Buddhist Philosophy in India and Ceylon c24.s9.1

c24.s9.1

In the Mahāyāna the humanity of the Buddha, enfeebled already in the Hīnayāna, definitely disappears. The Buddha of the *Saddharmapuṇḍarīka* and generally of the texts has attained enlightenment at a period unknown to us, presumably at the beginning of the cosmic age, but he claims to have taught the law for numberless periods of tens of millions of cosmic periods. He possesses the true body of enjoyment of a Buddha, revealed to the Bodhisattvas who in countless numbers hearken to his teaching, and the *Saddharmapuṇḍarīka* exhausts its fertility, as well as the patience of its readers, in its account of the marvels² which accompany his teaching. To mortal men, on the other hand, there is normally visible only a transformation body, such as that of the historical Çākyamuni, created for the purpose of edification of the multitude. In point of fact the Buddha’s true body dwells in a heaven of supreme bliss, waiting until the true Nirvāṇa, when it will, in accordance with his vow, enter into a Stūpa, a celestial parallel to the relic chambers made by men on earth. There he will enjoy the pleasure of repose after his toil of enlightenment, to rise from time to time at the request of a colleague.³