Categories: Cosmic Messengers
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!
Today, as always, we are gathered to explore a deep spiritual topic. We have previously discussed the idea of “Universal Representatives,” and this teaching is connected to that, yet it stands on its own. It is for anyone who has felt a mysterious inner call, whether you identify with a spiritual label or not. You might be uncertain where you fit in, and that is perfectly okay. The label itself is not important. What matters is the understanding we are about to share.
Perhaps you are someone who wishes to develop your spiritual life, but you haven’t yet started meditating. Or perhaps you are living a life deeply immersed in the world. It is entirely possible that in your journey through samsara, the long cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, you have lifetimes of profound meditative experience.
You may have practiced meditation deeply, developed the eight meditative absorptions known as the jhanas, or even cultivated the five supernormal knowledges, the abhiññā. You might have even practiced the path of insight, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. You could be someone with all this latent potential, or just a little. But in this present life, you may not remember any of it.
When Sacred Places Awaken a Forgotten Past
In this lifetime, you might be enjoying the five sensual pleasures, known as pañca kāma, pursuing worldly desires, chasing money, or even be caught in habits like consuming intoxicants. You could be of any nationality, any religion, any age, any level of education, a student, a professional, or anything in between. You may have never once had the thought to sit down and meditate. There might be no conscious desire for it at all.
Then, something unexpected happens. By chance, you visit a profoundly sacred place in Sri Lanka, like the Temple of the Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) or the great Ruwanwelisaya stupa. Whether you are a Buddhist by birth or belong to another faith, when you arrive at such a place, you feel something strange. For some, the mind becomes incredibly light and peaceful. A state of concentration, or samadhi, arises naturally.
You might experience unusual physical sensations: your body feels as if it’s floating, or you sense a strange energy, like a ray of light, entering through your fingertips, the soles of your feet, or the crown of your head. These spiritual awakening experiences can happen to anyone, from a small child to the most elderly person. There is no barrier of race, caste, religion, wealth, or education.
The True Source of These Mysterious Energies
These spiritual awakening experiences are not limited to one or two famous sites. They can occur at any place of spiritual power, especially locations where the relics of fully enlightened beings, like the Buddha and the Arahants, are enshrined. In today’s spiritual circles, people might describe this feeling as “receiving an energy update” or “a power flowing into me.” We have heard this many times, and have had these experiences ourselves.
But what is truly happening? The energies of the universe are indeed responding to you, but the reason lies within. It is the result of your own past actions, your kamma. Specifically, it is the wholesome kamma from your own past life meditation practice that is reawakening. That deep-seated habit is resurfacing, and your own past merit is helping to guide you back toward the spiritual path in this very life.
The sensations are just the beginning. For some, the Third Eye may open spontaneously. For others, the ability to read minds, known as paracitta-vijāṇana ñāṇa, might emerge. You might see lights or have experiences that are the foundations for the jhanas. These are all signs of your forgotten spiritual heritage coming to life.
The First Pitfall: Misunderstanding and Misdiagnosis
When these powerful spiritual awakening experiences happen for the first time in this life, you feel confused. You might share what happened with someone you love and trust, a parent, a friend, a partner. But here lies one of the greatest dangers of spiritual awakening. If that person lacks understanding, they may misinterpret your experience. You might say, “I went to this sacred place and felt this… I even saw beings that are normally unseen…” and they, out of love but ignorance, might label it a mental illness.
They may brand you with this label and refer you to a psychiatrist. At that moment, your spiritual journey for this life could come to a tragic end. You have this incredible potential from past lives, but because of a lack of wise spiritual friends, or kalyāṇa-mitta, you are led astray. This is how Māra, the embodiment of temptation and delusion, can work, closing the door on your past merits by using the very people you love. They may come in the guise of your parents, your children, or your partner, and unknowingly destroy your path. This is the tragic fate of many in a world that often sees such things as madness.
The Second Pitfall: The Allure of Ego and Occult Traps
There is another path of misdirection. Instead of a psychiatrist, your well-meaning loved ones might take you to fortune-tellers, astrologers, or practitioners of what I consider third-class occult arts. These individuals may interpret your experience in a way that inflates your ego. They might tell you, “Your power is increasing! You are destined for greatness!” They might even compare you to mythical figures of power, like Diyasena or Ravana, whispering that you have a great destiny to heal people or change the world.
