The Three Trikaya in Vajrayana Buddhism - Dharmakaya (1/3 )

 

The Trikaya is a fundamental doctrine within Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism that delineates the multidimensional nature of a Buddha's existence. This concept posits that a Buddha has three distinct bodies or aspects, each representing a different facet of enlightenment. 

Trikaya (Sanskrit: three bodies), in Mahayana Buddhism, is the concept of the three bodies, or modes of being, of the Buddha: 

1) Dharmakaya (body of essence) 

2) Sambhogakaya (body of enjoyment) 

3) Nirmanakaya (body of transformation)

Why is Trikaya important? In essence, the Trikaya doctrine offers a profound framework for understanding the diverse dimensions of Buddhahood. It demonstrates how a Buddha can simultaneously exist in multiple realms and embody a spectrum of qualities, guiding practitioners towards liberation and awakening through various aspects of their being. 

What is the Trikaya symbol?

The Gankyil is a symbol and ritual tool in Tibetan Buddhism. In the Bon and Nyingma Dzogchen lineages, the Gankyil is the principal symbol and teaching tool; it is symbolic of primordial energy and represents the central unity and indivisibility of all the teaching, philosophical, and doctrinal trinities in Dzogchen. It is an attribute of the snow lion.

What is the Dharmakaya in Buddhism?

A term, Dharmakaya, was coined to describe a more metaphorical body.a body or collection of all the Buddha's good qualities or dharmas, such as his wisdom, his compassion, his fortitude, and his patience. 

1) Dharmakaya 

The first body is the Dharmakaya, often referred to as the "Dharma body," or ultimate reality. This embodies the essence of enlightenment itself, encompassing concepts like emptiness, Buddha nature, and pure existence beyond material and spiritual forms.

The Dharmakaya 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.

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. 

In Vajrayana Buddhism,the term chos sku has been defined as "Buddha-body of reality," which is a rendering of the Tibetan chos-sku and the Sanskrit dharmakāya as:

The ultimate nature or essence of the enlightened mind is uncreated, free from the limits of conceptual elaboration, empty of inherent existence, naturally radiant, beyond duality, and spacious like the sky. The intermediate state of the time of death is considered to be an optimum time for the realisation of the Buddha-body of reality.

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 it is distinct from the Hindu concept of Brahman because Buddhism adheres to the doctrine of emptiness (sunyata). 

What are the two types of dharmakaya? 

Dharmakaya can be divided into the jnanakaya, or wisdom body (the blissful omniscient mind of a Buddha), and svabhavikakaya, or nature body (the emptiness of the Buddha's mind).

What are the qualities of Dharmakaya?

Tulku Thondup states that Dharmakaya must possess three great qualities:

1. Great purity
2. Great realisation
3. Great mind 

What is the manifestation of Dharmakaya?

It is also the spiritual body, or "truth body," of all Buddhas. It is also important to understand that the dharmakaya is always present and pervades everywhere. It cannot manifest as itself, yet all beings and phenomena manifest from it. It is in many ways synonymous with Buddha Nature and with sunyata, or emptiness. 

What is the difference between Dharmakaya and Dharmadhatu?

Dharmadhatu is the cosmos. It comprises all phenomena. And sometimes it is considered to be a "body." Dharmakaya means the body of the Dharma.

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Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

What does Trikaya mean in Vajrayana Buddhism?

The trikaya is a fundamental doctrine within Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism that delineates the multidimensional nature of a Buddha's existence. This concept posits that a Buddha has three distinct bodies or aspects, each representing a different facet of enlightenment. 

Trikaya (Sanskrit: three bodies), in Mahayana Buddhism, is the concept of the three bodies, or modes of being, of the Buddha: the Dharmakaya (body of essence), the unmanifested mode, and the supreme state of absolute knowledge; the Sambhogakaya (body of enjoyment), the heavenly mode; and the Nirmanakaya (body of transformation). 

Why is Trikaya important? In essence, the Trikaya doctrine offers a profound framework for understanding the diverse dimensions of Buddhahood. It demonstrates how a Buddha can simultaneously exist in multiple realms and embody a spectrum of qualities, guiding practitioners towards liberation and awakening through various aspects of their being.

