Things Seen Through the Third Eye Can Go Wrong…

May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!

Welcome. In our spiritual journey, we seek to understand life more deeply. For those of us engaged in practical training, it’s essential to have a clear awareness of the tools we use, including the profound ability often called the third eye. Through our practical experiences, we have offered many teachings on this topic, how to awaken it, whether everyone can, and how to progress in the training. Today, we will explore a crucial aspect: the ways in which things seen with the third eye can be mistaken.

Understanding this will be a great help to your spiritual development. First, what is this third eye? In Buddhism, it is known as Dibba-cakkhu, the divine eye or the pure celestial eye. It is the ability to see what is hidden from our two physical eyes, the unseen world. To grasp why this vision can be flawed, we must first understand our own state of mind.

The Worldling’s Eye: How an Unpurified Mind Sees

The Buddha taught that anyone who has not yet attained one of the stages of awakening, Stream-entry (Sotāpanna), Once-returner (Sakadāgāmī), Non-returner (Anāgāmī), or full liberation (Arahant), is considered a puthujjana. This Pali term means an ‘ordinary person’ or a ‘worldling.’ If you haven’t realized at least the first stage of awakening, you belong to this group. I am not referring to those who falsely claim such states; sadly, some people are deceived by teachers or their own minds into believing they are a Sotāpanna, while others knowingly deceive for personal gain.

This teaching can serve as a test for anyone who holds a strong belief about their spiritual attainment. By reflecting on these principles, you can see for yourself how your spiritual abilities are, or are not, contributing to your progress.

It is primarily the puthujjana, the ordinary person, who begins the meditative practice to awaken the third eye. When someone in this state awakens this ability, they are still a worldling. Their mind is not yet free from the deep-seated defilements. With the third eye, one might gain the ability to see unseen worlds.

However, not everyone who awakens the third eye automatically gains other psychic powers, like the ability to recall past lives (Pubbenivāsānussati-ñāṇa) or see into the future. Some may develop both, some only one, and some may only be able to see the unseen realms in the present moment. It is vital to understand this variation.

The Trap of Desire: When Your Hopes Create Your Visions

Imagine a puthujjana who has awakened the third eye and can see the past, present, and future. This person uses their mind to look at various things, perhaps exploring sacred places like the Ruwanwelisaya or Sigiriya in their mind’s eye, using what some call the astral body or mind-made body (manomaya kāya).

Now, let’s consider a very specific, modern example. In Sri Lanka, there is a certain obsession among some people with the prophecy of a future king called ‘Diyasena.’ Many individuals are convinced that they are this prophesied figure. Suppose such a person awakens the third eye and the ability to see the future. This person is still a worldling, filled with defilements, or kilesas, mental impurities like greed, hatred, and delusion. Deep in their heart, do they not have a powerful desire, a craving to be this king? Of course, they do. This desire is deeply rooted.

When they meditate and look into the future, asking, “Will I become king?” what do they see? Because their mind is bound by that craving, a form of sensual defilement (kāma-kilesa) rooted in greed (lobha) and passion (rāga), the vision their third eye shows them will be exactly what they want to see. They will see themselves being crowned, receiving protection, and being accepted by the people. This is not a true vision; it is a mental fabrication, a kind of ‘mental distortion’ (mano vikāra).

This is why the Buddha declared, “Sabbe puthujjanā ummattakā”, all worldlings are deranged. Unless we attain a stage of awakening, we are, in a sense, mad, driven by our countless desires. The same principle applies to those who, for instance, believe they were the queens of ancient kings or the future consorts of ‘Diyasena.’ When they look with a mind clouded by desire, their third eye shows them a reality shaped by that desire. This is an incorrect seeing. It is a mistaken vision, and it can trap a person for years.

How Your Business Dreams and Attachments Color Your Reality

Let’s take another example. Imagine you are an aspiring entrepreneur, hoping for great success. You have, through meditation or perhaps naturally from birth, awakened your third eye and the ability to see the future. When you look at the business you plan to start, is your heart free from the desire for it to succeed? Absolutely not. There is a subtle (or not so subtle) craving for it to flourish.

