Altered States and the Origins of the Mahāyāna
Douglas Osto
Setting Out on the Great Way: Essays on Early Mahāyāna Buddhism June 30, 2018 DOI: 10.1558/equinox.34259 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that literary vision accounts in some Mahāyāna sources resemble reports of actual visionary experiences occurring under profoundly altered psychology and physiology, and that methods for inducing such visions parallel those in some Mahāyāna sūtras. These parallels suggest visionary altered states formed an experiential basis for new Mahāyāna sūtras and helped restructure Buddhist cosmology in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism. |
Abstract
This chapter argues that literary accounts of visions in some Mahāyāna sources (often referred to as samādhis) possess characteristics that are strikingly similar to reports of actually visionary experiences that individuals have undergone while their psychologies and physiologies were profoundly altered in some way. Moreover, some of the methods used to induce actual visions also parallel methods recommended or described in some Mahāyāna sūtras. These parallels are strong enough to suggest that visionary altered states of consciousness formed an experiential basis for the emergence of new Mahāyāna sūtras, which contributed to the imaginative restructuring of Buddhist cosmology found within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism.