trikāya

From Buddha-Nature

< Key Terms

Glossarytrikāya

Sanskrit Noun

trikāya

three bodies
त्रिकाय
སྐུ་གསུམ།
三身

Basic Meaning

The three enlightened forms of a buddha one attains when one becomes fully enlightened. They include the truth body (dharmakāya), enjoyment body (saṃbhogakāya), and the emanation body (nirmāṇakāya). The three bodies comprise the many qualities and powers associated with buddhahood and thus are the result sought through Mahāyāna Buddhist practice.

Has the Sense of

The three aspects of perfect enlightenment of a buddha: the enlightened state of one's mind after full transformation, the pure physical existence one attains as a result of inner perfection, and the myriad forms one can emanate from the enlightened state to help others.

On this topic
Video
David Germano: On How the Dzogchen Nyingtik Tradition Approaches Buddha-Nature
Germano, David. "On How the Dzogchen Nyingtik Tradition Approaches Buddha-Nature." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 27, 2022. Video, 12:31. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROcTCKss8W8.
Germano, David. "On How the Dzogchen Nyingtik Tradition Approaches Buddha-Nature." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 27, 2022. Video, 12:31. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROcTCKss8W8.
Video
John Canti: On Luminosity and It's Relationship to the Kāyas and Emptiness
Canti, John. "On Luminosity and It's Relationship to the Kāyas and Emptiness." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 25, 2022. Video, 7:22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSKgamUZQEc.
Canti, John. "On Luminosity and It's Relationship to the Kāyas and Emptiness." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 25, 2022. Video, 7:22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSKgamUZQEc.
MA Thesis
Bhattacherjee, R.: Multivariant Levels of Interpretations on Selected Caryās
Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to investigate the multivariant levels of interpretation within selected Caryās. The Caryās selected depict Buddha Nature as it was understood in tāntric Buddhism in the area of Bengal. There are three levels of interpretation. The first level is the blatant meaning, and is outlined in the translation section of the songs. The second level is the anuyoga/Mother tāntra meaning. A comparison is made between the interpretations of selected scholars. The final level is the Mahāmudra meaning. This level is inferred from various textual sources.
Bhattacherjee, Rupa. "Multivariant Levels of Interpretations on Selected Caryās." MA thesis, University of Calgary, 2000. https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/MQ55135.pdf.
Video
Rev. Kokyo Henkel: On the Various Early Influences on the Formation of the Zen Tradition
Henkel, Rev. Kokyo. "On the Various Early Influences on the Formation of the Zen Tradition." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 26, 2021. Video, 8:05. https://youtu.be/6w6KD6Ez8Yc.
Henkel, Rev. Kokyo. "On the Various Early Influences on the Formation of the Zen Tradition." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 26, 2021. Video, 8:05. https://youtu.be/6w6KD6Ez8Yc.
Book
Rong-zom-pa's Discourses on Buddhology
The present study looks into the investigation of buddhology1—that is, conceptions of Buddhahood found in various traditional Buddhist systems and scriptures—by the eleventh-century rNying-ma author and translator Rong-zom Choskyi-bzang-po (henceforth Rong-zom-pa). The bulk of attention will be devoted to his work titled Sangs rgyas kyi sa chen mo (henceforth Sangs sa chen mo) (An Extended [Exposition on] the Stage of a Buddha). This treatise—the only known Tibetan (and, as far as I am aware, indeed pan-Indian) work of its kind on buddhology—discusses its subject at length, focusing on the controversy about whether gnosis exists—on the conventional level—at the stage of a buddha.2 My attention was first drawn to this controversy when I was working on my Master's thesis, titled "The Life and Works of Rong-zom Paṇḍita," for which I critically edited and translated Mi-pham-rgya mtsho's (1846–1912) Rang zorn gsung 'bum dkar chag me tog phreng ba (Garland of Flowers: A Catalogue to Rong-zom's Collected Works), and prepared a detailed catalogue of Rongzom-pa's three-volume collected works.3 In his catalogue, Mi-pham devotes an entire passage to this issue, with the aim of refuting what he believed to be the wrongly held view that Rong-zom-pa denied the existence of gnosis at the stage of a buddha. Any denial of the existence of gnosis had obviously been difficult to digest by most Tibetan scholars, and the prevailing position in Tibet was and still is that a buddha does possess gnosis. Mi-pham attempts to interpret Rong-zom-pa's statements in which he unquestionably maintains that gnosis does not exist at the stage of a buddha as only referring to gnosis that had been generated on the path but not to gnosis as such, for Rong-zom-pa, Mi-pham argues, is an expounder of rDzogs-chen, a system in which what is called 'self-occurring gnosis' (rang byung gi ye shes: svayaṃbhūjñāna) features prominently. Nonetheless, from my examination of Rong-zom-pa's discussions of the whole issue, it has become evident that he did indeed deny the existence of any cognitive element whatsoever at the stage of a buddha, the sole constituent of Buddhahood being for him the purified dharmadhātu. Although he alludes to self-occurring gnosis on numerous occasions in his works, there is a salient difference between his and Mi-pham's understanding of the term: for Mi-pham self-occurring gnosis is something cognitive, whereas for Rong-zom-pa, who equates it with the dharmadhātu, it is not. Rong-zom-pa, however, does not deny that a buddha's gnosis, as mere appearance, manifests to those who have not yet attained release and thus have not yet eliminated all their delusions. A buddha, on the other hand, whose delusions have been completely exhausted, does not possess such gnosis. This position of Rong-zom-pa's does not seem to be an exceptional case. It can be shown in fact that numerous, if not the majority, of Indian Madhyamaka scholars of the eleventh century took a position similar to that of Rong-zom-pa. Furthermore, several works of early bKa'-gdams scholars that have come to light recently show that Rong-zom-pa was not the only Tibetan of his time to hold such a view. It thus appears that while the latter was indeed current among Tibetan scholars of the eleventh century, for a variety of reasons it was soon superseded by the less radical position which allows for the existence of some kind of cognitive element. (Almogi, preface, 13–14)

