Understanding the Terms Kevala and Dhammakāya in Buddhist Texts : หน้า 76/141

Generally, the term ‘kevala’ is translated either as ‘only’ or ‘entirely.’ It is observed that, whenever the term appears together with another word that conveys the meaning of ‘emanating,’ ‘illuminating,’ or ‘enlarging,’ the term kevala carries the meaning of ‘entirely’ or ‘all around.’ In this sentence, the word kevala comes immediately after the verb ‘dipentam’ which conveys the meaning of ‘illuminating.’ It is thus translated here as ‘all around.’ Another term that can convey different connotations is ‘ratanākara.’ This term is found representing the ‘Vinaya’ that the elder Upāli maintains. It also refers to the elder nanda who is the treasurer of the dhamma. But sometimes it represents the Buddha. As this verse is the praise of the Buddha, the term dhammakāya can be translated as an adjective, ‘dhamma-bodied,’ qualifying the Padumuttara Buddha. Need agrees with this way of interpretation. He translates the term dhammakāya in the verse as an epithet of the Buddha. In this case, the notion of ‘dhammakāya’ would be the same as that in the Aggañña-sutta passage. However, the ambiguous structure of the verse allows some space for alternative translations. Here, the terms dhammakāya and ratanākara, as well as the present participle dipenta, are written in the same case, i.e., accusative. This allows the term dhammakāya to function either as the subject or object of dipenta. In the former case, the term dhammakāya functions as an adjective, qualifying the Padumuttara Buddha, as in the tentative translation presented above. But in the case that dhammakāya functions as an object of dipenta, it refers to ‘what the Padumuttara Buddha demonstrates.’ This gives an alternative translation of the last stanza of the above quote as follows: Ap.I.93. Th.93. Ap.II.319. Need, op. cit., p. 381. He writes: Because of the syntax of the verse, and because the Digha Nikāya passage indicates that the Buddha is designated as such, it seems possible to read dhammakāya as a epithet of the Buddha. However, the surrounding context also permits one to read dhammakāya as a gloss for ñāṇa and perhaps for the kinds of knowledges and powers cited in the first verse. In this sense we are again in the context of those dharmas which are conducive or related to the realization of Nibbāna.