In the history of Indian Buddhist philosophy, discussions on the manifestation of consciousness and the image of the object appearing within consciousness encompass a wide range of doctrinal issues. Among these, the later Yogācāra tradition presents two distinctly contrasting positions on how to define the relationship between the dharmakāya (法身), the embodiment of universal truth, and the saṃbhogakāya (報身), the body of enjoyment acquired as the result of prolonged spiritual cultivation.

These two positions differ based on whether the images of objects appearing in consciousness are ultimately true or false, which in turn leads to different explanations of the relationship between the dharmakāya and the saṃbhogakāya. Both positions agree that the manifestation of consciousness, in which there is no conceptual distinction between subject and object, is referred to as dharmakāya and constitutes ultimate truth.

In contrast, the Buddha’s saṃbhogakāya, attained through extensive practice, appears as an image marked by virtuous qualities and functions to liberate sentient beings. Therefore, it becomes necessary to define the ontological status of the saṃbhogakāya in its relational engagement with sentient beings.

The presenter reads and interprets relevant passages from Sākārasiddhiśāstra (“Treatise on the Proof of Forms”) by Jñānaśrīmitra (10th–11th century), which lays out the two positions of the later Yogācāra school regarding this issue.

The presenter, Hyeyung, majored in Indian (Buddhist) Studies at the University of Hamburg in Germany and is currently a lecturer at the Joong-Ang Sangha University.