole - we are polarized - we do not see that our side of the pole does not exist with out the other side of the pole and that neither exist one more than the other.

 

Siddhis abound in every human - we are awash in siddhis - but humans are not in the practice of valuing them and allowing them and living them - we defend our poles and the awkward clusterfuck walk we do through life - a tirade under which our abounding siddhis constantly keep us safe and bouyant though shackled as they are.

 

Their is nothing to be feared in a siddhi per se - it is the pole that is the problem - in reality when a teacher or tradition teaches a diminished view of siddhis it is really only trying to say - do not add it to your pole of identifications - and do not make it a goal or focus because this is practicing what you already practice and wish not to practice - the idea that we "do" and know what we must "do" and if we achieve the siddhi that we will add it to "our pole of achievement and identity".

 

It is also distracting for other students - they look up to those exhibiting siddhis - the competition within schools is very high as are politics and everything else - it is a highly energized space and a fantastic place for learning and alchemy of the highest sort - at the same time - those who have attained siddhis are also touted in many ways and highly regarded - so it is a full circle view that one should see - siddhis are common and exalted and everywhere in between - they are both cautioned about and yet highly regarded at the same time by the same teaching.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Spotless

[3bob]

Besides the neato and encouraging stuff (from spotless and others) anybody here want a Mr. G pole up their ass while we're at it?

Edited August 9, 2015 by 3bob

[bax44]

Besides the neato and encouraging stuff (from spotless and others) anybody here want a Mr. G pole up their ass while we're at it?

 

Whats this mean?

[rex]

Edit: Outbreak of juvenility reigned in

Edited August 10, 2015 by rex

[3bob]

it means or sure sounds like Mr. S. is channeling Mr. G. an 'x' amount

Edited August 10, 2015 by 3bob

[Spotless]

Many years ago I was exposed to the expression "the guys got a pole up his ass" meaning he/she was an bending - stiff, rigid, locked in place - protocol driven robot.

In the broader sense it is a good metaphor - and unlike the often used jail as in cage with the door open on one end but with the monkey reaching for the un-reachable banana through the bars - this visual is within and it illustrates rigidity.

 

I hope we don't go off topic in some kids crude frequency.

 

(The "G" is a reference to Gurdjieff)

Edited August 10, 2015 by Spotless

[Apech]

i think siddhis are just a reflection of our natural state but because most of us distracted/obstructed from our natural state we do not recognise them.  Quite often people when they start to cultivate experience what I would call soft siddhis - like some precognition or distance viewing and so on - which arise spontaneously.  This is because we are disclosing to ourselves our natural state and it's natural radiance shines through.  This is a million miles away from the more magical siddhis of course but they arise later when more profound realisation occurs (or so I am given to understand).  the ultimate siddhi is enlightenment itself.  To make powers our aim could lead to distortion but to ignore them or discount them is simply failure to recognise what is happening.

[Nikolai1]

I'm really enjoying all this talk about siddhis being demonstrated by us all every day, because that is how I've always seen them.  What spotless calls the 'pole up our ass' is our belief that things are dictated by external laws like time and space.  The pole is our belief that we don't have siddhis and are constrained.  We do not realise that the pole itself is our own miraculous creation as well.

 

When siddhis have appeared in my own life I always enjoy them a lot,  They give me confidence and encouragement and I always find them somewhat comic, something playful.  They have always appeared unexpectedly and for some reason I've never felt the need to deliberately cultivate them.  Had I ever witnessed others' special powers when I was younger and more egotistic I may have been tempted to get some for myself.

[Aeran]

I was doing some random googling on another subject and came across this piece which seems very relevant to what's being discussed in this thread:

 

http://www.psi-researchcentre.co.uk/article_5.htm

 

 

 

ARAPSYCHOLOGY
Where Science and Magic Meet

Tibetan Psychic Traditions

TIBETAN PSYCHIC TRADITIONS
By S.M.RONEY-DOUGAL

INTRODUCTION

This article describes the early stages of a research project in India with Tibetan meditation practitioners, looking at the relationship between meditation attainment and psychic awareness. As this is an overview to give a flavour of the psychic traditions of the culture, I shall mention several different traditions quite briefly, rather than give an in-depth account of any one of them. There is very little literature about Tibet’s psychic traditions, so much of what follows is based on interviews with various people.

The Tibetan culture is renowned for its psychic practitioners, but there has been no scientific research into their practices. Tibetan traditions incorporate psi extensively, with three main areas that appear to have ancient origins:
1) The oldest Tibetan traditions are those of the oracles, which involves deity possession;
2) Mo divination, which often involves a Tibetan deity called Palden Lhamo;
3) and the mahasiddhis.
There are two areas of more recent beliefs that relate primarily to the monastic communities and derive directly from Buddhism: attainment of psychic abilities through Buddhist meditation practice, and a belief in consciously chosen reincarnation, resulting in tulkus who are identified using a variety of psychic practices.
Tibetan traditions are a unique mixture of original shamanic Bon practices, Buddhism, which came to Tibet about 1,300 years ago, and Indian Buddhist tantric traditions, which came to Tibet about 1,000 years ago (Schlagintweit, 1999). The psychic aspects of Tibetan tradition primarily date from the pre-Buddhist shamanic period, though they are not inimical to Buddhism per se and so have been extensively incorporated by the monks into their practices. There are many different types of Buddhism, and that in Tibet is renowned for its inclusion and development of psychic abilities.

