Trikaya

From AnthroWiki

Trikaya (Sanskrit: m., त्रिकाय trikāya "three-body") is, according to the three-body doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism, a term for the three bodies that a high initiate, a Bodhisattva, forms in the course of his development into a Buddha. In Vajrayna they are seen as different stages of development of an enlightened being. Rudolf Steiner described these three bodies in detail in his lectures on the Gospel of Luke:

  • Dharmakaya (Sanskrit: धर्म काय "truth body, law body") is the name given to the body of a Bodhisattva through which he works on earth. The Bodhisattva, in whom an Archangel being works, is not fully incarnated in this body (Lit.:GA 114, p. 80ff). He is thus transcendent and immanent at the same time. An initiate who has a Dharma body has attained perfect dominion over his astral body and his etheric body, and can now transfer this to other people who have special future tasks, and form for himself a new etheric body and a new astral body. This was the case, for example, with Zarathustra, who handed over his etheric body to Moses and passed on his astral body to Hermes (Lit.: GA 110, p. 152).
  • Sambhogakaya (Sanskrit: संभोगकाय "body of completion", "body of joy" or "body of bliss") is the name given to the transfigured body of a Buddha after he has ascended to Buddha-dignity through enlightenment (Bodhi) and now reaches up to the Nirvana plane with his consciousness. The Buddha's entry into Nirvana is the same as the transfiguration, but with it he ends his efficacy, whereas that of the Christ actually only begins with it (Lit.:GA 114, p. 72).
  • Nirmanakaya (Sanskrit: निर्माणकाय "manifested body", "emanation body", also translated as "living Buddha", is the supersensible body through which a Buddha, after he has completed his last earthly incarnation and passed through death, from now on only works in earthly or astral form. In its highest form, the astral body is then completely transformed into Manas and the etheric body completely into Buddhi (Lit.: GA 110, p. 149ff, GA 109, p. 287).

Literature
References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.
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