Trikaya Totally Explained

Everything about The Trikaya totally explained

The Trikaya doctrine (Sanskrit, literally "Three bodies or personalities"; 三身 Chinese: Sānshén, Japanese: sanjin) is an important Buddhist teaching both on the nature of reality, and what a Buddha is. By the 4th century CE the Trikaya Doctrine had assumed the form that we now know. Briefly the doctrine says that a Buddha has three kayas or bodies: the nirmanakaya or created body which manifests in time and space; the sambhogakaya or body of mutual enjoyment which is an archetypal manifestation; and the Dharmakaya or reality body which embodies the very principle of enlightenment and knows no limits or boundaries. The Trikaya is symbolised by the Gankyil.

Origins

Buddhism has always recognized more than one Buddha. In the Pali Canon twenty-eight previous Buddhas are mentioned, and Gautama Buddha, the historical Buddha, is simply the Buddha who has appeared in our world age. Even before the Buddha's Parinirvana the term Dharmakaya was current. Dharmakaya literally means Truth body, or Reality body. However all of these Buddha are unified in two ways: firstly they share similar special characteristics. All Buddhas have the 32 major marks, and the 80 minor marks of a superior being. These marks are not necessarily physical, but are talked about as bodily features. They include the 'ushinisha' or a bump on the top of the head; hair tightly curled; a white tuft of hair between the eyes, long arms that reach to their knees, long fingers and toes that are webbed; his penis is completely covered by his foreskin; images of an eight-spoked wheel on the soles of their feet etc.
   The other thing that all Buddhas have in common, is the Dharma that they teach, which is identical in each case.
   In the Pali Canon The Buddha tells Vasettha that the Tathagata (the Buddha) was Dharmakaya, 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, Ven. Vakkali, who was ill, wanted to see the Buddha before the passed away from old age. The text from the Samyutta Nikaya (SN 22.87) is as follows:

...and the Buddha comforts him, "Enough, Vakkali. Why do you want to see this filthy body? Whoever sees the Dhamma sees me; whoever sees me sees the Dhamma."

Similarly in this same text, the term Putikaya meaning "decomposing" body is distinguished from the eternal Dhamma body of the Buddha and of course the Bodhisat body.

Trikaya and Mahayana

Later Mahayana Buddhists were concerned with the transcendent aspect of the Dharma. One response to this was the development of the Tathagatagarbha Doctrine. Another was the introduction of the Sambhogakaya, which conceptually fits between the Rupakaya, now renamed Nirmanakaya and the Dharmakaya.
The Three Bodies of the the Buddha from the point of view of Pure Land Buddhist thought can be broken down like so:

The Nirmanakaya is the historical, physical Buddha
The Samboghakaya is the reward-body, whereby a bodhisattva completes his vows and becomes a Buddha. A rebirth in Amitabha's pureland is an example of a Samboghakaya.
The Dharmakaya is the embodiment of the truth itself. Vairocana Buddha is often depicted as the incomprehensible Dharmakaya, particularly in esoteric Buddhist schools such as Shingon and Kegon in Japan.

As with earlier Buddhist thought, all three forms of the Buddha teach the same Dharma, but take on different forms to expound the truth.
The Three Bodies of the Buddha from the point of view of Zen Buddhist thought are not to be taken as absolute, literal, or materialistic; they're expedient means that "are merely names or props" and only the play of light and shadow of the mind.

"Do you wish to be not different from the Buddhas and patriarchs? Then just don't look for anything outside. The pure light of your own heart [for example,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 he here before your eyes, listening to my expounding the Dharma."

Variations & qualifications

Vajrayana sometimes refers to a fourth body, called the Svabhavikakaya (Wylie: ngo bo nyid kyi sku, THDL: ngo wo nyi kyi ku), meaning essential body.
The Svabhavikakaya is simply the unity or non-separateness of the three kayas.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Trikaya'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://trikaya.totallyexplained.com">Trikaya Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.