Telepathy - A Monk Superpower?

The mind constantly produces thoughts, feelings, perceptions, impressions and mental noise. Don’t mistake these experiences for facts. A thought can feel completely convincing while still being only a mental phenomenon arising and passing according to conditions.

My mind is often full of thoughts. Or ideas conjured up by the imagination. I sometimes have conversations with myself. The problem is when I investigate them. A retired psychologist said to me the problem is when carry on having these conversations and follow through with them. Believing them is even worse because it’s the Mara of delusion. This is how mental illness develops. Put a stop to it. Stop mental illness in its tracks by becoming aware of, and understanding what is happening in our own minds moment to moment. Bring your awareness back to the present moment. Get out of your head. Too much introspection. Take a look at what is happening around you. Do something physical like painting a cabinet or cleaning a piece of furniture. Or go talk to someone. Socialise. All this can bring you out of your own head. Or in the case that you’re meditating let’s say anapanasati. Simply bring your attention back to the meditation object—the breathe. We are full of mental defilements. My own experiences and investigations have proven to me that my mind is quite often delusional. One minute I thought something was true. Next minute the evidence proved I was wrong. It’s mostly a load of made up nonsense anyway.

Overthinking. This also makes us ill. I don’t know whether it is possible to suddenly stop our minds from thinking. Suppose we could get out of our own minds. Rather than being introspective all of the time. We could look outward. Or we could change our environment to the right conditions making it conducive to spiritual attainment. Such as a quiet forest or place free from distractions and noise. I do know that we can still our minds through samatha meditation which essentially is the stilling of thoughts and mental phenomena. Making the mind calm and steady. Vipassana, in my opinion, takes this further as we train our minds as to gain control over it rather than passively allowing it to dominate our lives.

I’ve been told that mental illness affects everyone in society because everyone has mental defilements. This did not make me fearful. I did not reject this insight. Out of respect for my teacher. I investigated it. Society has tended to stigmatise topics such as this.

When you ignore your mental-health it becomes a problem later down the line. Let’s say you notice you’ve been having mental issues since you was a teenager and didn’t do much about it or didn’t really know how to deal with it. Well unfortunately by the time you reach into full maturity, say 40-60 years old or more, the likelihood is that your mental illness has developed into a disease that explains why you are so miserable and would rather be dead. I mean this is worst case scenario. Dhamma is very valuable here because it gives us early awareness. We learn to notice what is happening in the mind and understand it’s impermanent nature.

The Buddha’s Dhamma gives us a powerful method for investigating the mind. Through cittānupassanā, we observe the mind as mind, recognising changing mental states without automatically believing or identifying with them. The Satipaṭṭhānasutta (MN 10) provides the principal foundation for this practice, teaching us to know the mind with and without qualities such as greed, hatred and delusion, and to contemplate its arising and passing.

The Vitakkasaṇṭhānasutta (MN 20) provides further practical guidance for dealing with distracting and unwholesome thoughts. The Buddha teaches methods for working skilfully with thoughts rather than allowing the mind to be carried away by them.

The Dhammasaṅgaṇī is the first book of the Theravāda Abhidhamma Piṭaka. It systematically classifies phenomena into categories including wholesome, unwholesome and indeterminate. This provides an analytical framework for examining mental phenomena according to their qualities rather than simply treating them as a permanent self. (SuttaCentral)

Abhidhamma is the higher level dhamma which is analytical and technical. It helps us examine mental phenomena in very fine detail. There are Cittas and cetasikas amongst other phenomena. For example, 89 to 121 cittas and 52 cetasikas. A citta is a thought moment or a single moment of consciecness which arises and passes away. It is basic awareness of a mental object. Cittas can be wholesome or unwholesome. A particular mental factor known as a cetasika can attach to a particular citta, arising and passing away with it. A cetasika is essentially the quality present in that consciousness. Giving each thought moment its distinct quality. For example, when we encounter something unpleasant or unwanted, unpleasant feeling can arise; conditioned by delusion and other factors like aversion arises together with an anger-associated citta and other mental factors such as restlessness. Anger doesn’t arise from a permanent “me”; it arises dependently through conditions. This takes us back to the basics of the three characteristics. This anger-associated citta attached with its cetasika is a very brief experience of suffering because it is an unsatisfactory momentary experience which is impermanent. Subject to change. These are rapidly occurring mental processes which arise and pass away. It is not me, not mine, not myself. Therefore we should not identify ourselves with our thoughts or how we feel in these fleeting moments.

The Vibhaṅga means “Book of Analysis” and contains analytical treatments of subjects closely connected with the Suttas, including the aggregates, sense bases and dependent origination. Its method includes both Sutta-based analysis and Abhidhamma analysis. It therefore provides a useful bridge between the practical teachings of the Suttas and the more systematic analytical approach of the Abhidhamma. (SuttaCentral)

Kamma and kamma-vipāka condition the circumstances in which cittas and cetasikas arise, while the cetasika of intention (cetanā) is especially important because it directs the mind toward an object, motivates our responses and influences our behavior. When intentional action is performed it becomes kamma vipaka. The result of our actions. The very actions that were influenced by what the mind had produced beforehand.

