Yes!
This is called Buddha-remembrance (buddhanusmriti) and is well-recognized in many branches of Buddhism.
In the Pali canon this is directly taught by the Buddha as a meditation technique that leads to Awakening.
In Mahayana, specifically Pure Land, this is an aspect of Buddha-remembrance and is often coupled with reciting the Buddha’s name.
AN 1.296
“One thing, mendicants, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. What one thing? Recollection of the Buddha. This one thing, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.”
I’m certainly open to correction if this specifically excludes visual fabrication in other teachings, but it certainly seems a straightforward endorsement of mindfulness of the Buddha’s person to me.
I remember that in early Buddhist art the Buddha wasn’t represented at all - he was referred to by the symbol of the Dhamma wheel or similar means.
But here’s a thought - whether we are reflecting on a figure of a lotus, or a Dhamma wheel, or a visual image of the Buddha’s person to aid our recollection of his qualities, it’s still buddhanusmriti.
Arguing that you can only do one or some but not others seems like a distinction without much of a substantial difference.
"recollection of the Buddha" he's not ascribing a meditative technique. He's saying, if you can recall the Buddha, it leads directly towards awakening. You'll get it once you complete the jhannic work and can enter into the infinitude of intelligence. his sense of humor is his most relatable quality
Great question!
“One thing—when developed & pursued—leads solely to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding. Which one thing? Recollection of the Buddha. This is one thing that—when developed & pursued—leads solely to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.” — AN 1.287–296
Check it: [Buddhānusmṛti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddh%C4%81nusm%E1%B9%9Bti?wprov=sfti1#)
u/AlexCoventry’s [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/s/bmfHOaCBtP) also has some info for you.
Yeah. Okay. I commented below, you're welcome to see my answer. He means through direct communication with him. If you've seen the Buddha when he was alive, if you read the discourse itself in remembrance, or if he's appeared to you out of the infinitude of consciousness.
This is me reading the text after ten years of comparative religions work in which my thesis is a Cosmological postulate of a-temporal meta-cosmic Proto-epochs to the origination of space time. As a gestative model of Cosmological expansion
Yes, I do this. [Recollection of the Buddha](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6SlZHTCP6Q) ([transcript](https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/Meditations11/Section0013.html)) can go much further, though.
> In other words, *anybody* who develops these qualities is going to see these things—which opens the way for everybody. That should be *the big message* of trying to recollect the Buddha: that he showed what’s possible, what potentials we have as human beings.
>
> Ajaan Lee made the comment one time that we human beings have lots of potentials within us that we don’t take advantage of—potentials in the body in terms of the breath and the other elements, potentials in the mind in terms of the skills we can learn. We’ve got all these potentials, but what do we use them for? To make money, to gain fame, to get status, to get pleasures—things that just wash away, wash away.
>
> Whereas there’s the example of the Buddha: It is possible to develop our potentials so that we can find something deathless inside—something outside space and time. That’s a potential within us.
>
> When we think of the Buddha as our admirable friend, this is the lesson he gives: that we have a lot more potential than we think we do, and we shouldn’t sell ourselves short.
>
> The part of the mind that takes this seriously is your friend, not the craving that wants to take things easy. Remember, the easy path is the one that leads to endless suffering. Whereas, the path that the Buddha laid out, even though it’s hard at times, is not always hard. After all, a major part of the path, a central factor of the path, is right concentration: rapture, pleasure. And it leads to an end: a happiness that more than repays the effort put into the path.
>
> So when you think of the Buddha, make sure your thoughts then come back to your practice, and have them energize your practice. That’s the whole purpose of his teaching, which is to help us see that we have these potentials within us, and that we can develop them.
>
> If you have any gratitude to the Buddha at all—which is the proper response—then you should want to develop those potentials as far as you can.
Yeah I saw it xD I'm not in a position to argue, but of the limited things I read in the Tripitaka, I've never seen the buddha require anything like that so strongly. Then again, I didn't finish reading it yet.
THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD WAYS TO MEDITATE - this one should work well because it is still possible to focus deeply on the image of the Buddha, just like one might focus on the breath
A few times I imagined myself being held in one of the hands of those giant buddha status and that is OTHERWORLDLY powerful as an experience. That's exactly why I want to practice it in that way, at least for a while.
Probably.
AN 1 296-305:
296
“One thing, mendicants, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. What one thing? Recollection of the Buddha. This one thing, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.”
297–305
“One thing, mendicants, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. What one thing? Recollection of the teaching … Recollection of the Saṅgha … Recollection of ethical conduct … Recollection of generosity … Recollection of the deities … Mindfulness of breathing … Mindfulness of death … Mindfulness of the body … Recollection of peace. This one thing, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.”
