Visualization Practice

The mind is made of images, and so images can heal it. In visualization practice you build a radiant figure in the space before you, a form of compassion or wisdom, and you let its qualities flow into your own heart until the figure and the one who sees are no longer two.

OriginsThe Root of the Practice

In Tibetan Buddhism the practitioner visualizes Tara, the mother of liberation, or Avalokiteshvara, the one who hears the cries of the world, and recites their mantras. In China the same compassion wears the face of Guanyin. In the Orthodox East the icon is a window to the Divine, and in the West Ignatius taught his followers to enter the Gospel scenes with the imagination. Tara, Guanyin, and Holy Sophia are different names for the one Holy Wisdom shining through many faces.

The WayWhat the Practice Teaches

You begin by clearing the space of mind, then call the figure into view, with its colors, its gestures, its light. You feel its presence, its compassion, and its peace. Then the figure dissolves into light, and the light enters you. At the close you rest in the open awareness left behind. The practice does not worship an outer being alone. It awakens the same qualities in you, because the image and the seer share one nature.

BeginHow to Practice

1. Settle with a few breaths and take refuge in the Light.
2. Bring the chosen figure into the space before you, as vividly as you can.
3. Feel its eyes meeting yours, and feel its qualities, love, wisdom, and strength, radiate toward you.
4. Repeat the mantra or holy name softly while holding the vision.
5. Let the figure melt into light and dissolve into your heart.
6. Rest in open stillness, then dedicate the merit to all beings.

HarvestThe Fruit

Qualities that felt far away, such as courage, tenderness, and clarity, become familiar companions. The imagination is gathered and made holy, and the inner life takes on color and depth.