Concepts оf the Buddha’s Body and its Interrelation with the Human Body
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60055/phl.2026.49.33-55Keywords:
Buddha’s bodies, trikāya, Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna, Buddhist literatureAbstract
Buddhist conceptions of the body are multilayered, encompassing both the transcendent and material dimensions of existence. This study addresses the following research question: how does the concept of the Buddha’s body develop from the early two-body model to the ideas of three, four, and five bodies, and how does this multidimensional framework inform the understanding of philosophical and religious practices in Tibetan Buddhism? The analysis begins with the early Buddhist two-body model and traces its transformation into the three-body doctrine as presented in the Āryatrikāyanāmamahāyānasutra ('phags pa sku gsum zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo), preserved in the first section of the Tibetan canon. The study also examines the further expansion of this concept to four and five bodies, as well as Vajrayāna notions such as the “vajra body” (rdo rje'i sku, rdo rje'i lus) and the “rainbow body” ('ja' lus). The research is based on a textual analysis of Mahāyāna sūtras (mdo) and Tibetan terma texts (gter ma), including a classification of key Buddhist concepts and a translation of the primary source from Tibetan. In this way, the multilayered approach to the Buddha’s body exerts a significant influence on the interpretation of Tibetan philosophical and religious practices, emphasising both their theoretical complexity and the ritualistic and mystical multidimensionality of Buddhist practice.
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