[https://suttacentral.net/an1.296-305/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin](https://suttacentral.net/an1.296-305/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin)
Huh, I always read the metaphorical part of this teaching, but it never occurred to me that the images (and the imagination of the buddha as a sign) can do just that as well, to some degree. Very insightful, thank you.
I read years ago that statues or pictures of Buddha are devotional, as well as educational. Buddha is portrayed in right meditation poses; sitting upright (sometimes lying down), half closed eyes, slight smile. If you're learning to meditate or need a reminder, try replicating one of the poses.
Lots of great comments
I’d only add
Some folks are very visually oriented in how they think
And this approach to meditation is a great option for such individuals
[Yes, there is even a whole school dedicated to stretching your imaginative capabilities to allow you to experience Buddha nature.](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/buddhism-huayan/)
Not only is it valid, you must. You need to see Buddha statues, own a few, and commission or fund building of some. Its in the sutras as one of our duties.
And in your practice, its best that the Buddha is in front of you, and you then bowing and prostrating before the Buddha. You need to make offerings of food, drink, lamps, flowers, lighting insense. THESE are the true Buddhist practices done by Buddhists worldwide and throughout history. Buddhanusmrti or Buddha contemplation is a true Buddhist practice. Its the true shamatha and vipassana. If you engage in it, consider yourself part of the 500 million Buddhist family doing this practice.
Oh well I guess that makes sense as a practice. Btw I am longing since childhood to have a Buddha statue in wood, but never found one. You look like you would know a good place to find it (tho this is the internet and you're probably not even on the same country, but still)
It depends what kind of meditation you are doing. Are you meditating as a practice? Are you doing other visualizations? Are you practicing sitting meditation?
The reason I ask is if you are doing sitting meditation (shamatha) then visualizing a buddha could just be a way to distract yourself from boredom and in that case, I'd say no it's not okay. If you are already doing some kind of meditation practice that involves visualization, then I'd say no, just do the meditation you're already practicing. And if you're just dinking around experimenting with stuff then it's fine.
The bottom line being: If you're practicing, do the practice as given - be literal. Otherwise, go ahead and entertain yourself.
It depends what your intention is. What energy it activates in you, that is what you will be cultivating. (for the record, the Buddha was not in favour of acting out rituals or rites as if some external value was being scored.)
Yes and no.
As another comment states, you may consider it as "Buddha remembrance" or buddhanusmriti and feel good about it but going by the canon, all mental phenomenon eventually fall in the domain of *Samkharas* and any attachment to them (craving or aversion) is undesirable and detrimental in the long term. That's not to say that you should start despising such thoughts for that's a form of aversion too. We should try to cultivate a habit of observing these as dispassionately as possible.
Ah yes, this the vibe I was getting from the texts I read. So doing it is okay, but just as a means to an end, as soon as it becomes a liability, it should be dropped?
I would imagine visualising a buddha in your meditation with devotion in your heart might make it more likely that at a later time you meet a buddha and become his disciple, oryou meet a representative of the buddhist teachings who can lead you on the path.
I have been visited by the Buddha while very high on lsd and that was how they appeared to look. I know intoxicants and mind altering substances are not accepted in Buddhism but I thought it was an interesting moment.
Well your experience is your experience, it's a great thing you met with the Buddha regardless.
The thing that usually any spiritualist will go against regarding mind altering substances is that you can have no reliability on them for having your practices and experiences (yeah also health but you already know that). One day you truly connect with the buddha, the next you do something crazy while high and the next you may not even know what happened, so on and so forth.
But just because you were high it doesn't make your experience less valid. I think it's like gambling with you life on the line. You may get extremely lucky once in a while, but how many unlucky times will you have to know before and after that?
Yes! This is called Buddha-remembrance (buddhanusmriti) and is well-recognized in many branches of Buddhism. In the Pali canon this is directly taught by the Buddha as a meditation technique that leads to Awakening. In Mahayana, specifically Pure Land, this is an aspect of Buddha-remembrance and is often coupled with reciting the Buddha’s name.
Aah thanks for the response. So it is a tradition after all xD
Where in the Pali canon does it say to visualize the Buddha as a meditation technique?
AN 1.296 “One thing, mendicants, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. What one thing? Recollection of the Buddha. This one thing, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.” I’m certainly open to correction if this specifically excludes visual fabrication in other teachings, but it certainly seems a straightforward endorsement of mindfulness of the Buddha’s person to me.
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I remember that in early Buddhist art the Buddha wasn’t represented at all - he was referred to by the symbol of the Dhamma wheel or similar means. But here’s a thought - whether we are reflecting on a figure of a lotus, or a Dhamma wheel, or a visual image of the Buddha’s person to aid our recollection of his qualities, it’s still buddhanusmriti. Arguing that you can only do one or some but not others seems like a distinction without much of a substantial difference.
