Stories about psychic powers
4 Buddhist wisdom stories about psychic powers from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Ajahn Chah pushed their car out of the mudStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Devotees stuck in mud meet a forest monk who helps push the car out — it is Ajahn Chah. Later the story mutates into 'we've seen his psychic powers' even though the helper was…
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pushed their car out of the mud now that's a humble monk who doesn't mind getting wet who can actually help other people doesn't matter if you're a big monk or big abber you can push the car and get mud and wet and soaked that's what a real is they were very very impressed of the real compassion of a monk so they didn't need to get wet but then it was only about couple hundred meters to the hall where they get to give the talk and there they saw a and sha sitting there completely dry not a speck of mud on him and they thought wow a Char left his body or made a double body like in The Matrix and actually pushed our car out out of compassion not only is it compassion this guy's got psychic powers we've seen it
- One moment of lust — crash landingStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A jungle monk gains the power to fly; the king forces him to the palace as wise advisor. One morning a gorgeous princess brings food as he comes in to land — one moment of lust…
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There was one of these monks and he was living in the Jungle and living in the jungle meditating in those days, people would be able to feed you no problem at all and he had like perfect solitude, meditating day and night really good monk and of course it just happens after time you get these deep meditations and after deep meditations, sometimes you get these powers and actually he could fly through the air. He would just, every morning Just have a flight, almost like exercise but the trouble was, that somebody saw him. This is why, if any of you get psychic powers, please don't do them in public. cos you can always get into big trouble. Every time. So, somebody saw him and of course, the word gets around and when the word gets around, For example, it not the case if you heard that someone at Dhammasara nun's monastery could fly through the air You'd all go down there and have a look and then you'd be hassling the nuns "come on show us, come on, come on" (laughter) but anyway, this monk, soon the word got to the king and the king said, I always wanted to see a real monk levitating. Would you like to see a real monk levitate? Would you? Of course you would, yes So the king would, but we're not going to do it so forget about it (laughter) But this king, You know, if you're the king you got powers so he sent his army up there you know and said, "the king summons you." He said, I don't want to go to the palace, I'm just a simple monk" He said " this is not a request, you're coming" So you know, he brought him to the place. and the king was a really good Buddhist. He actually built a little 'kuti' , a hut for this monk in the forest in the grounds. He said " Monk, just you know, you can just stay here" not you can, you will stay here and I want to just feed you, make merit make good kamma cos you're obviously a holy monk and to ask questions you know, about Dhamma and also get some advice on running my kingdom cos you're obviously wise you're not in it for the money like all my ministers and politicians you know, you're just wise So, I'll feed you. You live here You can levitate and fly through the air as much as you like and I want you to be like my wise advisor. which made a lot of sense. So the monk consented and the king would feed him really nice food he'd be in this little forest in the palace grounds Just like being in the jungle and every morning he would go for his exercise through the air but one day, as he was coming in to land that morning the person who was bringing him food was one of the princesses cos the king couldn't come himself and she was drop-dead gorgeous a hot chick (laughter) and this monk was just coming in to land and he just saw her, just one moment that's all it took just one moment of lust and he lost his ability to fly
- Sudhamma's flood jhāna and the laser eyesStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Thai princess friend (married to a man from Brahm's school) told him about Indonesian monk Sudhamma at Wat Pho: after 7–8 days in deep jhāna in the Javan jungle a flood…
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And I was talking in the retreat recently a really juicy psychic power which I never saw myself but the person who told me it I trust implicitly she was actually a Princess in the Thai Royal family a really good friend. She married a guy who went to the same school as I did so basically she started getting involved in meditation because of the western monks and she went to a meditation class every week in Wat Pho that's one of the big monasteries in Central Bangkok that's been taught by this Indonesian monk who I knew He is now dead, his name was Sudhamma he did have powers. you could actually feel that He told me about his experiences He was the one who got into a deep Jhana in the Javan Jungle and after about 7 or 8 days there was a flood he got totally submerged didn't know anything about it So he had really great powers but imagine this happening on a Saturday afternoon you feel there is something weird going on so you open your eyes and take a peak and this is what this Princess did opened her eyes to take a peak and she swore to me absolutely honestly she saw rays of light coming out of this monk into one of the people meditating Real laser eyes That's pretty cool Shall we say one of the monks here to do that we wouldn't do that because once you tell people we'll be taken off to the lab and all sorts of experiments. we'll be just like a laboratory rat from then on to the rest of our lives being experimented on But that's actually true a monk developed the laser eyes that's really cool So there are such things as psychic powers
- The monk with the divine ear sat in Ajahn Chah's chairStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A monk Ajahn Brahm knew in Thailand claimed he could hear people talking about 12 kilometres away; when tested it was true — a 'divine ear'. Pride followed: one day he sat in…
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and just to make things interesting there was one monk I knew when I first went to Thailand who had that power he was tested out when he said he could hear people talking about 12 kilo meters away. when he made that claim we said you are crazy he said, no it is true and when we went to check in it was absolutely true he had what they say in the suttas a divine ear this incredible hearing And the problem what happened with him was he started getting this psychic power, obviously with incredible meditation then he thought he was so highly attained and one day he actually sat in Ajahn Chah's chair and said... Ajahn Chah is nobody I am the real Abbot here And it was an example of the pride and ego which sometimes comes up when you start to attain such things which is one of the reasons why in monastic Buddhism they are suppressed If you do get any psychic powers we don't talk about it that much especially if the person is still alive If they are dead we don't mind