Trikaya

The Trikāya (Sanskrit: त्रिकाय, lit. "three bodies"; Chinese: 三身; pinyin: sānshēn; Japanese pronunciation: sanjin, sanshin; Korean pronunciation: samsin; Vietnamese: tam thân, Tibetan: སྐུ་གསུམ, Wylie: sku gsum) is a fundamental Mahayana Buddhist doctrine that explains the multidimensional nature of Buddhahood. As such, the Trikāya is the basic theory of Mahayana Buddhist Buddhology (i.e. the theology of Buddhahood).

This concept posits that a Buddha has three distinct "bodies", aspects, or ways of being, each representing a different facet of enlightenment. They are the Dharmakāya (Dharma body, the ultimate reality, the true nature of all things), the Sambhogakāya (the body of self-enjoyment, a blissful divine body with infinite forms and powers) and the Nirmāṇakāya (manifestation body, the body which appears in the everyday world and presents the semblance of a human body).

The Trikāya doctrine explains how a Buddha can simultaneously exist in multiple realms and embody a spectrum of qualities and forms, while also seeming to appear in the world with a human body that gets old and dies (though this is merely an appearance). The doctrine's interpretations may vary across different Buddhist traditions, some theories contain extra "bodies", making it a "four body" theory and so on. However, the basic Trikāya theory remains a cornerstone of Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings, providing a comprehensive perspective on the nature of Buddhahood, Buddhist deities and the Buddhist cosmos.

Overview

Letter A in Siddham script. In Mahayana, the letter A is often used a symbol for the formless Dharmakaya which transcends all thought and word. This is because the letter is first in the Sanskrit alphabet (and so it is like alpha) and it's also a negative prefix (like un-), and so has apophatic connotations.

Some Mahayana sources use the sky as a simile for the Dharmakaya and for emptiness.

The Trikāya doctrine sees Buddhahood as composed of three bodies, components or collection of elements (kāya): the Dharma body (the ultimate aspect of Buddhahood), the body of self-enjoyment (a divine and magical aspect) and the manifestation body (a more human and earthly aspect).

The term kāya was understood to have multiple meanings simultaneously. The three main ways it was understood by Indian exegetes were:

• Body as a collection or accumulation of things or parts (Sanskrit: samcaya), mainly referring to the "corpus" of all of Buddha's qualities
• Body as a basis or substratum (asraya) of all phenomena, or as the basis for all the Buddha's qualities.
• Body in the sense of embodiment of the real nature of reality (dharmata)

Mahayana sources sources emphasize that the three bodies are ultimately not separate from other, that is to say, they are non-dual. However, they can be described in different ways due to their relative natures. The longer edition of the Golden Light Sutra, which contains a whole chapter on the triple body theory, states that while the manifestation body is singular (appearing as one form, as one being), the enjoyment body is multiple since "it has many forms in accord with the aspirations of beings". Furthermore, the Dharma body is to be understood as neither singular or multiple, "neither the same nor different".

The Trikāya­sūtra preserved in the Tibetan canon contains the following simile for the three bodies:

the dharmakāya of the Tathāgata consists in the fact that he has no nature, just like the sky. His saṃbhogakāya consists in the fact that he comes forth, just like a cloud. His nirmāṇakāya consists in the activity of all the buddhas, the fact that it soaks everything, just like rain.

Furthermore, this sutra explains that the three bodies can be understood as relative to those who see them:

That which is seen from the perspective of the Tathāgata is the dharmakāya. That which is seen from the perspective of the bodhisattvas is the saṃbhogakāya. That which is seen from the perspective of ordinary beings who conduct themselves devotedly is the nirmāṇakāya.

The sutra also associates different kinds of wisdom to each body and with the different elements of the eight consciousnesses. The Dharma body is the mirror-like wisdom (ādarśajñāna), the pure state of the "basis-of-all" (alaya); the enjoyment body is discriminating wisdom (pratyavekṣaṇā­jñāna), the pure state of mental cognition; while the nirmāṇakāya is "all-accomplishing wisdom" (kṛtyānuśṭhāna­jñāna), which is the pure state of the five sense consciousnesses.

A painting of Samantabhadra- Samantabhadri, a symbol of the Dharmakaya in Tibetan Buddhism.

Dharmakāya

Representation of the Dharmakaya Vairocana as a moon disc atop an enthroned blue lotus, Qing Dynasty (18th century).

The Dharmakāya (Ch: 法身; Tib. chos sku; "Dharma body," "Reality body", "Truth body"; sometimes also called svabhāvikakāya - the intrinsic body) is often described through Buddhist philosophical concepts that describe the Buddhist view of ultimate reality like emptiness, Buddha nature, Dharmata, Suchness (Tathātā), Dharmadhatu, Prajñaparamita, Paramartha, non-duality (advaya), and original purity (ādiviśuddhi).