They create a world of illusion, sending you to various sacred places to “collect more energy,” wasting your time and money. But no matter how many places you visit, your energy doesn’t truly increase beyond that initial spark. It’s a dead end. These people who boast of great power, even on platforms like YouTube, claiming they can stop nuclear weapons with their mind, possess nothing but empty talk. They tragically waste the potential of those with genuine past-life cultivation.
Even worse, some are led into the culture of shrines, or devales. Their experience is labeled a warama, a mandate from a deity. They end up as a vessel for a restless spirit, or preta, telling fortunes and becoming trapped in ritualism. This is a terrible crime against one’s spiritual potential. Do not fall for these traps.
The Real Path Forward: Turning Experience into Liberation
So, what is the correct path? If you have these spiritual awakening experiences, you must understand this clearly.
First, you must trust that these feelings arise from your own practice in past lives. The results you are feeling are the ripening of your own kamma. It is your own inheritance.
Second, realize that simply visiting more places to feel that energy again is useless. The only way to cultivate this potential is to find a correct teacher and begin to practice meditation right where you are. For many, our collection of spiritual teachings has become that guide.
The only thing that will genuinely increase this energy and turn it into something profound is the practice of Samatha-Vipassana meditation, the cultivation of both calm and insight. Without practice, that initial energy will stagnate and fade, or you will be misled down one of the dangerous paths mentioned earlier and your potential will be wasted. I say this with emphasis: only through meditation can this be developed.
Your Practice, Your Liberation
You can, and should, still visit sacred places. Go, make offerings of flowers, engage in devotional acts. There is no problem with that. But do not go with the expectation of absorbing power or getting an energy boost. That is a misunderstanding. Nothing will be gained or increased that way.
Instead, when you go to these sacred places, or to a quiet forest, or even a silent room in your own home, sit and meditate. Practice for one hour, two hours, three hours. Use our teachings as a guide. If you do this, the sensations you felt will grow stronger and develop into authentic meditative states, the jhanas, and the higher knowledges, the abhiññā. From that stable foundation, you can apply the Four Foundations of Mindfulness to realize the ultimate goal: Nibbana, or liberation. You can attain the stages of enlightenment: Stream-enterer (Sotapanna), Once-returner (Sakadagami), Non-returner (Anagami), and the fully awakened one (Arahant).
This advice is for everyone: for those just starting to meditate in this life and feeling these things, and for those who have already been led astray and wasted time and money. It is not too late. Do not fall for the advice of people without true understanding. If you enjoy the drama of spirit possession and fortune-telling, that is your choice. But if you seek true freedom, do not go to them for guidance.
A Final Word of Guidance for Your Journey
Take our collection of teachings as your teacher. Start from the beginning and practice. We have provided answers to nearly every question that may arise. If you encounter a problem not addressed in our articles, you have the ability to contact us for an answer. We make it a point to reply to everyone, though sometimes our own spiritual duties may cause a delay. But rest assured, we will provide the guidance you need.
So, if you are a person who has had these spiritual awakening experiences, do not be afraid. Begin your practice with confidence. The main point I wanted to convey is this: do not waste your precious time. Go to sacred places to practice, not to passively receive energy. Understand these points and act with wisdom.
I trust that you have understood these crucial matters. From today, may you take this encouragement and enthusiasm and apply it to your meditation practice.
May the power and blessings of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, the Triple Gem, be with you all, helping you to comprehend these teachings and move forward on your path.
We invite you to walk this path with us. Read our teachings, and most importantly, apply them practically in your own life. as you practice, questions will naturally arise. Please feel free to share your experiences and questions in the comments below, via email or contact form. I will do my best to offer guidance in future talks based on your progress. For now, begin this practice with an open heart and a mind free from expectation. Cultivate it correctly, and may you find the clarity and peace you seek.
Thank you for joining us. We hope this blog will be of great benefit to your spiritual journey.
May you all be well and happy.
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!.