What is the Trikaya symbol? 

The Gankyil is a symbol and ritual tool in Tibetan Buddhism. In the Bon and Nyingma Dzogchen lineages, the Gankyil is the principal symbol and teaching tool; it is symbolic of primordial energy and represents the central unity and indivisibility of all the teaching, philosophical, and doctrinal trinities in Dzogchen. It is an attribute of the snow lion.

The Gankyil is symbolic of the Trikaya doctrines of Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya. The Gankyil is the Buddhist understanding of the interdependence of the Three Vajras: mind, voice, and body.

Why do they have Trikaya, or the three-body doctrine, in Mahayana Buddhism?

The Trikaya doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism tells us that a Buddha manifests in three different ways. This allows a Buddha to simultaneously be one with the absolute while appearing in the relative world for the benefit of suffering beings.

1) Dharmakaya

The first body is the Dharmakaya, often referred to as the "Dharma body," or ultimate reality. This embodies the essence of enlightenment itself, encompassing concepts like emptiness, Buddha nature, and pure existence beyond material and spiritual forms.

2) Sambhogakaya

The second body, known as the Sambhogakaya, is the "enjoyment body." This aspect represents the divine Buddhas of the Buddha realms and is associated with the blissful and rewarding aspect of Buddhahood. It is considered a manifestation that arises as a result of fulfilling vows and commitments on the spiritual journey. The Sambhogakaya embodies the idea of reaping the benefits of spiritual practice and dwelling in sublime states of realisation.

3) Nirmanakaya

The third body, the Nirmanakaya, is referred to as the "transformation body." This represents the physical appearance of a Buddha in the world. Historical Buddhas like Gautama Buddha are manifestations of the Nirmanakaya, allowing them to interact with and guide sentient beings on their path to enlightenment. This earthly embodiment serves as a bridge between the divine and the human, making the teachings and compassion of a Buddha accessible to those seeking guidance and wisdom.

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

The Six Yogas of Naropa - Phowa (6/6)

 

The Six Yogas of Naropa (Sankirt. Saḍdharma, "Naro's six doctrines" or "six teachings") are a set of advanced Tibetan Buddhist tantric practices compiled by the Indian mahasiddhas Tilopa and Nāropa (1016–1100 CE) and passed on to the Tibetan translator-yogi Marpa Lotsawa (c. 1012).

Another name for the six Dharmas is "the oral instruction transmission for achieving liberation in the bardo," or "the Bardo Trang-dol system." Bardo here refers to the three bardos of waking, sleeping, and dying. They are also referred to as "the path of means" (thabs lam) in Kagyu literature. They are also sometimes called the Six Yogas of Naropa (though not in the traditional literature, which never uses the term ṣaḍaṅga-yoga or sbyor-drug). 

The six yogas are a collection of tantric Buddhist completion stage practices drawn from the Buddhist tantras. They are intended to lead to Buddhahood in an accelerated manner. They traditionally require tantric initiation and personal instruction through working with a tantric guru, as well as various preliminary practices. The six yogas work with the subtle body, particularly through the generation of inner heat (tummo) energy.

The six yogas are a main practice of the Kagyu school (and were originally unique to that school), and key Kagyu figures such as Milarepa, Gampopa, Phagmo Drugpa, and Jigten Sumgon taught and practiced these yogas. They taught in the Gelugpa lineage and were introduced by Je Tsongkhapa, who received the lineage through his Kagyu teachers. 

Overview of Preliminary Practices - For example, Milarepa is quoted by Tsongkhapa as stating that the first one establishes the basics, "such as refuge in the three jewels and the two aspects of Bodhicitta." Tsongkhapa also quotes poems by Milarepa, which show that he held that one should first practice contemplating the nature of karma, observing the faults of sensuality and samsara, as well as meditate on kindness and Bodhicitta.  

In all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, there are various preliminary practices drawn from the common Mahayana that are prescribed to students before beginning the practice of completion stage yoga (such as taking refuge, Bodhicitta aspiration, guru yoga, deity yoga, and dedication of merit). The details of this depend on the lineage, school, and individual teacher. 

