The Buddha Represented by The Three Jewels and the Three Kayas

In the Eight Thousand Verse Prajñāparamitā, Sakyamuni Buddha said:
"The mind is devoid of mind, For the nature of mind is clear light."

The Three Kayas — the Three Bodies of the Buddha, the Trikaya — describes both the truth in us, as three aspects of the true nature of mind, and to the truth in everything.

According to the Rigpa school, "Everything we perceive around us is nirmanakaya, its nature, light or energy is sambhogakaya; and its inherent truth, the dharmakaya."

"Imagine a sky, empty, spacious, and pure from the beginning; its essence is like this. Imagine a sun, luminous, clear, unobstructed, and spontaneously present; its nature is like this. Imagine that sun shining out impartially on us and all things, penetrating all directions; its energy, which is the manifestation of compassion, is like this: Nothing can obstruct it and it pervades everywhere." — Sogyal Rinpoche

Regarding the nature of the mind, Nirmanakaya represents the energy manifested in compassion, unobstructed and present in everything; sambhogakaya, the nature of the unobstructed clear light of luminosity that is spontaneously present; and dharmakaya, the essence of the truth that is empty, spacious, and pure from the beginning.

Having taken refuge in the Three Jewels, the disciple actually takes refuge in the qualities of realization, as embodied in the Three Bodies of the precious Buddha who is the identity that embodies all three kayas.

Foremost, the Dharmakaya, which arises from accumulation of wisdom — the Truth Body of Tathagata, who is the embodiment of Truth.

It represents the Absolute nature of all things, and embodies the very principle of enlightenment and knows no limits or boundaries, being the unconditioned truth that is empty of conditions, the emptiness in which the mind and all phenomena are originally empty of any identity as the Unborn, into which illusion and ignorance, and any kind of concept, have never entered,

Thus it is empty of a conceptualizable essence of mind which has potential.

That potential takes the form of luminosity recognized as the Sambhogakaya, which arises from accumulation of merit — the Enjoyment Body, the body of mutual enjoyment, the embodiment of form that only appears to bodhisattvas as the aspect of the Buddha, or the Dharma, that the disciple meets in visions and in deep meditation as a body of bliss or clear light manifestation.

Being beyond dualistic limitation and beyond space and time, it pervades everything.

This is the basis for the arising of the Nirmanakaya, which also arises from accumulation of merit — the created body which manifests in time and space, the dimension of ceaseless manifestation, the physical body of the Buddha, appearing as the tamer of various beings, both pure and impure, and is the manifestation of enlightenment, in an infinite variety of forms and ways, in the physical world.

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Originally posted: February 23, 2013 7:35 PM

References:

• Prajna
  
• Prajna or transcendent wisdom: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Prajna
  
• Prajna: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prajna
  

Prajnaparamita

• Quote on clear light: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Quotations:_Prajnaparamita_in_Eight_Thousand_Verses
  
• Prajnaparamita: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Prajnaparamita
  
• Prajnaparamita: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prajnaparamita
  
• Heart Sutra: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Sutra * The Heart Sutra is known as Prajnaparamita Hrdaya.
  

Vajrasattva: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Vajrasattva * Since he represents the 100 Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana), Vajrasattva is one of the precious Buddhas mentioned in the text of this blog entry.

Three Jewels / Three Gems

• Refuge in the Three Jewels: http://www.darahasa.ca/buddhism-doctrines/refuge-in-the-three-jewels.shtml
  
• Three Jewels: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Three_Jewels
  
• Clear light: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Clear_light
  

Three Bodies of the Buddha:

• Trikaya: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trikaya
  
• Three kayas: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Three_kayas
  

We Can Become Buddhas

Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche says:

It is because this ground or sugatagarbha or potential is common to all beings that they are capable of attaining enlightenment. If they did not have such a ground then they could never become buddhas.

For example: a stone doesn’t have the ‘ground’ or potential to produce oil, and so no matter how much you might press it and grind it — even if you use modern tools and machinery — you will never extract any oil. A sesame seed, on the other hand, does have the potential to produce oil, and by pressing it in the right way, sesame oil can and will be produced. So it is because the potential exists as part of our basic nature that we can become buddhas.

In my previous blog post, I wrote about the Eight Consciousnesses of Yogacara School. In it, the eight consciousnesses revealed, and of them, it is the eighth consciousness that will help with the understanding of the Buddhist term of "ground". For the eighth consciousness is also called "all-ground consciousness" in Tibetan Buddhism.

Sugatagarbha is the Tibetan Buddhist term for Tathagatagarbha, or Buddha Nature.

Buddha Nature is common to all sentient beings, for every being is capable of attaining enlightenment.

Since the potential to become Buddha exists as part of our primordial nature, we all can become buddhas.

Indeed, Buddha Nature is awaken by hearing the Teaching of the Buddha. Inspired by his message, one may choose to become a Buddha, and develop Bodhi Mind, which is both the determination to become a Buddha and the aspiration to help other sentient beings become enlightened.

One of the ways to become enlightened is to become a Zen master, which might involve a backache and perhaps the risk of hemorrhoids. Seriously though, traditional Zen involves the preliminary chanting of the Heart Sutra followed by hours of the sitting in meditation of zazen.

However, the whole point of meditation is to firstly develop the calm mind and secondly, achieve samadhi (one-pointedness of mind or single-minded concentration). To aid in this task, the disciple is given a koan, which is like a Chinese finger puzzle for the mind. For the intent of a koan and zazen is to make the mind flexible enough to achieve satori (seeing into one's true nature).

This happens when the disciple lets go of clinging to what Zen is supposed to be, and has that moment of sudden enlightenment when he lets go of what he thinks Zen is.

