The term is a Japanese word that literally means "realm of demons/monsters" or "uncanny realm" or forsaken place, and hellhole.

Makyō in Zen Meditation

In Zen, Makyō is a figurative reference to the kind of self-delusion that results from clinging to experience. Makyō used in a broad sense refers to people's attachments to experiences in their everyday lives. However, makyō may also be used in a more specific sense, referring to illusory experiences that sometimes occur during Zen meditation.

In Philip Kapleau's The Three Pillars of Zen, Such experiences are viewed as another form of maya, the illusory nature of the world as apprehended by ordinary consciousness. Tibetan contemplative literature uses the parallel term nyam, which fall into three categories, usually listed as clarity, bliss, and non-conceptuality. Many types of meditation phenomena can be classed under this rubric, and are generally tied to the reorganization of the body's subtle energies that can occur in meditation. See Dudjom Lingpa, (cited in Wallace, the Attention Revolution), and Padmasambhava (in Treasures from the Juniper Ridge) for more specific examples.

References

  • Institute of Noetic Sciences