186 The Buddhist Paththe moon ... he has mastery with his body as far as the world of
Brahma.
Or he has knowledge of distant sounds, knowledge of the state
of others' minds, knowledge of his own and others' past lives.^30
The place of the various meditational powers in Buddhist
practice is a question of some dispute.^31 Sometimes it is suggested
by scholars that these powers are regarded as entirely peripheral
and even disparaged in the earliest texts. There is no real evid-
ence for such a view. In fact, although it is quite true that both
the earliest texts and the later manuals do not present the medi-
tational powers as an essential or necessary part of Buddhist
practice, they nevertheless regard them as useful complements
to the meditator's practice that may facilitate his practice of the
higher stages of the path. More significantly, with the attainment
of the final goal of awakening, skill in the meditational powers
becomes a means for teaching and helping others. We thus find
stories of the Buddha and his awakened disciples using their
ability in meditational powers to aid others in the practice of the
path. In other contexts they are simply presented as a natural
by-product or consequence of the practice of calm meditation.
Stories of such meditational powers are everywhere part of the
Buddhist tradition; they are told of the tantric siddhas of Tibet,
(see Chapter 10) and of the modern saints and practitioners of
South-East Asia.^32
The brahma-vihiirasOne group of ancient meditation practices that the Theravadin
meditation manuals accommodate to the scheme of dhyiinas
(but which it has been suggested were originally conceived as
a path to complete awakening in their own right) are the four
'immeasurables' (apramiilJalappamanna) or 'divine abidings'
(brahma-vihiiras).^33 The underlying motivation for the practice
of the Buddhist path is generally understood to be the bene-
fit and welfare of both oneself and others. Thus according to
Theravadin Abhidharma the wholesome mind always contains
the seed of 'loving kindness' (maitr"i/mettii). It is this seed that