The significance of the Dhammakāya in Buddhist scripture

Brief Content:

1. The text compares the parts of the dhammakāya with the physical attributes of the Buddha.
2. The 2nd part contains the verses in praise of the brilliant Buddha’s body qua the dhammakāya.

…uññesaṃ devamanussānaṃ buddho ativirocati yassa tamuttamaṅgādiñāṇaṃ sabbaññutādikaṃ dhammakāyamataṃ buddhaṃ name taṃ lokanāyakaṃ  

“I venerate that highest Knowledge beginning with Omniscience etc., the Buddha who is known as the dhammakāya of [whom, who is] the leader of the world.” 

1. The final section exhorts one in the lineage of the yogāvacara (practitioner of spiritual discipline, i.e., meditator) to recollect the dhammakāya.  

imaṃ dhammakāyabuddhalakkaṇaṃ yogāvacarakulaputtena tikkhañānena sabbaññūbuddhabhāvaṃ patthantena punappunaṃ anussaritabbaṃ

“This Buddha’s characteristic is the dhammakāya. [This] should be remembered again and again by a noble man of a good family, practicing spiritual exercise, possessing a sharp Knowledge and aspiring for becoming the Omniscience Buddha.”

Benefits from studying this text

The text indicates the dhammakāya is a “sublime body” of the Buddha, not a collection of the Buddha teaching and when the meditation practitioners recall/visualise the dhammakāya, it leads to the attainment of the Buddhahood.