Dharmakāya

The dharmakāya (Sanskrit, "truth body" or "reality body", Wylie: chos sku, rdzogs sku) is one of the three
bodies (trikāya) of a buddha in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The dharmakāya constitutes the unmanifested,
"inconceivable" (acintya) aspect of a buddha out of which buddhas arise and to which they return after their
dissolution. Buddhas are manifestations of the dharmakāya called the nirmāṇakāya, "transformation body".
Reginald Ray writes of it as "the body of reality itself, without specific, delimited form, wherein the Buddha is
identified with the spiritually charged nature of everything that is."[1]

The Dhammakāya tradition of Thailand and the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras of the ancient Indian tradition view
the dharmakāya as the ātman (true self) of the Buddha present within all beings.[2]

Contents
Origins and development
Pali Canon
Trikaya doctrine
Qualities
Interpretation in Buddhist traditions
Mahāsāṃghika
Sarvāstivāda
Theravāda
Dhammakaya Movement of Thailand
Mahāyāna
Prajnaparamita
Lotus Sutra
Tathāgatagarbha
Tibetan Buddhism
Rime movement
Gyaltrul Rinpoche's Dharmakaya Organization

Iconography
Emptiness
Sky-blue
Mirror
Notes
Citations
References
Bibliography
External links

Origins and development

In the Pāli Canon, Gautama Buddha tells Vasettha that the Tathāgata (the Buddha) is Dhammakaya, the
"Truth-body" or the "Embodiment of Truth", as well as Dharmabhuta, "Truth-become", that is, "One who has
become Truth."

He whose faith in the Tathagata is settled, rooted, established, solid, unshakeable by any ascetic
or Brahmin, any deva or mara or Brahma or anyone in the world, can truly say: 'I am a true son
of Blessed Lord (Bhagavan), born of his mouth, born of Dhamma, created by Dhamma, an heir
of Dhamma.' Why is that? Because, Vasettha, this designates the Tathagata: 'The Body of
Dhamma,' that is, 'The Body of Brahma,' or 'Become Dhamma,' that is, 'Become Brahma.'" [3]

During the Buddha's life great veneration was shown to him. A mythology developed concerning the physical
characteristics of Universal Buddhas.

After the Buddha's Parinirvana a distinction was made between the Buddha’s physical body or rūpakaya and
his dharmakaya aspect. As the Buddha told Vakkali, he was a living example of the "Truth" of the Dharma.
Without that form to relate to, the Buddha's followers could only relate to the dharmakaya aspect of him.

In SN 6.2 – Garava sutta. Buddha paid homage to the Dhamma and tell, that he will respect it.

Trikaya doctrine

The Trikaya doctrine (Sanskrit, literally "three bodies" or "three personalities") is a Buddhist teaching both on
the nature of reality, and the appearances of a Buddha.

The dharmakaya-doctrine was possibly first expounded in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, composed in
the 1st century BCE.

Around 300 CE, the Yogacara school systematized the prevalent ideas on the nature of the Buddha in the
Trikaya "three-body" doctrine. According to this doctrine, Buddhahood has three aspects:[4]

1. The Nirmāṇakāya, "Transformation body"

Qualities

Tulku Thondup states that dharmakaya must possess three great qualities:[5]

1. Great purity (Wylie: spang pa chen po, "the great abandonment"[6]),

Interpretation in Buddhist traditions

Mahāsāṃghika
According to Guang Xing, two main aspects of the Buddha can be seen in Mahāsāṃghika teachings: the true
Buddha who is omniscient and omnipotent, and the manifested forms through which he liberates sentient
beings through skillful means.[7] For the Mahāsaṃghikas, the historical Gautama Buddha was one of these
transformation bodies (Skt. nirmāṇakāya), while the essential real Buddha is equated with the dharmakāya.[8]

