Supernatural Powers in Buddhist Practice: Mastering Abhiññā in Pa-Auk Buddhist Meditation Technique in Contemporary Myanmar

Abhiññā is a Buddhist term that literally refers to special knowledge or supernatural powers. It technically means six types of psychic powers, including flying through the sky, remembering past lives, clairvoyance, and reading others’ minds.

The depiction of miracles and supernatural powers that the Buddha and his great disciples can perform has long been discussed in the field of Buddhist studies. Scholars' interests have centered on the textual analysis of the sacred stories of these figures as depicted in the para-canonical texts. Phyllis Granoff argues that the exhibition of these powers serves as a means of converting non-Buddhists, as well as proof of the authenticity of the Buddhist teachings. Luis Gómez focuses on the psychological functions such as cognition and emotion, in terms of how the readers or audience of the miracle stories understand the religious actions. In the context of Buddhist culture, psychic powers acquired through Buddhist meditation practice have been researched in association with Burmese wizards (Burmese: weikza). In Myanmar, since the early 19th century before the nation-rebuilding period, there has been an active emphasis on vipassanā meditation referred to in the Abhidhamma. As a result, a nationwide vipassanā movement was founded by one of the most renowned Burmese monks, Ledi Sayadaw (1846-1923), during the British colonial period. While Ledi greatly contributed to popularizing and prioritizing vipassanā as the most essential Buddhist practice in Burmese Buddhism, another meditation practice to cultivate concentration, such as samatha, came to be marginalized as an unorthodox Buddhist practice that Burmese wizards practiced for cultivating psychic powers. During Ne Win’s dictatorship, their activities were strictly oppressed because their orientation of millennialism, which negated liberation from the cycle of rebirth but attempted extraordinary long life until the advent of the future Buddha, deviated from the concept of non-self, which was one of the three true characteristics in Buddhist teachings.

Supernatural powers are one of the special abilities that prove the Buddha’s and Buddhist saints’ venerated status. Moreover, throughout South and Southeast Asia (though not in the present-day Myanmar), Theravada Buddhist monks who are said to possess the powers are highly respected among Buddhists. Yet, the devaluation of practicing supernatural powers is still evident even after numerous modern vipassana meditation techniques of Burmese origin became  popular worldwide. In the current Theravada Buddhist world, the Buddhist meditation technique formulated by the Burmese monk Pa-Auk Sayadaw (1934-) teaches supernatural powers to all practitioners and requires it for those who will be meditation teachers. How is the training of supernatural powers related to the essential concepts of Buddhism? How is it capable of supporting the ultimate goal of Buddhism, namely the attainment of enlightenment?

This paper shows the practical importance of abhiññā in the Southeast Buddhist tradition. As a contemporary example, I focus on the Pa-Auk meditation technique in order to discuss how meditation teachers and practitioners understand the values of the true path. This research divides the approach into two methods: Buddhist textual examination and the analysis of interviews with advanced-level Pa-Auk meditation practitioners. First, I compare Pa-Auk Sayadaw’s manual books on meditation with the para-canonical texts such as the Abhidhamma and the Visuddhimagga, which he relies on for the formulation of his meditation methods. The examination will clarify the connection between his interpretation of Buddhist practice for enlightenment and the systematization of the meditation techniques. Subsequently, I will discuss the important role of psychic powers in attaining enlightenment that Pa-Auk meditation practitioners consider based on their experiences.

The result will show an example of living Buddhist practice of supernatural powers within the category of authentic Theravada Buddhist tradition, not in the context of Burmese wizard culture. Consequently, this paper will shed light on the opportunity for reconsideration of diverse meditation cultures in the contemporary Buddhist world, not limited to the popular mindfulness or vipassanā practice.  The culture of Buddhist meditation is further dynamic and still developing widely.