Understanding Dhammakāya and the Tathāgata : หน้า 62/141

this sense conveys the meaning that the Tathāgata is the body pertaining to transcendental dhamma or Nibbāna, or he is the body of those transcendent qualities. This is similar to the kammadhāraya compound in that it provides the sense of an identification of the Tathāgata with ‘dhammakāya.’ To conclude, our study proposes that ‘dhammakāya’ as it designates the Tathāgata may be translated either as an adjective (bahubbiḥi compound) which conveys the meaning that transcendent dhamma or Nibbāna is the Tathāgata’s body, or as a noun (kammadhāraya or tappurisa compound) being the dhamma-body with which the Tathāgata is identified. In the next part, the study will examine another Pāli passage that is related to Paccekabuddhas, the self- Enlightened persons.