We now come to the Bodhisattva Virtue of ….
Miraculous, Mystical Powers (bala)
Mahayana sutras and lore refer to a variety of supernatural powers developed through meditation and Buddhist practice, said of aid to the Bodhisattva … such as the ability to foretell the future, to see the past lives of beings, to read minds, to radiate light and to cause rain … others too …
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Taigen Dan Leighton writes …
Buddhist attitude toward such powers has often been ambivalent, particularly in the Zen tradition, which emphasizes attention to ordinary, everyday activity. This outlook was epitomized in the legendary utterance by the great eighth-century Chinese adept, Layman Pang, that the ultimate super- natural power was chopping wood and carrying water. The ordinary world, just as it is, can be appreciated as an amazing, wondrous event. And experiences that seem supernatural and miraculous may only appear so to the limited portions of our mental and spiritual faculties that we conventionally employ.
ALSO A NOTE: OUR WEEKLY ZAZENKAI THIS WEEK WILL BE A DAY LATER, SUNDAY INSTEAD OF SATURDAY (10 p.m. Japan time, which is currently New York 9am, Los Angeles 6am, London 2pm and Paris 3pm SUNDAY), AS WE WILL BE WELCOMING REV. TAIGU WHO WILL LEAD A SPECIAL 2-HOUR ZAZENKAI TO MARK THE FORMAL START OF OUR JUKAI PREPARATIONS
(remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells;
a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended)
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