Buddha's miracles

Last night, I attended a Dharma talk in the Buddhist Lodge by the reknown Ajahn Brahm, a Theravadan monk based in Perth Australia, who just flew in straight from the airport. The talk was titled "Buddha's Miracles" organised by the Buddhist Fellowship. The word "miracle" never fails to stir up mystic curiosity of the supernatural. So I wanted to hear what miraculous deeds that Buddha has done.

Ajahn Brahm was in his usual jovial self, relating stories and anecdotes in his tongue-in-cheek humour. He was a great story teller. He joked that since other religions were raving the importance of miracles and jumping up and down in celebration of witnessing miracles, perhaps we (Buddhists) should do the same. We laughed, and after a pause of silence, Ajahn Brahm said, miracles are just special effects.

He related the story of a man, who came to his teaching. Throughout the talk, he was breathing very hard, which naturally disturbed some of the audience. Ajahn Brahm then told the audience the man was diagnosed with advanced stage of lung cancer, and he had difficulties breathing. The doctor was not optimistic as both lungs were malignant. The man came to see Ajahn Brahm as the last resort as he knew it was too late. A few years later, the man came to see Ajahn Brahm again and asked if he remembered him. He told Ajahn Brahm a week after his talk, he went to see the doctor again. Looking at the Xray of his lungs, the doctor was shaking his head. The man thought it had got worse. The doctor then said in disbelief, the cancer had totally disappeared, and asked "what did you do?!". To everyone, it was a miracle. To Ajahn Brahm, there was no miracle.

The simple advice that Ajahn Brahm had given the man at that time was, "go and do meditation". Miracles only happened when you do something good, kind, inspiring and noble. It was beyond blind faith. Miracles can only happen when your mind is calm and still, so normal human beings like ourselves can make it happen. If our intentions are kind and pure, the divine beings or deva beings (or what you call angels) around us will help us. These mysterious forces would be behind you to help you. We need not be dependent on Buddha to show us miracles. It is through ourselves that can make it happen.

I quote this phrase which I found online "It is very strange that just by silently sitting not doing anything, and the door opens. Your ultimate reality is not something to be sought in the outside world; it is hidden in the seeker himself. There is no need to go anywhere. Just sit down, settle down. The mind is just like dust in water. If you are patient enough, the dust will settle and the crystal-clear water will be there reflecting the full moon". Read the full story here. Below is my summary.

There was a similar story of both Buddha's and Jesus' miracles. Lazarus, a friend of Jesus and a follower, died. Four days later Jesus came, the dead body of Lazarus was being kept in a cave in the mountains. He called, "Lazarus! Come out!" and Lazarus came out. This is thought to be the greatest miracle of Jesus.

A similar situation arose before Buddha. A woman was going to drown herself, because her husband had died and her only child also died. People told her to bring the body of her child to Buddha. Buddha said, "I will bring him back to life on one condition: you have to bring some mustard seeds from a house where nobody has ever died."

The poor woman thought, "This is not difficult". She went from house to house. People could give her mustard seeds but she could not find a house where nobody has died. By the evening it became clear that everybody who is born would die, and she could not find the required mustard seeds. But her tears disappeared, and instead a great awareness arose, that "Life and death exist together. And what does it matter if my child dies today or tomorrow? He would have to die, and it is good that he has died before me. If I had died first he would have been an orphan, a beggar. This is a great blessing." She asked to be initiated by Buddha.

We see the difference between the two stories. Lazarus was resurrected, but he would have to die again. What was the point of resurrecting him? He has not been transformed. He has not become awakened. But this woman in a similar situation with a great master, encounters the very basic problem: how to transcend life and death? The real miracle is that the woman has come to an understanding of grasping something beyond this circle of life and death. From the outside you may not think it a great miracle. To resurrect the body is not the question - he will die again, you are simply giving him another chance to die.

Buddha did not walk on water and did not turn water into wine and did not make any Lazarus come back to life. Compared to Jesus he has not done anything. Buddha cannot do any miracle for the simple reason that he is no more. He cannot be knowledgeable because he has dropped himself, like a dew drop from the lotus leaf into the ocean. His let-go is so total that a tremendous energy field is created around him in which anything may happen; but he is not the doer. Fully understanding this is then a miracle itself.