“How years ago, in days of old, when magic filled the air.” Ramble On ~ Led Zeppelin
Dear Sensei Tony- Is there magic in Buddhism? Thank you, David.
Hi David- The short answer is yes! I would say a lot of people are not familiar with the idea of magic in Buddhism; let’s look at the word and what it may mean.
Most of us think of magic as something irrational or fake, so it's something that we associate with things like a Las Vegas show with sleight of hand or perhaps a mentalist of some sort. Or we think of it in terms of something we might experience at Halloween, right? Spooky, dark magic.
While magic has a long history among humans, the Magi (that word we hear around Christmastime) were the first to be called magicians, but the actual origin of the word comes from Persia. The original groups were ancient shamans and then eventually the Persians, who were influenced by the Scythians, developed the Order of the Magi, the Mages, the Magus. They were known for many magical arts and especially for astrology as a template for understanding the changes in life.
However, they knew a very different sense of magic than what we ordinarily think of. Magic was understood to be a spiritual practice. It was about the transformation of one's being, and whether you are aware of it or not, Buddhism is replete with it. The Buddha himself, Shakyamuni (which means Scythian Sage), was considered to be the greatest master magician; in fact, in an alternative history about his life that is emerging from some scholars, it is thought that he actually may have been, at one time, the head of the Magi Order. Mind-blowing, right?
What does this mean? Obviously, we are not talking about parlor games or hocus-pocus and those sorts of things. Rather, this idea of magic goes way, way back in human history, probably beginning with those that we consider pre-human in some ways: Hominids, Neanderthals, early groups like that. We know from some of the things that we study, such as the cave paintings of France, that there seem to be principles of magic involved, namely sympathy and correspondence. Here is an example of the principle of Sympathy: when you were preparing for hunting, you would enact the hunt ritually before you actually went out, with the idea that somehow this would make the hunt more successful. The other principle is correspondence, which is the idea that an object or a figurine in some way is corresponding to some larger reality. The oldest example that we have is a female figure, which is likely a fertility symbol, we think. So, in human history, this idea that somehow there's a relationship between the outside world and the inner world is very old. And as I said, this found its way through human history all the way up into the time of the more sophisticated Magi; then it was later picked up by Asians and Europeans.
And again, remember that the word 'magic' here means practicing spiritual principles and that somehow what we do inside has an effect on the outside. The two main practices were known as thaumaturgy and theurgy. Have you ever heard those terms? These are words that were used by the Greeks to describe these magical processes. You will also find older, similar terms in the Pali and Sanskrit, which were later translated by people like Pythagoras and Plotinus. So, what exactly do they mean?
In thaumaturgy, it was understood that the universe is regarded as a series of evolutionary emanations from cosmic oneness. I wrote about this in my book, Mere Buddhism. The understanding is that for a practical reason, as we emanated into being and our personal consciousness evolved or emerged, there was an amnesia, or a forgetting of who we truly are. This was known as agnosis in Greek and avidya in Sanskrit. It was the idea that somehow, as consciousness emerged, it was necessary for it to happen this way: a purposeful process of forgetting. So, this magic, the practice of these rites, was about remembering (Greek word gnosis or anamnesis) who you really are; it was about helping you to discover and live out of a true-self orientation.
One way to look at the wisdom of the Buddha, who I believe was the greatest teacher on human consciousness in history, is to put them into the context that the Greeks did in adapting these teachings. They would say that this is a via negativa path. It is the idea that you're removing something that's an obstacle; you don’t have to create the experience itself. It is already just so.
Here is a helpful analogy: A friend of mine had surgery and his wound wouldn't heal. The doctors had to go back in and do another surgery and, as so often happens, they had left something in there that was preventing the wound from closing. Once they removed that object, the healing naturally happened all on its own. So, it's like you're following the harmony of nature in a sense, you're removing something so that what is naturally there will manifest.
Let me give another analogy. I imagine you have heard of the expression “a needle in a haystack.” Did you know that this expression comes from Buddha? It’s in the scripture known as the Digha Nikaya. In one of the passages, the Buddha says to his students, “How do you find a needle in a haystack? How do you remove all the hay that is not a needle?” You do it by setting a match to it to light the hay on fire. What is left behind is the needle. It’s the idea that when you burn away the things that are not essential, you will reveal the true self. This is a concept you'll see and hear about over and over; the Dharmic version of what we're doing is to experience a liberation ontology which is based upon the sacred knowing that there is a true self.
Now, Buddhism tends towards the very practical, and quite honestly, when it comes to a lot of these philosophical constructs, you really don’t need to bother with them. If the so-called
secular practices of Buddhism are helping you and you're not curious about the bigger mystery, then you can let it go. However, I honestly believe that you will miss out on a deeper understanding. You’ll have the prose but miss the poetry.
