Last time, I introduced you to the concepts of Dharma Body, Emanation Body, and Reward Body. So, what is an Emanation Body? What is a Dharma Body? What is a Reward Body? And how do they differ from one another? Let’s begin with the Emanation Body: what kind of life state does it embody, and how does it exist within our space? For instance, we live in this space with our physical bodies. What form does an Emanation Body take in the Human Realm, and what role does it play?
Firstly, an Emanation Body can manifest in two forms: the first form is the Dharma Body, and the second form is the Reward Body. A Dharma Body is the embodiment of a Bodhisattva, whose behaviour can impact others. It can be visible or invisible in the Human Realm. Only a Bodhisattva can be termed as a Dharma Body.
A Reward Body represents our body in the Human Realm as we study and practise the Buddha-dharma. We exist in this form due to karmic retribution. It’s because we human beings have a Reward Body that we are able to perform many deeds of a Bodhisattva in the Human Realm and in Heaven, allowing us to escape the cycle of rebirth and ascend to Heaven to become a Bodhisattva. This is the transformation from a Reward Body to a Dharma Body. Let me tell you that the heavenly kings of the Desire Realm are Reward Body Bodhisattvas. On the other hand, those in the Form Realm and Formless Realm are Emanation Body Bodhisattvas.
The Dharma Body, known as Dharmakaya in Buddhism, is accomplished through the power of vows. It’s the source of all energy, the origin that gathers all energy. And this source of energy is your Buddha-nature, your inherent nature. When you fully acquire a Dharmakaya, you are a Bodhisattva, and a very high-level one. This source of energy is the outline and scope that actually allows you to possess this world. When you see me worship the Buddha, I can hold the universe with both hands, because the inherent nature of our body embodies the essence of the universe, the sum of all cosmic energy, which scientists also explain from a physical perspective. A Bodhisattva embodies the vastest space of matter, which is formless and featureless. Don’t just believe that Guan Yin Bodhisattva literally only has a thousand hands and eyes. In fact, the thousand hands and eyes of Guan Yin Bodhisattva imply that wherever the Bodhisattva wishes to see, she can see, and wherever she wishes to save, she can reach. The concept of “Thousand Hands and Eyes” depicts the vastness of a Bodhisattva’s energy and is not to be taken literally as only a thousand hands and eyes.
A Reward Body is our physical body that receives the results of karma. We come into this world to receive the fruits of our actions. If we did good deeds in our previous life, we will enjoy good rewards in this life. If we committed many wrongs in our previous life, we will suffer and undergo karmic retribution in this life. Our Reward Body is the true master of this world. Specifically, our body is the real master of the world, and the Reward Body that receives enjoyment is also the master of this world. Do you understand? In other words, it’s the Reward Body that experiences happiness; it’s also this Reward Body that experiences unhappiness. The Reward Body is created by the law of cause and effect, which allows you to come to this world to receive retribution.
What is a Reward Body Bodhisattva? It is when all of your actions in the Human Realm are like that of a Bodhisattva. At that point, you are essentially a Reward Body Bodhisattva. As you have transcended the mundane world (here referring to mentality, not the physical body), you are a Reward Body Bodhisattva. A Reward Body Bodhisattva does not have a Dharma Body. If today you perform good deeds, you become a Reward Body Bodhisattva, as you do the work of a Bodhisattva with your physical body. Likewise, if you awaken and liberate people, sharing the Dharma with them, then you fulfill the role of a Reward Body Bodhisattva.
We live in this world according to the law of cause and effect; the Reward Body is accomplished through merit and virtue. Because you have done many good deeds in your previous life with this body, you are able to enjoy the current rewards or position with your Reward Body in this life. It’s all due to the merit and virtue accumulated from your previous life. The Reward Body enjoys within the Dharma Body. The Dharma Body represents the inherent nature of all individuals. In reality, this Dharma Body is the heavenly body.
I am now spreading the Dharma with the Reward Body in the Human Realm. My Dharma Body is in Heaven; my Reward Body is in the Human Realm. The Reward Body is controlled by the Dharma Body in Heaven. Only with the accomplishment of the Reward Body can the Dharma Body be accomplished. That is, when your Reward Body is accomplished, your Dharma Body will then be accomplished. Specifically, in the Human Realm, you learn to be a Bodhisattva, and after reaching a certain level of spiritual state, once you become awakened and wisdom unfolds, you will then possess a Dharma Body. Of course, this is not easy. The accomplishment of an Emanation Body and a Dharma Body is actually initiated by the accomplishment of the Reward Body.
There is a phrase in the Verse for Transfer of Merit: “At the end of this Reward Body; Be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.” This is because, despite your cultivation, you cannot transcend while remaining within the Reward Body. Just like this physical body, can you take it to Heaven? That’s impossible. You can only ascend to Heaven after shedding this physical body. It’s like a hydrogen balloon. If you want it to float upward, it must be light, have nothing inside, and not carry anything else, only then can it float up.
Those who have thoroughly realised their inherent nature are the ones who have completely awakened to it. Even if the whole world doesn’t understand them, they still never feel lonely. When you’ve completely grasped the truth and awakened, regardless of what you do today, you will never feel lonely. Many people think that practising Buddhism is about ascending to Heaven after death, but in reality, practising Buddhism isn’t for the purpose of having a better life after death, or a reliance on such expectations. Many people misunderstand, thinking that when they face karmic retribution, they might as well die earlier to go to Heaven; this is a reliance on practising Buddhism for a better life after death. They are completely mistaken. Practising Buddhism isn’t about such expectations but about living at ease and transcending suffering here and now. We practise Buddhism today not to prepare for what happens after death, but to improve ourselves now, laying the groundwork for spiritual elevation to Heaven. This is what it means to practise Buddhism. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to the Human Realm to guide and liberate sentient beings, wanting you to do well now, not just after death.
I want you to remember, ‘others are always right, and you are always wrong.’ If you can think this way, you will never harbour resentment. Always treat other people as the beneficial conditions that propel your progress; then, in this Human Realm, you will continually move upward throughout your whole life, until you reach great enlightenment and your merit and virtue are perfected.