Discourse on the Three-Bodies of Buddha

SOME TIME after the foregoing Discourse on Repentance had been delivered to "commoners" when the Patriarch had gathered his disciples together for instruction, a senior disciple, Fat-hoi, said to the Patriarch, "Sir, will you please leave to posterity certain instruction whereby people under delusion may realise their Buddha-nature?"

"Listen to me," replied the Patriarch. It is possible for those who are under delusion to realise their Buddha-nature, provided they acquaint themselves with the nature of ordinary sentient beings. Without such knowledge, to seek Buddhahood would be in vain, even if one spent aeons of time in doing so.

First, let me show you how to get acquainted with the nature of the sentient beings within your mind, whereby one can realise the Buddha-nature latent in everyone. Knowing Buddha means nothing else than knowing sentient beings. It is sentient beings who are blind to the fact that they are potentially Buddhas, whereas a Buddha sees no difference between himself and other beings. When sentient beings realise their Essence of Mind, they are Buddhas. If a Buddha is under delusion as to his Essence of Mind, he is then only an ordinary being. Seeing everything as equal in Essence of Mind makes ordinary beings Buddhas. Seeing inequalities in Essence of Mind transforms a Buddha into an ordinary being. When one's mind is crooked or depraved, then he is only an ordinary being

Our physical body may be likened to an inn where we can remain only temporarily, we cannot make it a refuge. The Trikaya of Buddha is to be found within our Mind-essence which is the common possession of everybody. It is because the mind of an ordinary man labors under delusion that he does not know his own inner nature, the result is that he ignores the Trikaya that is within himself and seeks for it without. Please listen; I am going to show you that you can realise the Trikaya within yourself, which being a manifestation of Mind-essence cannot be found anywhere else.

Within our physical body we take refuge in the Pure Dharmakaya (Essence-body) of Buddha;
Within our physical body we take refuge in the Perfect Sambhoga-kaya (the Empirical, or Bliss-body) of Buddha;
Within our physical body we take refuge in the Myriad Nirmanakaya (Bodies of transformation, or of incarnations of Buddha.

Now, what is the Myriad Nirmanakaya? When we subject ourselves to the least differentiation or particularisation,

Sambogahakaya, so that Prajna radiates forth in manifestation is Nirmanakaya. To attain enlightenment by one's own effort and to practise by one's self the goodness that is inherent in our Essence of Mind, is a genuine case of "taking refuge." Our physical body consisting of flesh and skin, etc., is nothing more than a tenement or an inn; it is no place of refuge. Let us realise the Trikaya of our own Mind-essence, then we shall know the Buddha of our own nature.

In closing let me leave with you a stanza, entitled: "The Real Buddha of Mind-essence." Accordingly as

emanate from Oneness.
He who is able to realise this fact intuitively
Has sown the seed and will reap the fruit of Enlightenment.
It is from Nirmanakaya that our "pure nature" emerges;
Within the former the latter is always to be found.
Guided by its "pure nature" Nirmanakaya follows the right path,
And will some day culminate In a Body of Bliss, perfect and infinite.
Pure Nature is hidden by our sensual instincts;
By getting rid of sensuality, we realise Pure Dharmakaya.
When our temperament is such that we are no longer the slave of the five sense-objects,
And when we have realised Mind-essence, even for one moment, then Tathata is known to us.
Those who are so fortunate as to be followers of the Sudden School
Shall suddenly, in this life, see the Blessed One in their own Mind-essence.

Discourse on the Three-Bodies of Buddha

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