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Dharmakaya

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The “truth body” of a Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism—the ultimate, formless, unconditioned nature of reality and enlightenment.

Detailed Definition
Dharmakaya transcends form, time, and concept. In poetry, it is empty sky, mirror-like awareness, or silence between notes. Poets use it to point beyond images to the ground of being itself—where Buddha, Dharma, and mind are inseparable.
Example
Example in poetry:
A Mahāyāna poem: “Dharmakaya is the sky—empty, yet holding all clouds”; A contemplative verse: “Buddha-nature before names, before forms”; A modern reflection: “You seek the Buddha in statues—but dharmakaya is the space between thoughts”; A minimalist statement: “Not a body, but boundlessness.”
Additional Notes
Dharmakaya is the ultimate nature of Buddhahood—empty, luminous, beyond form. In Mahayana, it’s the ground from which Sambhogakaya (bliss body) and Nirmanakaya (emanation body, e.g., historical Buddha) arise. Not a deity, dharmakaya is reality itself, realized in deep meditation. In poetry, it’s evoked through negation (“sky-like”) or paradox (“sound of one hand clapping”). For students, dharmakaya represents Buddhism’s non-theistic absolute—comparable to Brahman yet distinct in its emptiness (shunyata)—shaping metaphysical themes in Zen koans and Tibetan songs of realization.
Also Known As
Truth Body Reality Body
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