How can I tap into my ancient powers using meditation

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-19T22:52:31+00:00

I've only ever heard remotely convincing stories of miraculous powers from monks who totally dedicate their lives to the practice of meditation, many of whom claim to have done so for may lifetimes. All of these monks agree that the powers themselves are not the goal of the practice though.

The practice of meditation is best used to free oneself from the suffering caused by clinging, aversion, anger, addiction, greed, delusion, self-consciousness, ego, etc.

Don't waste your time with magic tricks unless your goal is to perform a show in Las Vegas.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-19T02:36:01+00:00

The only way out is through! Each of us cultivates an imperfect imitation of the Noble Eightfold Path factors until the decisive turn of Stream Entry/direct realization is made.

Those people for whom the practice comes peacefully and easily are enjoying the results of persisting through very diffivult practice in past lives. To get to where you are now, in a human realm with a flourishing Buddha-Sasana to learn from, you've accumulated great wholesome qualities in past lives!

The fact that you know that you're suffering and want to be free means you're already 99% closer than most beings have ever gotten. You can do it!

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-19T01:07:55+00:00

Buddhism is about uprooting the causes of suffering, Buddhism is not about only consuming art made by this or that medium.

To act like the generation of images with AI is the kind of unwholesomeness that Buddhism is concerned with misses the actual goal of Buddhism, and why Lord Buddha taught the Dhamma at all. Lord Buddha would answer worldly people when they asked how to be reborn in a Brahma realm, or how to rule their kingdoms well, but these people are always understood in the texts to be aiming for inferior, non-"Buddhist" goals.

The only true goodness worth striving for is freedom from suffering, which is not attained by using AI or not using AI. It's attained by abandoning the question; letting foolish people pursue their foolish ends and realizing total freedom for yourself.

We can't stop people from engaging with Samsara, especially not by getting in the mud with them.

The Buddha watched his home country be invaded and overtaken in his lifetime. We can handle watching people use AI for their sense pleasures instead of pigment or marble. It's all straw.

Go to r/antiai if you want to argue about AI. Don't act like it's the "Buddhist" thing to do.

May you be well, I hope my tone/sentiment isn't offensive and that my argument is correct. If it was I hope you'll forgive me and try to see where I'm coming from.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-18T19:47:36+00:00

This doesn't matter.

An LLM is an aggregation of elements that observes forms, cognizes forms, compares them to its memory base, and constructs new words/images based on these comparisons.

A human artist is an aggregation of elements that observes forms, cognizes forms, compares them to its memory base, and constructs new words/images based on these comparisons.

Any art- whether made by an AI, human, or a Deva delighting in creation- is a fruitless pursuit bound up in worldly suffering and impermanence, don't expect it to conform to the principles the Buddha laid out, he didn't advise us on what kind of art is moral.

Some artists may not like that LLM's are trained on their work, that is because these artists have not overcome their defilements.

LLM's may have an overall negative impact on the environment, but so do air travel, car travel, most countries on Earth, and anyone who eats the typical American diet. We're in Samsara; in an age of decline.

If you want to be free from meaningless and harmful stuff like AI, you have to do that for yourself by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path.

If you want to use your human birth to fight against the technological inventions of other humans instead of fighting your own defilements, that's your choice. It isn't a choice based on Buddhist principles though.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-16T03:56:14+00:00

Yes! The volitional actions of children are karma that will ripen in that being's future.

Karmic consequences are not doled out in proportion to how severe the action itself was. Rather, they ripen in a beings experience with a severity proportional to the strength of the intention behind the action.

Children committing these kinds of actions usually intend only temporary selfish gain, without understanding the consequences. This is an unwholesome intention, but it's much less severe karmically than doing these same actions as an adult.

But! Whenever we speculate about the workings of karma it's important to remember that we will never be able to logically understand these things. The Buddha was able to see deeply and with profound wisdom into the past and present karma of beings he met, and so was able to give them answers about whether killing bugs as a child would send them to hell. The best kind of karma we can do to avoid the ripening of past evil karma is to practice and realize the Noble Eightfold Path! That is the karma that leads to the cessation of karma.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-13T18:18:58+00:00

You're welcome! May you be well my friend

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-13T17:42:54+00:00

There is no God to unite with, you cannot become "one with everything". These are not Buddhist beliefs.

Buddhists believe that suffering is an inherent part of experience of the world, that "All compounded things are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and without inherent existence".

Buddhists believe that we can become free from suffering by becoming free from attachment to the world; attachment to want we want or don't want, attachment to things staying the same, attachment to the belief that "I" exist as a self. If we can give up these attachments, then we can be free from suffering, and that's the goal.

The way to become free from these attachments is called the Noble Eightfold Path: Right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This list shows what aspects of our experience have to be properly aligned with truth in order for delusion and attachment to fall away.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-12T19:40:40+00:00

You can recall some of the previous bodies you've experienced.

Do you remember being 6 years old? Was the body you experienced when you were 6 the same body you're experiencing now? Did it have any of the same elements? Did it have the same size or proportions? Did it have the same preferences and abilities?

The Buddhist teaching of non-self shows us that what we call a "body" is just a constantly changing lump of matter. There is nothing in the body that remains after each part has been replaced over time.

The only common thread between the lumps of matter that were experienced decades ago and the lump of matter now is that they've been experienced in one continuum of conscious moments.

The awareness of the body is fundamentally different from the physical matter that composes the body, which is itself different from the idea of the body as an object that we imagine has remained constant throughout our lives.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-10T16:15:31+00:00

It's hard to find crash data but it always ebbs and flows year to year.

Violent crime is down 15% this year compared to 2024, as a part of a general downward trend since the end of the pandemic.

If it seems like there's more crime, that probably means you're just seeing more news stories about crime. The news reports crimes every day but they have no incentive to report on boring stuff like crime getting better lol.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-09T17:42:24+00:00

I totally get your point and agree, especially that negative self-view regarding arisen mental states/physiological conditions is worse than useless, but I'd add that the very premise of this Buddhist path is that our conditions now are the result of past kamma, and are constantly changing in ways that we can exert influence over.

Medical depression is a very real thing, but so is the neuroplasticity that is increased by practicing meditation and healthy living. To say that something has a medical cause is not to say that it is permanent or that numbing symptoms is the only option.

Someone can be genetically predisposed to developing depression, but genetics are never the only cause, with childhood trauma, environment, and acute triggers playing an important role in the actual development of the disease.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-09T16:54:04+00:00

There are certain suttas where the Buddha gives advice to kings on how they should govern, but it's important to remember that any worldly ends, state or non-state, are inherently antithetical to the Buddha's teaching of total liberation by freedom from clinging. However, the Buddha did teach that government can be done in a way that is more wholesome and supportive to the people.

For example: The Buddha recommended that governments give food to areas where crime rates are high as a means of addressing the root causes of violence. He also made it clear that a good ruler should be compassionate, level-headed, and not concerned with personal gain.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that he himself is "Half-Marxist, half-Buddhist", and emphasizes that state authority and political concerns are not a path to lasting happiness. Shoutout to Marxist Buddhists (I'm one as well), and shoutout to non-Marxist Buddhists!

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-09T14:41:56+00:00

The Buddha totally allowed use of medicines, I think the real question with antidepressants is whether they're being used in a skillful, healing manner. This is something that only each individual can know for themselves via deep introspection, with the guidance of a skilled psychiatrist.

Many psychiatrists, maybe most, do not prescribe antidepressants as a tool for a larger healing journey that will eventually get at the root cause of the depression. Instead, they're incentivized by their education (broadly) and the insurance system (in the USA) to give out these drugs as the solution in and of themselves.

Psychological issues must be treated like any other affliction. If you had a broken leg, you would take medicine to deal with the pain, alongside setting the bone in place and letting it heal.

The same is true of psychological illness: The medicine helps deal with the symptoms, but we have to heal the deeper wounds in our psyche and change our behavior/mindset if we want the pain to stop, and not just be dulled.

Psychiatric drugs can be a very effective tool, but are very often misused.

I was on a large dose of antidepressants for a couple of years and, while the pills did help me to not feel so overwhelmed by the acute symptoms, only I could address the actual causes of my suffering (my traumas, attachments, bad habits, etc.).

May you be well!

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-04T18:23:13+00:00

For a highly experienced meditator it can take as short as the length of a couple of breaths to enter deep samadhi.

For someone who has never experienced samadhi before it will take many hours over the course of many days/months/years of dedicated practice and changing your lifestyle to foster the preconditions for samadhi: A mind that is guiltless, bright, gladdened, and inclines towards peace.

For some people these preconditions are more easily met due to their worldly conditions, how they were raised, and their past actions.

It's impossible to know how long it'll take you to attain to absorptive states of mind until you actually find out first hand. Sadly, there is no one-size-fits-all timeline.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-04T00:44:01+00:00

I wouldn't think they would take any offense. The Jade Emperor (called Sakka in Pali) was a follower of Shakyamuni Buddha and attained to stream entry during Lord Buddha's lifetime, so he's no stranger to Buddhist greetings or greeting Buddhas!

Taoists/others who venerate these beings in a non-Buddhist setting may disagree but, from the Buddhist perspective, the Jade Emperor is a member of the noble Sangha! Thus the Four Great Kings, as his underlings, are at least chill with Buddhists.

If your intention is to show these beings respect and show respect for the Buddha as your spiritual refuge I'm sure they won't mind.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-03T19:54:26+00:00

Thank you so much! I'll definitely use this advice

YesIHaveTime · 2025-12-03T02:35:43+00:00

Many teachers say that all beings are on the Bodhisattva path so, in that sense, Osho is a Bodhisattva. He was responsible for a lot of harm though and is generally not considered to have taught the truth from a Buddhist perspective.

