Nirmāṇakāya

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Nirmāṇakāya (Sanskrit; Chinese: 應身; pinyin: yīngshēn; Tib. སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་, tulku,
Wyl. sprul sku) is the third aspect of the trikāya and the physical manifestation
of a Buddha in time and space.[1] In Vajrayāna it is described as "the
dimension of ceaseless manifestation."[2]

Contents

 1Indian Buddhism
 2Tibetan Buddhism
 3See also
 4References
o 4.1Citations
o 4.2Works cited

Indian Buddhism[edit]
One early Buddhist text, the Pali Samaññaphala Sutta, lists the ability to
create a “mind-made body” (manomāyakāya) as one of the "fruits of the
contemplative life".[3][better source needed] Commentarial texts such as
the Patisambhidamagga and the Visuddhimagga state that this mind-made
body is how Gautama Buddha and arhats are able to travel into heavenly
realms using the continuum of the mindstream (cittasaṃtāna) and it is also
used to explain the multiplication miracle of the Buddha as illustrated in
the Divyavadana, in which the Buddha multiplied his nirmita or emanated
human form into countless other bodies which filled the sky. A Buddha or
other realized being is able to project many such nirmitas simultaneously in an
infinite variety of forms in different realms simultaneously. [4][better source needed]
The Indian Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu (fl. 4th to 5th century CE)
defined nirmita as a siddhi or psychic power (Pali iddhi, Sanskrit: ṛddhi)
developed through Buddhist discipline, concentrated discipline (samadhi) and
wisdom in his seminal work on Buddhist philosophy,
the Abhidharmakośakārikā. Asanga's Bodhisattvabhūmi defines nirmāṇa as a
magical illusion and "basically, something without a material basis." [5]
[better source needed]
 The Madhyamaka school of philosophy sees all reality as empty of
essence; all reality is seen as a form of nirmita or magical illusion. [6][better source needed]

Tibetan Buddhism[edit]
In Tibetan Buddhism, nirmanakayas are emanations of
the Sambhoghakaya of the Buddhas, which effortlessly arise due to the
compassionate energy (thugs rje) of the Buddhas. According to Jigme Lingpa,
nirmanakaya (emanations) appear "according to the different perceptions,
dispositions, and aspirations" of sentient beings. He also states that "their
enlightened activities, which remove the delusions of samsara, are as limitless
as the boundless reaches of space."[7]
In Tibetan Buddhism, there are various types of tulkus or nirmanakaya.
According to the Nyingma scholar yogi Jigme Lingpa, the main classifications
include:[8][9][10]

 Natural nirmanakaya or nature
nirmanakaya (rang bzhin sprul pa), this is a
nirmanakaya which is "in harmony with the
sambhoghakaya" according to Jigme Lingpa. These
include the five tathagathas as they appear to
bodhisattvas in the sambhoghakaya buddhafield
of Akanishtha Ghanavyuha. Jigme Lingpa explains
that "Since this reflection is similar to the Teacher
as he appears in his own self-experience, it is
counted as sambhogakaya. And since it is
perceived by beings to be guided, it is counted also
as nirmanakaya. Thus it has a status that is half
nirmanakaya and half sambhogakaya (phyed sprul
longs sku’i gnos)."[11]
 Supreme nirmanakaya (Skt. uttamanirmāṇakāya;
Tib. མཆོག་གི་སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་, Wyl. mchog gi sprul sku), such as
Shakyamuni Buddha who displayed the twelve
deeds and the major and minor marks of a Buddha.
Supreme nirmanakayas also have numerous
secondary emanations, and these may be quite
varied. For example, Jigme Lingpa states that "in
the various realms of the gods, they appear as their
respective Lords (Brahma, Indra, Vishnu, and so
on)." They may also appear as Chakravartins, as
animals in the animal realm (a lion etc) and so on.
[12]
 These secondary emanations also teach in
numerous varied ways, for example, in one realm
called "Incense-All-Amassed", these emanations
teach through scent and smell, on other realms
they teach through dreams.[13]
 Diverse nirmanakaya (Wyl. sna tshogs sprul pa),
these nirmanakayas manifest in numerous ways
and forms to help sentient beings in any way
possible, these may even include seemingly
inanimate objects like boats or bridges. There are
many forms and types of these, and can include: [14]
o Born or animate diversified
nirmanakayas (Skt. janmanirmāṇakāya; Tib. སྐྱེ་བ་
སྤྲུལ་སྐུ, Wyl. skye ba sprul sku) are the emanations
of Buddhas who are born in the world in a
natural way (womb, egg, etc) and guide sentient
 beings in various forms, like a king, a
bodhisattva, and so on.
o Inanimate diversified nirmanakaya, inanimate
emanations, like valleys, mountains, boats and
bridges
o Artisan nirmanakayas (Skt. śilpanirmāṇakāya
or śilpinnirmāṇakāya; Tib. བཟོ་བོ་སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་, Wyl. bzo bo
sprul sku) the emanation which appears like an
artist or artisan (or even as a work of art) in
order to awaken beings

See also[edit]
 Dharmakāya
 Saṃbhogakāya

References[edit]
Citations[edit]
1. ^ Welwood (2000).
2. ^ Sogyal Rinpoche (1994), p. 347.
3. ^ Fiordallis (2008), p. 117.
4. ^ Fiordallis (2008), pp. 125–134.
5. ^ Fiordallis (2008), p. 130.
6. ^ Fiordallis (2008), p. 158.
7. ^ Jigme Lingpa, Longchen Yeshe Dorje & Kangyur Rinpoche
(2013), p. 240.
8. ^ Jigme Lingpa, Longchen Yeshe Dorje & Kangyur Rinpoche
(2013), pp. 240–244.
9. ^ Thondup (2011), pp. 9–22.
10. ^ Sasson (2013), pp. 400–401.
11. ^ Jigme Lingpa, Longchen Yeshe Dorje & Kangyur Rinpoche
(2013), p. 294.
12. ^ Jigme Lingpa, Longchen Yeshe Dorje & Kangyur Rinpoche
(2013), p. 309.
13. ^ Jigme Lingpa, Longchen Yeshe Dorje & Kangyur Rinpoche
(2013), p. 311.
14. ^ Jigme Lingpa, Longchen Yeshe Dorje & Kangyur Rinpoche
(2013), p. 313.

Works cited[edit]
This article lacks ISBNs for the books listed in
it. Please make it easier to conduct research by listing
ISBNs. If the {{Cite book}} or {{Citation}} templates are in
use, you may add ISBNs automatically, or discuss this issue
on the talk page.

 Fiordallis, David (20 September 2008). Miracles

and Superhuman Powers in South Asian Buddhist
Literature (PDF) (PhD dissertation). University of
Michigan. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23
April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  Jigme Lingpa; Longchen Yeshe Dorje; Kangyur
Rinpoche (2013). Treasury of Precious Qualities:
Book Two: Vajrayana and the Great Perfection.
Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-0834828575.
 Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (n.d.). "The
Dalai Lama, Biography and Daily Life: Birth to
Exile". Dalailama.com. Archived from the original on
October 19, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
 Sasson, Vanessa R. (2013). Little Buddhas:
Children and Childhoods in Buddhist Texts and
Traditions. Oxford University Press.
 Sogyal Rinpoche (1994). The Tibetan Book of
Living and Dying. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-
250834-2.
 Thondup, Tulku (2011). Incarnation: The History
and Mysticism of the Tulku Tradition of Tibet.
Shambhala Publications.
 Welwood, John (2000). "The Play of the Mind:
Form, Emptiness, and Beyond". Purifymind.com.
Retrieved January 13, 2007.
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