In several Mahayana sources, the Dharma body is the primary and ultimate Buddha body, as well as "the foundation and basis for the two other bodies" according to Gadjin Nagao. For example, the Golden Light sutra states that:

The first two bodies are merely designations, while the Dharma body is true and the basis for those two other bodies. Why is that? It is because there is only the true nature of phenomena and nonconceptual wisdom, and there are no other qualities that are separate from all buddhas. All buddhas have a perfection of wisdom, and all their kleśas have completely ceased and ended so that the buddhas have attained purity. Therefore, all buddha qualities are contained within the true nature and the wisdom of the true nature.

The Dharma body embodies the true nature of Buddhahood itself and all its inconceivable powers and qualities. It is generally understood as impersonal, without concept, words or thought. Even thought it is without any intention or thought, it accomplishes all Dharma activities spontaneously. Indeed, various Mahayana sources describe the Buddha bodies are being without thought or cognition. The Golden Light Sutra uses the analogy of the sun, moon, water, mirrors and light, which are without thought and yet they cause reflections to appear: "in the same way that through a combination of factors the reflections of the sun and moon appear, through a combination of factors the enjoyment bodies and the emanation bodies manifest their appearances to beings who are worthy." The Dharma body is also the true nature of all things (dharmas) and the true nature of all beings, equivalent to the Mahayana concept of emptiness (śūnyatā), the lack of inherent essence in all things. It is permanent, unceasing and unchanging. According to the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra:

Dharmata-Buddha is Buddhahood in its self-nature of perfect oneness in whom absolute tranquillity prevails. As Noble Wisdom, Dharmata-Buddha transcends all differentiated knowledge, is the goal of intuitive self-realisation, and is the self-nature of the Tathagatas. As Noble Wisdom, Dharmata-Buddha is inscrutable, ineffable, unconditioned. Dharmata-Buddha is the Ultimate Principle of Reality from which all things derive their being and truthfulness, but which in itself transcends all predicates. Dharmata-Buddha is the central sun which holds all, illumines all.

The Dharmakāya is also associated with the "body of the teachings", that is to say, the Buddhadharma, the teachings of the Buddha, and by association, with the nature of reality itself (i.e. the Dharma and the nature of the dharmas - all phenomena), which the teachings point to and are in accord with. The Dharma-body is often described in apophatic terms (especially in Madhyamaka sources), as formless, thought-less and beyond all concepts, language and ideas - including any idea of existence (bhava) or non-existence (abhava), or eternalism (śāśvata-dṛṣṭi) and annihilation (ucchedavāda). The Golden Light Sutra says:

Noble one, the Dharma body is revealed nonduality. What is nonduality? In the Dharma body, there are neither characteristics nor the basis for characteristics, and so there is neither existence nor nonexistence; the Dharma body is neither single nor diverse; it is neither a number nor numberless; and it is neither light nor darkness.

For example, according to Paul Williams, the Hymn to the Ultimate (Paramārthastava) by Nagarjuna describes the Buddha in negative terms as follows:

The Buddha is neither nonbeing nor being, neither annihilation nor permanence, not noneternal, not eternal. He falls into no category of duality. He has no colour, no size, no spatial location and so on. He cannot therefore be praised. And Nagarjuna ends with another of his gentle jokes: ‘I have praised the Well-gone [Sugata – an epithet of the Buddha] who is neither gone nor come, and who is devoid of any going’.

Because of this negative buddhology that is often used to describe the Dharmakaya, it is often depicted with impersonal symbols, like the letter A, some other mantric seed syllable, the disk of the moon or sun, space (Sanskrit: ākāśa), or the sky (gagana). However, iconic representations of the Dharmakaya are also common, as with the depiction of the Buddha Mahavairocana in East Asian esoteric Buddhism and the Buddha Vajradhara or Samatabhadra in Tibetan Buddhism.

In Indian Yogācāra school sources, the Dharmakāya is sometimes described in more positive ways. According to Williams, Yogācāra sees the Dharmakāya as the support or basis of all dharmas, and as being a self-contained nature (svabhāva) which lacks anything contingent or adventitious. It is thus "the intrinsic nature of the Buddhas, the ultimate, the purified Thusness or Suchness " and "the true nature of things taken as a body", a non-dual, pure and immaculate wisdom.

The Yogācāra also sees the Dharmabody as equivalent to the dharmadhātu (the totality of the cosmos) in its ultimate sense, in other words "the intrinsic body of the Buddha is the intrinsic or fundamental dimension of the cosmos". According to Yogācāra, on this ultimate level, there is no distinction between different Buddhas, there is only the same non-dual reality beyond all concepts including singularity and multiplicity.

The Golden Light Sutra also describes the Dharma body in positive terms as well, using various terms for it including: "the pure field of experience and pure wisdom", "the nature of the tathāgatas, "the essence of the tathāgatas". The Sutra also describes it using the perfections used to describe Buddha nature in other sources: eternal (nitya), self (ātman), bliss (sukha), and purity (śuddha).

