369. Q. Can this Iddhi power be lost?[[1]]
A. The Bāhira can be lost, but the Sasanika never, when once acquired. Lokottara knowledge once obtained is never lost, and it is by this knowledge only that the absolute condition of Nirvāna is known by the Arhat. And this knowledge can be got by following the noble life of the Eightfold Path.
370. Q. Had Buddha the Lokottara Iddhī?
A. Yes, in perfection.
371. Q. And his disciples also had it?
A. Yes, some but not all equally; the capacity for acquiring these occult powers varies with the individual.
372. Q. Give examples?
A. Of all the disciples of the Buddha, Mogallāna was possessed of the most extraordinary powers for making phenomena, while Ānanda could develop none during the twenty-five years in which he was the personal and intimate disciple of the Buddha himself. Later he did, as the Buddha had foretold he would.
373. Q. Does a man acquire these powers suddenly or gradually?
A. Normally, they gradually develop themselves as the disciple progressively gains control over his lower nature in a series of births.[[2]]