Doctrine of Kāya in Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna

Summary

This scholarly paper investigates the Buddhist doctrine of kāya (body) as it developed from early (Hīnayāna) Buddhism into the Mahāyāna tri‑kāya theory. In the earliest Pāli texts, the Buddha is portrayed as a historical person possessing a rūpa‑kāya (physical body) subject to ageing and death. The Mahāparinibbāna‑sutta emphasises the impermanence of his body and the significance of his relics (śarīra). The article discusses how early Buddhist schools interpreted the notion of a spiritual body; while the Theravādins generally rejected metaphysical speculation beyond the physical form, some Sautrāntikas hinted at a dharma‑kāya understood as the embodiment of truth. The narrative then shifts to Mahāyāna sources such as the Prajñāpāramitā, Lalitavistara and Avataṃsaka sūtras, which introduce cosmic Buddhas and teach that the Buddha’s reality transcends his earthly manifestation. The author explicates the tri‑kāya doctrine: the dharma‑kāya as absolute reality, the sambhoga‑kāya as a subtle body enjoyed by advanced bodhisattvas in pure lands, and the nirmāṇa‑kāya as an apparitional form that appears in the world for the benefit of beings. Philosophers like Asaṅga and Vasubandhu are cited for systematising these ideas in the Yogācāra tradition. The paper also surveys Madhyamaka interpretations that identify the dharma‑kāya with emptiness (śūnyatā). By comparing Pāli and Sanskrit sources, the article shows how doctrinal innovations responded to devotional needs and philosophical critiques. The tri‑kāya theory allowed Mahāyāna Buddhists to reconcile the transcendence of Buddhahood with the historical Buddha’s humanity, thereby enriching Buddhist cosmology and ritual practice.