In the Xuanzang's Chengweishilun (Treatise Demonstrating Consciousness-only), the Dharmakaya (also called here the vimuktikaya, body of liberation) is described as what is adorned with the great Buddha qualities (mahāguṇa), which are conditioned and unconditioned, immeasurable, and infinite. It also describes how the dharmakaya as svabhāvikakāya is the real nature of the Buddhas and all dharmas, "the real pure dharmadhatu", the "immutable support" of the two other bodies, which is peaceful, beyond all prapañca, and "endowed with real, permanent qualities".

Saṃbhogakāya

Amitayus Buddha in his buddhafield, a Saṃbhogakāya manifestation for the benefit of others

The Saṃbhogakāya (Ch: 報身, 受用身; Tib. longs sku, Co-enjoyment body, Reward body or Bliss body) refers to the divine magical bodies of the Buddhas which manifest in many different skillful ways at many different times and places for the benefit of all living beings. The term is usually associated with more supramundane, cosmic or otherworldly Buddhas like Amitabha. While this aspect of Buddhahood does appear to have a kind of form, it is a form that transcends the three worlds and all material existence. As such, only advanced bodhisattvas and beings in the pure lands receive teachings directly from the Saṃbhogakāya in standard Mahayana doctrine. As the Golden Light Sutra says, the Saṃbhogakāya "is a body that is seen on the bhūmis." That is to say, one must have entered the bodhisattva stages or the pure lands to see it. Thus, the enjoyment body has a middle position between the more human manifestation body and the totally formless Dharmakaya.

This body is the object of popular Buddhist devotion in Mahayana Buddhism, it is the Buddha as an omniscient transcendent being with immense powers, animated only by universal compassion for all living things. The Buddha's enjoyment body also has a very unique appearance, made up of the 32 major marks of great man. These characteristics include such unusual features as dharma wheels on the soles of his feet, glowing golden skin, unnaturally long tongue and arms which extend to his knees, and unique facial features like the uṣṇīṣa (a fleshly dome on top of his head) and ūrṇākośa (circle of hair between his eyebrows).

Some Yogācāra sources, like Xuanzang’s Chengweishilun, describe the enjoyment body as having two aspects: a private aspect which is experienced by Buddhas themselves "for their own enjoyment" (自受用身) and an aspect manifested for the sake of others' benefit (他受用身). Xuanzang explains these as follows:

• Body of enjoyment for oneself (sva-saṃbhogakāya): "the infinite real qualities brought forth by the accumulation of merit and knowledge (puṇya-jñāna-saṃbhāra) cultivated by Tathagatas during three innumerable aeons along with perfect, pure, permanent omnipresent material body". It forms a single mental stream but it remains the same and "will last until the end of time". Xuzanzang also writes that it "constantly enjoys itself in the vast bliss of the great Dharma".
• Body of enjoyment for others (para-saṃbhoga-kāya): "this means that the tathagatas, by means of the knowledge of equality (samatā-jñāna) manifest a body endowed with subtle and pure qualities, which inhabits a completely pure land; thanks to the knowledge of discernment, this body - for the benefit of bodhisattvas residing in the ten stages - displays great spiritual powers or masteries, turns the wheel of the Dharma, cuts the nets of doubts, in such a manner that these bodhisattvas enjoy the bliss of the Dharma."

In other words, the private aspect of co-enjoyment is associated with the blissful reward of Buddhahood experienced by Buddhas themselves, also called “the Buddha’s own enjoyment of the dharma-delight”. This embodies the idea of reaping the benefits or rewards of spiritual practice and dwelling in sublime states of realization. The public aspect of "enjoyment for others" is associated with sharing the Dharma with other beings, with divine pure lands (buddha-fields) which are extensions of the enjoyment bodies themselves, as well as with all the numerous emanations which are manifested by the saṃbhogakāya as a skillful means to guide different types of beings. It is considered a skillful manifestation that arises as a result of fulfilling vows and commitments on the long bodhisattva spiritual journey.

Nirmāṇakāya

Miraculous birth of Buddha Shakyamuni, Kanzan Shimomura (1873–1930)

A relic (Śarīra) of the Buddha, ostensibly a hair from the Buddha's physical head, Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo

The Nirmāṇakāya (Ch: 化身, 應身; Tib. sprul sku; the body of transformation, emanation, manifestation or appearance) is a reflection of the Saṃbhogakāya, one of the myriad magical manifestations created by the Saṃbhogakāya. It is also called rūpa-kaya, the "form body" or "physical body". The Nirmāṇakāya generally refers to a Buddha's human-like appearance in imperfect worlds like ours, which appear for limited periods of time and seemingly die in paranirvana. It is usually associated with "historical" Buddha figures, like Shakyamuni Buddha. It is thus the most historic, temporally and spatially contingent, and humanistic aspect of the three bodies.