When the Zen practitioner carries the burden of Zen as a bunch of rules requiring discipline to practice just sitting in excellence, it's like the Zen master who carried a beautiful girl across a flooded stream and his disciple.

For the purpose of meditation is not just to achieve a calm mind, but to also develop the flexibility of mind to let go of clinging to thoughts. With every breathe he takes, the disciple learns discipline.

Even though sometimes I may mock the Zen practitioner, it is to discover if his meditation has resulted in the joy of satori. This is why when I meditate, it is done with a smile.

Master Hui-Neng inspired his disciples by teaching them about "no-thought."

No-thought is the state of mind where one cannot find the word for objects he sees and his mind clings to nothing.

In contrast, Hui-Neng's description of the "pure and unattached mind" which "comes and goes freely and functions fluently without any hindrance" reminds me more of the coming and going of the flow of thoughts without doing more than returning to just breathing when their distraction leads one away from meditating.

Even if we meditate and do not achieve Nirvana in this life, it still is possible to become a Buddha in the afterlife.

Yet the Buddhist remembers that she does her mindful practice for all sentient beings. If she chanted daily even ten Buddha Recitations, then that will help her become reborn in the Pure Land of Bliss.

As long as she did this with utmost sincerity to help all sentient beings become Enlightened, and is determined to be reborn in the Pure Land, her rebirth there is assured.

If she would rather chant the Heart Sutra before meditation, and she chanted it with single-mindedness, it's said she'd discover its true meaning.

In Sanskrit, the beauty of the mantra is found in chanting "gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā."

This mantra is pronounced as: "Guh-teh guh-teh PAH-ruh-sum-guh-teh bohd-hee swa-ha."

The Dalai Lama translated the Heart Sutra mantra as "go, go, go beyond, go thoroughly beyond, and establish yourself in enlightenment."

It's been said that all sentient beings have the potential to become buddha, for Self nature is Buddha Nature. Indeed, the Self is filled with selflessness, that sense of psychic prowess performing acts of random kindness in a friendly, loving manner.

Yet it is also empty of the self, which is depicted in Buddhism as the egocentric Monkey mind swinging from thread to thread of thought without a clear focus on the truth of one's actions, or even better, the truth of the Dharmakaya.

For Dharmakaya is but the Truth of the Tathagata that all phenomena, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are essentially empty of permanence, being a part of the temporary nature of all phenomena. Even Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are finite despite living uncountable ages.

It is wonderful to contemplate the myriad Buddhas, bodhisattvas and the Buddhist pantheon of gods and goddesses pacified by the Buddha to protect him, the Dharma and the Sangha through skillful means.

Although my words about Buddhism may seem hypocritical for exposing the less interesting aspects of Buddhism for Westerners, it is not so.

All my words on Buddhism are inspired by what the Buddha said. For the truth is, we can become Buddhas, by going beyond an intellectual understanding of the Dharma to actually practising meditation.

Though I prefer silent Nembutsu practice of Buddha Remembrance in combination with some kind of breath meditation to prevent my chanting from annoying the neighbours! >:)

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References:

Buddha nature: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Sugatagarbha
Eight Consciousnesses Revisited: http://gandhara.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-eight-consciousnesses-revisited-poem.html
Yogacara: the Eight Consciousnesses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogacara#The_eight_consciousnesses

Sexual Contentment

In our thirst for spiritual meaning, we are like fish thirsty for water in the belly of a fishing boat.

In our true being, we know everything are everything, but are in need of nothing. Yet our thirst will be the death of us.

For the thirst for knowledge cannot be sated only by study of the sutras, but simply by the practice of being of service to others, and of being helpful to anyone in need.

Although nothingness is immanent in all sentient beings, for all our knowledge, truly does the knowledgeable person know everything and lacks nothing.

Only the fool thinks that nothing is as valuable as the lifestyle he left behind. At night he dreams of it and experiences it as thought that lifestyle is real. On awakening, he soon forgets that lifestyle lest his new friends suspect him to be apostate.

For the fool thirsts for his former lifestyle, despite doing what he can to make his present one his own.

He forgets that his former lifestyle provided him with the experience to adapt to his surroundings, and that he has the necessary skillset to fit in.

Indeed, the true purpose of his dreams of the former lifestyle is to instruct him in his new one.

Likewise, the Buddhist practitioner may dream of anything but the Buddha, and in fearing becoming apostate, goes through the motions of his practice, while dreading the thought of being found out.

In fact, he thirsts for nothingness despite knowing all things, being all things. and in need of nothing. His dreams are actually about the Buddha, but he mistakes what he dreamed about for the worldly life.

However, the Buddha is known to resort to white lies to help one of his followers to awakens to the purpose in life. Even when that purpose is to be of service to others, and to be helpful to people in need, the purpose of a dream that appears to be of worldly things is to help the practitioner to devote herself to the Buddha.

Thus, when a Buddhist dreams of having sex, that dream has little to do with sex and all to do with her devotion to the practice. This is why one of the Buddhist precepts is concerned with sex.

Thus, if a practitioner is used to the practice of sexual contentment by self abuse, then she should refrain from fantasizing about violence against other sentient beings, theft of time that could be devoted to the Buddha, and lying to herself about why she's practicing such contentment, while under the influence of drink and/or drugs.

When a practitioner sacrifices his time and spends it practicing sexual contentment, the five practices of loving-kindness, generosity, contentment, truthful communication and mindfulness ought to guide him to the climax of his contentment.

After he has had his fill of the waters of his contentment, she is best reducing guilt by offering her shame to the Buddha in the form of devotional practice and study of the Heart Sutra.