The Paṭṭhāna is the Abhidhamma book devoted to conditional relationships. Its opening enumeration presents 24 kinds of condition, including root, object, proximity, conascence, repetition, kamma and resultant conditions. Its purpose is to analyse how phenomena support and condition one another. (SuttaCentral)

I find this very interesting. A citta accompanied by aversion and an intention toward ill will can condition subsequent cittas with similar qualities, creating a momentum in the mind that can keep anger or annoyance going for a period of time, especially when we are not mindful of our intentions. Lack understanding and thus are not in control of our own behavior.

The Āsevana-paccaya, or repetition condition, is particularly relevant to this idea of mental momentum. The Paṭṭhāna describes preceding wholesome phenomena as conditioning subsequent wholesome phenomena through repetition, and preceding unwholesome phenomena as conditioning subsequent unwholesome phenomena. This gives a detailed Abhidhamma framework for understanding how repeated mental processes can support further mental processes of a similar kind. (SuttaCentral)

This can be the sort of ignorance which explains why some people go through periods of expressing negative emotions such as continuing behaving in ways that reinforce the anger. Suffering continues. Khamma vipaka in this case could be understood as mental pain rather than bodily pain.

The Kamma Condition is another of the Paṭṭhāna’s 24 conditional relationships. It analyses wholesome and unwholesome kamma in relation to resultant phenomena, and specifically explains cetanā in its role as a kamma condition. This provides an Abhidhamma framework for examining the relationship between intention, action and results. (SuttaCentral)

So it’s like a chained sequence of events all linked together. In a philosophical sense, they say life is a journey. Abhidhamma is the science that says the cuti-citta (death consciousness) and paṭisandhi-citta (rebirth-linking consciousness) show how the continuity of conditioned consciousness can continue from one life to another; liberation comes when we detach. Otherwise life continues and when life continues, suffering comes with it. Yet by cutting off the chain of thoughts and mental processes through developing wisdom that removes craving and ignorance, thereby ending the conditions for further rebirth. This is how we put an end to the cycle of suffering in samsara.

Another way of putting it is that mental phenomena arise dependent upon conditions—the six sense media coming into contact with their objects, feelings and perceptions arising, and underlying latent tendencies influencing how the mind responds. The intensity of our defilements and the strength of our wisdom also condition what arises. When delusion and other defilements are strong, unwholesome states readily arise; when mindfulness, wise attention and wisdom are developed, they provide conditions for those defilements to weaken and eventually cease.

The Paṭṭhāna’s complete framework contains 24 conditional relationships. Among them are object condition, proximity condition, support condition, repetition condition, kamma condition, resultant condition, jhāna condition and path condition. The breadth of this analysis shows how the Abhidhamma examines mental and material phenomena not as isolated events, but in terms of the conditions through which they arise and support one another. (SuttaCentral)

When we develop sharp concentration through samadhi and vipassana meditation practice as to understand abhidhamma. Essentially we have refined our minds. In my experience this is a key part of the process for understanding and overcoming mental defilement as to gain control of what was once an uncontrollable mind.

I’ve been convinced that I have telepathy as a monk superpower. Believing I can discern what others may be thinking. Or perhaps what they could be saying or thinking about me whether far or near. I’ve learned that the world doesn’t revolve around me and that it could be mental illness. Nonetheless telepathy sounds very interesting!

So I decided to investigate. The mind can produce experiences that we believe to be true without evidence as proof. We should never assume mental noise is fact. An experience is an experience; evidence is evidence. Don’t get delusion mixed up with reality.

So when mind produces an extraordinary impression—such as believing we can sense what distant people are thinking—we should not immediately regard it as telepathy, spiritual power or objective reality. We can simply recognise: “This is an experience arising in the mind.” Then we investigate carefully and seek evidence before forming conclusions.

Dhamma teaches mindfulness, investigation, discernment and non-attachment. It can profoundly help us understand and prevent mental illness in our own lives. While appropriate psychological or medical support remains valuable for genuine mental-health difficulties. In my opinion the Dhamma is ultimately all we need.

The daily practice is straightforward: observe the mind, recognise impermanence, do not blindly believe mental phenomena, investigate with wisdom, do not feed overthinking, cultivate wholesome states and let go of attachment.

This is the practical spirit of cittānupassanā: knowing the mind clearly without becoming enslaved by whatever arises within it.

The mind is not our enemy. It is something to understand.

I’ll finish this talk with: The Buddha says that temples are supreme fields for cultivating Dhamma as to purify our minds and be free from suffering. This makes sense to me as they are a place inhabited by Buddhist practitioners, monks, nuns and laypeople. You’ll instantly experience the metta or loving kindness and warm, welcoming compassion when you visit the Thai Buddhist temples.

So for those of you struggling with mental issues. I’d advise you to take refuge in the triple gem. Come visit the Buddhist temples like I did. Have faith in the Dhamma teachings and it will help you as it helped me.