[Buddha-l] Magic

[Franz Metcalf]

Joy et al.,

As our good Bhikkhu Dhammanando says, there's no Vinaya rule against 
displaying magic, per se, though in the Cullavagga showing off a 
psychic power gets compared to sexual exhibition for money. (See 
<http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/bmc2/ch10.html> 
and scroll 4/5 down the page to the heading "Displaying psychic 
powers.")

By contrast, in the category of Nissaggiya Offenses (Requiring 
Expiation through Forfeiture), rule 23 begins with an origin story of 
Bhikkhu Pilindavaccha creating a golden chaplet for a poor girl. She 
and her family end up imprisoned for theft! (Since they could never 
have acquired the chaplet through normal legal means.) Only 
Pilindavaccha's turning King Seniya Bimbisāra's palace gold shows the 
king he's erred in condemning the family. As a result of his displays 
Pilindavaccha gets such fame folks give him way too much medicine and 
he and his monks hoard it up and their vihara gets overrun with rats. 
But none of this causes a rule against showing powers. Instead there's 
just the institution of a rule against keeping medicine longer than a 
week. So the display of magic is not such a central Buddhist sin 
(Protestant imported terminology intended) as the Carus quote would 
indicate. Certainly nothing compared to the heinous offense of hoarding 
medicine.

Cheers,

Franz Metcalf

On Jun 14, 2007, at 7:57 AM, Joy Vriens wrote:

> The Buddha apparently said:
>
> "I forbid you, O bhikkhus,
> to employ any spells or supplications,
> for they are useless,
> since the law of karma governs all things.
> He who attempts to perform miracles
> has not understood the doctrine of the Tathagata."
>
> And a lot of cheering and shouting of Hurray could be heard from the 
> cloud of protestant Buddhist scholars above.
>
> Can anyone tell me in what source, when and why "the Buddha" (had to) 
> forbid the use of magic?
>
> <Warning: boobytrapped question>
>
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