How the Buddha taught to develop your psychic potential!
The four bases of psychic power (Iddhipādā) are Interest (Chandasamādhi), Vigor (Vīriyasamādhi), Attention (Cittasamādhi), and Investigation (Vīmaṁsāsamādhi); and they are developed simply through the practice of the noble eightfold path — that is: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Immersion — especially an immersion that has enthusiasm and active effort!
Think to yourself: "I’ll meditate so that my enthusiasm and active effort won’t be ‘too lax’ or ‘too tense’. I’ll be neither ‘constricted internally’ nor ‘scattered externally’. I’ll perceive ‘as before, so behind; and as behind, so before’; ‘as below, so above; and as above, so below’; and ‘as by day, so by night; and by night, so by day’. — with an ‘open and unobstructed heart, and a mind that’s full of radiance’; I’ll sit!"
So, when is enthusiasm and active effort ‘too lax’? — when it's coupled with laziness!
And when is enthusiasm and active effort to be ‘too tense’? — when it's coupled with restlessness!
What is it to be ‘constricted internally’? — when it’s coupled with dullness and drowsiness!
What is it to be ‘scattered externally’ — when it is frequently distracted and diffused externally by the five kinds of sense stimulation!
What is perceiving ‘as before, so behind; and as behind, so before’? — when the perception of before and behind is properly grasped, focused on, borne in mind, and penetrated with wisdom; it is the emptiness of causes and conditions!
What is perceiving ‘as below, so above; and as above, so below’? — when you examine your body up from the bottom of your feet and down from the top of your head, wrapped in skin and full of different kinds of filth — head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, undigested food, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, saliva, snot, synovial fluid, and urine; and see that this is not self!
What is perceiving ‘as by day, so by night; and as by night, so by day’? — when you develop the four bases of psychic power that has immersion due to enthusiasm and active effort, with the same features, attributes, and signs during the day as during the night; and during the night as during the day!
What is it to have an ‘open and unobstructed heart, and a mind that’s full of radiance’? — it’s when you have properly understood what it is to shine; and have resolved to be the day!
Now, your mind is concentrated, pure and bright, unblemished, free from defects, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, directed and inclined towards the modes of supernormal power. You exercise them!
—like a master potter with some good clay might throw any kind of pot!
—like a skilled ivory-carver with a nice piece of ivory might carve any kind of ivory item!
—Or like an artful goldsmith!
Yes! How a goldsmith holds an ‘interest’ to purify the native gold. So they pan away the coarse corruptions — washing, rinsing, and cleaning away the rock, soil, and gravel. Such is the 'interest' in separating out the coarse corruptions of unskillful conduct of body, speech, and mind.
Then with ‘vigor’ they wash it again, removing the medium corruptions of fine grit and coarse sand. And then they wash it again, removing fine corruptions of fine sand and black grime. Such is the 'vigor' to remove the middling corruptions of sensual, malicious, or cruel thoughts; and the fine corruptions of thoughts of family, country, and status.
When only golden flecks remain, the goldsmith places them in a crucible where they torch, melt, and smelt it. Applying the heat like a sustained ‘attention’ though the gold is still not settled, and the dross is not totally gone, so it’s not yet pliable, workable, or radiant. It is still brittle and not ready for working. Such is the 'attention' to fully abandon, be rid of, eliminate, and obliterate any corruptions, until only thoughts about the teaching are left — though the meditation is not yet peaceful or sublime or tranquil or unified, but is held in place by forceful suppression.
But the goldsmith keeps at it; torching, melting, and smelting it. ‘Investigating’ and testing the gold until it becomes pliable, malleable, and radiant, not brittle, and is ready to be worked. Such is the 'investigation' into when the mind becomes stilled internally; settling, unifying, and becoming immersed in Samādhi. The meditation is peaceful and sublime and tranquil and unified, not held in place by forceful suppression.
— Then like an artful goldsmith with some well-prepared gold, you might fashion any kind of gold item that you’d like!
Having been one, you can become many — and having been many, you can become one; you can materialize and dematerialize; you can go unimpeded through walls, barriers, and mountains as if through open space; you can dive in and out of the earth as if it were water — and walk on the water as if it were the earth; sitting cross-legged you can travel through space like a winged bird; so mighty and powerful — with your hand you could stroke the sun and the moon; and you can exercise mastery over your body as far as the heaven realm!
Sources:
SN 51.19 Iddhādidesanāsutta
https://suttacentral.net/SN51.19
SN 51.20 Vibhaṅgasutta
https://suttacentral.net/sn51.20
DN 2 Sāmaññaphalasutta
https://suttacentral.net/DN2
AN 3.101 Paṁsudhovakasutta
https://suttacentral.net/an3.101/
