Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

a ''Nimitta'' is a sign or mark by which objects are recognized. It refers to a general and relatively persistent characteristic in contrast to secondary characteristics. The apprehending of signs enables perception of objects and feeling tones, reinforcing ignorance and leading to suffering. In addition, the word nimitta is used in Buddhist scriptures to refer to a causal ground (ex. to criticize someone), an auspicious sign or omen, or an outer appearance (ex. a reflection).

Animitta

Animitta, or the absence of signs, is one of the Three Gates of Liberation and a form of

samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

in Buddhism along with

emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation, nihilism, and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression (mood), depression, loneliness, anhedonia, wiktionary:despair, despair, or o ...

and wishlessness. Perceiving with the senses without apprehending signs is central to the practice of sense restraint.

In Theravada

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

commentary such as the

Visuddhimagga The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''; ), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhism, Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condens ...

, nimitta refers to mental images that arise during meditation. These images start unstable and vague (uggaha-nimitta) and grow progressively more vivid and stable as the mediator becomes more advanced. It is believed that when sufficiently stable (patibhāga-nimitta), the state of "access samadhi" is attained and cultivating the image will lead to

Jhana In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind (''bhavana''), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions and "burn up" ...

. It has been noted that earlier commentary such as the

Vimuttimagga __NOTOC__ The ''Vimuttimagga'' ("Path of Freedom") is a Buddhist practice manual, traditionally attributed to the Arahant Upatissa (c. 1st or 2nd century). It was translated into Chinese in the sixth century as the ''Jietuo dao lun'' 解脫道論 ...

placed less emphasis on such visual nimitta than contemporary Theravada. Nimitta in Theravada commentary can also refer to states of mind on the death bead based on past

karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

or believed to foretell the dying's future destiny.

In Yogacara

Yogacara Yogachara (, IAST: ') is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditation, as well as philosophical reasoning (hetuvidyā). ...

philosophy, nimitta refers to the delusion that signs apprehended by the mind correspond to real objects outside the mind. Nimitta-bhaga refers to the conception of something that is seen, the counterpart to the delusion of a self who sees.

References

zh:相 (佛教) ja:無相 {{Buddhist-philo-stub Buddhist philosophical concepts

Animitta

In Theravada

In Yogacara

See Also

References