Nirmāṇakāya

Nirmāṇakāya, or the Emanation body (known in Chinese as 應身, yīngshēn, and in Tibetan as སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་, tulku), is the third of the three bodies of a Buddha (trikāya). It represents a Buddha's physical appearance within time and space. Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha who lived in India around 2,500 years ago, is a classic example. In Vajrayāna Buddhism, this body is referred to as "the dimension of ceaseless manifestation."

In early Indian Buddhism, the Pali Samaññaphala Sutta describes the ability to create a "mind-made body" (manomāyakāya) as one of the fruits of the contemplative life. Commentaries like the Patisambhidamagga and Visuddhimagga explain that this mind-made body is how the Buddha and arhats travel to heavenly realms using the continuum of the mindstream (cittasaṃtāna). It also accounts for the multiplication miracle in the Divyavadana, where the Buddha multiplied his nirmita (emanated human form) into countless bodies filling the sky. A realized being can project many such nirmitas simultaneously in various forms across different realms.

The philosopher Vasubandhu (4th–5th century CE) defined nirmita as a siddhi, or psychic power (Pali iddhi, Sanskrit: ṛddhi), developed through Buddhist discipline, concentrated meditation (samadhi), and wisdom, as stated in his Abhidharmakośakārikā. Asanga's Bodhisattvabhūmi describes nirmāṇa as a magical illusion, "basically, something without a material basis." The Madhyamaka school views all reality as empty of essence, seeing it as a form of nirmita or magical illusion.

In Tibetan Buddhism, nirmanakayas are emanations of the Sambhoghakaya of the Buddhas, arising effortlessly from the Buddhas' compassionate energy (thugs rje). According to Jigme Lingpa, these emanations appear "according to the different perceptions, dispositions, and aspirations" of sentient beings, and their enlightened activities, which remove the delusions of samsara, are as limitless as space.

Jigme Lingpa classifies several types of tulkus or nirmanakaya. The natural nirmanakaya (rang bzhin sprul pa) is "in harmony with the sambhoghakaya," such as the five tathagathas as they appear to bodhisattvas in the sambhoghakaya buddhafield of Akanishtha Ghanavyuha. This reflection is considered half nirmanakaya and half sambhogakaya (phyed sprul longs sku’i gnos). The supreme nirmanakaya (uttamanirmāṇakāya; mchog gi sprul sku) includes Shakyamuni Buddha, who displayed the twelve deeds and the major and minor marks. Supreme nirmanakayas also have secondary emanations, appearing as gods like Brahma, Indra, or Vishnu, as Chakravartins, or as animals. These emanations teach in varied ways, such as through scent in the realm "Incense-All-Amassed" or through dreams elsewhere. Diverse nirmanakaya (sna tshogs sprul pa) manifest in numerous forms to help beings, including seemingly inanimate objects like boats or bridges. This category includes born or animate diversified nirmanakayas (janmanirmāṇakāya; skye ba sprul sku), which are born naturally (from womb, egg, etc.) as kings, bodhisattvas, and so on; inanimate diversified nirmanakayas, such as valleys, mountains, boats, and bridges; and artisan nirmanakayas (śilpanirmāṇakāya; bzo bo sprul sku), which appear as artists or artisans (or even as works of art) to awaken beings.