The six yogas of Naropa are meant to be a comprehensive and holistic collection of the completion stage practices of Indian Buddhist tantra. In Kagyu and Gelug, initiation or empowerment into at least one Anuttarayogatantra system (generally Cakrasaṃvara and/or Vajrayogini/Vajravarāhi Tantras) and practice of its Generation Stage are the bases for practice of the six yogas.

The six yogas though variously classified (from just two to up to ten dharmas), the most widely used list of six yogas in the work of the Kagyu school figure Gampopa conforms to the following list: 

*

1) Tummo - The Yoga of inner heat.

2) Osel - The Yoga of luminosity or radiant  light.

3) Milam - The dream Yoga.

4) Gyulu - The Yoga of illusory body.

5) Bardo - The Yoga of intermediate stage.

6) Phowa - The Yoga of transference of consciousness at the time of death.

Phowa - The Yoga of transference of consciousness at the time of death, it is a tantric practice found in both Hinduism and Buddhism. It may be described as "transference of consciousness at the time of death," "mindstream transference," "the practice of conscious dying," or "enlightenment without meditation. In Tibetan Buddhism, phowa is one of the six yogas of Naropa and also appears in many other lineages and systems of teaching.

What is phowa meditation?

Phowa literally means transference. In phowa practice, the consciousness of a person is transferred to enlightenment, or a higher state of being.. It is often practiced or applied by spiritual people at the time of death.

What is the practice of Phowa?

Phowa is a special ceremony to help those who have recently died experience peace of mind after death and be cared for by the Buddha of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara.

What are the benefits of Phowa?

Practicing and studying phowa leads to the purification of the consciousness. Phowa is especially important to release from worldly attachments that can hold the spirit back and offer liberation. It can benefit all sentient beings.

What is the phowa of three recognitions?

Ordinary “phowa of three recognitions"recognition of our central channel as the path; recognition of our consciousness as the traveller; and recognition of the environment of a Buddha realm as the destination.

Lama Thubten Yeshe taught on the subject of phowa that "we have to choose the right time to transfer our consciousness; we’re not allowed to do it at the wrong time because that becomes suicide."

The method can be applied at the moment of death to, according to Vajrayana Buddhist belief, transfer one's consciousness through the top of the head directly into a Buddha-field of one's choice. By so doing, one bypasses some of the typical experiences that are said to occur after death.

Signs of success, The mark of a successful phowa practice is a small drop of blood directly from the centre of the vertex at the top of the head. To demonstrate a successful practice, traditionally, kusha kusha grass was pushed into the small opening created in the fontanel. According to Khenpo Tsultrim Lodrö, the “mark of a successful phowa is that after death, there is visible hair loss, a bump, or some yellow liquid seeping around the vertex” at the crown of the head. 

Footnote

For those who have received the empowerment of this Tantric practise, you are reminded not to intentionally or unintentionally disclose the mantra to the public or anyone who may not have the empowerment or permission to practise, and disclosing the mantra intentionally or unintentionally is a form of breaking your Tantric Samaya vows to the lineage masters and Dharma protectors.

 
Please consult your Guru or a qualified lineage master for Vajrayana practise! Should a devotee even want to start studying and contemplating the Vajrayana practise, then it is truly necessary to first have completed the preliminaries and to be certain that Bodhicitta has arisen and developed in one’s mind.
 
Vajrayana features countless skillful and powerful methods that, if practised in the proper way, can make the process of accumulation and purification incredibly swift and direct. It is absolutely necessary to have pure motivation and to know that Vajrayana practise is not carried out to increase one’s own ego, power, or self-interest.  

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

The Six Yogas of Naropa - Bardo (5/6)

The Six Yogas of Naropa (Sankirt. Saḍdharma, "Naro's six doctrines" or "six teachings") are a set of advanced Tibetan Buddhist tantric practices compiled by the Indian mahasiddhas Tilopa and Nāropa (1016–1100 CE) and passed on to the Tibetan translator-yogi Marpa Lotsawa (c. 1012).

Another name for the six Dharmas is "the oral instruction transmission for achieving liberation in the bardo," or "the Bardo Trang-dol system." Bardo here refers to the three bardos of waking, sleeping, and dying. They are also referred to as "the path of means" (thabs lam) in Kagyu literature. They are also sometimes called the Six Yogas of Naropa (though not in the traditional literature, which never uses the term ṣaḍaṅga-yoga or sbyor-drug). 

