SPECIAL ISSUE ––– 2006 AEN CONFERENCE VOLUME V ISSUE 1 2010 ISSN: 1833-878X Pages 80-88 C.D. Sebastian DHARMAK ÄYA : The Expression of the Numinous in Mahayana Buddhism ABSTRACT The expression of the numinous could be found in every religion, as religion is the pre- reflective and non-conceptualizable experience of the numinous. In Buddhism one also finds the expression of the numinous. The word Tathagata stands for Buddha in Buddhist literature. His position is analogous to that of God in Rational Theology ( ens realissimum ). He is God of religion, an object of worship and veneration. He has also infinite compassion for the suffering mankind. Tathagata is not merely man, but a cosmic principle as well. As the Tathagata is really ‘devoid of nature’ ( svabhava-sunya ), he cannot be said to exist or become non-existent after death. Tathagata is Reality personalized. When Buddha is called Tathagata , his individual personality is ignored and he is treated as a ‘type,’ for he is the embodiment of Tathata , the word used for the Absolute in Mahayana philosophy. The concept of Tathagata is constituted by different metaphysical principles. This fact is presented in the theory of the three bodies ( tri-kaya ) of Buddha. There are three aspects of the God-head, technically known as the three kayas of the Tathagata . They are: 1) Svabhava-kaya , which is also called Dharma-kaya , 2) Sambhoga-kaya (Body of Bliss), and 3) Nirmana-kaya (the Apparitional Body). Dharmakaya , is the ultimate reality and it is identical with the Absolute. Dharmakaya is the dharmata , (essence) of the things and literally means Truth body, or Reality body. Dharmakaya is one of the terms used in the Prajnaparamita Sutras and Mahayana Buddhism to describe the non-dual realization of the Numinous. 80 BIOGRAPHY C. D. Sebastian is Associate Professor (Indian Philosophy) in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India. He holds his M. A. and Ph. D. in Indian Philosophy and Religion from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. He is the Editor (Indian Scriptures) of Journal of Scared Scriptures (ISSN 0974-0090). His works include Metaphysics and Mysticism in Mahayana Buddhism (Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica Series-238, 2005, ISBN 81-7030-826-7) and Recent Researches in Buddhist Studies (Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica Series- 248, 2008, ISBN 81-7030- 890-9). 81 DHARMAK ÄÄÄYA : THE EXPRESSION OF THE NUMINOUS IN MAHAYANA BUDDHISM PROLOGUE The expression of the numinous could be found in every religion, as religion is the pre-reflective and non- conceptualizable experience of ‘the numinous.’ 1 The idea of the ‘numinous’ could be seen in all the religions with different facets or dimensions. The religious experience presents itself to humans as paradoxical in nature: mysterious and yet revealed; transcendent and yet transforming every facet of human existence; most personal and yet communitarian; awesome and yet deeply delightful; shuddering humans and yet giving them peace; experienced yet unfathomable. It means that religious experience is characterized by simultaneous feelings of reverence and awe to that ‘numinous’ reality. There are three dimensions of that ‘numinous’ which the three major religions of the world speak of: Trik Åya in Buddhism, Trim ârtui in Hinduism and Trinity in Christianity. 2 The intent of this paper is to unravel an aspect of the Trik Åya concept of Buddhism, namely the Dharmak Åya or the ‘Dharma-body,’ where one finds the expression of the ‘numinous’ in a magnificent way. Traditionally Buddhism is divided into Therav Åda ( or despairingly called Hīnay āna ) and Mah āyāna .3 The origin of the term Mah āyāna may be traceable to an earlier school known as Mah āsānghikas . In the Council of Vai ±Åi, a hundred years after the mah ā-parinirv āœa of Buddha, the Sangha was divided into two opposing camps, the sth āviras or ‘the order of elders’ and the Mah āsānghaika s or ‘the order of the majority.’ The elders (sth āvira s) denounced the Mah āsānghika s as pāpa-bhik „us (sinful monks) and adharma-vādin s (propagators of untruth). In turn, the Mah āsÅnghikas called themselves Mah āyāna (the Greater Vehicle) and named others as Hīnay āna (the Lesser Vehicle). The word ‘ Mah āyāna ’ is to be found in the Mah ÅyÅno-śraddhotp āda-śā stra (Awakening of Faith) of Aśvagho „a. Aśvagho „a calls himself a Mah ÅyÅnist and he is known as the systematic expounder of the Mah āyāna School. 4 Mah āyāna comprises of the two main schools of Buddhism, namely, the Mādhyamika and the Yog ācāra-Vijñ ānav āda . From Mah āyāna , later developed Tantray āna. This branch of Buddhism was first sub-divided into Pāramit ā-yāna and Mantra-yāna , and then into Vajra-yāna , Kāla-cakra- yāna , and Sahaja-yāna .5 The doctrine of Trik Åya gets prominence in Mah ÅyÅna Buddhism. Hence, the Dharmak Åya , the expression of the numinous in Buddhism, has to do much with the Mah ÅyÅna Buddhism and its philosophy, 6 (whereas the Therav Åda Buddhism gives importance to the historical Buddha and the P Åli canon). 