Trikaya is a
Sanskrit word that means literally
three bodies. It is a central concept in
Mahayana and
Vajrayana Buddhism as well as
Zen.
The term refers to the three manifestations of a buddha (awakened one) or bodhisattva (enlightenment being or ideal practitioner; the bodhisattva is one who follows the buddha way but postpones final enlightenment for the sake of helping others to realize themselves).
The three manifestations are:
The most recent nirmanakaya manifestation was Shakyamuni (Sanskrit for sage of the Shakya clan), the historical Buddha, born Siddhartha Gautama.
It is interesting to consider that the human mind tends to need to wrap itself around the
tripartite idea of a
something (let's call it a
God or
Truth, for simplicity) that is
realized or
embodied in
human form (
Buddha,
Christ, even you or me) and
sustained through an ineffable
process that we might call
Faith or
Bliss or
Good Vibes for that matter.
Living in a state of Right Mindfulness is a lifetime's work, and the beauty of that work is the realization of how similar all men are in the face of Creation's Mystery.