Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / This work proposes a different interpretation of the early Buddhist term dhammakāya (Skt. dharmakāya) which has been long understood, within the academic arena, to owe its philosophical import only to Mahāyāna Buddhism. In the introductory chapter, this study reviews scholarly interpretations of the term dhammakāya as it is used in early Buddhist texts and locates the problems therein. It observes that the mainstream scholarly interpretation of the Pali dhammakāya involves an oversimplification of the canonical passages and the employment of incomplete data. The problems are related mainly to possible interpretations of the term’s two components - dhamma and kāya - as well as of the compound dhammakāya itself. Some scholarly use of Chinese Āgama references to supplement academic understanding of the early Buddhist dhammakāya involves similar problems. Besides, many references to dharmakāya found in the Chinese Āgamas are late and perhaps should not be taken as representing the term’s meaning in early Buddhism. This work, thus, undertakes a close examination of relevant aspects of the Pali terms dhamma, kāya, and dhammakāya in the second, the third, and the fourth chapters respectively. Occasionally, it discusses also references from the Chinese Āgamas and other early Buddhist sources where they are relevant. The methodologies employed are those of textual analysis and comparative study of texts from different sources. The result appears to contradict mainstream scholarly interpretations of the early Buddhist dhammakāya, especially that in the Pali canon. It suggests that the interpretation of the term, in the early Buddhist usage, in an exclusive sense of ‘teachings collected together’ or ‘collection of teaching’ is insufficient or misleading and that a more appropriate interpretation is a ‘body of enlightening qualities’ from which the teachings originate. That being the case, dhammakāya appears to be the essence of enlightenment attained by early Buddhist nobles of all types and levels.

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / This work proposes a different interpretation of the early Buddhist term dhammakāya (Skt. dharmakāya) which has been long understood, within the academic arena, to owe its philosophical import only to Mahāyāna Buddhism. In the introductory chapter, this study reviews scholarly interpretations of the term dhammakāya as it is used in early Buddhist texts and locates the problems therein. It observes that the mainstream scholarly interpretation of the Pali dhammakāya involves an oversimplification of the canonical passages and the employment of incomplete data. The problems are related mainly to possible interpretations of the term’s two components - dhamma and kāya - as well as of the compound dhammakāya itself. Some scholarly use of Chinese Āgama references to supplement academic understanding of the early Buddhist dhammakāya involves similar problems. Besides, many references to dharmakāya found in the Chinese Āgamas are late and perhaps should not be taken as representing the term’s meaning in early Buddhism. This work, thus, undertakes a close examination of relevant aspects of the Pali terms dhamma, kāya, and dhammakāya in the second, the third, and the fourth chapters respectively. Occasionally, it discusses also references from the Chinese Āgamas and other early Buddhist sources where they are relevant. The methodologies employed are those of textual analysis and comparative study of texts from different sources. The result appears to contradict mainstream scholarly interpretations of the early Buddhist dhammakāya, especially that in the Pali canon. It suggests that the interpretation of the term, in the early Buddhist usage, in an exclusive sense of ‘teachings collected together’ or ‘collection of teaching’ is insufficient or misleading and that a more appropriate interpretation is a ‘body of enlightening qualities’ from which the teachings originate. That being the case, dhammakāya appears to be the essence of enlightenment attained by early Buddhist nobles of all types and levels.