Cognitive processes as described in psychology bear similarities to mental activities stated in Buddhist scriptures. The correspondence between the two can be summed up as follows: Buddhism: indriya + visaya → viññāna → phassa→saññā Psychology: sense organs + stimulus → sensation → perception Such processes involve information processing. In the field of psychology, 'attention' is regarded as the means by which we actively process alimited amount of information from the enormous amount of information available through our senses, our stored memories, and our other cognitive processes. Attention in this sense is largely coterminous wi th the idea of “manasikāra” in Buddhism. Among the four main functions of attention that psychologists are particularly interested in, selective attention and vigilance are closely related to the role manasikāra plays in Buddhist meditative practices. Certain types of mental image called nimitta may appear to those who enter deep meditative states, and nimitta becomes the focus of attention. Nimitta in Buddhism resembles what psychologists call “imagery” in many ways. This paper is a preliminary study. It deserves further investigation on the extent to which the above parallels in the two disciplines can be compared or identified.
