Ṛddhi

Manuscript painting depicting the Buddha miraculously displaying duplicates of himself; see "great miracle" (mahāprātihārya).

ṛddhi (P. iddhi; T. rdzu 'phrul རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་; C. shenli), or "psychic powers", is any number of supernatural powers that result from attaining deep states of meditation (dhyāna).

Ṛddhi is identified in the following contexts:

• ṛddhipāda - bases for psychic powers
• ṛddhividhābhijñā - one of the five types of mundane supernatural powers (abhijñā)

Types of psychic powers

Statue of Buddha performing one of the Śrāvastī Miracles, with flames above his shoulders. Gandhara, 100-200 CE

The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions identifies eight types of ṛddhi (psychic powers):

1. Replicate and project bodily-images of oneself (mahāprātihārya),
2. Make oneself invisible,
3. Pass through solid objects,
4. Sink into solid ground,
5. Walk on water,
6. Fly,
7. Touch the sun and moon with one's hand,
8. Ascend to the world of the god Brahmā in the highest heavens

According to the Iddhipada-vibhanga Sutta (SN 51.20)

1. Having been one he becomes many; having been many he becomes one.
2. He appears. He vanishes.
3. He goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, & mountains as if through space.
4. He dives in and out of the earth as if it were water.
5. He walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land.
6. Sitting crosslegged he flies through the air like a winged bird.
7. With his hand he touches & strokes even the sun & moon, so mighty & powerful.
8. He exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds.

Sources

• Schober, Juliane (2002), Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and South-East Asia, Motilal Banarsidass Publ. 

External links

• Encyclopedia.com, Iddhi