Notes

1. Following Paul Harrison, I employ the term 'buddhology' (written in lower case) to refer to theories on and conceptions of the nature of a "buddha" (i.e., Buddhahood), while reserving 'Buddhology' (capitalized) for an alternative designation for Buddhist Studies. See Harrison 1995, p. 24, n. 4.
2. In the present study I differentiate between a buddha (i.e., written in lower case and italicized), a title referring to any unspecified awakened person, and Buddha (i.e., written in roman and capitalized), a title referring to Śākyamuni Buddha or any other particular awakened person. (The same convention has been employed in the case of other titles: for example, bodhisattva versus Bodhisattva.) This differentiation is particularly important for the discussion of buddhology, or conceptions of Buddhahood, since some such conceptions (particularly the earlier ones) are clearly only associated with the person of the historical Buddha, while others, which commonly represent later developments in which a plurality of buddhas is affirmed, concern all awakened persons. To be sure, often there is no clear-cut borderline. In such cases I have employed both forms as alternatives.

3. A considerably revised and enlarged version of the thesis is currently under preparation for publication in the near future.
Almogi, Orna. Rong-zom-pa's Discourses on Buddhology: A Study of Various Conceptions of Buddhahood in Indian Sources with Special Reference to the Controversy Surrounding the Existence of Gnosis (jñāna: ye shes) as Presented by the Eleventh-Century Tibetan Scholar Rong-zom Chos-kyi-bzang-po. Studia Philologica Buddhica Monograph Series 24. Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2009.
Book
Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature
This is the third volume in the Dalai Lama’s definitive and comprehensive series on the stages of the Buddhist path.
Dalai Lama, 14th, and Thubten Chodron. Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature. Library of Wisdom and Compassion 3. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2018.
PhD Diss
Chen, S.: The Liberation of Matter: Examining Jingxi Zhanran’s Philosophy of the Buddha-Nature of Insentient Beings in Tiantai Buddhism
Abstract

