The Profound Meaning of Vijñapti-mātratā in the Diamond Sutra (36)

Part Five: True Perception According to Reason

This section, following the refutation of the four marks, goes deeper to refute all marks, including the physical form of the Buddha, in order to reveal the Tathagata's Dharmakaya and highlight the true reality of the Dharma.

Original Text: "Subhuti, what do you think? Can the Tathagata be perceived by means of his bodily form?" Subhuti replied, "No, World-Honored One, the Tathagata cannot be perceived by means of his bodily form."

Explanation: The Buddha said: "Subhuti, what is your view? Is perceiving the Tathagata equivalent to perceiving his physical body? Is the true Buddha necessarily one with a physical form? Is the Tathagata to be recognized through his bodily marks?" Subhuti said: "It is not so. Perceiving the Tathagata does not depend on his bodily marks. The true Buddha may not have a form, because even a demon king can manifest the thirty-two marks of a Buddha, yet that is not the true Buddha-body."

The Buddha has three bodies: the Dharmakaya (Truth Body), the Sambhogakaya (Reward Body), and the Nirmanakaya (Response Body). The Dharmakaya is the true suchness, the noumenal substance. It cannot be seen, heard, or touched. The Dharmakaya is formless, yet there is no form that is not it. It does not manifest through forms, nor is it accomplished by them. The Dharmakaya is also called the Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom. It illuminates the great chiliocosm and the ten directions; not a single dharma lies beyond its radiance, nor can any dharma escape this perfect mirror—all are but images within the mirror. It possesses immeasurable, boundless, and vast wisdom. There is no dharma it does not fully comprehend, no dharma it cannot manifest. Its merits are complete, and it encompasses all dharmas. It is also named the Wisdom of All Modes.

The Sambhogakaya Buddha is the majestic physical body attained as the reward for the Buddha’s practice over three asamkhyeya kalpas. Shakyamuni Buddha’s Sambhogakaya resides in the Akanistha Heaven, expounding the Wisdom of the Path to Bodhisattvas from the first to the tenth ground—those great beings who have realized the Dharmakaya. He teaches the wisdom of Buddhahood, instructing Bodhisattvas to cultivate the functional seeds contained within the Tathagatagarbha. However, Bodhisattvas must possess meditative concentration at or above the fourth dhyana to be reborn in the highest heaven of the form realm and hear the Buddha’s teachings directly.

The Sambhogakaya Buddha has the Body of Self-Enjoyment and the Body of Enjoyment for Others. The Body of Self-Enjoyment is for the Buddha’s own use, while the Body of Enjoyment for Others is manifested by the World-Honored One for Bodhisattvas. Depending on the level of realization of the Bodhisattvas, the size and form of the Sambhogakaya Buddha they perceive differ. This is due to the blessings and wisdom of the Bodhisattvas themselves, not because the Buddha makes distinctions. The lifespan of the Sambhogakaya Buddha is seven million asamkhyeya kalpas. One asamkhyeya kalpa contains countless great kalpas. One great kalpa consists of four intermediate kalpas: formation, abiding, destruction, and emptiness. One intermediate kalpa contains twenty small kalpas. One small kalpa lasts sixteen million eight hundred thousand years. The Sambhogakaya Buddha’s body is immensely vast. Compared to it, the Earth is like a table tennis ball in the Buddha’s hand. A single white hair between the Buddha’s eyebrows, if extended, could encircle five Mount Sumerus.

The Nirmanakaya Buddha (Response Body) manifests in accordance with the capacities of sentient beings throughout the ten directions, taking on a physical form similar to theirs and sharing their lifespan. It undergoes the eight stages of attaining Buddhahood: descending from the Tusita Heaven, entering the mother’s womb, birth, leaving home, subduing Mara, attaining Buddhahood, teaching the Dharma, and entering parinirvana. After leaving home, the World-Honored One manifested actions like receiving alms, eating, bathing, sleeping, and daily activities, just like sentient beings. The Buddha did not need these, but deliberately manifested them for sentient beings. Because sentient beings are dull in capacity, unless the Buddha appeared equal to them, they would not follow his example, thinking the Buddha was inherently miraculous and beyond their reach, making it impossible for the Buddha to teach them. When the Nirmanakaya Buddha enters parinirvana, it is not like an Arhat who extinguishes the body and annihilates consciousness, abiding in a state of nothingness. Instead, it retains a liberated form, always maintaining a physical body to benefit and bring joy to sentient beings. When it passes away in this world, it manifests another physical body in another world. That body is liberated, free from afflictions and habitual tendencies, having severed all ignorance, including the ignorance of a single thought, beginningless ignorance, and dust-like ignorance.