The six yogas are a collection of tantric Buddhist completion stage practices drawn from the Buddhist tantras. They are intended to lead to Buddhahood in an accelerated manner. They traditionally require tantric initiation and personal instruction through working with a tantric guru, as well as various preliminary practices. The six yogas work with the subtle body, particularly through the generation of inner heat (tummo) energy.

The six yogas are a main practice of the Kagyu school (and were originally unique to that school), and key Kagyu figures such as Milarepa, Gampopa, Phagmo Drugpa, and Jigten Sumgon taught and practiced these yogas. They taught in the Gelugpa lineage and were introduced by Je Tsongkhapa, who received the lineage through his Kagyu teachers. 

Simhamukha Dakini

Overview of Preliminary Practices  

For example, Milarepa is quoted by Tsongkhapa as stating that the first one establishes the basics, "such as refuge in the three jewels and the two aspects of Bodhicitta." Tsongkhapa also quotes poems by Milarepa, which show that he held that one should first practice contemplating the nature of karma, observing the faults of sensuality and samsara, as well as meditate on kindness and Bodhicitta.  

In all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, there are various preliminary practices drawn from the common Mahayana that are prescribed to students before beginning the practice of completion stage yoga (such as taking refuge, Bodhicitta aspiration, guru yoga, deity yoga, and dedication of merit). The details of this depend on the lineage, school, and individual teacher.

The six yogas of Naropa are meant to be a comprehensive and holistic collection of the completion stage practices of Indian Buddhist tantra. In Kagyu and Gelug, initiation or empowerment into at least one Anuttarayogatantra system (generally Cakrasaṃvara and/or Vajrayogini/Vajravarāhi Tantras) and practice of its Generation Stage are the bases for practice of the six yogas.

The six yogas though variously classified (from just two to up to ten dharmas), the most widely used list of six yogas in the work of the Kagyu school figure Gampopa conforms to the following list: 

*

1) Tummo - The Yoga of inner heat.

2) Osel - The Yoga of luminosity or radiant  light.

3) Milam - The dream Yoga.

4) Gyulu - The Yoga of illusory body.

5) Bardo - The Yoga of intermediate stage.

Bardo - The Yoga of intermediate stage, it is called Bardo or Antarabhava in Sanskrit. Bardo is an intermediate, transitional, or liminal state between death and rebirth. In Tibetan Buddhism, bardo is the central theme of the Bardo Thodol (literally Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State), the Tibetan Book of the Dead, a text intended to both guide the recently deceased person through the death bardo to gain a better rebirth and also to help their loved ones with the grieving process.

According to Tibetan tradition, after death and before one's rebirth, when one's consciousness is not connected with a physical body, one experiences a variety of phenomena. These usually follow a particular sequence of degeneration from, just after death, the clearest experiences of reality of which one is spiritually capable, and then proceeding to terrifying hallucinations that arise from the impulses of one's previous unskillful actions. 

For prepared and appropriately trained individuals, the bardo offers a state of great opportunity for liberation since transcendental insight may arise with the direct experience of reality; for others, it can become a place of danger as the karmically created hallucinations can impel one into a less than desirable rebirth.

Footnote

For those who have received the empowerment of this Tantric practise, you are reminded not to intentionally or unintentionally disclose the mantra to the public or anyone who may not have the empowerment or permission to practise, and disclosing the mantra intentionally or unintentionally is a form of breaking your Tantric Samaya vows to the lineage masters and Dharma protectors.
 
Please consult your Guru or a qualified lineage master for Vajrayana practise! Should a devotee even want to start studying and contemplating the Vajrayana practise, then it is truly necessary to first have completed the preliminaries and to be certain that Bodhicitta has arisen and developed in one’s mind.
 
Vajrayana features countless skillful and powerful methods that, if practised in the proper way, can make the process of accumulation and purification incredibly swift and direct. It is absolutely necessary to have pure motivation and to know that Vajrayana practise is not carried out to increase one’s own ego, power, or self-interest.  

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years. We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

 

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

 

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.