Dmytro wrote:
Is this an irony?
It is well explained in the Pali texts that jhanas and samapattis by themselves don't lead to supernormal abilities,
According to the Maha-Saccaka Sutta, after the fourth jhana the Buddha directed his mind towards the three knowledges:
"I entered & remained in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. But the pleasant feeling that arose in this way did not invade my mind or remain.
"When the mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, I directed it to the knowledge of recollecting my past lives. I recollected my manifold past lives, i.e., one birth, two...five, ten...fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand, many eons of cosmic contraction, many eons of cosmic expansion, many eons of cosmic contraction & expansion: 'There I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure & pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose there. There too I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure & pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose here.' Thus I remembered my manifold past lives in their modes & details.
"This was the first knowledge I attained in the first watch of the night. Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed; light arose — as happens in one who is heedful, ardent, & resolute. But the pleasant feeling that arose in this way did not invade my mind or remain. " -(Maha-Saccaka Sutta)
The other two knowledges followed after, but it is too long to post the whole thing, please refer to Maha-Saccaka Sutta.
Dmytro wrote: and out of the "three knowledges" of the Buddha, only one knowledge, the cessation of leaks (asava), is shared by his disciples, - they don't necessarily have knowledge of former lives and of the passing away and reappearance of beings.
Numerous people share this, for example Rahula, Kassapa, etc...
" Bhikkhus, when desired, I enjoy manifold supranormal powers, such as being one, becoming many, being many becoming one , appearing and vanishing. I go unimpeded through walls, through ramparts and mountains as if through space. I dive in and come out of earth as though in water. I walk on water as though on earth. Sitting crosslegged I fly through the air like a winged bird . With my hand I touch & stroke even the sun & moon, so mighty & powerful. I exercise influence with my body even as far as the Brahma worlds. Kassapa too when desired enjoys various spiritual powers.
" Bhikkhus, when desired, with the purified divine ear-element beyond human. I hear both kinds of sounds, heavenly and human, whether near or far. Kassapa too when desired, with the purified divine ear element beyond human, hears sounds heavenly and human far and near.
"Bhikkhus, when desired, I penetrate and understand the minds of other beings. I know the mind with greed, the mind without greed, the angry mind and the not angry mind. I know the deluded mind and the not deluded mind, the composed mind and the distracted mind. I know the exalted mind and the un exalted mind, the surpassable mind and an unsurpassable mind . I know the concentrated mind and the un-concentrated mind, the liberated mind and the unliberated mind. Kassapa too when desired penetrates and understands the minds of other beings. …
"Bhikkhus, when desired, I recollect the manifold previous births such as one birth, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty births. One hundred births, one thousand births, one hundred thousand births, innumerable aeons of cosmic-contraction, innumerable aeons of cosmic-expansion, innumerable aeons of cosmic-contraction and cosmic-expansion. There I was with this name, in this clan, with this disposition, supported thus, experiencing these pleasant and unpleasant feelings, enjoying such a lifespan. Disappearing from there I was born there with this name, in this clan, with this disposition, supported thus, experiencing these pleasant and unpleasant feelings, enjoying such a lifespan. Disappearing from there I was born here. Thus I recollect the manifold previous births with all details. Kassapa too when desired, recollects the manifold previous births such as one birth... Thus he recollects the manifold previous births with all details.
"Bhikkhus, when desired, with the purified divine eye beyond human I see beings disappearing and appearing beautiful and ugly, in heaven and hell, born according their kamma.'These good beings owing to misconduct in body, words and mind, reviling noble ones, owing to bearing wrong view and the actions based on wrong views, after death are born in misery, in states of deprivation, in decrease, in hell. These good beings owing to right conduct in body, words and mind, not reviling noble ones, owing to bearing right view and the actions based on right views, after death are born in increase, in fortunate states, in heaven. Thus I see beings disappearing and appearing beautiful and ugly, in heaven and hell, born according their kamma. Kassapa too when he desired, with the purified divine eye beyond human sees beings disappearing and appearing beautiful and ugly, in heaven and hell, born according their kamma...
" ....Kassapa too, by the ending of the asava, he enters and abides in the anasava liberation of mind, liberation of wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge (abhinna: special knowledge, supernormal power) in this very life."
- SN 16.9 Jhanabhinna Sutta
With metta,