This mind of ours is a heap of defilements, bound by greed, aversion, and delusion, often in ways we can’t even see. This is why the Buddha taught the development of mindfulness (sati), based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna), to see these defilements as they arise.

When this person looks into the future with the third eye, fueled by their desire, they will see their business booming. They’ll see themselves buying cars, starting multiple companies, and achieving everything they hoped for. This is the same trap. Because of the underlying desire, the vision conforms to it. This is a false seeing. It can keep a person stuck for five, ten years, caught in a mental distortion.

This same distortion applies when we look at those we are attached to, our children, spouse, parents, siblings, or close friends. If you look into their future with a mind full of attachment and desire for their success, you will see a future painted by that attachment. It is not an accurate detail or a true piece of information. This is born from the defilement of greed or passion (rāga).

The Distortions of Aversion and External Suggestion

The defilements don’t stop at desire. Aversion, or dosa (hatred, ill will), is just as powerful a distorting lens. If you possess this psychic ability and look at the world with intense anger, perhaps thinking, “This country should be destroyed!”, your visions of the future will be colored by that rage. You will see mental pictures born of that aversion.

Similarly, if you feel helpless about an injustice and look into your past lives with anger, thinking, “What did I do about this in the past?”, your third eye may show you a heroic past self, shaped by the defilement of anger. This is also incorrect. Your visions of the past and future begin to align with the thoughts currently in your mind.

External suggestions can also create false visions. If someone tells you, “There are non-human beings (ghosts) in our house,” and you sit down to look with your third eye while holding that idea in your mind, you will almost certainly see non-human beings everywhere. The vision is created from the suggestion you accepted. This is how easily the mind can be tricked, even a mind with a developed third eye.

Seeing Falsely: Past Life Lovers and ‘Twin Flames’

Here is a very common trap. A person with this ability sees a beautiful woman or a handsome man, and a feeling of lust or passion (rāga) arises in their mind. A desire to possess, love, or be intimate with that person emerges. They then close their eyes and ask, “Why did I feel this way? Was she my wife in a past life?” Because they are looking with a mind already contaminated by desire, the third eye will show them exactly that: visions of a past life together. In reality, an enlightened being like an Arahant would see that there was no such connection. The vision was a product of the immediate desire.

This is the root of many modern deceptions, such as people instantly declaring someone they just met is their ‘soulmate’ or ‘twin flame’ from a past life. They become trapped in these ideas, which can ruin their entire journey through samsara, the cycle of rebirth. Only those with true insight can see these connections honestly.

The Influence of Māra and the Nature of Defilements

You must understand that our own minds can work against us. The Buddha spoke of five kinds of Māra, obstructing forces. One, Māra the divine being, exists externally. But the other four, the aggregates as Māra, death as Māra, volitional formations as Māra, and most importantly, the defilements as Māra (Kilesa-Māra), exist within our own minds. When you use psychic abilities while consumed by greed and hatred, your actions will not be successful.

If a Māra, a non-human entity, or a god with wrong views sees that you are trapped by a defilement, they can take advantage of you. They will show you more and more false things, and for years you can be trapped in wrong views about the future, the past, and your own identity.

This applies to all five high knowledges (pañca-abhiññā), not just the third eye: the divine ear, reading others’ minds, seeing past lives, and powers of transformation. Some people with these abilities don’t even keep the five precepts. What can we expect from them?

Who Can See Clearly? The Hierarchy of Spiritual Vision

So, who can see with a truly pure third eye?

