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Grammatical Analysis
Iddhividha: [nt.] various psychic powers; magical manifestations. Formed by iddhi (power, success, magical potency) + vidha (kind, sort, variety).
Orthodox Definition
Iddhividha is the first of the six supernormal knowledges (abhiññā). It encompasses the physical, kinetic manipulations of reality achieved through the absolute mastery of mind over matter.
The standard canonical formula lists specific feats: being one, the meditator becomes many; being many, they become one; they appear and vanish at will; they pass unhindered through walls, ramparts, and mountains as if through empty space; they dive in and out of the solid earth as if it were water; they walk on water without sinking as if it were earth; they fly cross-legged through the sky like a winged bird; and they touch the sun and moon with their hand.
The Visuddhimagga explains that this is accomplished through elemental manipulation. For example, to walk on water, the meditator enters the fourth jhāna using the Earth Kasiṇa, emerges, and resolves: “Let the water beneath my feet become solid earth.” The water then structurally behaves as earth due to the sheer force of the concentrated will.
Quote
So anekavihitaṁ iddhividhaṁ paccanubhoti—ekopi hutvā bahudhā hoti, bahudhāpi hutvā eko hoti; āvibhāvaṁ tirobhāvaṁ tirokuṭṭaṁ tiropākāraṁ tiropabbataṁ asajjamāno gacchati seyyathāpi ākāse; pathaviyāpi ummujjanimujjaṁ karoti seyyathāpi udake; udakepi abhijjamāne gacchati seyyathāpi pathaviyā; ākāsepi pallaṅkena kamati seyyathāpi pakkhī sakuṇo; imepi candimasūriye evaṁmahiddhike evaṁmahānubhāve pāṇinā parāmasati parimajjati; yāva brahmalokāpi kāyena vasaṁ vatteti.
He experiences various kinds of psychic power: having been one, he becomes many; having been many, he becomes one; he appears and vanishes; he goes unhindered through a wall, a rampart, a mountain as if through space; he dives in and out of the earth as if in water; he walks on water without sinking as if on earth; he travels cross-legged through the sky like a winged bird; he touches and strokes with his hand the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful; he wields bodily mastery even as far as the Brahma-world.— Dīgha Nikāya (DN 2)
Textual References
- Sutta: Kevaṭṭa Sutta (DN 11) – The Buddha detailing these powers but stating he despises and rejects the displaying of them to laypeople as “miracles,” preferring only the “miracle of instruction.”
- Canonical: Sāmaññaphala Sutta (DN 2) – The standard list of the magical permutations.
- Commentary: Visuddhimagga (Chapter XII) – The exact mental mechanics mapping how a physical body is made weightless by infusing it with the mind.