The Development of the Theory of Buddhakāya in Chinese Buddhism and Paramārtha’s Translation of the Mahāyānasaṃgrahabhāṣya 摂大乗論釈

Abstract

Although the theory of buddhakāya (“Buddha-bodies”) in Chinese Buddhism initially adhered to the twofold Buddha-body, the threefold Buddha-body interpretation later became mainstream after being introduced through the translations of Bodhiruci, Ratnamati, and Paramārtha. This subsequently evolved into the concept of the fourfold Buddha-body. As is well known, this theory of buddhakāya was systematized by the scholars Jingyingsi Huiyan 浄影寺慧遠 and Jizang 吉蔵.

Nevertheless, this system was still essentially that of the twofold Buddha-body, which posited the two bodies of the dharmakāya (“truth body”), which only the Buddha is able to perceive, and the nirmāṇakāya (“transformation body”), which the sattva are also able to perceive. The distinction and differentiation of the buddhakāya were thought to take place according to differences in human capacity among the sattva, or, in other words, the Stages of Practice. This way of thinking seems to have been based on the concept of ganying (感応, literally “stimulus-response” or “cosmic resonance”), a soteriological belief unique to Chinese Buddhism.

Within this understanding, the interpretation of an intermediate body, the saṃbhogakāya (“body of pleasure”), underwent various changes. For example, in Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna (Dasheng qi xin lun 大乗起信論) the saṃbhogakāya is regarded as the body of the Buddha, which itself enjoys the fruits of enlightenment and in turn enlightens the sattva. For Jingyingsi Huiyan, on the other hand, the body of the Buddha can be seen in the Pure Land.

While the saṃbhogakāya was thus initially understood as being closer to either the sattva or Buddha, it came to be thought of as divided into the body of the Buddha which can be seen in the Pure Land, and the body of the Buddha which itself enjoys the fruits of enlightenment, and thus, the fourfold Buddha-body developed. This understanding of the threefold Buddha-body through the lens of the twofold Buddha-body (fourfold Buddha-body) was a development unique to Chinese Buddhism. This development was influenced by Paramārtha’s translation of Mahāyānasaṃgrahabhāṣya (She dasheng lun shi 摂大乗論釈), and by Jizang, who used this work to construct his own theories.