Visualization sutras


The Visualization Sutras are a group of Buddhist meditation texts which contain fantastic visual images and which mostly survive in Chinese translations dating from about the sixth century CE.

Overview

A main feature of these texts is the visual imagery used, though only some include actual meditation practices which use visualization. There is no consensus on a Sanskrit basis for the term "guan" and while the sutras present themselves as translations no Indic originals have been found. Scholars disagree on their origin, possibly Central Asia or China.

List of Visualization sutras

There are various sutras associated with this term, though generally six major texts as seen as the central visualization sutras as listed by Alexander Coburn Soper.
  1. Sutra on the Sea of Samādhi Attained through Contemplation of the Buddha, commonly known as Samādhi Sea Sutra. According to Yamabe, this is the oldest of the bunch.
  2. Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, commonly known as Amitāyus Contemplation Sutra
  3. Sutra on the Contemplation of the Two Bodhisattvas Bhaiṣajyarāja and Bhaiṣajyasamudgata, commonly known as Bhaiṣajyarāja Contemplation Sutra
  4. Sutra on the Contemplation of Maitreya Bodhisattva’s Ascent to Rebirth in Tusita Heaven, commonly known as Maitreya Contemplation Sutra
  5. Sutra on the Contemplation of the Cultivation Methods of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, commonly known as Samantabhadra Contemplation Sutra
  6. Sutra on the Contemplation of the Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha, commonly known as Ākāśagarbha Contemplation Sutra''.
Nobuyoshi Yamabe notes that the following texts also have a similarity to the visualization sutras:
  1. A manual on the Secret Essence of Meditation
  2. The Secret Essential Methods to Cure the Diseases Caused by Meditation
  3. The Essence of the Meditation Manual consisting of Five Gates
  4. The Yogalehrbuch, an anonymous meditation manual in Sanskrit found at Kizil Caves. Yamabe notes that the visualization practices here are similar to the Sea of Samadhi sutra.