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GCSE Religious Studies · key term
Forming a mental image, such as a Buddha or Bodhisattva, as a focus for meditation and the development of spiritual qualities.
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Paper 1
Revise: Meditation PracticesVisualisation involves forming an image in the mind. A meditator may first study an image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, then put it out of sight and recall its details mentally. The image becomes a focus for concentration, but the practice also involves attention to the being’s spiritual qualities.
Paper 3
Forming a mental image, such as an image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, to concentrate and reflect on their qualities.
Do not describe visualisation as worshipping a creator god or merely daydreaming. Explain the enlightened qualities that the meditator seeks to develop.
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Visualisation is especially important in some Mahayana traditions, including Tibetan and Pure Land Buddhism. A practitioner may study an image and then form a mental picture of the Buddha or Bodhisattva, concentrating on their qualities. Tibetan Buddhists may use a thangka, a detailed religious painting, to support this process.