A. Belief

Every culture has its own world-view. Exploring a different culture can often shed light on our own belief systems and help us to see our own concepts. Beliefs are an intrinsic part of one’s mental make-up determined to a great degree by the culture in which one grows up. We are, for the most part, completely unconscious of our belief systems until they are pointed out to us, or we go to a completely different culture where people hold very different beliefs.
Most Tibetan people accept the psychic as an every day part of life. An example of the place divination has in everyday life for Tibetans is their use of astrology. Their calendars specify more than a dozen different attributes of each day, e.g., whether or not it is auspicious to start a business, get married, hold a funeral or even to have a party!

1. The Tibetan Oracles

Tibetans have the tradition of oracles (kuten, which literally means medium). These mediums go into trance, becoming possessed by a deity, who then speaks through the medium giving advice and prophecy, which is used to make decisions by people at every level of society, e.g. Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government consult the Nechung Oracle, who is recognised as the state oracle. The oracle is held in high esteem as the following quote from the Dalai Lama shows:

For hundreds of years now, it has been traditional for the Dalai Lama, and the Government, to consult Nechung during the New Year festivals. In addition, he might well be called upon at other times if either have specific queries. I myself have dealings with him several times a year. This may sound far-fetched to twentieth century western readers. . . . But I do so for the simple reason that as I look back over the many occasions when I have asked questions of the oracle, on each one of them time has proved that his answer was correct. . . .

Surprising as it may seem, the oracle’s replies to questions are rarely vague. As in the case of my escape from Lhasa, he is often very specific.

(Dalai Lama, 2002).

There are numerous oracles. Many monasteries will have their own resident oracle, who sometimes is a monk, as well as the more common village lay oracles.

The following information about oracles was given by Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (2005) in a series of private interviews. (see picture 1) Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche was recommended as he was a great authority on tantric aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. I feel so grateful and blessed to have been able to spend time in his presence – a truly holy man.
There are two factors involved in an accurate prophecy: the ability of the medium and the faith of the participants. He considered faith to be very important, and likened this participation between the medium and the sitter to needing a crutch if you have a bad leg — to be effective in walking you need both. Many of the people I have spoken with have reiterated this point of the importance of faith. For example, Penor Rinpoche (2006), who is head of the Nyingma sect, said with regard to divination that the diviner must have complete faith in the deity, and the questioner must have complete faith in the diviner.
Thus, a medium requires complete faith in their abilities from the sitter, and as there are both good and fraudulent mediums, one must check their reliability over a long period in order to increase one’s trust in them. He considered that it is essential to check in order to know whether the oracle’s divination will be successful. He likened Buddhists to scientists in that they always check everything. He explained that if you have a precognition, you can increase the certainty of your experience by asking lots of other people what they think, and so check it out. He said to make ratings for everything, e.g., for a 3 or 6 month prophecy check the person who has given it: are they reliable? How do they express themselves? What are their qualifications? Education? The way they dress? Do they speak well? What is their credibility? In similar vein he says we must analyse everything. By analogy he said that someone can appear happy or sad, but this may just be the appearance. He was very firm that things of the senses can often deceive us, and that when we’re sick our senses are faulty.
Kirti Tsenshabe Rinpoche also mentioned the Tibetan tantric teaching that an oracle becomes possessed by a deity because of the wind energy in their channels. This wind energy is conceived in a similar manner to prana of the Yogic tantric tradition, and the channels are equivalent to the nadis. He considers that some people have the ability to see the future because of past-life karma, which is related to their wind energy. Many other people I spoke with have repeated this point.

2. Mo Divination

Far more common than the oracles, is the practice of Mo divination. Nearly every monastery will have at least one lama who does Mo divination. There are also many lay village people who “do the Mo.”
An article in a Tibetan magazine (Cho Yang) states that the purpose of performing divination is to look into a person’s life situation in order to:

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“recommend how to respond or deal with it. Remedial action, in the form of rituals, evokes positive forces and can result in a change in the person’s karma. . . . . When performing a divination, an individual is relying on the power vested in him by a particular deity. This power may have been acquired through a connection with the deity in a past life, and reinforced through retreats involving recitation of a mantra as many as one million times, identifying himself with the deity with clear concentration and the generation of divine pride. . . . The motivation for performing divination must be pure . . . the fundamental motive for engaging in the practice of divination should be to help sentient beings.”

(Tseten et al, 1995, p. 111-112)

 

 

This quote shows the typical Tibetan blending of shamanic with Buddhist beliefs. As in the beliefs about the oracle, connection with a deity is considered an essential part of the psychic act, and also there is mention of the Buddhist teachings of karma and altruistic motivation.
The Cho Yang journal article lists 11 different divination methods, some of which are mentioned below:

 

(i) Doughball divination is done by high lamas in order to help find an important reincarnation, which means it is used only rarely. The names of potential candidates are written on paper and then rolled into a ball of dough. All candidate names are in equal-sized balls, great care being taken to make sure that all the balls are identical. These balls are placed in a sealed bowl, which is put in front of a sacred object, such as a statue in a temple, and for three days monks remain in the temple reciting prayers day and night. On the fourth day the cover is removed and a high lama rolls the doughballs round in the bowl until one of them falls out. That is the ball containing the answer. I was told that, in the case of the latest Panchen Lama who has been imprisoned by the Chinese, this process was repeated three times, and each time the same name came up.

The most common forms of divination are Dice and Mala divination. In Mala divination the person holds the mala (a string of prayer beads) with the fingers of each hand holding a bead at random. The intervening beads are then counted out three at a time until one, two or three beads are left, this giving the outcome of the divination

In a similar manner, dice will be thrown, the diviner blowing on the dice before throwing. Normally three dice are used.

