If you saw a man rise into the air, pass through a wall, and touch the sun with his hand — would you believe his teaching? Be honest. Most of us would.

That is exactly what a rich young householder was counting on when he came to the Buddha with a friendly proposal: have one of your monks work a public miracle, and this whole town will be yours. The Buddha refused him. Three times. And then he said something almost no one expects from a religious teacher: that he is troubled, ashamed, and disgusted by miraculous displays — powers he himself possesses. His reason cuts as deep today as it did then. Any wonder, however real, can be explained away — there's a charm for that, there's a trick for that. The moment someone says it, the display has no reply. Spectacle cannot carry truth. Only teaching can.

Then the Buddha tells a story that re ...