( from Yanugpyan Magazine, Pho Daung Thar, April 1998, p. 52-54)

Weizzar means the knowledge and skill to do a certain thing. If you know how to do something well, it means that you have the weizzar or knowledge to do it. If a person has the knowledge to perform something according to a certain discipline, he is called a Weizzar Dara in the Pali language and in Burmese he is called a Weizzar Doh. (Doh is a contraction of the Pali word dara). We also call him or her a weizzar.

Sarana is a Pali word which means practicing a certain discipline diligently. There are 15 components in Sarana viz. the seven virtues of a good man, the four silas and the four jahnas. Therefore vija sarana or weizzar sarana means practicing diligently for the acquiring of a certain kind of knowledge (Translator's note: of course the depth of knowledge and diligence in practice will vary from person to person. The vija sarana of the Buddha is the supreme example).

Among human beings there are three types:

anda putuzana, an ordinary person;

kalayana putuzana, a middle person

airyas, stream winners (sotapans, thadagans, anagans and yahandas or arahats).

 

Among Weizzars there are two kinds:

Lawki Weizzars (Mundane)

Lawkuttara Weizzars (Supra-mundane)

Lawki weizzars are those persons who have full knowledge of mundane matters. Lawkuttara weizzars are those persons who have full knowledge of supra-mundane matters. This is the knowledge leading to nibanna such as magga and phala.

Among weizzars there are three levels

Lower level ….. Janapada Gandari Weizzar

Middle level …..Sula Gandari Weizzar (person who knows how to use Inns, Sei, Iron, Mercury and Sama)

Higher level ………Maha Gandari Weizzar ….. those who do Samahta and Vipassana and who are fulfilling paramis for higher wisdom like the chief disciples of the future Buddha or those who are fulfilling paramis to become a Buddha in the future.

 

(Translator's note: Inn is the knowledge of talismanic magic and Sei is the Burmese word for healing. Therefore a Sei Weizzar is someone who is a master of healing techniques using herbs, mantras and Inns. A Sama is a talisman which is made up of alphabets and numbers. Some Samas use the pictures of Buddhas and spiritual guardians).

There are also those who have divided Weizzars into six levels:

Veda Weizzar - those who know the Four Vedas

Manda Weizzar - those who know palmistry, gahtar, omens, mantras, knowledge of mahabutas (Dat Kyans).

Sula Gandari Weizzar - those who know one of these: inns, Sei, Sama, iron, mercury

Lawkiya Weizzar - those who know kathein, jhana, Iddi-wida Abhinyana.

Maha Gandari Weizzar - those who do Samahta, vipassana and have made a solemn vow to become chief disciples of the future Buddha or to become a Buddha.

Ariya Weizzar - those who are arahat and Buddhas.

The knowledge of the Gandari Weizzars are said to have come from the province of Gandaya. This knowledge was derived from the holy sage called Gandaya Yathei (Yathei is the Burmese pronunciation of the word Rishi).

Sula Gandari weizzar knowledge consist of the following:

The ability to know the abode of a person who has died within a period of three years.

The knowledge to prepare inns, sei, gahtar, mantras, and amulets using the powers of the lower inhabitants of Satu-maharit Deva Lawka such as Gonbans, Yakshas, Gandubbas.

Maha Gandari weizzar knowledge consist of the following:

The ability to create hundreds and thousands of bodies.

The ability to go through walls and mountains.

The ability to dive into the earth.

The ability to walk on water.

The ability to enter into all the stages of Jhana.

The following are classified as Maha Gandari Weizzars: (according to ancient chronicles)

Sakka, King of Tavatimsa

The Four Guardian Deva Kings called Lawka Pala Deva Kings

Weizzars who have all the Ten Theikdhis.

The five devas who protect the Sasana

The Twenty Two Devis including Thuyathati Mae Daw (Sarasvati in Hindu terminology)

The Ten Theikdhis of the Maha Gandari Weizzars:

Arawjya Theikdhi (to be free from illnesses)

Thawbana Theikdhi (to have a youthful body)

Aryu Theikdhi (to have a long life)

Kaya Theikdhi (to be invincible from swords and spears)

Piya Theikdhi (to be loved by all)

Dana Theikdhi (to be able to find money easily as much as you need)

Pahtawi Theikdhi (to be able to contract distances)

Udaka Theikdhi (to be able to walk on water)

Arkasha Theikdhi (to be able to fly in the air)

Iddi Wida Theikdhi (to be able to perform miracles)

The Maha Gandari Weizzars have great supernormal powers. The supernormal powers are listed below:

The power of adeikhtan (solemn vow)

The power to create and materialize things

The power of the mind (the ability to use the mind to influence physical and mental phenomena)

The power of the intellect

The power of the concentrated mind

The power of Ariya (power resulting from the attainment of the Ariya knowledge).

The power which is the result of karma

The power of Phone ( phone is the result of good karma and sila accumulated over a long series of life times.)