According to the Golden Light sutra, the Buddhas know the aspirations, conduct, nature and needs of all beings, and thus they "they teach the appropriate Dharma in accordance with the time and with those types of conduct". To do this, they manifest various types of bodies, and these are called the Nirmāṇakāyas. Similarly the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra states that the Nirmana Buddhas appear as skillful means for the liberation of all beings.

Xuanzang's Chengweishilun defines the emanation body as the method used by Buddhas through their knowledge of accomplishing actions (kṛṭya-anuṣṭhāna-jñāna) to create "innmumerable and varied" transformations "which inhabit pure or impure lands". This is for the benefit of bodhisattvas who have not yet attained the bodhisattva stages, for followers of the two vehicles, and for ordinary people. These bodies are varied and take into account the needs of all the different types of beings.

Manifestation bodies allow Buddhas to interact with and teach sentient beings in a more direct and human manner. They typically appear as male monastics in most Mahayana sutras, though later they encompassed all sorts of bodies. This earthly embodiment serves as a bridge between the divine and the human realm. It makes the teachings and compassion of a Buddha accessible to beings of impure realms who seek guidance from an awakened being. However, even this more human-like Buddha is not just a normal human body. A Nirmāṇakāya only appears human, in reality it is just a phantom like magic body, a mere docetic appearance, which can perform many magic powers and which only appears to die.

Nirmāṇakāyas often appear in a world to turn the wheel of Dharma (i.e. teach Buddhism) and to display the twelve great acts of a Buddha (such as miraculous birth, renunciation, defeating Mara, enlightenment under a bodhi tree, etc) and they also may found a Sangha which maintains the teaching even after the Nirmāṇakāya has manifested nirvana. However, this is not always the case, and a Nirmāṇakāya may perform unsual acts, like teaching non-Buddhist teachings or appearing as an animal (as in the Jatakas) for example, if this is the skillful means that is required to teach certain beings.

Historically, the form body of the Buddha was also associated with specific stupas, where the relics of the historical Buddha's body were believed to have been located.

Indian Buddhist history

Mahaparinirvana of Shakyamuni's rupakaya (form body), Gandhara, 3rd or 4th century CE, gray schist

The concept of two Buddha bodies - physical and Dharma body, appears in non-Mahayana Buddhist sources, like the works of the Sarvastivada school. In this non-Mahayana context, Dharmakāya referred to the "body of the teachings", the teachings of the Buddha in the Tripitaka and their final intent, the ultimate nature of the dharmas. It could also refer to the set of all dharmas (phenomena, attributes, characteristics) that was possessed by a Buddha, i.e. "those factors (dharmas) the possession of which serves to distinguish a Buddha from one who is not a Buddha.".

For the Sarvastivada school and its associated northern Abhidharma traditions, this "body of dharmas" (Buddha's teachings and buddha-qualities) was the highest and true refuge, which does not pass away like the Buddha's physical body. Thus, the Abhidharmakośa says:

One who goes to the Buddha for refuge goes for refuge to the fully accomplished qualities (asaiksa dharmah) that make him a Buddha; [the qualities] principally because of which a person is called "Buddha"; [the qualities] by obtaining which he understands all, thereby becoming a Buddha. What are those qualities? Ksayajñana [knowledge of the destruction of the passions], etc., together with their attendants.

According to Yasomitra's commentary some of the key qualities include ksayajñana (knowledge of the destruction of the defilements), anutpadajñana ("knowledge of the non-arising" of defilements), samyagdrsti (right view), and the five undefiled aggregates: sila (virtue), samadhi (concentration), prajña (discernment), vimukti (liberation), and vimuktijñanadarsana (the vision of the knowledge of liberation). Furthermore, in Abhidharma texts like the Abhidharmakośa and the Mahāvibhāṣa Śāstra, dharmakaya also includes the eighteen special qualities of a Buddha called the Āveṇikadharma, which are: the ten powers, four forms of fearlessness, great compassion, and the three mindful equanimities. The Abhidharmakośa lists even more qualtities, such as: the four pratisamvid (analytical knowledges), the six abhijñas (supernatural knowledges), the four dhyanas (meditative absorptions), the four arupyasamapattis (formless meditative states), the four apramanas (measureless thoughts), the eight vimoksas (liberations), the eight abhibhvayatanas (bases of overcoming), the thirty-seven bodhipaksas (factors that foster enlightenment) and more. All these various qualties would later be adopted into the Mahayana understanding of a Buddha's qualities and they regularly appear in various listings found in Mahayana sutras like the Prajñāpāramitā sutras.

Indian Mahayana

Early Mahayana sutras like the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā (c. 1st century BCE) and the Lotus sutra, also mostly follow this basic model of two bodies: the body of Dharma and the form body (rūpa-kaya). According to the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, only fools think of the Buddha as being his physical body, since: "a Tathāgata is not to be seen through his physical body; Tathāgata have the Dharma as their body." Thus, while the Buddha's physical body died, the body of Dharma never dies, it is imperishable. This referred to both his teachings as well as the ultimate natural law of reality, dependent arising, which was equivalent to emptiness in Mahayana.

