The word 'buddha' refers to all realized beings. It is not that
only one
particular enlightened being is known as Buddha. Those who
realized their true
nature in the past are known as Buddhas, those who realize it
now may be called
Buddhas and those who come to this realization in the future
will be known as
Buddhas. 'Buddha' is a general term which does not merely refer
to a single
individual but to every realized being.
The whole purpose of enlightened beings is to benefit sentient
beings. In order
to do this, they appear in many different forms or bodies. The
principle
emanations are known as the three kayas; Dharmakaya,
Sambhogakaya and
Nirmanakaya. There are even four and five kayas, divided further
to qualify
other manifestations of enlightened being, but it is all one
Buddha. 'Kaya' is a
Sanskrit word which means body in the sense of many qualities
gathered together,
joined and united as one. Kaya here refers to the embodiments
of
loving-kindness, compassion, wisdom and skillful means which
appear in the world
to help sentient beings.
DHARMAKAYA
The Sanskrit word 'dharma' means phenomena, both external and
internal,
subjective and objective. Dharmakaya refers to the primordial or
true nature of
phenomena which is beyond conception or dualistic thought. It is
not partial.
It does not discriminate. It is Great Equanimity. This
embodiment of wisdom is
known as Dharmakaya.
We are all aware of a great variety of phenomena. There are many
things which
we know and feel. However, they all can be summarized into two
categories;
subjective phenomena and objective phenomena. Both develop
through the
interaction of the elements. If we look carefully at the
elements, each of them
are aggregations of many sub-units. Every element is composed of
individual
atoms and these consist of many subatomic particles bound
together as the atomic
structure of that element. None of these particles are
independent things.
Each is dependent upon others for its existence. If we look
deeply and
carefully into any single element, we will find our
investigation in terms of
subject and object ultimately dissolves in the intuition of
Great Emptiness.
This is the ultimate examination we can make. To go further is
beyond our
dualistic conceptions. Understand the real nature of the
external world to be
no other than Great Emptiness.
If we look at subjective phenomena, we find that it is similar
to the elements.
Mind can be conceptually divided into eight categories or many
more but it
functions as a single aggregate. If we search for where our
present thought
comes from, we will not find an exact source. If we look to
where it goes, we
cannot know it's destination. We cannot even find the spot where
it exists. In
this way, we can see that mind, the subject, is arising in Great
Emptiness,
inexpressible by mundane conceptions or speech.
Both the internal and external are based in one primordial
nature. Outer or
inner, there is no distinction, all are one Emptiness beyond
dualistic thought,
beyond existence and non-existence, both and neither. It goes
far beyond the
conventional notion of emptiness or vacuity. It is not some
'thing' to which we
can cling. It is always here, never increasing or decreasing,
but remaining as
it is, as it was and how it will be all the time. Circumstances
cannot change
the primordial nature. Perfect realization of this nature is
realization of
Dharmakaya.
SAMBHOGAKAYA
Great Emptiness is our primordial nature. This Emptiness is not
like a black
hole or a state of nothingness. Emptiness is more like a state
of fullness. By
means of the primordial nature, everything is arising without
effort, without
thought, spontaneously appearing with clarity. That is the sign
of Emptiness.
If there were no Emptiness or primordial truth, everything would
be blocked,
nothing could move, nothing could develop and nothing could
manifest. This
spontaneous radiance of unceasing clarity is the meaning of the
Sanskrit term,
'Sambhogakaya' .
'Sam' means perfect, 'bhoga' means enjoyment and kaya is roughly
translated as
body. Thus, 'the body of perfect enjoyment' is the radiant
wisdom aspect of our
original nature. The Sambhogakaya is displayed as the Five
Wisdoms. The first
of these is Dharmadhatu Wisdom. The second is known as
Mirror-like Wisdom. The
third is the Wisdom of Equality. The fourth is Discriminating
Awareness Wisdom.
The fifth is known as All-Accomplishing Wisdom. These Five
Wisdoms are the
clarity aspect of our true nature.
While we are in the world of samsara or as long as we are not
realized, these
wisdoms are known as the eight consciousnesses. When you purify
the
obscurations, these eight are transformed into the Five Wisdoms.
Therefore, the
nature of our present consciousness is based upon these Five
Wisdoms.
THE EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES
I will name the eight consciousnesses for people who don't know
them. The first
five are the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, tongue, nose
and body
consciousness. These five consciousnesses function through the
organs to
perceive the five external objects of sense. In themselves,
these five are very
partial and limited. The eye consciousness is only for form. It
cannot taste
or hear sounds or smell. Similarly, the ear is only for sound,
not for seeing,
tasting and so forth. Now how can these scattered
consciousnesses be brought
together into one united state? That is the function of the
sixth consciousness
which is like the driver or a judge who makes decisions. It
receives and
organizes the input of the five external consciousnesses and
gives meaning to
our experience. The sixth combines and integrates the sense
consciousnesses
into one. It is known as mind consciousness.
