The Buddha teaches on the four bases of psychic power—immersion due to enthusiasm, energy, mental development, and inquiry, each with active effort—showing how they are developed and cultivated regarding the path.

SN 51.21 The Path

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

“Pubbeva me, bhikkhave, sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato etadahosi: ‘ko nu kho maggo, paṭipadā iddhipādabhāvanāyā’ti? Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘idha bhikkhu chandasamādhippadhānasaṅkhārasamannāgataṁ iddhipādaṁ bhāveti iti me chando na ca atilīno bhavissati, na ca atippaggahito bhavissati, na ca ajjhattaṁ saṅkhitto bhavissati, na ca bahiddhā vikkhitto bhavissati. Pacchāpuresaññī ca viharati yathā pure tathā pacchā, yathā pacchā tathā pure; yathā adho tathā uddhaṁ, yathā uddhaṁ tathā adho; yathā divā tathā rattiṁ, yathā rattiṁ tathā divā. Iti vivaṭena cetasā apariyonaddhena sappabhāsaṁ cittaṁ bhāveti.

Vīriyasamādhi …pe… cittasamādhivīmaṁsāsamādhippadhānasaṅkhārasamannāgataṁ iddhipādaṁ bhāveti iti me vīmaṁsā na ca atilīnā bhavissati, na ca atippaggahitā bhavissati, na ca ajjhattaṁ saṅkhittā bhavissati, na ca bahiddhā vikkhittā bhavissati. Pacchāpuresaññī ca viharati yathā pure tathā pacchā, yathā pacchā tathā pure; yathā adho tathā uddhaṁ, yathā uddhaṁ tathā adho; yathā divā tathā rattiṁ yathā rattiṁ tathā divā’ iti vivaṭena cetasā apariyonaddhena sappabhāsaṁ cittaṁ bhāveti.

Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu anekavihitaṁ iddhividhaṁ paccanubhotiekopi hutvā bahudhā hoti, bahudhāpi hutvā eko hoti …pe… yāva brahmalokāpi kāyena vasaṁ vatteti.

Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu, āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharatī”ti.

Paṭhamaṁ.

(Chapi abhiññāyo vitthāretabbā.)

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

At Sāvatthī.

“Pubbeva me, bhikkhave, sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato etadahosi:

“Mendicants, before my awakening—when I was still unawakened but intent on awakening—I thought:

‘ko nu kho maggo, paṭipadā iddhipādabhāvanāyā’ti?

‘What’s the path and practice for developing the bases of psychic power?’

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi:

Then it occurred to me:

‘idha bhikkhu chandasamādhippadhānasaṅkhārasamannāgataṁ iddhipādaṁ bhāveti

‘It’s when a mendicant develops the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to enthusiasm, and active effort.

iti me chando na ca atilīno bhavissati, na ca atippaggahito bhavissati, na ca ajjhattaṁ saṅkhitto bhavissati, na ca bahiddhā vikkhitto bhavissati.

They think: “My enthusiasm won’t be too lax or too tense. And it’ll be neither constricted internally nor scattered externally.”

Pacchāpuresaññī ca viharati

And they meditate perceiving before and behind:

yathā pure tathā pacchā, yathā pacchā tathā pure;

as before, so behind; as behind, so before;

yathā adho tathā uddhaṁ, yathā uddhaṁ tathā adho;

as below, so above; as above, so below;

yathā divā tathā rattiṁ, yathā rattiṁ tathā divā.

as by day, so by night; as by night, so by day.

Iti vivaṭena cetasā apariyonaddhena sappabhāsaṁ cittaṁ bhāveti.

And so, with an open and unenveloped heart, they develop a mind that’s full of radiance.

Vīriyasamādhi …pe…

They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to energy …

cittasamādhi

mental development …

vīmaṁsāsamādhippadhānasaṅkhārasamannāgataṁ iddhipādaṁ bhāveti

inquiry, and active effort.

iti me vīmaṁsā na ca atilīnā bhavissati, na ca atippaggahitā bhavissati, na ca ajjhattaṁ saṅkhittā bhavissati, na ca bahiddhā vikkhittā bhavissati.

They think: “My inquiry won’t be too lax or too tense. And it’ll be neither constricted internally nor scattered externally.”

Pacchāpuresaññī ca viharati

And they meditate perceiving before and behind:

yathā pure tathā pacchā, yathā pacchā tathā pure;

as before, so behind; as behind, so before;

yathā adho tathā uddhaṁ, yathā uddhaṁ tathā adho;

as below, so above; as above, so below;

yathā divā tathā rattiṁ yathā rattiṁ tathā divā’

as by day, so by night; as by night, so by day.

iti vivaṭena cetasā apariyonaddhena sappabhāsaṁ cittaṁ bhāveti.

And so, with an open and unenveloped heart, they develop a mind that’s full of radiance.’

Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu anekavihitaṁ iddhividhaṁ paccanubhotiekopi hutvā bahudhā hoti, bahudhāpi hutvā eko hoti …pe… yāva brahmalokāpi kāyena vasaṁ vatteti.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way, a mendicant wields the many kinds of psychic power: multiplying themselves and becoming one again … controlling the body as far as the realm of divinity.

Evaṁ bhāvitesu kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu catūsu iddhipādesu evaṁ bahulīkatesu, āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharatī”ti.

When the four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way, they realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom in this very life. And they live having realized it with their own insight due to the ending of defilements.”

Paṭhamaṁ.

(Chapi abhiññāyo vitthāretabbā.)

(The six direct knowledges should be told in full.)

Topics & Qualities:

Ending

Ending

The complete exhaustion and ending of craving, aversion, and delusion—the three roots of suffering. It refers to both the gradual wearing away of defilements through practice and the final cessation that constitutes Nibbāna.

Also known as: cessation, exhaustion, gradual ending, wearing away
Pāli: khaya, khīṇa, nirodha
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Insight

Insight

Insight is deep, intuitive realization that transforms understanding and guides practice.

Also known as: having insight, with understanding, right knowledge
Pāli: ñāṇa, sammāñāṇa
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Liberation

Liberation

Liberation can imply a temporary release of the mind, i.e. liberated from certain unwholesome mental qualities or complete liberation from all unwholesome qualities of the mind, i.e. Nibbāna.

Also known as: freedom, release, emancipation, deliverance
Pāli: vimutti, vimokkha, cetovimutti, paññāvimutti, akuppā cetovimutti
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Psychic power

Psychic power

Supernormal capacities resulting from a practice of collectedness rooted in aspiration, determination, purification of mind, and investigation of phenomena.

Also known as: supernormal abilities, psychic ability, spiritual power
Pāli: iddhi, iddhimant
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Vigour

Vigour

Energetic effort and resilience in practice. It is the refusal to shrink back, the 'uphill' force that initiates and sustains wholesome actions against the gravity of habit.

Also known as: energy, effort, enthusiasm, zeal, application of will, persistence
Pāli: vīriya
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Wisdom

Wisdom

Lived understanding and sound judgment that steers the mind away from suffering, distinct from mere accumulation of facts.

Also known as: (of a person) wise, astute, intelligent, learned, skilled, firm, stable, steadfast, an experiential understanding of the four noble truths
Pāli: paññā, medhā, dhīra, paṇḍita, asammūḷha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026