Some scholars like Yuichi Kajiyama have argued that this sutra's critique of people who think the Buddha is to be found in his physical body is a criticism of stupa worship, and that the Perfection of Wisdom sutra was attempting to replace stupa worship with worship of the Perfection of Wisdom itself. Some scholars think that the Mahayana idea of the Dharma body evolved over time to signify the ultimate reality itself, the Dharmata (Dharma-ness), the emptiness of all dharmas, and the Buddha's wisdom (prajñaparamita) which knows that reality.

Later Mahayana sources introduced the Sambhogakāya, which conceptually fits between the Nirmāṇakāya (the physical manifestation of enlightenment) and the Dharmakaya. The mature three bodies theory developed in the Yogācāra school (in around the 4th century) and can be seen in sources like the Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra (and its commentary) as well as Asanga's Mahāyānasaṃgraha. The theory of the three bodies also appears in several Mahayana sutras. For example, the later editions of the Golden Light Sutra contain a chapter on the three bodies (but not the earliest twenty one chapter version). An conception of the three bodies (with alternate names: Dharmata Buddha, Nisyanda Buddha, and Nirmana Buddha) also appears in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra.

Four body theories

Vikramaśīla monastery, in Bhagalpur district, Bihar, where scholars like Haribhadra and Ratnākarāśānti worked.

Certain Indian sources teach a slightly different Buddha body model which has a fourth body. A major controversy arose among later Indian Mahayanists over the interpretation of the Buddha body theory. At the crux of the issue was the interpretation of the eighth chapter of the Abhisamayalankara (c. between the fourth and the early sixth centuries C.E), a treatise on the Prajñaparamita sutras. The 8th century Buddhist thinker Haribhadra (c. 8th century) argues in his commentary to the Abhisamayalankara that Buddhahood is best understood to have four bodies: svābhāvikakāya, [jñāna]-dharmakāya, sambhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya. By contrast, a different commentarial tradition on the Abhisamayalankara beginning with Arya Vimuktisena's (ca. early sixth century) commentary teaches just three bodies and this model was followed by later exegetes like Ratnākarāśānti.

According to John J. Makransky, the basic disagreement between these interpretations was not so much on the total number of bodies as on the actual meaning of the terms svābhāvikakāya and dharmakāya. According to Arya Vimuktisena, svābhāvikakāya and dharmakāya refer to the same thing, "the essential nondual realization of Buddhahood". Haribhadra meanwhile did not see these two terms are referring to the same thing. Initially this position was not widely accepted, but over time it was popularized by figures like Prajñakaramati (ca. 950-1000 C.E.).

For Haribhadra, svābhāvikakāya was "the unconditioned aspect by which a Buddha transcends the conditioned world of delusion" and is thus the true ultimate. Meanwhile, the jñānātmaka-dharmakāya was "the conditioned aspect through which he appears to beings within their world of delusion to work for them", in other words, the Buddha wisdom (buddhajñāna) which still impermanent and relative. According to Makransky, Haribhadra's model is an implicit critique of the Yogacara three body theory, which equates Buddha wisdom and emptiness (placing both in the Dharmakaya category), which a Madhyamika like Haribhadra could not accept (since he held even wisdom was conditioned and impermanent). Furthermore, as Makransky writes, for Haribhadra the Yogacara model gave rise to a logical tension because it failed to distinguish separate ontological bases for the transcendence and immanence of Buddhahood. Thus, he sought to divide the Dharmakaya aspect into two: "an unconditioned, transcendent aspect and a conditioned, immanent aspect," and as such, make the Buddha body theory more logically consistent with classic Buddhist reasoning.

The four body view was widely debated in Indian Buddhism and in Tibetan Buddhism, where different schools and thinkers take different positions on the matter. Later Indian thinkers like Ratnākarāśānti and Abhayakaragupta were very critical of Haribhadra's interpretations. Ratnākarāśānti sharply disagrees with Haribhadra's view that human reasoning can ever accurately represent the nature of Buddhahood. For him, only yogic attainment can truly see the non-conceptual and non-dual nature of Buddhahood. As such, any logical tension perceived by Haribhadra in the three body theory was not a problem to be solved, but simply a limitation of thought. Logic can never reach the ultimate which transcends all dichotomies and reasoning itself. Because of this, Ratnākarāśānti also critiques Haribhadra's very understanding of the Abhisamayalankara's presentation of dharmakaya as a systematic buddhology. Instead of providing coherent and logical model of Buddhahood, Ratnākarāśānti reads this text's exposition of the dharmakaya as pointing to the Buddha's own experience, which is beyond all thought or reason, and yet can only express itself to beings like us through dualistic and seemingly logically fraught means. As such, the logical tension found in the teaching of the dharmakaya as being immanent and transcendent at the same time is a key element of the three body theory which challenges us to attain that non-dual state of non-abiding nirvana. This means that, for Ratnākarāśānti, to attempt to logically analyze and construct a coherent system of the dhamakaya is to miss the point of the teaching, and to replace it with just another mental construction.