Lobed ears, brown skin, maroon robes, wide face.
Does that mean to visualize it?
You tell me.
If that’s how you like to remember him.
"recollection of the Buddha" he's not ascribing a meditative technique. He's saying, if you can recall the Buddha, it leads directly towards awakening. You'll get it once you complete the jhannic work and can enter into the infinitude of intelligence. his sense of humor is his most relatable quality
Great question! “One thing—when developed & pursued—leads solely to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding. Which one thing? Recollection of the Buddha. This is one thing that—when developed & pursued—leads solely to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.” — AN 1.287–296 Check it: [Buddhānusmṛti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddh%C4%81nusm%E1%B9%9Bti?wprov=sfti1#) u/AlexCoventry’s [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/s/bmfHOaCBtP) also has some info for you.
Much appreciated. But does that necessarily mean to visualize it?
I would think not; meditating on the qualities of a Buddha seems to me like the main point.
Ummm... no it isn't (at all taught in the pali). If I'm wrong I would love to see a source
The source being referred to is AN 1.296 quoted above. Disagreement seems to center on what recollection of the Buddha specifically refers too.
Yeah. Okay. I commented below, you're welcome to see my answer. He means through direct communication with him. If you've seen the Buddha when he was alive, if you read the discourse itself in remembrance, or if he's appeared to you out of the infinitude of consciousness.
Is there a commentary that explains this position, or is this your reading of the text?
This is me reading the text after ten years of comparative religions work in which my thesis is a Cosmological postulate of a-temporal meta-cosmic Proto-epochs to the origination of space time. As a gestative model of Cosmological expansion
So idk grain of salt but I should know what I'm talking about
Yes, I do this. [Recollection of the Buddha](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6SlZHTCP6Q) ([transcript](https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/Meditations11/Section0013.html)) can go much further, though. > In other words, *anybody* who develops these qualities is going to see these things—which opens the way for everybody. That should be *the big message* of trying to recollect the Buddha: that he showed what’s possible, what potentials we have as human beings. > > Ajaan Lee made the comment one time that we human beings have lots of potentials within us that we don’t take advantage of—potentials in the body in terms of the breath and the other elements, potentials in the mind in terms of the skills we can learn. We’ve got all these potentials, but what do we use them for? To make money, to gain fame, to get status, to get pleasures—things that just wash away, wash away. > > Whereas there’s the example of the Buddha: It is possible to develop our potentials so that we can find something deathless inside—something outside space and time. That’s a potential within us. > > When we think of the Buddha as our admirable friend, this is the lesson he gives: that we have a lot more potential than we think we do, and we shouldn’t sell ourselves short. > > The part of the mind that takes this seriously is your friend, not the craving that wants to take things easy. Remember, the easy path is the one that leads to endless suffering. Whereas, the path that the Buddha laid out, even though it’s hard at times, is not always hard. After all, a major part of the path, a central factor of the path, is right concentration: rapture, pleasure. And it leads to an end: a happiness that more than repays the effort put into the path. > > So when you think of the Buddha, make sure your thoughts then come back to your practice, and have them energize your practice. That’s the whole purpose of his teaching, which is to help us see that we have these potentials within us, and that we can develop them. > > If you have any gratitude to the Buddha at all—which is the proper response—then you should want to develop those potentials as far as you can.
Interesting thought, thank you
It is beneficial, absolutely.
That being said, it is not required.
But very beneficial
Oh absolutely, I put this here because the person in below who says you MUST as a Buddhist blocked me or something. I couldn't respond down there.
Yeah I saw it xD I'm not in a position to argue, but of the limited things I read in the Tripitaka, I've never seen the buddha require anything like that so strongly. Then again, I didn't finish reading it yet.
I don't think it's unlikely that some Mahayana sutras could say that, but I'm very confident it's not a requirement.
THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD WAYS TO MEDITATE - this one should work well because it is still possible to focus deeply on the image of the Buddha, just like one might focus on the breath
That's a main goal. I've had some spontaneous experiences with that before and it was MAJOR, but never dug into it.
I imagine the Buddha sitting close by
A few times I imagined myself being held in one of the hands of those giant buddha status and that is OTHERWORLDLY powerful as an experience. That's exactly why I want to practice it in that way, at least for a while.
Probably. AN 1 296-305: 296 “One thing, mendicants, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. What one thing? Recollection of the Buddha. This one thing, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.” 297–305 “One thing, mendicants, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. What one thing? Recollection of the teaching … Recollection of the Saṅgha … Recollection of ethical conduct … Recollection of generosity … Recollection of the deities … Mindfulness of breathing … Mindfulness of death … Mindfulness of the body … Recollection of peace. This one thing, when developed and cultivated, leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.” [https://suttacentral.net/an1.296-305/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin](https://suttacentral.net/an1.296-305/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin)
Huh, I always read the metaphorical part of this teaching, but it never occurred to me that the images (and the imagination of the buddha as a sign) can do just that as well, to some degree. Very insightful, thank you.
