visualization

A form of meditation where an image of a Buddha or some other divine being is creatively imagined for purposes of devotion or spiritual transformation. Pre- Mahāyāna Buddhist forms of visualization include the use of kasiṇas and other inanimate objects, while in early Mahāyāna such methods are taught in texts such as the Sukhāvatī-vyūha Sūtra and the Pratyutpanna Sūtra in connection with evoking the presence of an idealized form of a Buddha and his dwelling place. Visualization was further developed to form the cornerstone of tantric practice (sādhana) in which an individual creates an image of a divine being for the purposes of self-identification and transformation.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)