In Tibet the debate was picked up by later Tibetan thinkers. For example, the Gelug founder Tsongkhapa followed the four body model of Haribhadra, while the Sakya scholar Gorampa supports the basic three body model of Vimuktisena. In Tibetan Buddhism, one common meaning of the fourth body, the svābhāvikakāya (when understood as a different concept than dharmakāya), is that it is refers to the inseparability and identity of all three kāyas.

A four body theory also appears in some East Asian sources, for example, Ching-Ying Huiyuan argued that the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra taught four bodies: Suchness-Buddha, Wisdom Buddha, Merit Buddha, and Incarnation Buddha.

Interpretation in Buddhist traditions

Various Buddhist traditions have different ideas about the Buddha body theory.

East Asian Buddhism

A depiction of Amitābha Buddha, often considered a Sambhoghakaya Buddha in his deppest form of Amitâyus.

A Ming Bronze of the cosmic body of Buddha Vairocana along with numerous manifestations (nirmanakayas) of Vairocana all over his body.

Chinese Buddhism adopts the basic three bodies concept of Indian Mahayana Buddhism, with the Nirmaṇakāya mostly referring to Shakyamuni, the Sambhogakāya being associated with Buddhas like Amitābha and the Dharmakāya understood in different ways depending on the tradition. For example, the Dharmakāya in the Chinese Esoteric Buddhist and Huayan traditions is often understood through the cosmic body of Mahavairocana, which consists of the whole cosmos and also is the basis for all reality, the ultimate principle (li, 理), equivalent to the One Mind taught in the Awakening of Faith.

Furthermore, the Huayan school, while affirming the trikaya doctrine, also teaches a different Buddha body theory as well, the theory of ten Buddha bodies. This theory is drawn from the Avatamsaka sutra and states that Buddhas have the following ten bodies: the All-Beings Body, the Lands Body, the Karma Body, the Śrāvakas Body, the Pratyekabuddha Body, the Bodhisattvas Body, the Tathāgatas Body, the Wisdom Body, the Dharma Body, and the Space Body. According to the patriarch Fazang, the ten bodies encompass all dharmas in the "three realms", i.e. the entire universe.

In the Tiantai school meanwhile, the three bodies is understood through the central doctrine of the three truths and their interpenetration. Tiantai patriarch Zhiyi argues that all three bodies are ultimately ontologically equal, none of them are ontologically prior or more fundamental than the others. Thus, in Tiantai, there is no hierarchy among the three bodies, just like there is no hierarchy or duality among the threefold truth. All three bodies are ultimately interpenetrated and non-dual.

In the esoteric Buddhist traditions (like Tendai and Shingon), the three bodies are associated with the three mysteries, sanmitsu (三密) of body, speech and mind of the Dharmakaya Buddha, who is associated with Mahavairocana Buddha. According to the Indian Mantrayana patriarch Śubhākarasiṃha: "the three modes of action are simply the three secrets, and the three secrets are simply the three modes of action. The three [Buddha] bodies are simply the wisdom of tathāgata Mahavairocana."

A unique view of the esoteric schools is that the Dharmakaya preaches the Dharma directly, and that this direct teaching is the esoteric Buddhist teachings. This is explained by the Japanese Shingon founder Kukai in his Difference between exoteric and esoteric (Benkenmitsu nikyoron) which says that mikkyo is taught by the cosmic embodiment (hosshin) Buddha. Traditionally, Indian Mahayana held that since the Dharmakaya is formless, wordless, and thoughtless, it does not teach.

According to Schloegl, in the Record of Linji (which is a Chan compilation of the teachings of Linji), the Three Bodies of the Buddha are not taken as absolute or as something outside oneself. Instead they are seen as "merely names or props" which are ultimately just "mental configurations", the play of mind. The Record of Linji further advises that the triple body is just one's own heart-mind:

Do you wish to be not different from the Buddhas and patriarchs? Then just do not look for anything outside. The pure light of your own heart [i.e., 心, mind] at this instant is the Dharmakaya Buddha in your own house. The non-differentiating light of your heart at this instant is the Sambhogakaya Buddha in your own house. The non-discriminating light of your own heart at this instant is the Nirmanakaya Buddha in your own house. This trinity of the Buddha's body is none other than here before your eyes, listening to my expounding the Dharma.

Tibetan Buddhism

Avalokiteśvara, Amitabha Buddha, Padmasambhava (left to right), a common set of figures depicted in Tibetan Buddhism which represent the three bodies (Sambhogakaya, Dharmakaya and Nirmanakaya respectively).

