Concentration and Visualization Techniques in Buddhist Meditation
Nobuyoshi Yamabe
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation January 13, 2021 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198808640.013.19 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key points | Argues that Buddhist meditation evolved from two early types—non-reflective mindfulness and reflective visualization—into more elaborate forms, including corpse-decomposition visualization and Buddha visualization using statues, which persisted in Esoteric Buddhism. |
Abstract
Abstract This chapter outlines the early form and development of Buddhist meditation. First, it discusses the “application of mindfulness,” especially “mindfulness of the body,” which can be largely classified into two types of practice. One is “mindfulness per se,” without reflective thought, and the other is a more reflective or visual approach. “Mindfulness per se” (in particular, mindful breathing) was transmitted to East Asia and remains the cardinal method there. The chapter discusses close ties between traditional mindfulness and Japanese Sōtō practice. It then moves on to describe meditation on the decomposition of a corpse, which is a representative form of the more reflective and visual type of practice, involving the observation of a dead body in its stages of decomposition. This is found in early scriptures. Later texts came to teach a more elaborate method of “grasping the images” of a corpse. A notable development in visualization is that the images seen by the practitioner came to include ones that were more enigmatic. The discussion finally turns to another significant development in Buddhist meditation, one which involves Buddha visualization. Its undeveloped form is found in early Mahayana sutras, but a fully developed version employing statues as aides for visualization is found in later meditation texts from the fifth century onward. This type of visualization was inherited by Esoteric Buddhism and is still practiced today.
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| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |