Toh 44-34Chapter 34: The Superknowledges

Commentary on Chapter 34: Transcendent Powers

Background

The chapter “Transcendent Powers” (mngon shes le’u) belongs to the Northern Tibetan Mahayana tradition and is a lofty teaching on powers beyond ordinary intellect that bodhisattvas and buddhas may attain. In the Northern Tibetan tradition, especially the Gelug school, the “transcendent powers” (abhijñā, Tibetan: mngon shes) are regarded as the natural result of deep meditation combined with wisdom that dispels ignorance.

This sutra is presented in the context of a bodhisattva developing the aspiration to help sentient beings; therefore, the six transcendent powers are not the final goal, but compassionate tools for liberating those who remain deluded.

Main Content

According to the Northern Tibetan tradition, the six transcendent powers include: (1) miraculous powers (iddhi), the ability to move freely and transform one’s form; (2) the divine eye (dibba-cakkhu), the celestial eye that sees the past and present lives of sentient beings; (3) the divine ear (dibba-sota), transcendent hearing that hears voices both far and near; (4) knowledge of others’ minds (cetopariya-ñāṇa), the ability to perceive the thoughts of others; (5) recollection of former lives (pubbenivāsānussati-ñāṇa), remembrance of past lifetimes; and (6) knowledge of the exhaustion of the defilements (āsavakkhaya-ñāṇa), the direct insight that all afflictions have been completely extinguished.

This chapter emphasizes that these powers are not bestowed from outside, but naturally arise when practitioners cultivate meditative concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (prajñā) in the correct way. In particular, the knowledge of the exhaustion of the defilements is considered the unsurpassed power, because it demonstrates that the practitioner has completely escaped bondage to ignorance.

In the Mahayana, these powers are understood not only on the individual level, but also as expressions of the Buddha’s boundless dharmakaya. Therefore, when a bodhisattva attains these powers, they are not separate from emptiness (śūnyatā) and the corresponding mind of buddha wisdom.

Practical Meaning

For modern practitioners, this chapter teaches that miraculous powers or transcendent abilities should not be regarded as the principal goal of practice.