In the above two forms of divination, the advice is specified by books which tell you what the particular outcomes mean. For example, in general with the dice, odd numbers are auspicious whilst even numbers are inauspicious. With the mala the best outcome is three beads.

Whilst doughball, dice and mala divination rely on a “random” event having a meaningful relationship with the person’s question (synchronicity), in the next most common forms of divination, direct clairvoyance is used.

(ii) Mirror divination is special to a protector deity known as Dorje (or Lhamo) Yudronmai. The mirror is placed ceremonially and, as with the previous forms of Mo, rituals are performed. The diviner sees appearances, reflections of writings and letters from the deity. When I visited a lovely old Tibetan lady called Amathaba,

(see picture 2)

living in one of the Tibetan settlements in south India, she saw a misty dawn scene which gradually cleared, and interpreted this as there being an initial difficulty which would then get resolved. She recommended asking the local nuns to say special prayers, and to hang prayer flags to help overcome the obstacles. This is a very common practice.

She says it was a gift she was born with and which ran in the family, she being the seventh person in the family to have inherited this gift. In her case she uses three mirrors, placed upright in a bowl of rice. In two of them she sees the deities connected with the divination, and in the front mirror the actual reading. She is thought of very highly in the community and many people consult her.

In Thumb nail divination you look into the thumbnail and blow on it in order to receive the vision. When the Mo is done via mirror or thumbnail reading, the diviner will tend to see particular symbolic visions, which are then interpreted in the light of the querent’s problem.

Also in this category come precognitive or clairvoyant dreams. Again, as with most Tibetan methods, these are related to a particular deity. Specific things are attributed to different symbols as in mirror divination (Tseten et al, 1995, p.114). I was told of a local woman who consulted a lama and was told by him to have a dream about her problem. The lama also noted their own dream that night. The two dreams were then compared and predictions made by the lama, which turned out to be correct. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (2005) corroborates this saying that prophecies can appear as visions in dreams, but considers this less reliable because not all dreams are prophetic, so one is never completely sure whether or not it is an accurately prophetic dream.

(iii) The next group of practices tend to be done by the querent themselves. Until 1959, 80% of Tibetans were semi-nomadic to varying degrees. Their practices are accordingly much simpler than the previous methods, and the information required is primarily whether or not it is auspicious to do a certain task.

Bootstrap divination is popular among nomads. The straps, which are wide pieces of webbing tape, are folded into squares and suddenly pulled apart. If they part easily, this is a positive sign — if they tangle, this is considered to be unlucky. Several people have mentioned this form of divination to me and it is apparently very popular in Tibet.

Tibetans commonly take note of omens such as certain birds being seen, overhearing certain music, or people saying auspicious words, which are all positive. There are numerous negative signs as well, such as the chatter of monkeys, or interestingly, having a black cat cross your path before you set out on a journey. Why a black cat should have this mystique both in Britain and Tibet is very strange!

Examining flames in a ritual fire or observing a butter lamp is also a form of divination. In this case one invokes the fire god and then observes the flame. Different types of flames mean different things.

In interviews with diviners, apart from the importance of faith, which is always mentioned, the other aspect that is considered absolutely vital is that of prayers to Buddha, or a protector deity, most commonly to Palden Lhamo, who is the main protector deity of Tibet and of divination. Dice and mala divination in particular are normally associated with the deity Palden Lhamo. All of the diviners I have spoken to have reiterated that they are not psychic, they are the channel for the deity who thereby through them controls the fall of the dice, or whatever method they use. They do not consider that they do anything other than mediate between the querent and the deity.

Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (2005) says that when you do the Mo, if your supplication to the deity is good, then you will have a good Mo. In general a good relation with the deity increases your ability. He also says that those who have good faith in Buddhism are better at doing the Mo, and in time their ability increases. It is also considered important that the diviner has purified their “energy” channels (Kirti Tsenshab, 2005; Topgyal, 2005). One Rinpoche I interviewed (Drakser, 2006) had undertaken three months of purification practices, chanting mantras specific to the deity, doing prostrations and pujas, before he was considered fit to practice Mo divination.

As can be seen from this list of different types of practices, divination ranges from the most simple “good or bad luck” omens through to highly developed clairvoyant skills, and from practices that anyone can do to those normally performed only by monks.

 

 

 

3. Meditation

This aspect of Tibetan psychic tradition is the form most related to Buddhist teachings. In Buddhism there are two meditation disciplines: the shamatha discipline of one-pointed concentration and the vipassana discipline of contemplative insight. Developing shamatha (calm-abiding or mental quiescence) is considered to be an essential first step. Many traditional Mahayana and modern Tibetan Buddhist texts (e.g. Conze, 1990; Lamrimpa, 1995, p.63) relate meditation attainment to development of psychic powers, as do Yogic teachings.
It seems that this “clairvoyancy” is more akin to what in the West we would define as omniscience, rather than the clairvoyance we research in parapsychology, since the Buddhist clairvoyancy includes what we consider to be miraculous powers. Traditional Buddhist scriptures talk about the six superknowledges which you gain on attaining perfection of concentration, and make it very clear that practice of concentration meditation brings both enlightenment and psychic awareness, and that you cannot have one without the other.
In interviews with various monks, it was stressed over and over again that only a few people attain samadhi and clairvoyant abilities, and even then the clairvoyance is no more than 80% reliable. Omniscience arises only with full enlightenment. Not everyone who practices meditation will attain samadhi, so not everyone who practices meditation will become psychic. In other words:

• there is a genius for enlightenment;
• there is a genius for meditation;
• there is a genius for psychic awareness;

We can all learn anything but not everyone has a talent. Only a few have genius.
My recent research at a yoga ashram and with Tibetan Buddhist monks supports this teaching, in that those who had practised meditation for longer, in terms of decades of practice, do seem to show more reliable psychic awareness as measured by a picture test for precognition and clairvoyance. However, this research is still in the early stages, so it can at present only be considered that the teachings have been suggestively confirmed. (2)

 

B. Warnings about Psi

It seems that most cultures have some sort of reservation around psychic phenomena. We find stories of psychic abilities being used for negative purposes in most cultures, and, in an apparent paradox, this is also prominent in Tibetan culture.

