What may seem mystical and supernatural in Buddhism are generally about the inner world. Just consider how the various heavens are connected to different levels of absorption (see here). The various visions of the world can be summed up in what is called the five eyes, where the first one is our ordinary eye, and the second one is where all the supernatural things can be seen, while the other three are actually different levels of wisdom. Karma also is something that operates within one's inner world, defining one's perception of things and what could be called one's personality.
With a materialist ideology the entire inner world of one's mind is disregarded as if it had never existed. But we all experience thoughts, emotions, dreams, visions and various mental states. In fact, the concepts of materialism are also mental creations. Every experience one can have is within the mind, otherwise there is no consciousness of the experience and as such it cannot be called an experience. Since suffering/dissatisfaction exist within experience, it is within the realm of experience where one needs to look for solutions. Similarly, dreams and visions are also experiences, no different from ordinary events, like drinking a cup of tea. The difference is that while common people rarely encounter anything beyond the everyday worldly experiences, those who engage in spiritual cultivation - like meditation - can and often do have so called other-worldly experiences. Those other-worldly events are then reflected in the teachings and numerous stories that modern people easily and unthinkingly disregard as myths.
It is actually not particularly difficult to get in touch with the mystical side of our world. What it takes is to move our attention from the outside world of ordinary experiences to the inner realm. Normally the path to do that in Buddhism is to gain a firm foothold within the basic levels of absorption, that is, to be capable of maintaining a stable, calm and attentive mind at your will. There are other ways as well, generally not used by Buddhists, because those are not really conducive to liberation. Once one has a fairly good command of one's mind, it is then a matter of directing one's attention toward a particular topic or area of investigation. It can be used for the cultivation of the six supernormal powers (e.g. AN 5.28), while in Mahayana it is applied to so called visualisation practices, where one can visit buddhas and buddha-lands (e.g. Pratyutpanna-samadhi Sutra). Used properly, one can gain the benefits of both concentration and insight.
With a materialist ideology the entire inner world of one's mind is disregarded as if it had never existed. But we all experience thoughts, emotions, dreams, visions and various mental states. In fact, the concepts of materialism are also mental creations. Every experience one can have is within the mind, otherwise there is no consciousness of the experience and as such it cannot be called an experience. Since suffering/dissatisfaction exist within experience, it is within the realm of experience where one needs to look for solutions. Similarly, dreams and visions are also experiences, no different from ordinary events, like drinking a cup of tea. The difference is that while common people rarely encounter anything beyond the everyday worldly experiences, those who engage in spiritual cultivation - like meditation - can and often do have so called other-worldly experiences. Those other-worldly events are then reflected in the teachings and numerous stories that modern people easily and unthinkingly disregard as myths.
It is actually not particularly difficult to get in touch with the mystical side of our world. What it takes is to move our attention from the outside world of ordinary experiences to the inner realm. Normally the path to do that in Buddhism is to gain a firm foothold within the basic levels of absorption, that is, to be capable of maintaining a stable, calm and attentive mind at your will. There are other ways as well, generally not used by Buddhists, because those are not really conducive to liberation. Once one has a fairly good command of one's mind, it is then a matter of directing one's attention toward a particular topic or area of investigation. It can be used for the cultivation of the six supernormal powers (e.g. AN 5.28), while in Mahayana it is applied to so called visualisation practices, where one can visit buddhas and buddha-lands (e.g. Pratyutpanna-samadhi Sutra). Used properly, one can gain the benefits of both concentration and insight.
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