The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2663 page)

 
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(
dmigs.pa
). An essential component of
meditation
in Tibetan Buddhism. Though it has been linked with
Therav
din
nimitta
practice, visualization does characterize
Vajray
na
as a step away from
H
nay
na
and other forms of
Mah
y
na
meditation which rely to a great extent on awareness (
samatha
) and insight (
vipassan
). Principal subjects for visualization are
ma
alas
and deities, and to be able to visualize them well means to be able to see their every detail as indistinguishable from common reality—a feat said to require at least one lifetime of total devotion to the skill. Visualization has four stages: projection, which is the creation of the appearance; pride, which is the identification of the self with that which is visualized; recollection of purity, which is the contemplation of the meaning of the practice and the nature of the deity; absorption, which is the reintegration of the deity into the
yogin
.

 
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see
BUDDHAGHOSA
.