1. Fear of Sorcery

As already mentioned, Tibetan culture is still very close to its shamanic roots. Shamanic cultures accept the psychic as part and parcel of life (Eliade, 1923). What is very apparent in shamanic cultures is the awe and the fear that surround the psychic manifestations.
Demons, and the fear of them, are apparently very common in Tibet. For example, amongst the Tibetans, disease is often thought to be caused by a bad spirit (Jhongur, 2006). A story was told how someone fell ill when a tree in the garden was cut down, and this was related to the spirit of the tree. This is a classic shamanic belief. Sickness is often related to a sorcerer who sends the bad spirit, or hex, at someone’s request. This is not to say that shamans only use their psychic abilities for negative purposes, but it is to say that they have been used sufficiently often in this way for people to develop a fear of the psychic. The well-known stories about Milarepa, who was said to have killed lots of people at a distance, exemplify the fear of “bad” magic and the belief that people can do such terrible acts.
In an interview with an astrologer (Jhongur, 2006), I was told that there is a belief in sickness resulting from people talking about the person (“Mikha-Suk”). This corresponds to the ‘evil eye’ in Western culture, and basically means harm due to excessive praise for any kind of success or accomplishment, such as owning a specially beautiful object, or a newly built house which has become talk of the town (Nyima, 2007). Very young children are felt to be prone to this and need special protection
There is also fear of a spirit called a “disa” (literally smell-eater), which is a kind of trapped spirit which runs after food and is supposed to be satisfied with the mere smell of the food placed for it (Nyima,2007).
There is a belief in possession by a spirit that may be from a dead person or may come from someone who is still alive, often contained within an object that used to belong to that person. An amulet is an object worn around the neck as charm against evil or injury. It is always used for protection from unknown harm. One sort of amulet, called a “ga’u,” is a small silver casket which will contain, relics, photos of holy people etc. Tibetans often carry a ga’u in their coat. And of course the usual of a man using a charm to make a young girl fall in love with him!
I found it very interesting that, in my interviews with Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (2005), he again and again reiterated the importance of Buddhism for creating a moral sphere within which one could use one’s psychic abilities. In many ways Buddhism is being strongly affirmed in order to morally “move on” from some of the problems that one encounters within a shamanic culture.

Attracting Spirits

One fear is that if you talk about psychic phenomena you might attract a spirit to you, and that might not be beneficial. For example, there is a belief that if you are possessed by a spirit, as with the oracles, you yourself stop developing at the level of the spirit that possesses you — or you just stop developing per se.
Tibetans consider that all ghosts can harm us. There are many stories of a special sort of ghost they call “hungry ghosts,” and of others who will lure you to your death. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche said to beware of obstacles from ghosts when doing the Mo divination. They, or other beings, can obstruct the ability and can harm us. He considers that we gain protection from praying to the protector deity at the onset of the divination, from positive karma and from merit (Kirti Tsenshab, 2005).
He also says that there are two directions for personal development — going into the unconscious and going for super-consciousness. Psi abilities are normally considered to be related to the former, e.g. oracular trance, dreams or hypnosis, and in spiritual development one is going for the latter. Spirit connection, as in mediumistic practice, is definitely connected with the unconscious aspect of consciousness.
For Tibetans this is a complex, paradoxical subject because as Buddhists, the high lamas do Mo divination on request by people, who come to them for a variety of reasons. They also do divination for the tulku identification. And there are many oracles, some of them official state oracles. So the practice of psi is everywhere. The need for protection is acknowledged, and the prevalence of fraudulent practitioners, but not a taboo on practising. My translators have all said that Tibetans are very comfortable with this apparent contradiction.

 

 

 

2. Detrimental Effects on One’s Spiritual Development

Ego and Humility

The fear of an immoral use of psi is a very obvious surface fear; the fear of pride is a subtler level of fear. In the Indian subcontinent and amongst the Tibetan people it is considered wrong to pay any special attention to psi. Manifesting psychic abilities is thought to have detrimental effects on one’s spiritual development. It is stressed that having attained Enlightenment, one is no longer disturbed spiritually by attainment of psychic abilities, whereas, for unenlightened people, psychic abilities are seen as very tricky indeed, associated with deception, with glamour and with pride.
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, in his book “Freedom in Exile” (2002), expresses a wish for Western science to explore Tibetan psychic traditions. However, when I met Geshe Samten (2005), the director of Sarnath Institute, he told me that, whilst Tibet has a rich tradition of psychic abilities, even those with a reputation of psychic awareness would deny their abilities. He stated that it is taboo to say that you are psychic or to “show off” your abilities. There must be a genuine purpose for doing the psychic practice. Even to say one has reached a certain level of meditation is considered an obstruction on the path to enlightenment. Humility is considered essential for one’s spiritual development. For example, the Dalai Lama repeatedly says that he is a simple monk and is not clairvoyant.

Confidentiality and Secrecy

There is a Tibetan tradition about not speaking of things because they are secret teachings. For example, the Dalai Lama writes of Herbert Benson’s research (Benson et al, 1982) with Tum-mo meditators:

 

As a strong believer in the value of modern science, I decided to let him proceed, though not without some hesitation. I knew that many Tibetans were uneasy about the idea. They felt that the practices in question should be kept confidential because they derive from secret doctrines.”