Three Vajras

The Three Vajras, namely "body, speech and mind", are a formulation within Vajrayana Buddhism and Bon that hold the full experience of the śūnyatā "emptiness" of Buddha-nature, void of all qualities (Wylie: yon tan) and marks (Wylie: mtshan dpe) and establish a sound experiential key upon the continuum of the path to enlightenment. The Three Vajras correspond to the trikaya and therefore also have correspondences to the Three Roots and other refuge formulas of Tibetan Buddhism. The Three Vajras are viewed in twilight language as a form of the Three Jewels, which imply purity of action, speech and thought.

The Three Vajras are often mentioned in Vajrayana discourse, particularly in relation to samaya, the vows undertaken between a practitioner and their guru during empowerment. The term is also used during Anuttarayoga Tantra practice.

The Three Vajras are often employed in tantric sādhanā at various stages during the visualization of the generation stage, refuge tree, guru yoga and iṣṭadevatā processes. The concept of the Three Vajras serves in the twilight language to convey polysemic meanings, aiding the practitioner to conflate and unify the mindstream of the iṣṭadevatā, the guru and the sādhaka in order for the practitioner to experience their own Buddha-nature.

Speaking for the Nyingma tradition, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche perceives an identity and relationship between Buddha-nature, dharmadhatu, dharmakāya, rigpa and the Three Vajras:

Dharmadhātu is adorned with Dharmakāya, which is endowed with Dharmadhātu Wisdom. This is a brief but very profound statement, because "Dharmadhātu" also refers to Sugatagarbha or Buddha-Nature. Buddha- Nature is all-encompassing... This Buddha-Nature is present just as the shining sun is present in the sky. It is indivisible from the Three Vajras [i.e. the Buddha's Body, Speech and Mind] of the awakened state, which do not perish or change.

Robert Beer (2003: p. 186) states:

The trinity of body, speech, and mind are known as the three gates, three receptacles or three vajras, and correspond to the western religious concept of righteous thought (mind), word (speech), and deed (body). The three vajras also correspond to the three kayas, with the aspect of body located at the crown (nirmanakaya), the aspect of speech at the throat (sambhogakaya), and the aspect of mind at the heart (dharmakaya)."

The bīja corresponding to the Three Vajras are: a white om (enlightened body), a red ah (enlightened speech) and a blue hum (enlightened mind).

Simmer-Brown (2001: p. 334) asserts that:

When informed by tantric views of embodiment, the physical body is understood as a sacred maṇḍala (Wylie: lus kyi dkyil).

This explicates the semiotic rationale for the nomenclature of the somatic discipline called trul khor.

The triple continua of body-voice-mind are intimately related to the Dzogchen doctrine of "sound, light and rays" (Wylie: sgra 'od zer gsum) as a passage of the rgyud bu chung bcu gnyis kyi don bstan pa ('The Teaching on the Meaning of the Twelve Child Tantras') rendered into English by Rossi (1999: p. 65) states (Tibetan provided for probity):

From the Basis (of) all, empty (and) without cause, sound, the dynamic potential of the Dimension, arises. From the Awareness, empty (and) without cause, light, the dynamic potential (of) Primordial Wisdom, appears. From the inseparability, empty (and) without cause, rays, the dynamic potential of the Essence, appear. When sound, light and rays are taken (as) instrumental causes (that) ignorance (turns into) the delusion of body, speech (and) mind; the result (is) wandering in the circle (of) the three spheres.

ཀུན་གཞི་སྟོང་པ་རྒྱུ་མེད་ལས། སྒྲ་ནི་དབྱིངས་ཀྱི་རྩལ་དུ་ཤར། རིག་པ་སྟོང་པ་རྒྱུ་མེད་ལས། འོད་ནི་ཡེ་ཤེས་རྩལ་དུ་ཤར། དབྱེར་མེད་སྟོང་པ་རྒྱུ་མེདླས། ཟེར་ནི་ཐིག་ལེའི་རྩལ་དུ་ཤར། སྒྲ་འོད་ཟེར་གསུམ་རྐྱེན་བྱས་ནས། མ་རྟོགས་ལུས་ངག་ཡིད་དུ་འཁྲུལ། བྲས་བུ་ཁམས་གསུམ་འཁོར་བར་འཁྱམས༎

Barron et al. (1994, 2002: p. 159), renders from Tibetan into English, a terma "pure vision" (Wylie: dag snang) of Sri Singha by Dudjom Lingpa that describes the Dzogchen state of 'formal meditative equipoise' (Tibetan: nyam-par zhag-pa) which is the indivisible fulfillment of vipaśyanā and śamatha, Sri Singha states:

Just as water, which exists in a naturally free-flowing state, freezes into ice under the influence of a cold wind, so the ground of being exists in a naturally free state, with the entire spectrum of samsara established solely by the influence of perceiving in terms of identity.
Understanding this fundamental nature, you give up the three kinds of physical activity--good, bad, and neutral--and sit like a corpse in a charnal ground, with nothing needing to be done. You likewise give up the three kinds of verbal activity, remaining like a mute, as well as the three kinds of mental activity, resting without contrivance like the autumn sky free of the three polluting conditions.

