What
Buddhists Believe
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera
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Trikaya -
The Three Bodies of the Buddha
The three bodies of the Buddha
consist of Dharma-kaya (Truth body), Sambhoga-kaya (Enjoyment body), and
Nirmana-kaya(Manifestation body).
In
the Mahayana philosophy, the personality of the Buddha is given an
elaborate treatment. According to this philosophy, the Buddhas have three
bodies (trikaya), or three aspects of personality: the Dharmakaya, the
Sambhoga-kaya, and the Nirmana-kaya.
After a Buddha
has attained Enlightenment, He is the living embodiment of wisdom,
compassion, happiness and freedom. At the beginning, there was only one
Buddha in the Buddhist tradition. He is the historical Sakyamuni the
Buddha. However, even during His lifetime, He made the distinction between
Himself as the enlightened, historical individual, on one hand, and
Himself as the Embodiment of Truth, on the other. The enlightened
personality was known as the 'Rupa-kaya' (Form-body) or 'Nirmana-kaya'
(Manifestation-body). This was the physical body of the Buddha who was
born among men, attained Enlightenment, preached the Dhamma and attained
Maha Parinibbana. The Manifestation-body or physical body of Buddhas are
many and differ from one another.
On the other
hand, the principle of Enlightenment which is embodied in Him is known as
Dharma-kaya or Truth-body. This is the essence of the Buddha and is
independent of the person realizing it. 'Dhamma' in this expression means
'Truth', and does not refer to the verbal teachings which were recorded
down in scriptures. The teaching of the Buddha also emanates from the
'Essence' or 'Truth'. So the real, essential Buddha is Truth or the
principle of Enlightenment. This idea is clearly stated in the original
Pali texts of the Theravada. The Buddha told Vasettha that the Tathagata
(the Buddha) was Dharma-kaya, the 'Truth-body' or the 'Embodiment of
Truth', as well as Dharmabhuta, 'Truth-become', that is, 'One who has
become Truth' (Digha Nikaya). On another occasion, the Buddha told
Vakkali: 'He who sees the Dhamma (Truth) sees the Tathagata, he who sees
the Tathagata sees the Dhamma (Samyutta Nikaya). That is to say, the
Buddha is equal to Truth, and all Buddhas are one and the same, being no
different from one another in the Dharma-kaya, because Truth is one.'
In the Buddha's
lifetime, both the Nirmana-kaya and the Dharma-kaya were united in His.
However, after His Parinibbana, the distinction became more pronounced,
especially in the Mahayana philosophy. His Manifestation-body was dead and
enshrined in the form of relics in stupas: His Dhamma-body is eternally
present.
Later, the
Mahayana philosophy developed the 'Sambhoga-kaya', the Enjoyment-body. The
Sambhoga-kaya can be considered as the body or aspect through which the
Buddha enjoyed Himself in the Dhamma, in teaching the Truth, in leading
others to the realization of the Truth, and in enjoying the company of
good, noble people. This is a selfless, pure, spiritual enjoyment, not to
be confused with sensual pleasure. This 'Enjoyment-body' is not
categorically mentioned in Theravada texts although it can be appreciated
without contradiction if understood in this context. In Mahayana, the
Enjoyment-body of the Buddha, unlike the impersonal, abstract principle of
the Dharma-kaya, is also considered as a person, though not a human,
historical person.
Although the terms
Sambhoga-kaya and Dharma-kaya found in the later Pali works come from
Mahayana and semi-Mahayana works, scholars from other traditions did not
show hostility towards them. Ven Buddhaghosa in his Visuddhi Magga
referred thus to the bodies of the Buddha.
'The Buddha is
possessed of a beautiful Rupakaya adorned with eighty minor and thirty-two
major signs of a great man, and possessed of a Dharmakaya purified in
every way and glorified by Sila, Samadhi°‚, full of splendor and
virtue, incomparable and fully enlightened.'
Though
Buddhaghosa's conception was realistic, he was not immune from the
religious bias of attributing superhuman power to the Buddha. In the
Atthasallini, he said that during the three months' absence of the Buddha,
when He was engaged in preaching the Abhidamma to His mother in the Tusita
heaven, He created some Nimmita-buddhas as exact replicas of Himself.
These Nimmita-buddhas could not be distinguished from the Buddha in voice,
words and even the rays of light that issued only by the gods of the
higher realms of existence and not by ordinary gods or men. From this
description, it is clear that the early Theravadins conceived Buddha's
Rupa-kaya or Sambhoga-kaya as that of a human being, and His Dharma-kaya
as the collection of His Dhamma, that is, doctrines and disciplinary
rules, collectively.
-ooOoo-
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Source: Buddhist
Study and Practice Group, http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/
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Update : 01-11-2002
