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Old 10-19-2012, 04:50 PM   #1
tantric
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Default Buddhist/Hindu Psi

In one of the Buddha's lectures, he defines the various supernatural powers that can be obtained on the road to enlightenment. Some of these are very similar to the western idea of psi, others less so. For your edification and amusement (and potential game use), I'm going to outline the easy ones before asking for help on the hard ones.

This is from The Six Supernatural Powers of the Buddha

1. Iddhividha - the power of transformation, come back to this one

2. Dibbasota - Celestial hearing, simple Clairaudience

3. Cetopariya - the power of the discernment of the mind of others. Telereceive with Deep Probe, Universal, Full Communion. Presumably also includes Telesend and Mindshield

4. Pubbenivasa - the power of knowing previous existences. Odd version of retrocognition, more later

5. Dibbacakkhu - Celestial vision. This goes beyond clairyovance in a way that is not entirely clear. It also seems to need something like the old Worldsight advantage, but for Dharmic religions. It definitely includes True Sight and the ability to penetrate all illusions.

6. Asavakkaya - Supramundane knowledge or power relating to the destruction of asavas and the recognition of the Four Noble Truths. This one is odd - I've been a Buddhist for 20yrs and I'm not sure I can explain it. Asavas are the destructive impulses that lead one to be trapped in Samasara. As I understand it, this is the power that the Buddha used to defeat his enemies, especially Lord Mara. For game purposes, let's call it True Faith.

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Quote:
1. IDDHIVIDHA - THE POWER OF TRANSFORMATION.

The Buddha said "If a monk should frame a wish as follows: "Let me exercise the various magical powers, let me being one become multiform., let me being multiform become one, let me become visible, become invisible, go without hindrance through walls, ramparts or mountains as if through air, let me rise and sink in the ground as if in the water, let me walk on the water as if on unyielding ground, let me travel cross-legged through the air liked a winged bird, let me touch and feel with my hand the moon and the sun mighty and powerful though they are, and let me go without my body even up to the Brahma world," then must he be perfect in the precepts (Sila), bring his thoughts to a state of quiescence (Samadhi), practice diligently the trances (Jhana), attain to insight (Panna) and be frequenter to lonely places
So, yikes. The subcategories of Iddhividha are: Density Control, Duplication and Astral Projection. Density Control includes the following powers: Catfall w/Featherfall, Damage Resistance w/Tough Skin, Insubstabtiality, Permeation (no tunnel), Resistant to Knockback, Striking ST, Walk on Air, Walk on Liquid.

I'm thinking use a modified version of Density (Pyramid Sample) and fold in a limited form of Astral Projection and Duplication with the Psionic Source. In terms of power, this ability replaces Telekinesis and the various mental attack forms.

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4. PUBBENIVASA - POWER OF KNOWING PREVIOUS EXISTENCES. The All-knowing One further elucidated thus: "If a monk should frame a wish as follows:- Let me call to my mind many previous states of existence, to wit one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, one hundred births, one thousand births, one hundred thousand births, many destructions of a world cycle (Kappa), many renovations of a world cycle, many destructions and many renovations of a world cycle: I lived in such a place, had such a name was of such a family, of such a caste, had such a maintenance, experienced such happiness and such miseries had such a length of life. Then I passed from that existence and was reborn in such a place. There also I had such a name, was of such a family, of such a caste, had such a maintenance, experienced such happiness and such miseries, had such a length of life. Then I passed from that existence and was reborn in such a place. There also I had such a name, was of such a family, of such a caste, had such a maintenance, experienced such happiness and such miseries, had such a length of life. Then I passed from that existence and was reborn in this existence." Thus let me call to my mind many former states of existence and let me specifically characterise them," then must he be perfect in the precepts etc. -
This is a weird version of Retrocognition, but I'm unlcear as how to phrase its limitation.

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Another page with many more details and various powers: Supernatural Power, Buddhist and Hindu. Most of these I'm making available through Pranayama/breath control



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Last edited by tantric; 10-19-2012 at 05:44 PM.
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Old 10-19-2012, 10:38 PM   #2
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Default Re: Buddhist/Hindu Psi

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Originally Posted by tantric View Post
So, yikes. The subcategories of Iddhividha are: Density Control, Duplication and Astral Projection. Density Control includes the following powers: Catfall w/Featherfall, Damage Resistance w/Tough Skin, Insubstabtiality, Permeation (no tunnel), Resistant to Knockback, Striking ST, Walk on Air, Walk on Liquid.