Buddha-bodies

Vajrayana sometimes refers to a fourth body called the svābhāvikakāya (Tibetan: ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་ཀྱི་སྐུ, Wylie: ngo bo nyid kyi sku) "essential body", and to a fifth body, called the mahāsūkhakāya (Wylie: bde ba chen po'i sku, "great bliss body"). The svābhāvikakāya is simply the unity or non-separateness of the three kayas. The term is also known in Gelug teachings, where it is one of the assumed two aspects of the dharmakāya: svābhāvikakāya "essence body" and jñānakāya "body of wisdom".

In dzogchen teachings, "dharmakaya" means the buddha-nature's absence of self-nature, that is, its emptiness of a conceptualizable essence, its cognizance or clarity is the sambhogakaya, and the fact that its capacity is 'suffused with self-existing awareness' is the nirmanakaya.

The interpretation in Mahamudra is similar: When the mahamudra practices come to fruition, one sees that the mind and all phenomena are fundamentally empty of any identity; this emptiness is called dharmakāya. One perceives that the essence of mind is empty, but that it also has a potentiality that takes the form of luminosity. In Mahamudra thought, Sambhogakāya is understood to be this luminosity. Nirmanakāya is understood to be the powerful force with which the potentiality affects living beings.

In the view of Anuyoga, the Mind Stream (Sanskrit: citta santana) is the 'continuity' (Sanskrit: santana; Wylie: rgyud) that links the Trikaya. The Trikāya, as a triune, is symbolised by the Gankyil.

Dakinis

A ḍākinī (Tibetan: མཁའ་འགྲོ་[མ་], Wylie: mkha' 'gro [ma] khandro[ma]) is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. The Sanskrit term is likely related to the term for drumming, while the Tibetan term means "sky goer" and may have originated in the Sanskrit khecara, a term from the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra.

Ḍākinīs can also be classified according to the trikāya theory. The dharmakāya ḍākinī, which is Samantabhadrī, represents the dharmadhatu where all phenomena appear. The sambhogakāya ḍākinī are the yidams used as meditational deities for tantric practice. The nirmanakaya ḍākinīs are human women born with special potentialities; these are realized yogini, the consorts of the gurus, or even all women in general as they may be classified into the families of the Five Tathagatas.

Comparison with other divine triune concepts

The three body theory has be compared to other concepts in other religions which are triune in nature or triple deities. Nagao notes that some (like A. K. Coomaraswamy) have compared it to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, but that a closer comparison is that between a formless (nirguna) Brahman, Ishvara and its avatars in mature Hindu theology. A major difference with these other systems however, is that Buddhism rejects the concept of a Creator Deity or Ishvara (supreme lord). Furthermore, Buddhism also rejects the idea that there can only be one divine incarnation. Furthermore, Mahayana's classic docetism regarding the nirmanakaya would put it in conflict with orthodox Christian views.

See also

• Aniconism in Buddhism
• Buddharupa
• Five Tathāgatas
• Physical characteristics of the Buddha
• Rainbow body
• Refuge in Buddhism
• Relics associated with Buddha
• Trimurti
• Trinity

References

Sources

• Griffin, David Ray (2018), Reenchantment without Supernaturalism: A Process Philosophy of Religion, Cornell University Press
• Makransky, John J. (1997), Buddhahood Embodied: Sources of Controversy in India and Tibet, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-7914-3432-X
• Schloegl, Irmgard (1976), The Zen Teaching of Rinzai (PDF), Shambhala Publications, Inc., ISBN 0-87773-087-3
• Snelling, John (1987), The Buddhist handbook. A Complete Guide to Buddhist Teaching and Practice, London: Century Paperbacks
• Williams, Paul (2009). Mahayana Buddhism: the doctrinal foundations, 2nd ed. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-203-42847-1.

Further reading

• Radich, Michael (2007). Problems and Opportunities in the Study of the Bodies of the Buddha, New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 9 (1), 46-69
• Radich, Michael (2010). Embodiments of the Buddha in Sarvâstivāda Doctrine: With Special Reference to the Mahavibhāṣā. Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology 13, 121-172
• Snellgrove, David (1987). Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Vol. 1. Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-87773-311-2.
• Snellgrove, David (1987). Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Vol. 2. Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-87773-379-1.
• Walsh, Maurice (1995). The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-103-3.
• Xing, Guang (2005). The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikāya Theory. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-33344-3.

External links

• Trikaya del Saya Kunsal Kassapa
• trikāya - A Dictionary of Buddhism
• Khandro: The Three Kayas
• Kagyu: The Three Kayas
• 32 marks of the Buddha ("THIRTY TWO MARKS OF A GREAT MAN")
• Trikaya - The Three Bodies of a Buddha or Learning to Love