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The Sambhogakaya (Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
: "body of enjoyment", Tib:
Tibetan language

The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan....
 longs.sku) (kaya (Sanskrit) means body or dimension) The Sambhogakaya has also been translated as the Deity dimension or bliss body. Sambhogakaya refers to the luminous form or clear light dimension that advanced Tantric Buddhist practitioners and Bodhisattvas develop access to through extensive methods of training. This is the dimension where Deities appear such as when Vajrasattva appeared to the young Garab Dorje and gave him the Dzogchen transmission.






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The Sambhogakaya (Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
: "body of enjoyment", Tib:
Tibetan language

The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan....
 longs.sku) (kaya (Sanskrit) means body or dimension) The Sambhogakaya has also been translated as the Deity dimension or bliss body. Sambhogakaya refers to the luminous form or clear light dimension that advanced Tantric Buddhist practitioners and Bodhisattvas develop access to through extensive methods of training. This is the dimension where Deities appear such as when Vajrasattva appeared to the young Garab Dorje and gave him the Dzogchen transmission. Advanced Tibetan lamas and yogis who are great meditators access the Sambhogakaya and can occasionally receive transmissions. Experiences in this high mystical dimension are rarely spoken about as to speak about them can not only cause any such blessings to discontinue but Shakyamuni Buddha forbade any self promotion through display of Siddhis (supernatural or mystical powers) due to the result of ego swelling pride. Therefore egoless Bodhisattvas consider such wisdom blessings beyond top secret. Extremely hush-hush. One manifestation of the Sambhogakaya in Tibetan Buddhism is the 'Rainbow Body' or jalus (Tibetan). This is where an advanced practitioner, shortly before death is walled up in a cave or sewn inside a small yurt-like tent. For a period of a week or so after death the practitioners' body transforms into a Sambhogakaya light body leaving behind only hair and nails. One of the many places where the Sambhogakaya body appears is the extra-cosmic realm or pure land called Akani??ha, that is one of the highest realms of the Suddhavasa
Buddhist cosmology

Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist Tripitaka and commentaries....
 devas
Deva (Buddhism)

A deva in Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, living more contentedly than the average human being....
 (Deva means deity.) There are numerous Sambhogakaya realms almost as numerous as Deities in Tibetan Buddhism.

The Mindstream
Mindstream

Mindstream is a compound term composed of mind and stream used to translate a term from Buddhist philosophy.The mindstream doctrine, like most Buddhist doctrines, is not homogeneous and shows historical development, different applications according to context and varied definitions employed by different Buddhist traditions....
 (Sanskrit: citta santana) as the Sambhogakaya links the Dharmakaya
Dharmakaya

The Dharmakaya is a central concept in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was first expounded in the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra , composed in the first century BCE....
 with the Nirmanakaya.

Sambhogakaya in Chan Buddhism


In the Chán
Chan

Chan may refer to:...
 (Jp. Zen
Zen

Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Ch?n. Ch?n is itself derived from the Sanskrit Dhyana, which means "meditation" ....
) tradition, the Sambhogakaya (Chin. ???baoshen, lit. "reward body"), along with the Dharmakaya
Dharmakaya

The Dharmakaya is a central concept in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was first expounded in the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra , composed in the first century BCE....
 and the Nirmanakaya, are given metaphorical interpretations. In the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, Chan Master Huineng
Huineng

Dajian Hu?n?ng was a China Zen monastic who is one of the most important figures in the entire tradition. Huineng is the Sixth Patriarch of Ch?n Buddhism, as well as the last official patriarch....
 explains samboghakaya as the state where one's thoughts are always good:

"Think not of the past but of the future. Constantly maintain the future thoughts to be good. This is what we call the Sambhogakaya.

"Just one single evil thought could destroy the good karma that has continued for one thousand years; and just one single good thought in turn could destroy the evil karma that has lived for one thousand years.

"If the future thoughts are always good, you may call this the Sambhogakaya. The discriminative thinking arising from the Dharmakaya (???fashen "Truth body") is called the Nirmanakaya (???huashen "transformation body"). The successive thoughts that forever involve good are thus the Sambhogakaya." (Ch.20)

See also

  • Trikaya
    Trikaya

    The Trikaya doctrine is an important Buddhist teaching both on the nature of reality, and what a Buddha is. By the 4th century Common Era the Trikaya Doctrine had assumed the form that we now know....
  • Refuge tree
    Refuge tree

    In Tibetan Buddhism, the Refuge Tree, , may be represented on a thangka as a mnemonic device and precursor to being fully visualization by the sadhaka during advanced Refuge Formula or evocation, the lineage of gurus and transmission of teachings is depicted in visual form as a visual mind map....
  • Thoughtform
    Thoughtform

    A thoughtform is a manifestation of mental energy, also known as a 'tulpa' in Tibetan mysticism. The thoughtform is also one of the expressed means of Samyama....
  • Yidam
    Yidam

    In Vajrayana Buddhism, an Ishta-deva or Ishta-devata is a fully Bodhi being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a Retreat or for life....