April 7, 1996

Happy birthday Buddha Sakyamuni!

April 8^th is Sakyamuni Buddha's Birthday.

Sakyamuni is not the only one Buddha, there are many Buddhas, like Amida Buddha, and Dainichi.

Amida Buddha is worshipped in Jodo-shu Betsuin, Nishi-Hongwanji Betsuin, and Higashi Honganji Betsuin. Do you know Amida Buddha's Birthday? I am a Buddhist priest, but I don't know his birthday. In Koyasan temple, members worship Dainichi Buddha or Maha Vairocana Buddha. Do they know the birthday of the Aha Vairocana Buddha? I think they do not know it. I bet you don't know, either.

I will tell you why we do not know the birthdays of Amida Buddha and Maha Vairocana Buddha. However I will hold the answer until the end of my speech.

Today, I would like to talk about the three bodies of the Buddha. The term "body" is not to be understood as dualistically the body opposed to the spirit. Rather "body" is manifestation, that is, the three properties of the Buddha. They are Ojin, Ho-jin, and Hos-shin or they are called Nirmana-kaya, Samboga-Kaya, and Dharma-kaya in Sanskrit.

The first is the manifested body called Ojin or Nirmana-Kaya. The Buddha revealed himself in this world as the historical Sakyamuni Buddha. Just like us, he was born, grew, and attained Enlightenment, taught us various teachings, and passed away.

The second is the Ho-jin or Sambhoga-kaya. This is the Reward-body. Why is it called the reward-body? Because he became a Buddha as the result of a Bodhisattva's unselfish practices of compassion and the vows to save all sentient beings. A good example is the Amida Buddha. Sometimes, I myself get confused wondering if Amida Buddha is a real Buddha or if he still is a Bodhisattva. Because he said in his 48 vows, he will not become a Buddha until all sentient beings attain Buddhahood.

The third is the Hosshin or Dharma-kaya. This is the absolute nature of the Buddha. It is said that the Dainichi Buddha or Maha Vairocana Buddha is the Hosshin. The Dharma body of the Buddha symbolizes absolute truth, which is Maha Vairocana Buddha.

Sakyamuni, Amida, and Dainichi are all Buddhas. But they are emphasized in different properties of the Buddha. Sakyamuni represents manifest body, Amida symbolizes Reward body, and Dainichi is Dharma body.

The three bodies of the Buddha are interpreted in many other ways.

Today we are celebrating the birth of Gautama Siddhartha who became Sakyamuni Buddha at the age of 35.

So let me talk about the three bodies of Sakyamuni Buddha. You may know that it was only Buddha Sakyamuni who was a historical Buddha.

He was born, grew, and attained Enlightenment, taught the insights of attained as Buddha, grew old and died at the age of 80. He is Ojin - one who has had a physical body just like us.

However, when the infant Buddha was born on April 8^th, he was not a Buddha yet. It is commonly known that he denounced his life of a prince in Kapila Place and led homeless life of a monk. After six years of ascetic practices and meditation, he attained Enlightenment. He became a Buddha. As the reward of his practice, he became a Buddha. So it is called the Reward-body of the Buddha after his enlightenment. Moreover, many people believed that it was not only the six years of practice of asceticism that led Gautama to become a Buddha. Rather during his many previous lives, he was a Bodhisattva and practiced his vows to become a Buddha and had many unselfish devotions to others to become a Buddha. There are many stories regarding his previous lives like offering his flesh to tigers and pigeons. As the result of these vows and practices, he became Sakyamuni Buddha. This is another aspect of the three bodies of the Buddha Sakyamuni.

Moreover, what Sakyamuni Buddha became enlightened to was the Dharma or absolute truth. Dharma existed before Gautama Siddhartha attained Enlightenment. It is the same concept that gravity existed before Isaac Newton discovered gravity by watching an apple falling to the ground. But without the Sakyamuni Buddha, we may not know the Dharma and also we may not know about Amida Buddha and Vairocana Buddha. The Buddha Sakyamuni revealed the Dharma. So, the Sakyamuni Buddha is also the embodiment of the absolute truth, Dharma. This is called Hosshin, or Dharma body of the Sakyamuni Buddha. Therefore, the Buddha Sakyamuni has three bodies in one.

Now, back to the question of the birthdays of Amida Buddha and Vairocana Buddha. They are not historical Buddhas. They were not born in this world. Therefore, they have no birthday. No birthday means no death. The historical Buddha was born on April 8^th and passed away on February 15^th. If there is a beginning, there must be an end. If there is no beginning, there is no end. Dharma is never born nor dies. Dharma is eternal. Although the Manifest-body of the Buddha is mortal, the Dharma-body of the Buddha is eternal. In terms of Christianity Dharma has existed before God created man and woman. Dharma will exist even after the final judgment of God. Thus, the Buddha is eternal.

Another interpretation of the Three Bodies of the Buddha is that the historical Buddha Sakyamuni is the Ojin or the manifest body. That the sutras which we read are the Hosshin, because sutras contain Dharma. The scriptures which we read at the temples and at our homes are the same as the Dharma body of the Buddha. So you should not throw the scriptures away or not put them on the floor directly. We must handle the service books respectfully. And also the Reward body of the Buddha is ourselves, because someday in the Future we will be Buddhas as the result of our practice.

The last interpretation of the Three Bodies of the Buddha is the most important for us. It is to realize that we, have the three bodies of Buddha. For instance, our physical body is the Dharma-body. Our mind is the Reward-body, and our behavior is the Manifest-body. The Buddha nature lies within us just as the flower is in the seed. In the same way as the flower needs the warming rays of the sun to bring forth the blossom, so our Buddha-nature requires an outside force to draw it into awakening. The force is to chant the Nembutsu for Amida Buddha's followers, the zazen for the Zen members, chanting the go-hogo for the Koyasan temple members and the Odaimoku the Sacred Title for Nichiren's followers which contain all others.

However the Three Bodies of the Buddha are interpreted, Sakyamuni Buddha revealed to us how to attain Buddhahood. Let us pay homage to Sakyamuni Buddha. Let us put our hands in Gassho and repeat our Buddhist vows -

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

Thank you...

With Gassho,

Kanai Shonin