(Dalai Lama, 2002, ch.12)

Tibetan monks and nuns who are working with techniques that are thought to be related to development of psychic awareness, make vows that they will not speak about their practice or reveal their capabilities. Practitioners take their vows first and then they do the study and practice.
This level of fear, that acknowledging one’s psychic abilities, which are considered to manifest at one level of development on the path, is an obstacle to one’s spiritual growth, is a quite subtle understanding of psi and its manifestation from which we could learn.

Power Corrupts

Another aspect of the fear of the psychic is the knowledge that power corrupts, and glamorous psychic abilities are seen as very powerful. In an introduction by Francis Story to a book on early Buddhist Pali Canon, he says:

> 

It is true that certain psychic faculties capable of a worldly application, such as the Dibba-cakkhu (clairvoyance), Dibba-sota (clairaudience), Mano-Maya-Kaya (projection of the ‘astral body’) and other paranormal powers are developed in the course of Buddhist meditation. . . .The Buddha and the Arhats possessed such powers and when need arose they exercised them for the sake of the ignorant who demanded ‘signs and wonders.’ But in general the Buddha deplored their use, preferring to spread the Dhamma by the ‘miracle of teaching’ and the self-propagating power of truth. To those not yet fully emancipated from worldly delusion they can become attachment-forming faculties, and as such have to be guarded against and overcome in the struggle for Nibbanna. In the Buddhist view, one who embarks on concentration exercises to obtain supernormal powers (Iddhi) is doing so with the wrong intention and at great danger to himself. If all power corrupts, supernormal power can corrupt superlatively.

(Mahathera, 1975, p.iv)

This is a very real fear and I am sure that most people can think of examples of this facet of human experience.

Fraud: Distinguishing Fact from Fantasy and the Problems of Attracting Glamour

One of the Buddhist precepts is not to claim to possess powers you do not have. Already noted above, in my discussions with Kirti Rinpoche (2005) were his frequent references to checking that the practitioner is not a charlatan, for example when talking about the oracles. He also said that it is most important to check the appearances of the psychic practitioner: don’t be caught by appearances, see what is really being taught. He reiterated not to look at the outer appearance, and to check for the meaning. He used an analogy of a poem, and warned against being misled by beautiful words.

Why is it that we are so fascinated by psychic abilities? Why do we so easily venerate those who possess them? This is the root cause behind both the fraudulent pretence of psi and the ego glorification people experience when demonstrating psychic abilities.

 

Conclusion

I am aware that this is just a beginning, a first touch on the surface of a deep and complex culture and its traditional beliefs about the psychic realm.
What I find really fascinating is His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, is encouraging scientific research into this topic. And he is doing this with full awareness of the difficulties:

 

I am well aware, however, of the danger of tying spiritual belief to any scientific system. . . . This is not to say that I consider things like the oracle and the ability of monks to survive nights spent out in freezing condition to be evidence of magical powers. Yet I cannot agree with our Chinese Brothers and sisters, who hold that Tibetan acceptance of these phenomena is evidence of our backwardness and barbarity. Even from the most rigorous scientific viewpoint, this is not an objective attitude. At the same time, even if a principle is accepted, it does not mean that everything connected with it is valid. . . . . Great vigilance must be maintained at all times when dealing in areas about which we do not have great understanding. This, of course, is where science can help. After all, we consider things to be mysterious only when we do not understand them. . . . . Through mental training, we have developed techniques to do things which science cannot yet adequately explain. This, then, is the basis of the supposed ‘magic and mystery’ of Tibetan Buddhism.

(Dalai Lama, 2002, pp. 230-243)

Ignorance is a major obstacle on the path. The scientific method has “truth” as its aim. Does a real and deep understanding of the process of psi enable one not to fall into the traps surrounding the development and use of psychic abilities? I think it does and I think that this is one of the best reasons for undertaking parapsychological research within the Tibetan culture.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Deep gratitude to His Holiness, Dalai Lama for inspiring this project and to his secretary, Tenzin Geyche Tethong, for his support; to the Perrott-Warwick Fund and Bial Foundation (grant no. 64/04) for supporting this research; to Geshe Jampel Dakpa for all his help and for affiliating this project to Sarah College, Dharamsala; to Khangser Rinpoche for enabling the research to take place at SeraJey monastic university, Bylakuppe; to Yaki Platt and Gen Andu for their excellent translator skills and unfailing good spirits; and last, but not least, to all those interviewed who gave of their time and wisdom.

S.M.RONEY-DOUGAL
Psi Research Centre,
Glastonbury.

 

REFERENCES

Amathaba (2006). Personal interviews, 11th Jan., 9th Feb.

Benson, H. et al (1982). “Body temperature changes during the practice of gTum-mo (heat) yoga,” Nature, 295, 234-236..

Conze, E. (trans. & ed.) (1995). The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom, Motilal Banarsidaa, New Delhi.

Dalai Lama, H.H. (2002). Freedom in Exile, Abacus.

Drakser Rinpoche (2006) Personal audience, 25th Jan.

Eliade, M. (1923). Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Penguin Arkana, UK.

Jhongur, (2006). Personal interviews, 11th March, 1st May.

Kirti Tsenshab, Rinpoche (2005). Personal audience, 14th March, 23rd March, 19th April.

Lamrimpa, Gen (1995). Calming The Mind: Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on Cultivating Meditative Quiescence. Snow Lion, USA.