Sarvāstivāda

Sarvāstivādins viewed the Buddha's physical body (Skt. rūpakāya) as being impure and improper for taking
refuge in, and they instead regarded taking refuge in the Buddha as taking refuge in the dharmakāya of the
Buddha.[9] As stated in the Mahāvibhāṣā:[9]

Some people say that to take refuge in the Buddha is to take refuge in the body of the Tathāgata,
which comprises head, neck, stomach, back, hands and feet. It is explained that the body, born of
father and mother, is composed of defiled dharmas, and therefore is not a source of refuge. The
refuge is the Buddha's fully accomplished qualities (aśaikṣadharmāḥ) which comprise bodhi and
the dharmakāya.

Theravāda

In the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism, the Dhammakāya (dharmakāya) is explained as a figurative term,
meaning the "body" or the sum of the Buddha's teachings.[10][11][12] The Canon does not invest the term
dhammakāya with a metaphysical or unrealistic connotation.[10][13] Jantrasrisalai disagrees though, arguing
that the term originally was more connected with the process of enlightenment than the way it later came to be
interpreted.[14]

In the atthakathās (commentaries on the Buddhist texts), the interpretation of the word depends on the author.
Though both Buddhaghoṣa and Dhammapāla describe dhammakāya as the nine supramundane states
(navalokuttaradhamma), their interpretations differ in other aspects. Buddhaghoṣa always follows the
canonical interpretation, referring to the teaching of the lokuttaradhammas, but Dhammapāla interprets
dhammakāya as the spiritual attainments of the Buddha.[15][16] Dhammapāla's interpretation is still essentially
Theravāda though, since the Buddha is still considered a human being, albeit an enlightened one.[10] The
Buddha's body is still subject to kamma and limited in the same way as other people's bodies are.[15]

In a post-canonical text Sri Lankan text called Saddharmaratnākaraya, a distinction is drawn between four
different kāyas: the rūpakāya, dharmakāya, nimittakāya and suñyakāya. The rūpakāya refers to the four
jhānas here; the dharmakāya refers to the attainment of the first eight of the nine lokuttaradhammas; the
nimittakāya refers to the final lokuttaradhamma: Nibbāna with a physical remainder (sopadisesanibbāna); and
the suñyakāya refers to Nibbāna without physical remainder (anupādisesanibbāna). However, even this
teaching of four kāyas does not really stray outside of orthodox Theravāda tradition.[10][17]

In a more unorthodox approach, Maryla Falk has made the argument that in the earliest form of Buddhism, a
yogic path existed which involved the acquisition of a manomayakāya or dhammakāya and an amatakāya, in
which the manomayakāya or dhammakāya refers to the attainment of the jhānas, and the amatakāya to the
attainment of insight and the culmination of the path. In this case, the kāyas refer to a general path and fruit,
not only to the person of the Buddha.[18][19] Although Reynolds does not express agreement with Falk's entire
theory, he does consider the idea of an earlier yogic strand worthy of investigation. Furthermore, he points out
that there are remarkable resemblances with interpretations that can be found in Yogāvacara texts, often called
Tantric Theravada.[20]
The usage of the word dhammakāya is common in Tantric Theravāda texts. It is also a common term in later
texts concerning the consecration of Buddha images.[21][22] In these later texts, which are often descriptions of
kammaṭṭhāna (meditation methods), different parts of the body of the Buddha are associated with certain
spiritual attainments, and the practitioner determines to pursue these attainments himself. The idea that certain
characteristics or attainments of the Buddha can be pursued is usually considered a Mahāyāna idea, but unlike
Mahāyāna, Yogāvacara texts do not describe the Buddha in ontological terms, and commonly use only
Theravāda terminology.[23][24]

