The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.
15 July 2023
"You should pay no attention to and leave supramundane matters alone if you have yet to attain liberation.”
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Question: How does one get to communicate with others through telepathy? Are there ways to attain that level or ability?
Than Ajahn: You just have to calm your mind.
However, not everyone with a calm mind will have such an ability. It depends on your accumulated merits and perfections.
If you had practised and trained your mind in your previous lives, your mind would have this telepathic ability.
The Buddha, for example, could communicate with various celestial beings. Luangpu Mun's mind could also communicate with other heavenly beings (devas). That's why all the devas were grateful to them because the devas could listen to their teachings, just as you are at the moment.
But if someone who teaches Dhamma doesn't have such a telepathic ability, then the devas cannot listen or gain access to the teachings from them. All these supramundane abilities are like bonuses or gifts. It's good if you have them because you can use them to benefit others. But you must be careful. If you still have defilements (kilesas), you might get tricked by your own defilements and use them in a way that will bring more suffering.
You should pay no attention to and leave these supramundane matters alone if you have yet to attain liberation; you'll end up being the subject of your own kilesas. Instead of ridding yourself of defilements, they will make your kilesas even more powerful.
Take Devadatta as an example. You have to be careful as they will only waste your time.
They'll derail you from and ruin your practice for liberation as you'll end up not practising.
When you get into a state of absorption, you'll want to communicate with other people and minds. Or maybe you'll want to recollect your previous lives or know about what others are thinking. These things could very well happen, but are nonetheless not of any use to your practice and aim for liberation.
But if you've attained enlightenment, you may then use your knowledge and these special abilities as means to help you teach others.
They can promote your audiences' faith and conviction while encouraging them to put what they've learnt into practice.
The Buddha, for instance, used his supranatural ability with Angulimala.
Angulimala was running as fast as he could but he couldn't catch up with the Buddha who was walking calmly.
‘The Blessed One willed a feat of psychic power such that Angulimala, though running with all his might, could not catch up with the Blessed One walking at normal pace.' This bewildered Angulimala so much that he called the Buddha to stop.
The Buddha said that he himself had already stopped and that it was Angulimala who should stop.
Angulimala asked for further explanation, after which the Buddha said that he had stopped himself from his own greed, hatred, and delusion.
Angulimala suddenly came to the realisation that his pursuit was out of his own misapprehension—a misguided path. He then put the Buddha's teachings into practice, eradicating his own greed, hatred, and delusion, until he attained his arahantship in the end.
Such is a way to make good use of one's special ability. But if you still have defilements, there's no doubt that you'll use your abilities as means for your defilements, bringing your own demise in the end, just as it happened with Devadatta.
“Essential Teachings.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
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