Lodro, Gedun (1998). Calm Abiding and Special Insight, Snow Lion Pubs., USA.

Mahathera, Paravahera Vajiranana (1975). Buddhist Meditation in Theory and Practice: A General Exposition to the Pali Canon of the Theravada School, Buddhist Missionary Society, Malaysia,

Ngawang Nyima, Acharya (2007) Letter to the Editor, J. Society for Psychical Research, ,

Penor Rinpoche (2006). Personal audience, 16th Feb.

Roney-Dougal, S.M. & Solfvin, J. (2006). Yogic Attainment in Relation to Awareness of Precognitive Targets, J. Parapsychology, 70(1), 91-120.

Samten, Geshe (2005). Personal interview, 25th January.

Schlagintweit, E. (1999). Buddhism in Tibet, Book Faith India

Topgyal, Geshe (2005). Personal interview, 14th April.

Tseten, D. et al (1995). Looking into the Future, Cho Yang: The Voice of Tibetan Religion and Culture, 6, 111-118.

 

(1) An earlier and more complete version of this article was published in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 2006.

(2) The yoga studies have been published (Roney-Dougal & Solfvin, 2006) and the first Buddhist study has been presented at a conference and submitted to a journal, but is not yet published,

 

 

Edited August 11, 2015 by Aeran

[Wells]

.

Edited May 10, 2016 by Wells

[Kubba]

I was doing some random googling on another subject and came across this piece which seems very relevant to what's being discussed in this thread:

 

http://www.psi-researchcentre.co.uk/article_5.htm

 

 

This quote shows the typical Tibetan blending of shamanic with Buddhist beliefs. As in the beliefs about the oracle, connection with a deity is considered an essential part of the psychic act, and also there is mention of the Buddhist teachings of karma and altruistic motivation.

The Cho Yang journal article lists 11 different divination methods, some of which are mentioned below:

 

(i) Doughball divination is done by high lamas in order to help find an important reincarnation, which means it is used only rarely. The names of potential candidates are written on paper and then rolled into a ball of dough. All candidate names are in equal-sized balls, great care being taken to make sure that all the balls are identical. These balls are placed in a sealed bowl, which is put in front of a sacred object, such as a statue in a temple, and for three days monks remain in the temple reciting prayers day and night. On the fourth day the cover is removed and a high lama rolls the doughballs round in the bowl until one of them falls out. That is the ball containing the answer. I was told that, in the case of the latest Panchen Lama who has been imprisoned by the Chinese, this process was repeated three times, and each time the same name came up.

The most common forms of divination are Dice and Mala divination. In Mala divination the person holds the mala (a string of prayer beads) with the fingers of each hand holding a bead at random. The intervening beads are then counted out three at a time until one, two or three beads are left, this giving the outcome of the divination

In a similar manner, dice will be thrown, the diviner blowing on the dice before throwing. Normally three dice are used.

In the above two forms of divination, the advice is specified by books which tell you what the particular outcomes mean. For example, in general with the dice, odd numbers are auspicious whilst even numbers are inauspicious. With the mala the best outcome is three beads.

Whilst doughball, dice and mala divination rely on a “random” event having a meaningful relationship with the person’s question (synchronicity), in the next most common forms of divination, direct clairvoyance is used.

 

(ii) Mirror divination is special to a protector deity known as Dorje (or Lhamo) Yudronmai. The mirror is placed ceremonially and, as with the previous forms of Mo, rituals are performed. The diviner sees appearances, reflections of writings and letters from the deity. When I visited a lovely old Tibetan lady called Amathaba,

(see picture 2)

living in one of the Tibetan settlements in south India, she saw a misty dawn scene which gradually cleared, and interpreted this as there being an initial difficulty which would then get resolved. She recommended asking the local nuns to say special prayers, and to hang prayer flags to help overcome the obstacles. This is a very common practice.

She says it was a gift she was born with and which ran in the family, she being the seventh person in the family to have inherited this gift. In her case she uses three mirrors, placed upright in a bowl of rice. In two of them she sees the deities connected with the divination, and in the front mirror the actual reading. She is thought of very highly in the community and many people consult her.

In Thumb nail divination you look into the thumbnail and blow on it in order to receive the vision. When the Mo is done via mirror or thumbnail reading, the diviner will tend to see particular symbolic visions, which are then interpreted in the light of the querent’s problem.

Also in this category come precognitive or clairvoyant dreams. Again, as with most Tibetan methods, these are related to a particular deity. Specific things are attributed to different symbols as in mirror divination (Tseten et al, 1995, p.114). I was told of a local woman who consulted a lama and was told by him to have a dream about her problem. The lama also noted their own dream that night. The two dreams were then compared and predictions made by the lama, which turned out to be correct. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (2005) corroborates this saying that prophecies can appear as visions in dreams, but considers this less reliable because not all dreams are prophetic, so one is never completely sure whether or not it is an accurately prophetic dream.

(iii) The next group of practices tend to be done by the querent themselves. Until 1959, 80% of Tibetans were semi-nomadic to varying degrees. Their practices are accordingly much simpler than the previous methods, and the information required is primarily whether or not it is auspicious to do a certain task.

Bootstrap divination is popular among nomads. The straps, which are wide pieces of webbing tape, are folded into squares and suddenly pulled apart. If they part easily, this is a positive sign — if they tangle, this is considered to be unlucky. Several people have mentioned this form of divination to me and it is apparently very popular in Tibet.

Tibetans commonly take note of omens such as certain birds being seen, overhearing certain music, or people saying auspicious words, which are all positive. There are numerous negative signs as well, such as the chatter of monkeys, or interestingly, having a black cat cross your path before you set out on a journey. Why a black cat should have this mystique both in Britain and Tibet is very strange!