There is a passage in the scripture known as the Samyutta Nikaya where they ask Buddha, “What shall we call your teaching?” Buddha says we should call it, “The wondrous path to the absolute.” Maybe modern Buddhism needs a bit of mindful re-enchanting. Perhaps we can do this by looking at how this magic played out in Buddhist history.
I'm just going to share with you a few things that I think are kind of fun. For example, the cultural folklore of Buddhism abounds with everything you can imagine: zombies, vampires, ghosts, ghouls, ogres and dragons! Now, the question that arises is, did they believe it literally or did they understand that it was symbolic?
Historically, most Buddhists saw these things as a visible metaphor for the strange world of the invisible mind, but many did not. And while people may have had different ideas, it was definitely a very magical world and the application was the same. Shakyamuni himself was considered to possess and exercise the powers of magic, including psychic abilities, clairaudience, telepathy, dream yoga, and the astral body.
So, it's pretty wild, and I think it's fun because a lot of people are unfamiliar with it. The Buddha even recommends reciting the Metta or Loving Kindness Sutra as a form of protection. This is part and parcel of the tradition, just like the first piece we chant in the ancient liturgy that we observe this time of the year, known as the Segaki, which is called a Dharani; it’s essentially a magical mantra spell of protection.
In some schools of Buddhism, the teachers were known as mahasiddha, or “masters of Enchantment,” great magicians of the Mind who were part healer and shaman. Their powers were, in part, a gift of their birth, and also a side effect of intense meditation and mindfulness. These masters of enchantment were magicians who understood how to manipulate the mind using ritual arts of efficacy.
They also assisted as sacred shamans and manifested extraordinary powers that were rooted in childhood experiences of a wrathful Buddha or Bodhisattva archetype. Some of the scriptures that you find in the Tibetan tradition for example, the Bardo Thodal, are commonly known as “the book of the dead.” This is really about spiritual changes that occur at death and, in a way, it's a book of magic. Even the word wizard comes from Buddhist sources and is still used to this day in different parts of Asia. The practitioners are known as weizza or weikza. This wizardry is understood in a very real sense and not in just some sort of fairy tale fashion, in that they were utilizing the greatest magic of all to facilitate freedom: The Dharma.
As healers, they were able to manifest the ability to aid in healing the minds of others through special intuitive and creative applications. They were also known to bring about a change in the physical health of people. I know personally that there's a reality in how these practices help us physically. While I would never want to get into a situation where someone would feel like they were to blame for their illness, even our contemporary scientists are coming to the same conclusion: the idea that our mind and body are separate is actually an illusion.
Allow me to share a couple of examples. When I first started practicing mindfulness counseling, I encountered two different women, both of whom were trying to become pregnant. One had been trying for years. Because no medical reason could be found for this difficulty, I went on the premise that it might be mental. So, like a good wizard, I helped them to remove the psychological hindrances and guess what happened? Magically, within months of beginning the process they both became pregnant! Of course, there were a lot of jokes about people coming to me to get pregnant, but the point I’m making is that it was real wonder working.
Another experience I had was when a family from Asia came to me with the belief that their daughter’s illness, for which no medical reason could be found, was caused by demons. The daughter and the whole family believed that if I performed a certain ritual it would do something powerful for her. So, I did this ceremony and what do you know? A week later she recovered. That's real magic. It is real whether you want to believe in it or not.
In our tradition, the practices are specifically designed to help you employ this healing effect in your own life. Thaumaturgy, or realizing our true nature, is considered the higher form of realization. Theurgy, the daily practice of mindful analysis and many others, is considered the pragmatic, everyday version. Through the focus of intention and the analysis of thoughts, we change our reality.
It can make a real difference in our lives, so I just want you to have this knowledge and I think it's personally fantastic! I think what I get to do every day is magical because I see people go from a suffering state into loving liberation. I just help them to help themselves remove the obstacles. They inherently have everything they need; I just show them the way.
Our lives are like incense which we offer up to the sacred flame of wisdom. There is a burning away, or transforming, of things that are hindrances. In our Four Directions System of Mindfulness, this is primarily in the practice of The Four Questions. These four questions are like a burning away of what's not clear in your mind; then, what you're left with is a clarity that was already there, you just have to remove the “hay” of negative conditioning. It’s similar to the idea of Peace. You can’t make peace from my point of view. You remove the obstacles and the peace is naturally there. This would be part of our thaumaturgy and theurgy, an intentional thing that we're doing, recognizing that there really is this true self which transcends this contingent, transient existence, and at the same time, helps us to transform the thoughts and beliefs that bring about suffering.
In conclusion, I hope that this answer helps; I would encourage you to become a mindfulness magician in your own life!
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