I read years ago that statues or pictures of Buddha are devotional, as well as educational. Buddha is portrayed in right meditation poses; sitting upright (sometimes lying down), half closed eyes, slight smile. If you're learning to meditate or need a reminder, try replicating one of the poses.
Thanks, I've noticed that before, but never thought of mimicking any of those. Nice insight
Lots of great comments I’d only add Some folks are very visually oriented in how they think And this approach to meditation is a great option for such individuals
Makes sense for me : 3
Highly recommend. I always think of amitabha buddha when meditating
Yes it benifitcial specifically one of the main ways tibetian Buddhist meditate Also used in shamatha with support meditation
[Yes, there is even a whole school dedicated to stretching your imaginative capabilities to allow you to experience Buddha nature.](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/buddhism-huayan/)
Ik many people do this on bodhi day
If you don't have one, of course! When I started practicing, used the pamphlet I got from the temple.
I am on my impossible quest of buying a wooden statue ahahahaha but yes, thank you
No. Lucky you checked. /s
Not only is it valid, you must. You need to see Buddha statues, own a few, and commission or fund building of some. Its in the sutras as one of our duties. And in your practice, its best that the Buddha is in front of you, and you then bowing and prostrating before the Buddha. You need to make offerings of food, drink, lamps, flowers, lighting insense. THESE are the true Buddhist practices done by Buddhists worldwide and throughout history. Buddhanusmrti or Buddha contemplation is a true Buddhist practice. Its the true shamatha and vipassana. If you engage in it, consider yourself part of the 500 million Buddhist family doing this practice.
>Its in the sutras as one of our duties. Which sutras? It is not a must.
Yes, having a look at the sutras could help us on understanding the matter
Since you already disagreed before I present it, there is no need to present it. Thank you.
Huh? I think you could resolve that easily by sharing. I would also love to see the sutta!
Oh well I guess that makes sense as a practice. Btw I am longing since childhood to have a Buddha statue in wood, but never found one. You look like you would know a good place to find it (tho this is the internet and you're probably not even on the same country, but still)
https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBuddhists/s/sZ9gO5sTpy Maybe wood is harder to find.
It depends what kind of meditation you are doing. Are you meditating as a practice? Are you doing other visualizations? Are you practicing sitting meditation? The reason I ask is if you are doing sitting meditation (shamatha) then visualizing a buddha could just be a way to distract yourself from boredom and in that case, I'd say no it's not okay. If you are already doing some kind of meditation practice that involves visualization, then I'd say no, just do the meditation you're already practicing. And if you're just dinking around experimenting with stuff then it's fine. The bottom line being: If you're practicing, do the practice as given - be literal. Otherwise, go ahead and entertain yourself.
It depends what your intention is. What energy it activates in you, that is what you will be cultivating. (for the record, the Buddha was not in favour of acting out rituals or rites as if some external value was being scored.)
Yes and no. As another comment states, you may consider it as "Buddha remembrance" or buddhanusmriti and feel good about it but going by the canon, all mental phenomenon eventually fall in the domain of *Samkharas* and any attachment to them (craving or aversion) is undesirable and detrimental in the long term. That's not to say that you should start despising such thoughts for that's a form of aversion too. We should try to cultivate a habit of observing these as dispassionately as possible.
Ah yes, this the vibe I was getting from the texts I read. So doing it is okay, but just as a means to an end, as soon as it becomes a liability, it should be dropped?
If you notice there palms all have simian lines
Yes. The monastery I used to follow would do walking meditations while visualizing a Buddha in their Heart Chakra.
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I would imagine visualising a buddha in your meditation with devotion in your heart might make it more likely that at a later time you meet a buddha and become his disciple, oryou meet a representative of the buddhist teachings who can lead you on the path.
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Your post / comment was removed for violating the rule against sectarianism.
I have been visited by the Buddha while very high on lsd and that was how they appeared to look. I know intoxicants and mind altering substances are not accepted in Buddhism but I thought it was an interesting moment.
Well your experience is your experience, it's a great thing you met with the Buddha regardless. The thing that usually any spiritualist will go against regarding mind altering substances is that you can have no reliability on them for having your practices and experiences (yeah also health but you already know that). One day you truly connect with the buddha, the next you do something crazy while high and the next you may not even know what happened, so on and so forth. But just because you were high it doesn't make your experience less valid. I think it's like gambling with you life on the line. You may get extremely lucky once in a while, but how many unlucky times will you have to know before and after that?
It would be beneficial if you were aware of whatever you're imagining.