Dhammakaya Movement of Thailand

The Dhammakaya Movement of Thai Theravada Buddhism has doctrinal elements which distinguish it from
conventional Theravāda Buddhism. Basing itself on the Pali suttas and meditative experience, the movement
teaches that the Dhammakaya is the eternal Buddha within all beings. The dhammakaya is Nibbāna, and
Nibbāna is equated with the true Self (as opposed to the non-self).[25] In some respects its teachings resemble
the Buddha-nature doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism. Paul Williams has commented that this view of
Buddhism is similar to ideas found in the shentong teachings of the Jonang school of Tibet made famous by
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen.[26]

The Thai meditation masters who teach of a true self of which they claim to have gained meditative experience
are not rejected by Thai Buddhists in general, but tend, on the contrary, to be particularly revered and
worshipped in Thailand as arahats or even bodhisattvas, far more so than more orthodox Theravada monks
and scholars.[27]

Mahāyāna

Prajnaparamita

According to Paul Williams, there are three ways of seeing the concept of the dharmakaya in the
prajnaparamita sutras:

First, the dharmakaya is the collection of teachings, particularly the Prajñaparamita itself. Second,
it is the collection of pure dharmas possessed by the Buddha, specifically pure mental dharmas
cognizing emptiness. And third, it comes to refer to emptiness itself, the true nature of things. The
dharmakaya in all these senses is contrasted with the Buddha’s physical body, that which lived
and died and is preserved in stupas.[28]

Lotus Sutra

In the Lotus Sutra (sixth fascicle) the Buddha explains that he has always and will always exist to lead beings
to their salvation.

Tathāgatagarbha

In the tathagatagarbha sutric tradition, the dharmakaya is taught by the Buddha to constitute the
transcendental, blissful, eternal, and pure Self of the Buddha. "These terms are found in sutras such as the
Lankavatara, Gandavyuha, Angulimaliya, Srimala, and the Mahaparinirvana, where they are used to
describe the Buddha, the Truth Body (dharmakaya) and the Buddha-nature."[29] They are the "transcendent
results [of spiritual attainment]".[29]

Tibetan Buddhism

In Tibetan, the term chos sku[30] glosses dharmakāya; it is composed of chos "religion, dharma" and sku
"body, form, image, bodily form, figure".[31] Thondup & Talbott render it as the "ultimate body".[32]
Padmasambhava, Karma Lingpa, Gyurme Dorje, Graham Coleman and Thupten Jinpa define "Buddha-body
of Reality", which is a rendering of the Tibetan chos-sku and the Sanskrit dharmakāya, as:

[T]he ultimate nature or essence of the enlightened mind [byang-chub sems], which is uncreated
(skye-med), free from the limits of conceptual elaboration (spros-pa'i mtha'-bral), empty of
inherent existence (rang-bzhin-gyis stong-pa), naturally radiant, beyond duality and spacious like
the sky. The intermediate state of the time of death (chi-kha'i bar-do) is considered to be an
optimum time for the realisation of the Buddha-body of Reality.[33][34]

The Yungdrung Bon term for dharmakāya is rdzogs sku, where rdzogs means "perfection".

Reginald Ray, writing of the Vajrayana view of the dharmakaya, defines it as:

The body of reality itself, without specific, delimited form, wherein the Buddha is identified with
the spiritually charged nature of everything that is.'[1]

The Dalai Lama defines the dharmakaya as "the realm of the Dharmakaya-- the space of emptiness--where all
phenomena, pure and impure, are dissolved. This is the explanation taught by the Sutras and Tantras."
However he also states that its distinct from the Hindu concept of Brahman because buddhism adheres to the
doctrine of emptyness (sunyata).[35]

Rime movement

According to Jamgon Kongtrul, the founder of the Rimé movement, in his 19th century commentary to the
Lojong slogan, "To see confusion as the four kayas, the sunyata protection is unsurpassable",[36] when one
meditates on ultimate bodhicitta and rests in a state where appearances simply appear but there is no clinging
to them, the dharmakaya aspect is that all appearances are empty in nature, the sambhogakāya is that they
appear with clarity, the nirmanakaya is that this emptiness and clarity occur together, and the natural kāya
aspect is that these are inseparable.

