Understanding the Concept of Body and Collection in Dhamma : หน้า 58/141

Functionally, however, both terms seem to imply a different relationship between individual members and the ‘totality’ of the whole ‘body’ or ‘collection.’ As a ‘body,’ the ‘totality’ of the whole organism is important for an organ to function. Once an organ is cut off from the ‘whole,’ it cannot function anymore. Likewise, if the sense of ‘totality’ or ‘whole’ is lost, in which case the organism is considered ‘dead,’ all organs cannot function, even though they are still attached to that ‘dead body.’ Thus, in case of a ‘body,’ the functional ability of its limbs and parts depends on the sense of ‘functioning totality’ or the ‘living body.’ In contrast, the word ‘collection’ does not imply any sense of such functional dependence. It seems to hold loosely its individual members or ‘several things’ under the same title of the group. Even though the ‘totality’ or the ‘collection’ is not retained, individual members do not lose their identity or function. Thus, from the functional aspect, the words ‘body’ and ‘collection’ are different. In order to determine the most probably meaning of the term kāya constituting part of ‘dhammakāya,’ it is helpful to recollect how our study has arrived at the conclusion that the component ‘dhamma’ in the Tathāgata’s designation refers to ‘transcendental dhamma.’ To reiterate, the titles of the noble disciples are connected with the designations of the Tathāgata by means of this reasoning; because the Buddha is ‘dhamma-bodied’ and ‘become dhamma,’ thus ‘his son’ can be entitled ‘born of dhamma,’ ‘created by dhamma,’ and ‘an heir by means of dhamma.’ The term dhamma in all these compounds carries the same connotation comparable to the ‘creator,’ or the dhamma that ‘transforms’ a worldly human into a noble one. This refers to transcendental ‘paths’ and ‘fruits.’