Skt., siddhi: accomplishment, a skill perfected
Tib., dngos-grub: accomplishment, ability of perfection
Term for a type of spiritual and/or mental accomplishment that we can best approximate with modern expressions such as ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) and/or with Colin Wilson's (b. 1931) Faculty X. Phrases such as mystical power, paranormal potential and magical skill are also often used to cover these phenomena.
Vajrayana texts speak of eight types of siddhi only,
but one can find a much more detailed classification in the Hindu Tantras,
where 84 are recognized. Among these, several phenomena can be found which correspond
to those charted by contemporary para-psychology, for example psychokinesis, telekinesis and
the astral 'double'. All of these, of course, we also find when studying shamanism - and there is little doubt that
Tibetan Buddhism has been very much influenced by that ancient, ‘magic’ oriented religion.
The following list shows the Sanskrit names for some of the better known siddhis.
The term siddhi is also at the root of the title for the 84 Greatly Accomplished Ones (Skt., Mahasiddhas), each of whom had achieved one of more of these 'perfections'.