1. BUDDHISM : A GODLESS RELIGION ? In Buddhism also one finds the expression of the numinous , though Buddhism is regarded as a religion without God. Buddha had himself advised his disciples: ‘be a light unto yourself,’ 7 but in the due course of time, Buddhism conceived a transcendental concept of Buddha. The doctrines of Tathat Å, Tath Ågata, Tath Ågata- 1 In his The Idea of the Holy: An Inquiry into the Non-rational Factor in the Idea of the Divine and its Relation to the Rational , Rudolph Otto identifies and explores the non-rational (‘non-rational’ does not mean ‘irrational,’ but it implies ‘not in the domain of rationality’); mystery behind religion and the religious experience and he calls this mystery, which is the basic element in all religions, the numinous . He uses the related word numen to refer to deity or God. See Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy , John W. Harvey (treans.) (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1950). 2 C. D. Sebastian, “Trik Åya, Trim ârti and Trinity: Three Facets of the Holy in Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity,’ Jnanatirtha: International Journal of Sacred Scriptures , 6 (2006): 118-136. 3 For a detailed account see: C. D. Sebastian, “Buddhist Philosophy: Its Three Distinct Phases and Basic Thematic Unity,” in The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies , X (2005): 1-16. 4 For further details see C. D. Sebastian, “Buddhist Sacred Scriptures,” Jnanatirtha: International Journal of Sacred scriptures , 1 (2001): 80-83. 5 See for more details S. B. Dasgupta, An Introduction to Tantric Buddhism (Calcutta: Calcutta University Press, 1974), 5-77. 6 Even in early Buddhism the precise nature of the Buddha had been ambiguous: on the one hand he was born and lived as a human being and on the other hand he transcended human nature through his enlightenment, by virtue of which he participated in the super-mundane condition attained by all Buddhas past and future. 7 ‘Therefore, O Ananda, be a lamp unto yourself. Be a refuge unto yourself. Do not rely on outside authority. Hold fast to the Truth as a lamp. Hold fast to Truth as a refuge. Look not for refuge to anyone besides yourself.’ - Maparinibb Åna Sutta 2: 33. 82 garbha , Trik Åya , Two-Truths, and YÅna-traya 8 were firmly rooted in a profound metaphysics that transformed the original atheistic religion into a powerful theological/theistic religion, accompanied by all necessary elements of faith, devotion, prayer, worship, surrender and the consequent salvation by grace. Faith (±raddh Å) was of paramount importance in Buddhism. The believers in Buddha were faithful to the Buddha-vacana (Word of Buddha): ‘I am the all conqueror, I am omniscient, I am untouched by all worldly objects, I am perfect in this world, I am a teacher incomparable, I am the only enlightened, tranquilized, and have extinguished everything.’ 9 Further we see: ‘I am the self-born, Father of the World, Lord of all beings and Remover of ills.’ 10 Thus, if one assiduously analyses the growth of Buddhism, one cannot but trace the transcendental elements moving stealthily into its philosophical and religious ambits. This will become clear as the same nuance is dealt with in the following section under Trik Åya doctrine. 2. THE DOCTRINE OF TRIK ÄÄÄYA (T HREE BODIES ) Buddham ±ara œam gacch Åmi (I take refuge in Buddha) is the first among the three refuges which every Buddhist takes. If so, what is the import of the term ‘Buddha’? Does it only signify the historical Buddha or does it signify something beyond the historical Buddha? It is indeed something beyond the historical Buddha as the interpretation of the doctrine of Buddha’s three bodies ( Trik Åya ) goes in Mah ÅyÅna Buddhism. Mah ÅyÅna Buddhists have carried into their practice of refuge their belief in numberless Buddhas whose attainment is unbounded in space and time. Trik Åya literarily meaning ‘three bodies’ is a doctrine that came to prominence in Mah ÅyÅna Buddhism, according to which Tath Ågata manifests himself in three bodies ( kÅyas ), modes, or dimensions. The word Tath Ågata 11 stands for Buddha in Buddhist literature, as it is an epithet for Buddha. Tath Ågata as the Perfect Man (‘ uttama puriso parama puriso ,’ the Samytta-nik Åya : 4) is the ultimate essence of the universe. 12 His position is analogous to that of God in Rational Theology ( ens realissimum ). 13 Further, it can be said, ‘the Tath Ågata occupies the same place in Buddhism as Ö±vara does in Advaita Vedanta. He is God of religion, an object of worship and veneration.