Gyaltrul Rinpoche's Dharmakaya Organization

Recently, Dharmakaya has also become the name for an organization founded by the 4th Trungram Gyaltrul
Rinpoche, and is affiliated with his global organization the United Trungram Buddhist Fellowship (UTBF).

Gyaltrul Rinpoche's Dharmakaya organization was founded for the specific purpose of bringing the teachings
and meditation practices from the Trungram Tradition of the Karma Kagyu lineage to North America.

Iconography
Emptiness

In the early traditions of Buddhism, depictions of Gautama Buddha were neither iconic nor aniconic but
depictions of empty space and absence: petrosomatoglyphs (Images of a part of the body carved in rock), for
example.[37]

Sky-blue

Thondup and Talbott identify dharmakaya with the naked ("sky-clad"; Sanskrit: Digāmbara), unornamented,
sky-blue Samantabhadra:

In Nyingma icons, dharmakāya is symbolized by a naked, sky-coloured (light blue) male and
female Buddha in union [Kāmamudrā], called Samantabhadra [and Samantabhadrī].[32][a]

Fremantle states:

Space is simultaneously the first and the last of the great elements. It is the origin and precondition
of the other four, and it is also their culmination... The Sanskrit word for space is the same as for
the sky: akasha, which means "shining and clear." What is it that we call the sky? It marks the
boundary of our vision, the limit our sight can reach. If we could see more clearly, the sky would
extend infinitely into outer space. The sky is an imaginary boundary set by the limitations of our
senses, and also by the limitations of our mind, since we find it almost impossible to imagine a
totally limitless [U]niverse. Space is the dimension in which everything exists. It is all-
encompassing, all-pervading, and boundless. It is synonymous with emptiness: that emptiness
which is simultaneously fullness.[38]

The colour blue is an iconographic polysemic rendering of the mahābhūta element of the "pure light" of space
(Sanskrit: ākāśa).[39]

The conceptually bridging and building poetic device of analogy, as an exemplar where dharmakaya is
evocatively likened to sky and space, is a persistent and pervasive visual metaphor throughout the early
Dzogchen and Nyingma literature and functions as a linkage and conduit between the 'conceptual' and
'conceivable' and the 'ineffable' and 'inconceivable' (Sanskrit: acintya). It is particularly referred to by the
terma Gongpa Zangtel [b], a terma cycle revealed by Rigdzin Gödem (1337–1408) and part of the Nyingma
"Northern Treasures" (Wylie: byang gter).[40]

Mirror

Sawyer conveys the importance of mirror iconography to dharmakaya:

The looking glass/mirror (T. me-long, Skt. adarsa), which represents the dharmakaya or Truth
Body, having the aspects of purity (a mirror is clear of pollution) and wisdom (a mirror reflects all
phenomena without distinction).[41]

Notes
 a. For further discussion of 'Kāmamudrā' (English: "love-seal") refer: mudra, mahamudra and Yab-
Yum.
b. Wylie: kun tu bzang po'i dgongs pa zang thal du bstan pa; English: Direct Revelation of
Samantabhadra's Mind

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Nagao, Gadjin (1973). On the Theory of Buddha-Body (https://www.jstor.org/stable/44361355),
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External links
Khandro: The Three Kayas (http://www.khandro.net/doctrine_trikaya.htm)
Kagyu: The Three Kayas (https://web.archive.org/web/20060724045115/http://www.kagyu.org/
buddhism/cul/cul02.html)
Dhammakaya Foundation, Thailand (http://www.dhammakaya.net/)
Trikaya – The Three Bodies of a Buddha or Learning to Love (https://web.archive.org/web/2014
0812210814/http://www.manuyogas.org/trikaya-ndash-the-tree-bodies-of-a-buddha-or-learning-
to-love.html)
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