evamukte śakro devānāmindro bhagavantametadavocatihaiva bhagavan bhagavatā

prajñāpāramitāyāṃ śikṣamāṇena tathāgatenārhatā samyaksaṃbuddhena anuttarā

samyaksaṃbodhiḥ sarvajñatā pratilabdhā abhisaṃbuddhā | bhagavānāhatasmāttarhi
kauśika nānenātmabhāvaśarīrapratilambhena tathāgatastathāgata iti saṃkhyāṃ gacchati
| sarvajñatāyāṃ tu pratilabdhāyāṃ tathāgatastathāgata iti saṃkhyāṃ gacchati | yeyaṃ
kauśika sarvajñatā tathāgatasyārhataḥ samyaksaṃbuddhasya prajñāpāramitānirjātaiṣā |
eṣa ca kauśika tathāgatasyātmabhāvaśarīrapratilambhaḥ
prajñāpāramitopāyakauśalyanirjātaḥ san sarvajñajñānāśrayabhūto bhavati | enaṃ
hyāśrayaṃ niśritya sarvajñajñānasya prabhāvanā bhavati, buddhaśarīraprabhāvanā bhavati
dharmaśarīraprabhāvanā bhavati saṃghaśarīraprabhāvanā bhavati | ityevaṃ
sarvajñajñānahetuko'yamātmabhāvaśarīrapratilambhaḥ
sarvajñajñānāśrayabhūtatvātsarvasattvānāṃ caityabhūto vandanīyaḥ satkaraṇīyo
gurukaraṇīyo mānanīyaḥ pūjanīyo'rcanīyo'pacāyanīyaḥ saṃvṛtto bhavati | evaṃ ca mama
parinirvṛtasyāpi sataḥ eṣāṃ śarīrāṇāṃ pūjā bhaviṣyati | tasmāttarhi kauśika yaḥ
kaścitkulaputro vā kuladuhitā vā imāṃ prajñāpāramitāṃ likhitvā pustakagatāṃ vā kṛtvā
sthāpayet enāṃ ca divyābhiḥ
puṣpadhūpagandhamālyavilepanacūrṇacīvaracchatradhvajaghaṇṭāpatākābhiḥ satkuryāt
gurukuryāt mānayet pūjayet arcayet apacāyet ayameva kauśika tayoḥ kulaputrayoḥ
kuladuhitrorvā bahutaraṃ puṇyaṃ prasavet |tatkasya hetoḥ sarvajñajñānasya hi kauśika
tena kulaputreṇa vā kuladuhitrā vā pūjā kṛtā bhaviṣyati yaḥ kulaputro vā kuladuhitā vā iha
prajñāpāramitāyāṃ likhyamānāyāṃ pustakagatāyāṃ vā satkāraṃ gurukāraṃ mānanāṃ
pūjanāmarcanāmapacāyanāṃ pūjāṃ ca vividhāṃ kuryāt ayameva tato bahutaraṃ puṇyaṃ
prasavet | tatkasya hetoḥ sarvajñajñānasya hi kauśika tena pūjā kṛtā bhaviṣyati yaḥ
prajñāpāramitāyai pūjāṃ kariṣyati ||

Thus spake Śakra Devānāmindra (Lord of the Gods): ‘The Lord

has said that it is through learning the perfection of wisdom that
the Tathāgata has obtained supreme enlightenment [and]
perfect understanding.’

The Lord [responds]: ‘Therefore, Kauśika, [it is] not by obtaining

this physical personality1 that the tathāgata comes to be called
(saṃkhyāṃ gacchati) the tathāgata, [it is] by obtaining
omniscience [that] the tathāgata comes to be called the
tathāgata.’

1
I follow Conze (1973: 105) in here translating ātmabhāvaśarīra as ‘physical personality’ rather than ‘physical
body’ or variations on that theme. This is because in the context of this extract, talk of a physical body without
the connotations of the connected personality seems redundant: the Buddha has acquired a certain
personality, a set of personal dispositions, in virtue of his enlightenment and omniscience. It would be bizarre
to say that the Buddha had acquired his physical body in virtue of his enlightenment – he was necessarily
embodied before he was enlightened!
 ‘Kauśika, the omniscience of the tathāgata, of one who has
attained complete enlightenment, comes forth from the
perfection of wisdom.’

‘Kauśika, the physical personality of the tathāgata, [on which

the] cognizance [of] omniscience is dependent, is the result of
skill-in-means [of] understanding the perfection of wisdom.’2

‘Supported by this cognizance [of] omniscience, the Buddha-

body, Dharma-body, and Saṅ gha-body are revealed.’3

‘As the [acquisition of the] physical personality causes [the]

cognizance [of] omniscience, the cognition [that] causes
omniscience becomes a refuge [and a] shrine for all beings. [It
is] worthy of being honoured, of being revered and of being
worshipped.’

‘And after my parinirvāṇa, [my] relics will [also] be worshipped.’

‘Therefore, Kauśika, whoever – son or daughter of noble birth –

having copied [out] the Perfection of Wisdom, having made [it
into] a book, establishing it, worshipping it, honouring it with
pūja, with heavenly flags, banners, perfume, flowers, bells
[etcetera], this being the case Kauśika, those two will produce
greater merit.’

‘In so doing, Kauśika, the son or daughter of noble birth [that

has] made a copy of the Perfection of Wisdom, who worships,
honours and respects it with pūjas of many kinds; they produce
the greatest merit.’

2
I think that the Buddha must mean that the ‘cognizance of omniscience’ by other people is dependent upon
the tathāgata’s personality, viz. the Buddha’s personality – modified upon becoming awakened (thanks to the
Perfection of Wisdom) – is what is responsible for conveying his omniscience to others so that they might
cognize it.

3
I have here translated buddhaśarīra, dharmaśarīra and saṁghaśarīra as ‘Buddha-body’, ‘Dharma-body’, and
‘saṅgha-body’ rather than ‘Buddha-relic’, ‘dharma-relic’, and ‘saṅgha-relic’. It could be argued, however, that
each are ‘relics’ that are revealed through awareness of the omniscient if we understand ‘relic’ to be the
historic record of the Buddha’s thought/teaching, in which case, awareness of or cognizance of omniscience
might be said to ‘reveal’ the Buddhas thoughts on each aspect in turn. We can also choose to interpret these
things as a body of ideas related to each jewel (I do not think it a coincidence that the choice of ‘bodies’
marries to the three jewels prescribed by the Buddha!). The significance of each of these bodies is thus made
clear upon our cognizance of omniscience, viz. upon our awareness of the thoughts/teachings of the
omniscient (the Buddha).
 Why so? Because, Kauśika, in worshipping the Perfection of
Wisdom, he worships the cognition [of the] omniscient.’4

4
I chose this particular passage from the AsPP because I think that for my purposes, it gives the most
comprehensive overview in the shortest amount of space. That is to say that it almost makes the point for me
that the ‘body of the Dharma’ can be contained in a book chronicling the Buddha’s thoughts and teachings.
Indeed, the Buddha himself says that ‘in worshipping the Perfection of Wisdom, [the practitioner] worships the
omniscient’.