________________
[iv]
other aspect of his personality was the unparalleled Dhammakāya (body of the Dhamma) which was suffused with perfect enlightenment, wisdom, moral behaviour, right understanding, and compassion.
A Tathāgata (the Buddha) is arahata (a fully liberated being) because he has destroyed all the enemies or impurities. He is the perfectly Enlightened One because he has attained sammā-sambodhi. He is full of wisdom (viijā) and well-established in the practice of morality and concentration (caraṇa). He is sugato because of his pleasant physical, vocal and mental activities. He is the knower of the entire universe (lokavidū) because he knows completely the mundane as well as the supramundane, i.e., nibbāna. He is peerless because there is no one who compares with him, nor surpasses him (anuttaro). He directs untrained people to the right path in the same way as a skilled charioteer manages untrained horses (purisa-damma-sārathī). He is the Teacher of gods and humans (satthā devamanussānam). He is the Lord (bhagavā) because he has destroyed attachment, antipathy and ignorance. Because of all these special qualities, he is different from others. He provides enormous welfare for the world. The entire Tipitaka is permeated with the ambrosial nectar of his Dhammakāya.
The Tipitaka contains the mellifluous sound of the Ganges of Dhamma arising from the Dhammakāya. It is infused with the invaluable flow of emancipation. At every turn the Dhamma is illuminated, the Dhamma which is clearly expounded (svākkhāto), which takes us directly to the truth, helping us to leave behind all illusory imaginations (sandițfhiko). It gives concrete, visible fruits here and now to those who follow the path (akāliko). It summons us to realize the truth (ehi-passiko). With every step, it takes us to the highest goal of nibbāna (opanayiko), and it is worth experiencing personally by every intelligent person (paccattam veditabbo viññühi'ti). Such is the noble Dhamma: universally beneficial to all; free from sectarianism; acceptable to all people, from all countries, in any age. The entire Tipitaka helps us to savour this sweet nectar of Dhamma.
The Tipitaka also illumines the inspiring Sāvaka-sangha (community of accomplished disciples), who drank deeply of the ambrosial words of the Buddha. The Sangha clearly demonstrates that in Dhamma there is no place for blind faith, emotional devotion, or the logician's hair-splitting intellectual acrobatics. The Dhamma is immensely practical. He who follows it becomes a righteous practitioner (supațipanno), upright practitioner (ujupațipanno), wise practitioner (ñāyapațipanno) and proper practitioner (sāmicipațipanno) on the way to liberation.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
