gzugs sku - rupakaya
We will first go through the generic collections what constitute an enlightened being. First, you will get the classical two part presentation, then the three part, and finally the four-part presentation.
As part of the two part presentation, the first one i called gzugs sku, rupakaya in Sanskrit.
gzugs is form, rupa in Sanskrit. sku is the honorific form of body, reserved for parents, teachers, bodhisattva, buddhas and so on. In Sanskrit this is kaya, and it's used for body.
Thus, this is the form body.
As you will see later, this classification is not about bodies, rather what constitutes an enlightened being, where there are form, mental and other attributes. In this case this is indeed a body part. So yes, Buddhas do have a body, but it's not like a samsaric body. And of course, it does not exist from its own side -- as we will see next there's a reason how this enlightened body will appear from causes created while in a samsaric environment.
For the time being, think of these as both their selected body form for very high students who could actualize being around them, and any kind of materialized form they want to express as part of teaching sentient beings: other humans, animals, trees, wind, whatever. There are stories in India and Tibet where enlightened beings have taken the form of an island, or a bridge...
As part of the two part presentation, the first one i called gzugs sku, rupakaya in Sanskrit.gzugs is form, rupa in Sanskrit. sku is the honorific form of body, reserved for parents, teachers, bodhisattva, buddhas and so on. In Sanskrit this is kaya, and it's used for body.
Thus, this is the form body.
As you will see later, this classification is not about bodies, rather what constitutes an enlightened being, where there are form, mental and other attributes. In this case this is indeed a body part. So yes, Buddhas do have a body, but it's not like a samsaric body. And of course, it does not exist from its own side -- as we will see next there's a reason how this enlightened body will appear from causes created while in a samsaric environment.
For the time being, think of these as both their selected body form for very high students who could actualize being around them, and any kind of materialized form they want to express as part of teaching sentient beings: other humans, animals, trees, wind, whatever. There are stories in India and Tibet where enlightened beings have taken the form of an island, or a bridge...