Zen Buddhists use the term "mako" to denote hallucinations brought about by intensive meditation. Some people will have visions of Buddha or bodhisattvas, others will see faces in the wall, still others will hear churchbells or things from their past, or feel someone stroking their hair when there's no one there. All these mako, no matter how seductive or positive, must be "killed" or just ignored to progress with the practice. That's one thing.

Another thing is the sometimes scary psychological experiences of people going through "bardo" (another Buddhist term) - the world you encounter after death. "Bardo" is basically you travelling through your own mind and encountering all the scary things locked up in there. You have to face these in order to progress beyond, into another life or into nirvana.

The point is, there's a lot of "crazy" stuff locked up in there and I believe that some schizophrenics, like me, have opened the wrong doors at the wrong time without the right preparation. The forces of evil, connected with parental figures, monsters that torture you or take away your independence, all that is part of the psyche and have a hidden influence even on a "healthy" person's life. The difference with the schizophrenic is just that these forces are uncovered, they act out in the open, instead of being camouflaged.