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 'Rupakaya' (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, Samadhiûr, 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 Rupakaya 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.