This dissertation examines the notion that not only sentient beings but also insentient ones, e.g., flora, mountains, rivers, and manmade objects, have Buddha-nature. Employing an exegetical approach, I investigate Jingxi Zhanran’s (711-782) theory of the Buddha-nature of insentient beings. Emphasizing the all-pervasiveness of Buddha-nature and the nonduality of mind and material, he eliminates the absolute distinction between sentient and insentient beings and contends that Buddha-nature includes all beings. Additionally, insisting on the Tiantai notion of mutual inclusion, which reveals a two-way relationship between sentience and insentience, Zhanran reverses the positions of the subjective observer and the objective phenomenon, subjectifying insentient beings.
      In addition to examining the theoretical profundity of Zhanran’s theory, my study examines the issues of sentience versus insentience and Buddha-nature that took place before Zhanran and discusses the subsequent Tiantai concerns with the Buddha-nature of insentient beings. Through textual analysis, I reexamine the emergence of the Chinese thought that connects Buddha-nature to insentient things, initially presented by Jingying Huiyuan (523-592) and Jiaxiang Jizang (549-623). I also illustrate that the concept of the Buddha-nature of insentient beings is implied in Zhiyi’s (538-597) thought by interpreting Zhiyi’s teachings that inspired Zhanran’s advocacy. Furthermore, I analyze, on doctrinal grounds, Chinese Tiantai descendants’ endorsement of Zhanran’s theory, contrasting it with their Japanese counterparts’, the latter who found it difficult to conceptualize how insentient beings’ spiritual cultivation might occur.

      I ultimately argue that Zhanran, indeed, articulates the Buddhahood of insentient beings, and that the modality of their practice through the nonduality between passivity and activity, and between Buddhahood and “insentienthood” can be explained. By raising questions about the human relation to the insentient world and exploring possibilities for attaining harmony through transcending the duality between selfness and otherness, and subjectivity and objectivity, I hope to contribute to the reexamination of anthropocentric religious liberation.
Chen, Shuman. "The Liberation of Matter: Examining Jingxi Zhanran’s Philosophy of the Buddha-Nature of Insentient Beings in Tiantai Buddhism." PhD diss., Northwestern University, 2014.
Term Variations
Key Term trikāya
Topic Variation trikāya
Tibetan སྐུ་གསུམ།  ( kusum)
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration sku gsum  ( kusum)
Devanagari Sanskrit त्रिकाय
Romanized Sanskrit trikāya
Chinese 三身
Chinese Pinyin sānshēn
Buddha-nature Site Standard English three bodies
Richard Barron's English Term three kayas
Jeffrey Hopkin's English Term the three exalted bodies
Ives Waldo's English Term three buddha bodies
Term Information
Source Language Sanskrit
Basic Meaning The three enlightened forms of a buddha one attains when one becomes fully enlightened. They include the truth body (dharmakāya), enjoyment body (saṃbhogakāya), and the emanation body (nirmāṇakāya). The three bodies comprise the many qualities and powers associated with buddhahood and thus are the result sought through Mahāyāna Buddhist practice.
Has the Sense of The three aspects of perfect enlightenment of a buddha: the enlightened state of one's mind after full transformation, the pure physical existence one attains as a result of inner perfection, and the myriad forms one can emanate from the enlightened state to help others.
Term Type Noun
Definitions
Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary three Bodies [thd]. *. {chos sku}. dharmakaya, {longs spyod rdzogs pa'i sku}. or sambhogakaya, and {sprul pa'i sku}. nirmanakaya. trikaya, the three bodies of the buddha. Three kayas. Dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya. The * as ground are 'essence, nature, and capacity'; as path they are 'bliss, clarity and nonthought,' and as fruition they are the '* of buddhahood.' The * of buddhahood are the dharmakaya, which is free from elaborate constructs and endowed with the 'twenty-one sets of enlightened qualities;' the sambhogakaya, which is of the nature of light and endowed with the perfect major and minor marks perceptible only to bodhisattvas; and the nirmanakaya, which manifests in forms perceptible to both pure and impure beings

Works About this Term

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