There is no reason to doubt that the Buddha believed in the existence of these powers and countenanced the practices supposed to lead to them.  Thus Moggallana, second only to Sariputta among his disciples, was called the master of iddhi[709], and it is mentioned as a creditable and enjoyable accomplishment[710].  But it is made equally plain that such magical or hypnotic practices are not essential to the attainment of the Buddha’s ideal.  When lists of attainments are given, iddhi does not receive the first place and it may be possessed by bad men:  Devadatta for instance was proficient in it.  It is even denounced in the story of Pindola Bharadvaja[711] and in the Kevaddha sutta[712].  In this curious dialogue the Buddha is asked to authorize the performance of miracles as an advertisement of the true faith.  He refuses categorically, saying there are three sorts of wonders namely iddhi, that is flying through the air, etc. the wonder of manifestation which is thought-reading:  and the wonder of education.  Of the first two he says “I see danger in their practice and therefore I loathe, abhor and am ashamed of them.”  Then by one of those characteristic turns of language by which he uses old words in new senses he adds that the true miracle is the education of the heart.

Neither are the other transcendental powers necessary for emancipation.  Sariputta had not the heavenly eye, yet he was the chief disciple and an eminent arhat.  This heavenly eye (dib-ba-cakkhu) is not the same as the eye of truth (dhamma-cakkhu).  It means perfect knowledge of the operation of Karma and hence a panoramic view of the universe, whereas the eye of truth is a technical phrase for the opening of the eyes, the mental revolution which accompanies conversion.  But though transcendental knowledge is not indispensable for attaining nirvana, it is an attribute of the Buddha and in most of its forms amounts to an exceptional insight into human nature and the laws of the universe, which, though after the Indian manner exaggerated and pedantically defined, does not differ essentially from what we call genius.

The power of recollecting one’s previous births, often mentioned in the Pitakas, has been described in detail by Buddhist writers and Buddhaghosa[713] distinguishes between the powers possessed by various persons.  The lowest form of recollection merely passes from one mental state to a previous mental state and so on backwards through successive lives, not however understanding each life as a whole.  But even ordinary disciples can not only recollect previous mental states but can also travel backwards along the sequence of births and deaths and bring up before their minds the succession of existences.  A Buddha’s intelligence dispenses with the necessity of moving backwards from birth to birth but can select any point of time and see at once the whole series of births extending from it in both directions, backwards and forwards.  Buddhaghosa then goes on to prescribe