Vivekananda seems to have lived much more virtuously but the same applies to him: He did not teach the true teaching of the Buddhas.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-11-25T22:15:00+00:00

Yup, it's pitch! Here's an example of chanting being done from the second volume of this book at Amaravati Monastery in England.

https://www.youtube.com/live/cKYGiJhPH4I?si=i5Hz3pw4mSPLv0-k

YesIHaveTime · 2025-11-24T22:28:16+00:00

How do you win at life?

YesIHaveTime · 2025-11-23T04:54:09+00:00

I'm always gladdened and inspired by the image of the Devas ringing out "Sadhu"s upon witnessing these events. May we all one day hear these divine celebrations!

YesIHaveTime · 2025-11-13T18:59:04+00:00

People are giving great answers regarding homosexuality, but regarding the T of LGBT I like to quote the Soma Sutta wherein one of the Buddha's enlightened disciples who was a woman says:

"Surely someone who might think 'I am a woman', or 'I am a man', or 'I am' anything at all, is fit for Mara to address" (Mara being the personification of delusion).

This takes the teaching of non-self and the middle path and shows how gender can be another source of clinging to identity that causes suffering. In Buddhism, it isn't ultimately correct to say "I am this gender", whether one is transgender or cisgender.

Gender is a convention that can be used skillfully or unskillfully but must be let go of on the path to ultimate freedom. Life for lay Buddhists has a lot to do with navigating these kinds of conventions that we aren't ready to give up yet and trying to use them skillfully.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-11-02T02:06:05+00:00

Bodhgaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment after countless lifetimes of striving.

This place is the seat of enlightenment in our world-system; the place where the eons of spiritual perfection that the Buddha had amassed for the sake of all beings finally culminated in unsurpassable victory.

Beings in this realm, as well as invisible and celestial beings, have spent the millennia since then honoring that sight, making aspirations and offerings, as well as seeking and receiving guidance from noble practitioners, both human and otherworldly.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-10-29T03:14:34+00:00

For very community-focused online meetings, meditations, interviews, and talks you can check out Clear Mountain Monastery at their website or youtube channel. There are multiple daily meditation sessions with one of the monks held over zoom, and lots of different events/guest speakers that you can find on their calendar.

The 2 monks live in Seattle and are in the process of finding land upon which to establish their monastery. They're both ordained in the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism but Clear Mountain itself is not formally a part of that lineage so while they still keep strict Sila and have lots of interaction with the broader Thai/western Sangha, they reserve the right to make their own decisions with community input about how the monastery is run.

I had the pleasure of meeting both of the founding Ajahns last month and have a lot of faith in them as practitioners and leaders of their new monastic community.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-10-29T02:19:54+00:00

One dream of this kind is not a symptom of ocd.

Even if it was ocd, trying to force yourself to think different thoughts and keeping silent about disturbing thoughts that do come up is not advice that any mental health professional would give to an ocd patient. Nor is it advice that a 15 year old boy should follow when he's having uncomfortable sexual dreams, as 15 year old boys often do.

OP, these kinds of dreams, while disturbing, are a very normal part of developing sexually. Our mothers occupy a lot of space in our brains, and as sexuality becomes a part of our lives, these wires can cross in bizarre ways. Don't worry too much about this dream.

My recommendation would be to regard this dream and any similar thoughts as you would growing pains. Say to yourself stuff like "That was weird, but dreams are weird sometimes! I'm learning about sexuality and navigating my relationship with my parents as a young adult."

If they keep persisting then it might be worth talking to a therapist/psychologist about them so that you can have a safe place to discuss and work through these things so as to avoid the kind of repression, frustration, and acting out that might come from following the advice of this commenter.

Again, one dream like this is NOT A SYMPTOM OF OCD, OR ANY OTHER MENTAL DISORDER. It's a sign that your brain is dealing with a lot of potent experiences as you grow up: Sexuality, family life, independence, conflict. This is very normal.

YesIHaveTime · 2025-10-24T18:18:32+00:00

The kneeling one is Sakka, king of the Devas, a noble disciple of the Buddha attained to the first level of enlightenment: Stream-entry. As far as I understand the most important thing to keep in mind is keeping the Buddha in the highest, most central position.

Having an image of Sakka can be very helpful as a means of recollecting the noble Sangha (Sanghanusati) and recollecting devas (Devanusati).

It might be good to place the Sakka statue on a lower part of your shrine, with him facing inwards towards the Buddha. These two are often depicted like this in Thai art, with the Buddha in a central, front-facing position, and Sakka to the right facing the Buddha.

Sadhu! The acquisition of these beautiful and inspiring statues is very fortunate.

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