What is Dhammakaya?

Dhammakaya is a combination of two words: Dhamma and Kaya.

Dhamma (Pali or Dharma in Sankrit) is a pure nature that exists in everyone of us.

Kaya means layers or bodies.

So, the word Dhammakaya means pure bodies that exist within everyone of us and can ultimately refer to the deepest body that is the body of enlightenment. In addition, Dhammakaya can also refer to a meditation practice that allows us to see, feel and become one with those bodies and thus become enlightened eventually.

Characteristics of the Dhammakaya

Phramongkolthepmuni, the re-discoverer of the meditation method once describes the Dhammakaya as pure, clear and full of happiness. This refers also to the quality of the mind when a meditator keeps on going deeper into the meditation practice.

The Dhammakaya meditation method that I teach

I learned some meditation methods when I was young but to me they were a bit difficult to understand and follow. In my personal opinion, the Dhammakaya meditation is very simple and follows three principle: Concentration, Comfort, Continuity.

In order to meditate, we concentrate our mind with one simple thought, usually represented by feeling and position. Well, it’s not really a thought but rather than a feeling such as the awareness of the breath, the mantra or a visualization. However, the way we concentrate or remind ourselves about this thought should be gentle and comfortable. It should also be long enough otherwise the mind still not settle itself become standstill.

The position that we concentrate is the center of the body. To be precise, it’s about two finger-width above the navel. Once we keep our soft attention over there for an extended period of time, the mind will be clear, pure and liberated from unnecessary thoughts. The liberation makes us usually feel light, pure and happy. It’s as simple as that.