If you have wisdom, you can give people whatever they need and help them to overcome their fundamental problems. It does not mean that you have supernormal powers. Supernormal powers are limited by space and time; therefore, they are unreliable. Wisdom, however, is boundless.

People who practice Ch'an sometimes experience supernormal powers, but if they attach to such powers, they still dwell in the realm of light and shadow. Once, Master Hsu-yun continued practicing in the meditation hall after everyone else had gone to sleep. He saw one monk, who was responsible for maintaining the monastery lamps, urinating, and he saw another monk go to a toilet in the western part of the monastery. Both places were nowhere near the meditation hall. The next day he asked the two monks if they had gotten up during the night, and they said they had. Hsu-yun acknowledged the phenomenon, but he did not attach to it.

Once when I was meditating, I heard a loud noise that sounded like two water buffaloes attacking each other. Of course, there were no water buffaloes in the area. Later, I noticed two ants fighting next to me. After I saw the ants, the noise disappeared.

If you are meditating well, your senses can become more acute and powerful, and you can hear and see things that normally would be out of human range. These phenomena arise naturally during practice, but they are not enlightenment. Do not cling to them.