Extraordinary Capacities in the Buddhist Path of Liberation
A Diachronic Study Based on the Theravāda Sources
open access | peer reviewed
- Bryan De Notariis - Università Ca' Foscari Venezia - email
Abstract
This volume presents a diachronic study of the final stages of the Buddhist path of liberation as presented in the Sāmaññaphalasutta (D 2). Focusing on ‘extraordinary capacities’ - the ‘body made of mind’ (manomayakāya), the capability to perform many kinds of psychophysical power (iddhividhā̆), and the higher knowledges (abhiññā) - the work deciphers their significance within the soteriological journey. By collecting evidence from the Pāli canon, the Vedic corpus, and later Pāli exegesis, the research traces the evolution of these meditative powers. This rigorous analysis of Pāli literature reveals how the Theravāda tradition re-envisioned human potential and refined its doctrinal framework over time. It offers a vital contribution to our understanding of the historical and philological development of Buddhist thought.
Keywords Upaniṣad • Aṭṭhakathā • Meditation • Veda • Abhiññā • Theravāda Buddhism • Manomaya-kāya • Iddhi • Pāli • Abhidhamma
e-ISBN 978-88-6969-974-0 | Published March 25, 2026 | Accepted June 10, 2025 | Submitted Oct. 15, 2024 | Language en
Copyright © 2026 Bryan De Notariis. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.