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The Sūtra on the Three Bodies

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’phags pa sku gsum zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Ārya­trikāya­nāma­mahā­yāna­sūtra). Toh 283. Degé Kangyur vol. 68 (mdo sde, ya), folios 56a–57a.

’phags pa sku gsum zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripiṭaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 68 (mdo sde, ya), pp. 168–70.

Brunnhölzl, Karl. Luminous Heart: The Third Karmapa on Consciousness, Wisdom, and Buddha Nature. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2009.

Harrison, Paul. “Is the Dharma-kāya the Real ‘Phantom Body’ of the Buddha?” The Journal of the International Association for Buddhist Studies 15, no. 1 (1992): 44–94.

Makransky, John J. Buddhahood Embodied: Sources of Controversy in India and Tibet. SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997.

Nagao, Gadjin M. Mādhyamika and Yogācāra: A Study of ‌Mahāyāna Philosophies. Translated by Leslie S. Kawamura. Albany: State University of New York, 1991.

Rockhill, W. Woodville, trans. The Life of the Buddha and The Early History of His Order Derived from Tibetan Works in the Bkah-hgyur and Bstan-hgyur. London: Trübner & Co., Ludgate Hill, 1884.

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84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2013

Current version v 2.21.13

84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.

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འཕགས་པ་སྐུ་གསུམ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།

’phags pa sku gsum zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo

The Noble ‌Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Three Bodies”

Ārya­trikāya­nāma­mahā­yāna­sūtra

· Toh 283 ·

Degé Kangyur, vol. 68 (mdo sde, ya), folios 56.a–57.a
For referencing Tibetan sources, please see our Scholar’s Edition

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

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The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork created for Buddhist Atlas. It is an evocative companion, not a depiction of the text’s historical setting.

Source link checked October 21, 2026. The linked publisher provides the text and its usage terms.

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The Sūtra on the Three Bodies