The first five consciousnesses are very immediate. They have no
continuity.
They only refer to the present. They cannot sense the past or
the future. They
only communicate directly with the present. They are very
exclusive and
one-sided. The sixth consciousness not only unites these five,
it can also
refer to the events and activities of the past and future. It is
actually
structuring our sense of time.
A closer look reveals that the mind has two sides. One, which we
have called
the sixth consciousness, is dealing with the business of the
past, present and
future; making decisions based on the information received from
the first five
consciousnesses. It is very neutral and rational. There is
another side to
this mind, the seventh consciousness, which is basically very
emotional and
gives rise to ego-clinging. On the basis of ego-clinging,
ignorance, anger,
attachment, jealousy, pride and doubt develop. All this arises
in that singular
aggregate we call the mind.
All seven of these minds are based upon an eighth consciousness
which is known a
'kun-gzhi' in Tibetan, the ground of mind. It is sometimes
translated as
'subconscious storehouse'. In Sanskrit, it is called 'alaya'.
The nature of
the eighth consciousness is neither positive nor negative; it is
neutral. Alaya
retains every basic habit-pattern of individuals. Everything is
stored there;
our good karma, bad karma, and neutral karma. All kinds of
habits and whatever
actions we perform during our lifetimes are registered there.
This is why it is
known as a 'storehouse'. Alaya is a consciousness, but it is
very subtle.
When these eight consciousnesses are transmuted or transformed,
they become the
Five Wisdoms. The Five Wisdoms are symbolized by the five Dhyani
Buddhas. They
are the radiant spectrum of clarity qualifying the Dharmakaya.
The central
Buddha of Dharmadhatu Wisdom is Vairocana. The eastern Buddha of
Mirrorlike
Wisdom is Akshobya. The Wisdom of Equality is embodied in the
Buddha of the
southern direction, Ratnasambhava or Rinchen Jungnay in Tibetan.
The western
Buddha of Discriminating Awareness Wisdom is Amitabha or Opagme
in Tibetan and
the northern Buddha of All Accomplishing Wisdom is known as
Amogha Siddhi.
These are the principle Buddhas of the Sambhogakaya.
NIRMANAKAYA
All Buddhas are emanations of one Buddha. The different levels,
aspects or
kayas of Buddha exist only for the purpose of benefiting
sentient beings. Each
Buddha can appear in any of these three kayas. Dharmakaya
Buddhas such as
Samantabhadra appear only to highly realized beings, such as
tenth bhumi
Bodhisattvas who can also receive teachings from the five Dhyani
Buddhas.
Beginning practitioners, or those with dualistic thoughts and
conceptions, would
have difficulty perceiving and receiving teachings from
Sambhogakaya and
Dharmakaya Buddhas.
The third Buddha, is known as the Nirmanakaya Buddha. Nirmana is
a Sanskrit
term which means manifest in form. Not just in one style or form
but in all
kinds of ways, in order to benefit all sentient beings whether
they are highly
realized, beginners or even heavily obscured. The Nirmanakaya
Buddha is for
everyone. The Nirmanakaya can be divided into four groups:
1. Supreme emanations
2. Birth emanations
3. Artisan emanations
4. Emanations of various things
The Supreme emanation takes birth in the world as a unique
person. Buddha
Shakyamuni and Guru Padmasambhava are examples of this kind.
They have special
forms of body, speech and mind. The special qualities of the
body are known as
the thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor marks. For
instance, their
bodies have a radiant glow and are free from old age and
sickness. They also
have a subtle blue light called akanistha going up from the
crown chakra and
merging into the sky as well as special patterns of the wheel of
Dharma on their
palms.
They have sixty qualities of speech which most people do not
have. For example,
when Buddha gave teachings, as soon as his voice was heard, it
would give a
soothing, relaxed, peaceful feeling. At the same time, whatever
words he spoke
could be heard at once in many different languages. Students
from other lands
would hear the Buddha's voice in their native tongues. Also, his
speech was not
affected by distance. An audience of hundreds or thousands had
no problem
hearing even though they were very far away. Buddha's voice
could reach to ten
thousand students as clearly as to those sitting right in front
of him.
The mind of realization has the three qualities of love,
compassion and wisdom,
as well as the ten powers and eight kinds of fearlessness.
Altogether there are
thirty-two qualities of mind. A Buddha has no obstruction to
seeing the past,
present or future. Everything is clear to the eye of wisdom. A
Buddha's speech
and body qualities are somewhat more obvious, but many people
doubt such wisdom.
