Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c7.s2.t6.8
Aspects of Mahāyāna Buddhism and its Relation to Hīnayāna c7.s2.t6.8
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c7.s2.t6.8
The Vibhāṣā informs us that there are some who believe that to take refuge in Buddha is to take refuge in the body constituted by the head, nape of the neck, belly, back, hands and feet of the Tathāgata. Some say that as the body is born of parents, it is impure (sāsrava) and therefore it should not be a place of refuge. The refuge should be the Asaikṣa dharmas, which make a Buddha, i.e., the Dharmakāya.² Apparently the Vibhāṣā refers in the first case to the earlier Hinayāna schools and in the second to the Sarvāstivādins and their followers.