Miracles

A miracle (pàñihàriya) is an act or occurrence contravening the known laws of nature and which is believed to have a divine cause. The most commonly reported miracles include sudden non-medical healings, the appearances of deities, messages from deities etc. While the Buddha accepted the possibility of miracles he had a rather sceptical attitude towards most of the supposed miracles reported to him. Once somebody asked him to perform a miracle so that ‘even more people will have faith in you.’ The Buddha replied that there were miracles which thoughtful or skeptical people would have doubts about. There was however a miracle that all could have confidence in, what he called ‘the miracle of instruction’ (anusàsani pàñhàiya). This miracle consisted, he said, of teaching morality, acceptance, peace of mind and meditation (D.I,214).

See also: Psychic powers

References

• Buddhism A to Z. Ven. Dhammika, 2007.