They think it cannot be exactly as it says in the sutras. Even
in Shakyamuni
Buddha's time they investigated this. They closely examined
whether Buddha was
totally enlightened and perfectly clear in relation to objects
or not.
Buddha renounced his father's kingdom and went to the jungle
where he did six
years of ascetic practice. Upon becoming enlightened, he turned
the wheel of the
Dharma many times for many students and so became very famous in
India. After
awhile, his family invited him to come back to his homeland to
teach. Buddha
said he would not come to the palace, but that he would stay
outside the main
city. So the Buddha's father and a local ruler named Zangdon who
was under his
dominion, had a special retreat built for the Buddha and his
students. Buddha
came and stayed there and began giving regular teachings.
Buddha was already known as 'The Omniscient One', being
knowledgeable about
every aspect of the past, present and future. But King Zangdon
had his doubts
about that. In order to test him, Zangdon collected one grain of
rice from each
of two thousand five hundred families. Each grain was wrapped
individually,
numbered and put into a common basket which was brought before
the Buddha. King
Zangdon wanted to see if the Buddha could tell him which grain
came from which
family So one by one, the Buddha examined the grains and told
him which
households they had come from. The king observed his list of
numbers and names
and saw that the Buddha's answers were all correct. There were
no mistakes. He
bowed respectfully to the Buddha and declared, "Now, I know you
are omniscient.
You are obviously enlightened." Finally, Zangdon became very
devoted. This is
just an example of the qualities of the mind of a supreme
emanation.
The second Nirmanakaya or birth emanation incarnates even in the
animal and
non-visible realms, using different names and forms, male or
female as they are
needed. There are many Jataka stories of Buddha taking birth in
animal worlds
as a fish, a turtle, a bird, a monkey, a bear and a lion, as
well as among
humans and even in the god realms. These are all birth
emanations or tulkus.
They may or may not appear in the traditional way, wearing robes
and all.
Tulkus may not even necessarily be recognized as Buddhas but in
every case, they
are born to remove obstacles and dualistic conceptions, to free
sentient beings
from ignorance and bring about the perfect understanding of
primordial wisdom.
The third Nirmanakaya is called the artisan emanation. These
appear as objects
of art and the artists who make them for the benefit of sentient
beings.
Thangkas, statues and even music are some of the forms these
emanations take.
Beautiful, inspired works of art which bring clarity, peace, joy
and something
special which seems to touch the heart center, are all known as
artisan
emanations.
There was a famous musician called Rlanga who felt that he was
the supreme
guitarist. And he was a very special musician, but he was also
proud and
arrogant. He thought he was incomparable to anybody in the
world. He was
always playing his music and never had any opportunity to see
Buddha or receive
teachings. He appreciated the Dharma but he was attached to
playing music and
felt he should spend his time practicing. He really thought he
was the
greatest.
Rlanga heard the Buddha was going to enter Mahaparinirvana and
thought that he
should visit him soon to receive teachings and have some
contact. But he was
still very involved in music and maintaining his pride. So right
before he
entered Mahaparinirvana, the Buddha thought, "Now what is it I
still have to
give sentient beings with this body? Who may I serve? Who is
left?" Through
his wisdom he saw Rlanga in his present condition. So Buddha
emanated one very
special musician and went to the door of Rlanga with a
thousand-stringed
mandolin. When Buddha started to play and the famous musician
heard that music,
he began to listen closely and thought, "Who could that be?" He
had to come
outside and bring his mandolin. Soon, he noticed Buddha hardly
even moved his
fingers. Plucking one string resonated all the others. Rlanga
was unable to do
this. The vibration of the music seemed to separate out the
whole of space into
many different voices of the Dharma which were of real benefit
to this famous
musician. He thought, "So there is someone more accomplished
than myself! I am
not the best..." At that moment his arrogance and pride
dissolved. He felt
very grateful to hear the Dharma through that mandolin.
Any kind of art which provides temporary or ultimate help for
sentient beings by
awakening love and compassion is known as an artisan
emanation.
The emanations of various things manifest in a variety of ways.
These can
appear as rain, fire or wind. During times when sentient beings
are troubled
with diseases, they may come in the form of special herbs and
medicines for
healing or perhaps when beings are in danger of losing their
lives, suddenly
something miraculous occurs and saves them. All of these things
are various
forms of the Nirmanakaya.
There is really just one Buddha. Every person who becomes
enlightened has the
ability to transform or emanate in these three kaya states. So
basically again,
Buddha means one who has fully developed love, compassion,
wisdom and skillful
means, one whose obscurations and habit patterns have been
purified, one who has
realized a totally free, devotional state. That sentient being,
that person,
that individual is known as an enlightened being or a
Buddha.
This is the teaching of the Three Kayas.