• Buddhas, Paccekabuddhas, and Arahants: These enlightened beings have completely eradicated all defilements. They do not see the future or past through a lens of desire or aversion. Their vision is perfectly pure and accurate.
• Anāgāmīs (Non-returners): They have eliminated all sensual desire. Therefore, the likelihood of their vision being distorted is extremely low.
• Sakadāgāmīs (Once-returners) and Sotāpannas (Stream-enterers): Their sensual desires are weakened compared to a worldling, but not eliminated. A Sotāpanna always upholds the five precepts, which brings a level of purity. The probability of error is low, but not zero. They have a degree of concentration (samādhi) from their attainment.
• Great Bodhisattvas: Beings genuinely fulfilling the perfections (pāramī) over countless lives also have a low probability of error. Their wisdom (paññā) is profound, allowing them to discern whether what they are seeing is true or a deception. However, many who claim this status today are caught in the ‘Diyasena’ delusion, mistaking themselves for Bodhisattvas.
• Ascetic Sages (Rishis): Hermits living in seclusion, like in the Himalayas, who practice celibacy, detach from sensual pleasures, and develop deep states of meditation (jhāna) can also achieve very clear vision. Their view is generally accurate because they are not entangled in sensual desires. However, if their underlying defilements surface, they too can make mistakes.

A Common Misconception: Does a Vegetarian Diet Purify the Third Eye?

Many people believe that abilities like the third eye are purified by abstaining from meat and fish. This is a misunderstanding. Can you eliminate the greed in your heart just by not eating meat? No. The defilements of greed, aversion, and delusion remain, whether you are a vegetarian or not. If you look with a mind full of these impurities, your vision will be wrong.

This is why the Buddha never accepted Devadatta’s proposal to make vegetarianism a mandatory rule for monks. The Buddha taught to abstain from killing, but the cycle of kamma means that the killing of beings will not cease in the world. People who do not understand kamma are the ones who argue so vehemently about this. This principle applies to all psychic powers. Does someone with the power of transformation (iddhi) lose it by eating meat? No. It is only lost if lust, hatred, and the Five Hindrances arise in their mind. Our own Jātaka tales are full of stories of Bodhisattvas who lost their psychic powers temporarily after becoming infatuated with princesses.

Our purpose here is not to tell you to eat meat or not to eat meat. It is to encourage you to look at these issues with a neutral, balanced mind, with upekkhā (equanimity). If meat is offered, you may eat it. If not, you don’t grieve. If you don’t like it, you can leave it aside without creating aversion. The key is the middle path.

The Path to Clarity: Purifying Your Vision

To truly see correctly with the third eye, the mind must be purified. You cannot have a clear vision if your mind is overcome by the Pañca-nīvaraṇa, or the Five Hindrances: sensual desire (kāmacchanda), ill will (vyāpāda), sloth and torpor (thīna-middha), restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkucca), and doubt (vicikicchā). I recommend studying the works on Abhidhamma, such as those by the venerable Rerukane Chandawimala Maha Nayaka Thero, to understand these defilements.

Then, through the practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, particularly mindfulness of the mind (cittānupassanā), you can learn to see these hindrances as they arise and subside. By suppressing them, your vision becomes clearer. Without this, your psychic ability becomes a falsehood with no real benefit.

Remember, the proof of your ability is in the result. If you use your third eye to remove a non-human influence from someone’s home, it’s not enough that you *see* it being done. The person must actually experience relief. If their problem is solved, your work was successful. The same applies to healing. Some healers believe they can cure everyone in the world. This is a delusion born from the unpurified mind. Not every effort is successful. The failures are often due to the healer being caught by a defilement.

Conclusion: The Wisdom Beyond Seeing

This teaching was given to provide you with the necessary understanding to practice correctly. The tendency for the third eye to show you mistaken things applies to all psychic abilities. Realize how much even those with abilities can be led astray by the delusions and illusions created by their own inner defilements. Even with young children, who often have a naturally open third eye and fewer defilements, their vision is not always 100% correct. They too have age-appropriate defilements that can cause errors.

Therefore, study the Five Hindrances deeply. Observe how they arise in your mind according to the teachings on mindfulness. Use your spiritual abilities in conjunction with this self-awareness. Then you will have the capacity to develop them correctly. The inability to concentrate the mind, which many people struggle with, is also due to these hindrances. Please take the essence of this teaching and apply it skillfully to your practice.

May the blessings of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha be with you, providing you with the wisdom to understand these matters clearly and act accordingly.

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!.