Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The question of what the enjoyment body actually is — whether it’s happy, whether it suffers, what it’s made of — drives this 34.5-minute session from Geshe Pema Tsering’s Grounds and Paths series. He maps tantric sadhana onto the three-kaya structure: meditating on emptiness as the Dharmakāya, arising as the deity with divine pride (the Sambhogakāya or enjoyment body), and sending forth emanation bodies to teach disciples at every level. He explains that the enjoyment body is subtle consciousness shaped like thangka deities, not made of physical elements, perceptible only to Ārya beings. He then unpacks the Tibetan etymology of Sambhogakāya, linking it to the image of a Buddha arising above the ground of ordinary sentient beings — a point capped by a deadpan joke about whether enlightened beings can suffer. Suited to practitioners with some tantric study background.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 15 2005 12 15 G and P (2).mp3
UUID: 76bd68b1-acda-4099-a4e6-a79344eaa724
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Grounds & Paths (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2005-12-15
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 34.5 minutes
Words: ~1,311
A second. So then I’m gonna say, yeah, yes. This is on all on all of them. Yeah. And then that but first at first, one has to realize give rise to the mind that realizes emptiness, the mind that realizes selfless selflessness, and that mind that that realizes how to say?
The emptiness is is the dharmakaya, is the the dharmakaya mind, the mind of of clear light dharmakaya. And then from that mind, one gives rise to the, again, to the to the body, the body. And and then from from that body, one sends emanations of one sends forth emanation bodies in the enjoyment body. Okay. So, again, I say that in every in every and he said something that that is written in every.
I I don’t know because I don’t know. So this this this thing this this thing that is said he says is is is emptiness. He’s referring to emptiness. It’s a meditation on emptiness. So then so then that is the meditation on the the Dharma one.
And then and then give having given rise to that for going for the meditation, also giving rise to the mind, then one thinks that that is the Dharma body. That is the Dharmakāya. So then, again, said that from from that mind, then one gives rise to the to the to whatever deity one is meditating on or whatever sadhana according to one’s sadhana. And again, he he quoted another piece of sadhana that he says that is in every sadhana is like this. Okay.
So then so then, yeah, so then I explained that you have never heard about that, but he says, yes. We we we meditate oneself as one we give rise to ourselves as the enjoyment body. And then one imagines that everybody else is is a bodhisattva who is ready to receive highest teachings for for Ārya bodhisattvas. And then and then one imagines that one is is teaching them. And then and then having having revealed the Dharma to these Ārya beings, then one and then one sends forth a emanation bodies to to teach all of the sentient beings and the three types of disciples and so forth.
And he says in every there is this there is this this meditations and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings. This is now is a is a lot of meditation, a lot of different meditations and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings to do. And now we have such as as we are ordinary minded and all these meditations and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings is is too difficult to accomplish. We won’t be able to do them. To imagine that all these — sort of — teaching. How do you do it?? Really good imagination..
It takes a great imagination. That’s what it is. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah.
He he talked about pride. He he he said divine pride. Yes. Yeah. I and you mentioned divine pride?
Didn’t divine pride. Yeah. He was talking about divine pride. Yes. What should you be teaching?
So then okay. Something very easy to understand and I didn’t understand. It’s like this those are are there are many dharmas that they do not know, and that’s what we have to teach them. Enjoyment body knows everything. How do I say?
Okay. Thank you. So kind of difficult to explain from with my poor Tibetan, but I managed to get an answer. So it’s like this. They do not have the shape of a color.
So they are they are in the they are in the in the in the nature of of wisdom of wisdom — pardon?? They are in the nature of consciousness. So they are they and and they do not have a body. So then again, it’s not in the shape of a pillar. It is it is in the in the nature of consciousness, of enlightened awareness or consciousness.
And it’s not it is not made of the elements Gala was explaining, like earth, water, fire, and wind. It is subtle consciousness, and it has the shape of of as the deities in the thangkas that we see Tārā and so forth. K. In between what? It’s the syllable in the light and so forth.
Yes. Okay. Okay. So he says here what I give the example of meditating on a syllable. Okay?
He said that’s right. I mean, that is the enjoyment body. But he said it’s not it is not just that. It’s not as simple as the as as just meditating on the syllable. One still thinks of it being being the deity, oneself oneself being being the deity and and having the pride of divine pride and so forth.
Is yeah. There is one thing of the sit syllable and and and gives rise to divine pride. The syllable is as as the German body and divine pride and so forth. And from that from that one give sends forth emanation bodies and so forth. He said there there there is, yeah, such practices.
We’re gonna get the ring in there. Yes. Well, it’s it’s in German body because it’s only other beings can can see them. Besides other beings, nobody can them. So the the that which only Ārya beings can see is called the enjoyment body.
Okay. So so the etymology now he’s he’s explaining the etymology of the word, which is he’s taking the the word long and to to to refer to I’m not sure if it is the active or the intransitive form of the verb, which is to to to arise, to stand up. And he says that from I think it’s to arise. From from a seed that arises the sprouts, and and he says from sentient beings that arises the Buddhas. So that that that’s So he’s saying so from arising from sentient beings, it comes the the the Buddhas.
And he says that the the first the very first of the Buddhas to have arisen from sentient beings that is the is called the, is in English translated as enjoyment body. I say that’s the etymology of the word. So then from from the ground of beings, that first one to arise from the ground of beings is if I translate it literally, longku. Okay? Ku is body.
It’s an honorific form of body. So it’s called the the body that has arisen, long ku. So the Buddha, an an enlightened being can can arise from the the level or the ground of sentient beings. Level They can arise above it. This is the the the the the first one of Buddhas.
He was he was saying that he was saying that they were happy. Right? And enjoyment bodies are happy people. Right? And he said, no.
No. There’s a lot of suffering. They suffer a lot. And then then he said, this is just how do you say? Having a Just joking.
Pulling my leg. Pulling my leg. They don’t suffer. There’s no suffering to them. Yeah.
Last last time. Okay. This is the last one. It seems like it doesn’t really have the same connotation of enjoyment. Doesn’t enjoyment.
Apparently, it doesn’t. So But that’s just some come from another sense of your language. Yes. And I think we’re not gonna get far anyway. Yeah.
But what I think is that the translation is coming from Sambhogakāya, which is Sanskrit term. Is a thing, and and it’s long is is is has to do with arise. Arising, as it can explain, from the ground of sentient beings, from the level of sentient beings to arise above it. And that’s why there’s nothing to do with enjoyment. No enjoyment to it.
One’s suffering? Jo, you do the honours? Okay.