The power which is the result of knowledge of weizzar path

The power which is the result of diligent sustained effort

There is also mention in the Patithanbudda Magga Pali scriptures (387), commentary (34) that there are 14 supernormal powers attributed to Maha Gandari Weizzars:

The ability to bring distant objects nearer

The ability to send object which are nearby to far off places

To make the many few

To make the few many

To make a tasteless object tasty

The ability to see a distant object

The ability to hear distant sounds

The ability to read other's minds

The ability to go right up to the Brahma lawka in plain sight of everyone

The ability to go right up to the Brhama lawka invisibly

The ability to clone one's own body so that even a Brahma could not see the difference

The ability to make the cloned body give a dhamma talk and carry on a conversation with a Brahma

The ability to make the cloned body show miracles in front of the Brahma

The ability to make the cloned body have a dhamma discussion with the Brahma

The Buddha path is based on sila, samadhi and pyinnya and the Maha Gandari path is based on samadhi or concentration. In the Buddha's path which is sila, samadhi and pyinnya (wisdom), sila is the foundation. One can get samadhi only if the sila foundation is good. When a person has good samadhi, he or she can keep the sila well. So samadhi is very important. When the samadhi of a person is good, he or she do either samahta (concentration meditation) or vipassana meditation (insight meditation). I would however suggest that you start with samahta and then move on to do vipassana. Those who are on the Gandari Weizzar path have to practice both samahta and vipassana. However, for them samahta is of utmost importance.

I wish to now explain the meaning of "htwet yut pauk" (one who has found the way out).

It does not only mean to find liberation for one lifetime. "Htwet" in Burmese means to go out or get out of somewhere. Here it means to find a way out from Samsara or the endless rounds of births and deaths.

"Yut" in Burmese means to stop. Here it means the cessation of the wheel of life so that there will no longer be any birth, old age or death.

"Pauk" in Burmese means to have accomplished something, or to have reached one's goal. Here it means the attainment of nivarna which is the goal for the Maha Gandari Weizzar.

The Sula Gandaris who have based their weizzar knowledge on the practice of samahta, need to do vipassana so that they will get knowledge for getting out of the endless rounds of births and deaths called Sasara. That is how they will eventually get the lawkuttara knowledge or the knowledge to escape from lawka (samsara). That is how the Sula Gandari can become a Maha Gandari and finally become an Ariya. An Ariya is a stream winner and he or she is on the path to nivarna.

The knowledge of the Maha Gandari weizzars fall within the knowledge that is possessed by Arahats, Peceka Buddhas and Buddhas and is available during the period of the Buddha Sasana. It is part of the three vijas and the eight vijas of the Buddha. What I am presenting here is based on the Pali scriptures of Theravada Buddhism.

The path of the Maha Gandari weizzar existed before the present Gautama Buddha appeared on this earth. There had been weizzars all along. It is up to the individual to practice this path according to his or her parami (fulfillment of virtues).

Those who wish to become Sula Gadari weizzars should walk the path of the Sula Gandari and those who wish to become Maha Gandari weizzars should walk the path of the Maha Gandari weizzars. It is written as follows in the Dhamma Pada Yamaka, Setku Pala Thera:

"You must have a goal

You must have sustained diligence

You must have determination

You must have sufficient intellect"

If you make an effort based on these four principles presented above, you can acquire either lawki (mundane) knowledge or lawkuttara (supra-mundane) knowledge. If you tread on the path diligently with sustained effort, you are bound to become a Maha Gandari Weizzar one day.

To those who are writing various articles about Weizzars and the Weizzar path without a thorough knowledge of the subject, I would just like to present here some quotations from the Venerable Pha Pyan Sayadaw:

" Do not say bad things about others

Just try to work for your spiritual development

You will get a good result only if there is a good effort

Only if there is good effort and good result

You will get to the goal of nibanna".

Notes by Kyaw Myaing:

1. Here Inn means the use of alphabets, pictures and numerals for connecting to spiritual beings. Among the followers of the Inn weizzar path, the alphabets are called "sama", and the pictures are called "Yoke". Sei is a Burmese word which means medicine. Among the followers of the Sei weizzar path, sei means herbs as well as minerals. Those who follow the Sei weizzar path also study and practice alchemy. It is called Aggi Yat pyinna which means the knowledge of alchemy. Aggi is a Pali word which means "fire". The word "sama" comes from the classification of alphabets into male and female groups, hence "sama" means the female group of alphabets.

2. Peceka Buddha means a lesser Buddha who knows the four noble truths but does not have the ability to explain this knowledge to others. Vipassana meditation is now known in the West as Insight Meditation where the student concentrates on the processes of the mind and the body to understand the true nature of mind and matter. Thamahta is a Burmese word which means concentration. The object of thamahta is to get one-pointedness of the mind.

3.Commentary: Sotapanas, Thadaganas, Anaganas, and Arahats are called Ariyas. Ariyas are those who understand the four noble truths. They can experience the peace of nivarna in this very life. The Arahats are those who have eliminated all traces of kilesas from their mind and body.

This translation has been made possible by the generous donation of Daw Toe Toe Yi.