The Trikāya Concept as a Primary Aspiration of Mahāyāna

Abstract

Mahāyāna as a great vehicle is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practices. Mahāyāna is the larger of two major tradition of Buddhism existing today, the being Theravāda. The Mahāyāna Buddhism can be found in China, Tibet, Japan and Korea etc… not only in the East but also in the West as its practical teachings. According to main teachings of Mahāyāna aspirations, they obviously believe the Buddha was fulfilled with the three bodies. It is called as the concept of “Trikāya”(Trinity). It views that the Buddha manifests in three different bodies Dharmakāya (truth body), Sambhogakāya (bliss body) and Nirmānakāya (emanation body). This Trikāya concept was developed with the demise of the Sākyamuni Buddha until about the 4th century CE. Nirmānakāya means the transformation body of the Buddha. However, the Buddha also has Sambhogakāya and Nirmānakāya forms as well. It is revealed that the Buddha primordially enlightened in the form of Dharmakāya, but He manifests in various Nirmānakāya forms-not necessarily as a “Buddha” to teach the way to enlightenment. However, Mahāyāna Buddhism has been influenced from the Theravāda Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Some scholars emphasized that Trikāya concept developed with various kinds of reasons and facts. The main objective of this paper is to suggest how the Trikāya concept was developed. It is emphasized to us the Primary Buddhist and secondary sources