Examining flames in a ritual fire or observing a butter lamp is also a form of divination. In this case one invokes the fire god and then observes the flame. Different types of flames mean differentd wonders.’ But in general the Buddha deplored their use, preferring to spread the Dhamma by the ‘miracle of teaching’ and the self-propagating power of truth. To those not yet fully emancipated from worldly delusion they can become attachment-forming faculties, and as such have to be guarded against and overcome in the struggle for Nibbanna. In the Buddhist view, one who embarks on concentration exercises to obtain supernormal powers (Iddhi) is doing so with the wrong intention and at great danger to himself. If all power corrupts, supernormal power can corrupt superlatively. (Mahathera, 1975, p.iv)

This is a very real fear and I am sure that most people can think of examples of this facet of human experience.

Fraud: Distinguishing Fact from Fantasy and the Problems of Attracting Glamour

One of the Buddhist precepts is not to claim to possess powers you do not have. Already noted above, in my discussions with Kirti Rinpoche (2005) were his frequent references to checking that the practitioner is not a charlatan, for example when talking about the oracles. He also said that it is most important to check the appearances of the psychic practitioner: don’t be caught by appearances, see what is really being taught. He reiterated not to look at the outer appearance, and to check for the meaning. He used an analogy of a poem, and warned against being misled by beautiful words.

Why is it that we are so attitude. At the same time, even if a principle is accepted, it does not mean that everything connected with it is valid. . . . . Great vigilance must be maintained at all times when dealing in areas about which we do not have great understanding. This, of course, is where science can help. After all, we consider things to be mysterious only when we do not understand them. . . . . Through mental training, we have developed techniques to do things which science cannot yet adequately explain. This, then, is the basis of the supposed ‘magic and mystery’ of Tibetan Buddhism. (Dalai Lama, 2002, pp. 230-243)

 

 

I also have the Oracle. He is my friend, and can read the future so I call him sometimes.

 

We are capable of havving some degree of intuition about the close future, it shows sometimes, and we tend to not believe it, or we react with fear that this can be our "wrong believe" and that we see the future with dark colours, but actually it is different thing - just pure intuition that we can trust to learn. This human being and all the existence is much greater that we can even imagine.

 

Yesterday I went with the wife of my brother to have a beer with her friends. She drove there with the car, but then someone picked us back home.

 

She is attached to her car so before we left the city she went back to the parking in order to check if everything is okay. Unfortunately there was an information, that tomorrow there will be some event, and that all cars from this ara need to be removed. She decided to move the car to another parking lot 10 meters further. I imeediately felt that this isnt a good idea and I moved away from the car on the sidewalk, and I had the image of a police car. She just drove 5 meters, crossed the double straight line on the street and the police arrived exactly in the moment when she was crossing the line. She lost her car licence cause we were after 2 beers.

 

Then, the next day I went to the city to bring her car back but I felt something uncomfortable about this car. I approched it, focused on it with closed eyes and I did a kind of a ritual with my hands that moves the bad aura out of the car.  Then I sat into it and I had different images of the past of this car, some were not cool. But now the car was comfortable.

We are intuitevely equiped in performing powerfull rituals. Siple prayers work like that. This whole thing that we are made of is very inteligent.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Kubba

[thelerner]

I enjoy Ajahn Brahms works.  He has many great talks available online.  He talks about Jhanas and how they're a natural progression in ones practice.  Here's a link to the first 4 chapters of his book Mindfullness, Bliss and Beyond (great book) he - http://www.dhammaloka.org.au/files/pdf/Ajahn_Brahm-Mindfulness_Bliss_and_Beyond-Chapters1-4.pdf 

 He has quite of a bit of free material online

excerpt:

"Stage Seven: Jhāna

There are two common obstacles at the door into jh›na: exhilaration and

fear. In exhilaration, the mind becomes excited: “Wow, this is it!” If the

mind thinks like this, then the jhana is unlikely to happen. This “wow!”

response needs to be subdued in favor of absolute passivity.You can leave

all the wows until after emerging from the jh›na, where they properly

belong.

 

The more likely obstacle, though, is fear. Fear arises from the recog-

nition of the sheer power and bliss of the jh›na, or else at the recogni-

tion that to go fully inside the jh›na something must be left behind—you!

 

The doer is silent before entering the jh›na, but it is still

there. Inside the jh›na, however, the doer is completely gone. Only the

knower is still functioning. One is fully aware, but all the controls are

now beyond reach. One cannot even form a single thought, let alone make

a decision.

 

and here's a list of his talks- http://www.dhammaloka.org.au/downloads/itemlist/category/18-ajahn-brahmavamso.html he's got quite a few.  All are insightful, show good humor and nice blend of modernity and classic Buddhist thought.

Edited August 12, 2015 by thelerner

[tao stillness]

As a teacher of Transcendental Meditation and having been instructed in the TM Siddhi program in 1977 and having went into a temporary state of Cosmic Consciousness as a result of doing Patanjali Yoga Sutras for the first time, as that is what the TM Siddhis are based on, I can state what Maharishi Mahesh Yogi taught the Siddhis to be. They are sutras, sutures, to sew up coordination of the mind and the body which results from full functioning of the brain. You have a desire, then things happen to bring it about in consciousness. Those are the siddhis. The powers that come with it are not for the powers themselves. But doing them makes the mind body coordination stronger and this brings about higher states of consciousness which is our natural state of mind, bliss, lack of ego and inner peace. Once it is experienced, then these teachings make perfect sense. Until then, people are just guessing at what the siddhis are for. The teachings of the sutras/siddhis in the book, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras has the most important part of the method to make it work not included in the text because the secret has been lost for centuries. Maharishi restored that very simple method so that the sutras once again produce results. So anyone trying to just say or think the sutras without the method that makes them work is just wasting time and will think there is nothing to do this method or that it is only for the most advanced yogis to do. That is so far from the truth. To be on the path without an enlightened master to guide one is like walking blindly down the road. But the ego makes one think they can reach the goal on their own.