I'm thinking use a modified version of Density (Pyramid Sample) and fold in a limited form of Astral Projection and Duplication with the Psionic Source. In terms of power, this ability replaces Telekinesis and the various mental attack forms.
Sounds a lot like the list of powers that the Monkey learned from his Taoist master.

Bill Stoddard
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Old 10-20-2012, 10:09 AM   #3
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Default Re: Buddhist/Hindu Psi

The list of Siddhis in Patanjli's Yoga Sutra is similar.

You may enjoy looking at that too.
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Old 10-20-2012, 10:35 AM   #4
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Default Re: Buddhist/Hindu Psi

IDDHIVIDHA - sounds more like a form of astral projection, or Insubstantiality with Projection, and perhaps some cosmetic materialization.
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Old 10-22-2012, 06:06 AM   #5
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Default Re: Buddhist/Hindu Psi

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4. Pubbenivasa - the power of knowing previous existences. Odd version of retrocognition, more later
In Sagatafl's Ärth historical fantasy setting, some of the druidic Kelts can recall previous lives, and a few with sufficient clarity to "reach back" and gain skills that their ancestors had. I'm not sure of exactly how I'll implement that, as game mechanics, but GURPS has several options to do something more or less similar:

Some of them are discussed very briefly in GURPS Fantasy, in the "Roma Arcana" chapter. If you don't have that one, IIRC the relevant Advantages are Wild Talent (with one of several Enhancements, or unmodifeid), and the one where you pay 10 CP (effectively an UB) to be able to learn skills without a teacher but not instantly. I can't remember what it is called.
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Old 10-23-2012, 11:04 AM   #6
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Default Re: Buddhist/Hindu Psi

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Originally Posted by tantric View Post
6. Asavakkaya - Supramundane knowledge or power relating to the destruction of asavas and the recognition of the Four Noble Truths. This one is odd - I've been a Buddhist for 20yrs and I'm not sure I can explain it. Asavas are the destructive impulses that lead one to be trapped in Samasara. As I understand it, this is the power that the Buddha used to defeat his enemies, especially Lord Mara. For game purposes, let's call it True Faith.
Asavas are the Buddhist equivalent to Hindu Vasanas (partly related with Samskaras as well): psychic clots acquired in different transmigrations, along with those obtained in the current life, linking consciousness with the lower states of being (i.e., certain modalities of this world and also the hells), or to put it in other terms, the Aristotelian sphere of "generation and corruption", the Taoist “current of forms” or the Hindu & Buddhist Samsara.

This is related to the "descent into hell" that Western esotericism hermetically talked about, since destroying such lesser/inferior/infernal (hell: Latin Infernus) psychic preformations and clots is a necessary, preliminary step that amounts for the first steps in the purification of consciousness, unlinking and freeing it from the lower states of being and their corresponding desires, tendencies, mental states and limits for trying to face the goal of Enlightenment.

Regarding "True Faith" for portraying this for gaming purposes, it's good if you like it; however in spiritual works and symbolic literature (e.g. the Odyssey, the Aeneid, The Divine Comedy, and even The Lord of the Rings) there are many different ways —even violent, adventurous ones— of alluding to and representing this purificatory process along with its result, which is only a prerequisite for the positive search of Enlightenment. For instance, since sometimes the destruction of asavas or "the descent into hell" is portrayed by means of successfully traversing a dangerous labyrinth, a character having mastered this "power" or "spiritual knowledge" could be also portrayed as having the Absolute Direction advantage, and or even any kind of destructive ability, since the aforementioned psychic clots can be foes and demons —there is a lot of flexibility in these matters.
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Old 10-24-2012, 02:14 PM   #7
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Default Re: Buddhist/Hindu Psi

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there are many different ways —even violent, adventurous ones— of alluding to and representing this purificatory process along with its result, which is only a prerequisite for the positive search of Enlightenment. For instance, since sometimes the destruction of asavas or "the descent into hell" is portrayed by means of successfully traversing a dangerous labyrinth, a character having mastered this "power" or "spiritual knowledge" could be also portrayed as having the Absolute Direction advantage, and or even any kind of destructive ability, since the aforementioned psychic clots can be foes and demons —there is a lot of flexibility in these matters.
ISTR the GURPS CABAL version of this is related to the crossing of the Abyss, including the part where the titanic sword's edge cleaves off bits of the psychic self - hopefully the undesirable clots rather than positive attributes or faculties.
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