Buddhist Meditation and Supernatural Powers

I was out with a friend of mine the other day, who considers himself somewhat of a mystical psychic and claims to have cultivated some powers from the great beyond. We began discussing this notion of supernatural events that one can observe during deep meditation as he thought us "Buddhists" could harness these types of powers. This is not a new notion of course; lots of people have speculated about mystical enlightenment and magical powers of the mind garnered from the unseen. I’ve even heard some Buddhists to have claimed to be mind readers, have the ability to levitate and to astral project themselves at will.

I did agree that there has been some scientific studies done of Buddhist monks brain waves during meditation and that they have shown a much different wave pattern than most people. I also agreed that meditation can possibly cause rather strange and sometime very controllable dreams, a sort of sleeping astral projection if you will. It is not surprising to also hear about some that can withstand extreme physical pain, yet seem completely unbothered. My agreements with him stopped there and I argued to him that these things and other unusual seemingly mystical abilities are besides the point to meditation.

He pressed me about mind reading, ESP, super natural Tibetans that can morph into any object and some monks ability to enter a spirit world at will. I told him I thought some communication and observations are much like a radio frequencies. If we are tuned into the same station we may notice things that we never did before. And while I have experienced, as I'm sure many of you have as well, some very awe inspiring moments during meditation and the practice of mindfulness, I certainly do not consider them to be supernatural, but rather just better understanding of our true nature.

I think if we practice meditation and mindfulness to obtain some type of extra special powers or some supernatural abilities, we are not only missing the point, we are just pursuing yet another want. If one does experience something magical or mystical during their practice, I think it is important to keep them in perspective, realizing that they aren't the purpose of the practice. It maybe what they end up realizing in the end is unimaginably, unquestionably and unmistakably far more profound than reading someone else's mind or floating over a rug. Well, OK, I don't know, I could be totally wrong.

I told him, "If you really want to be a mind reader, perhaps you should start with your own mind. That is where the true magic is." He laughed and said, "I sense you are annoyed." I chuckled, “You are a mind reader!”