[Tibetan_Ice]

As a teacher of Transcendental Meditation and having been instructed in the TM Siddhi program in 1977 and having went into a temporary state of Cosmic Consciousness as a result of doing Patanjali Yoga Sutras for the first time, as that is what the TM Siddhis are based on, I can state what Maharishi Mahesh Yogi taught the Siddhis to be. They are sutras, sutures, to sew up coordination of the mind and the body which results from full functioning of the brain. You have a desire, then things happen to bring it about in consciousness. Those are the siddhis. The powers that come with it are not for the powers themselves. But doing them makes the mind body coordination stronger and this brings about higher states of consciousness which is our natural state of mind, bliss, lack of ego and inner peace. Once it is experienced, then these teachings make perfect sense. Until then, people are just guessing at what the siddhis are for. The teachings of the sutras/siddhis in the book, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras has the most important part of the method to make it work not included in the text because the secret has been lost for centuries. Maharishi restored that very simple method so that the sutras once again produce results. So anyone trying to just say or think the sutras without the method that makes them work is just wasting time and will think there is nothing to do this method or that it is only for the most advanced yogis to do. That is so far from the truth. To be on the path without an enlightened master to guide one is like walking blindly down the road. But the ego makes one think they can reach the goal on their own.

So at least you acknowledge that there is a difference between TM and Patanjali's yoga sutra. However, claiming that TM style mantra repetition is the lost secret the the Maharishi brought back is ludicrous. Pantanjali's yoga sutras involve achieving solid streams of concentration to achieve samadhi, not broken streams of mantra which continually stir the winds.

Do yourself a favor, study Buddhist meditation, shamatha, vipassana and then the jhanas.

Every Buddhist teacher knows that achieving shamatha produces siddhis, and that fourth jhana produces siddhis too. But you don't achieve that with TM. If you interfere with the stillness and solid stream of concentration by regurgitating a mantra, like you do in TM, it keeps you in the coarse mind.

Also, your statement that it is based on a full functioning brain is a materialistic concept which misses the fact that the higher levels of consciousness have nothing to do with the physical brain, are beyond the physical brain. There are other psychic structures that maintain memories through reincarnations, if they were integral to the full functioning brain which dies and rots away, such memories could not be retrieved across lifetimes.

 

Can you levitate, after Teaching TM and taking the Siddhi program?

Edited January 21, 2016 by Tibetan_Ice

[3bob]

Ti, while you are at and speaking as expert about all this stuff  I suggest you make up your mind, is it going to be Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Taoist or what? I have no problem with us making some common ground correlations and showing some appreciation for the diversity of  those paths is one thing, but claiming or sounding like one is an advanced authority on all of them beyond said common ground is counter to all of them.  

[Tibetan_Ice]

Ti, while you are at and speaking as expert about all this stuff I suggest you make up your mind, is it going to be Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Taoist or what? I have no problem with us making some common ground correlations and showing some appreciation for the diversity of those paths is one thing, but claiming or sounding like one is an advanced authority on all of them beyond said common ground is counter to all of them.

Perhaps if you'd have spent as much time as I have practicing, meditating, reading, learning, for the past 44 years, you too would have some fields of expertise.

When comparing, all systems have the same root, diverge in the middle and finish at the same point. Your insistence of remaining in comparison and having to pick one system indicates where you are stuck, in the middle. Hint, you won't get there by drinking beer and spreading division.

I'm just being polite. I can think of shorter words with more impact if you'd prefer.

[3bob]

TI, Per core Buddhist teachings you have been refuted by the historic Buddha himself if you proclaim and stand by teachings counter to His, which Christianity and Hinduism do, ...and that is only two examples.  Thus you have created a TI school for yourself -  and neither you nor anyone else can represent a traditional school if they are not part of such lineages or ways and can not honestly claim to be speaking for them even with mountains of

good quotes that are borrowed to make it sound like it)  That is an obvious fact that can not be glossed over or denied per a "new age" like mash up.   You are being facetious and presumptuous, beer or no beer, side swipe or no side swipe.

Btw, I don't care if you wan to run a TI school just be honest about it.

[Tibetan_Ice]

TI, Per core Buddhist teachings you have been refuted by the historic Buddha himself if you proclaim and stand by teachings counter to His, which Christianity and Hinduism do, ...and that is only two examples.

...

 

Where exactly does Buddha say this? Quotes? References?

 

http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books6/Bhante_Dhammananda_Buddhist_Attitude_towards_other_Religions.pdf

[3bob]

TI, since you know of the core teachings of those three ways, two of which have well known founders,  along with knowing where to find related quotes there is no need to ask me.

[Tibetan_Ice]

TI, since you know of the core teachings of those three ways, two of which have well known founders, along with knowing where to find related quotes there is no need to ask me.

You know, Bob, you will always find people whom are higher and lower than you.

If you don't highten your intellect with knowledge instead of opinion and prejudice, you will always be looking up at others.

Perhaps that is why most people look like posterior ventilators to you?

[3bob]

wtf?

 

As I meant before start your own school if that turns your crank but be honest about it, thus without copying thousands of quotes from other people or schools as a way to prove your own.