Buddha · බුද්ධ
The Thirty-Two Marks of the Great Being
Why the Buddha's thirty-two marks are not features of ordinary flesh, but signatures of an energy field connected to omniscient knowledge
14 min read
Buddha · බුද්ධ
Why the Buddha's thirty-two marks are not features of ordinary flesh, but signatures of an energy field connected to omniscient knowledge
14 min read
The thirty-two marks of the Great Being manifest within the energy body. They are not something visible to the naked eye. There is a connection between these thirty-two marks and omniscient knowledge operating through the omniscient element. That is why corresponding qualities are described in the form of 'marks.'
It is possible to think of a being's material basis as an energy unit resting on matter, or equally as a matter unit resting on energy. There is an extremely subtle elemental nature involved in the formation of matter connected to beinghood, which can be called the 'nuclear element' (nyashtika dhathu). Within this single unit, the being-natures of all thirty-one realms of existence are contained. Relative to the nature present in the mind, these being-natures become manifest, and they change. This nucleus is the smallest unit connected to being-nature.
Beinghood (satvatvaya) is a Dhamma-principle present in nature itself. To be beinghood is to be in conformity with nature — with the climate, the seasons, change, food, sustenance and the other natural laws that govern existence. It is the arising of this conformity within a being that is called beinghood. The composition of the nuclear element is also what shapes the matter that carries life — a planet — and even its orbit. Other planets and orbits are formed according to different compositions of this same element. Here, the planet (as matter) and its orbit are, in truth, a single unit.
When someone becomes an arahant, the being-nature within the nuclear element gradually falls away, and the qualities of the four great elements begin to take its place. In the case of a fully self-enlightened Buddha, these become knowledge-factors (gnana anga). This is because a Buddha is one who has gone beyond the thirty-one realms — yet even having gone beyond them, a subtle bodily nature remains that can still transact with those thirty-one realms. These factors become knowledge-factors, and a state is created in which all actions become entirely purified.
The nuclear element, the thirty-one realms, and the thirty-two subtle qualities of the Buddha-body are all matters belonging to the domain of Buddhahood and connected to fields of energy — they are not things that fall within the range accessible to the five physical senses.
What actually exists within the nuclear element is the nature of the four great elements — namely the qualities of water (apo), fire (tejo), wind (vayo) and earth (pathavi). To arrive at the nature of the four great elements, in simple terms, the prior form of one's thoughts, arising through the energy-sources called mind (citta) and karma, must cease to exist. Only when the prior form of thoughts ceases does one arrive at the natural state proper to this field. Once that natural state is reached, the being-natures tied to the thirty-one realms can no longer take hold. At stream-entry (sotapanna), the being-natures that cause rebirth in the animal realm fall away.
When one becomes an arahant, the being-nature within the nuclear element gradually withdraws and begins to settle instead as the characteristics of the four great elements. Along with this, much of the energy needed for worldly activity also withdraws, and the body changes accordingly. What occurs here can be described as the physical elements of the body coming to accept the spiritual fruit that has been reached. The elemental nature changes according to the fruit attained — this happens gradually, over time. The bodily conditions that accompany being-nature fall away. A great many of the tendencies that could remain rooted in intention (chetana) fall away. It becomes nature itself. This state no longer belongs to the thirty-one realms; it is called the thirty-second realm. Some arahants remain with some residue of beinghood; others have eliminated beinghood entirely. One who has completely eliminated beinghood has the ability to enter into another being, become that being, and speak accordingly on their behalf. If, while beinghood still remains, some realization is built up, that realization too becomes earth-like (pathavi), forming into a special kind of power. For such arahants or Buddhas to attain parinirvana, a Buddha who has cultivated the bases of psychic power (iddhipada) is needed.
Even a Buddha ordinarily dwells within this very state of the four great elements that being-eliminated arahants dwell in. But on certain occasions, a Buddha takes on a nature specific to the thirty-one realms of beings. In that state, thirty-two specific subtle qualities of the subtle body come to the fore. This is a nature that is foremost among all the being-natures of the thirty-one realms. Because it is difficult to transact with beings while these qualities are foremost, these qualities are turned into infinite virtues — so that whatever virtue a being possesses is retained alongside them, further extending those virtues infinitely. This can also be seen as a difference between an arahant and a Buddha: what a Buddha has are qualities that have gone beyond nature itself. Because of this, the four great elements are transcended and the Buddha settles into virtue itself. While abiding in the nature foremost among the thirty-one realms, a being cannot transact with the Buddha directly. So, moving out of that nature, and corresponding to it, the thirty-two marks of the Great Being are proclaimed for the sake of continued relationship with beings.
In this transition, a moment arrives in which neither these thirty-two subtle-body qualities, nor being-nature, nor the characteristics of the four great elements are present. A brief instant occurs in which nothing is settled anywhere at all. The moment of final passing is also a moment like this. If the karma aligns, the death of the physical body occurs there. At that point, when bodhi is taken as the object, one settles once again upon the characteristics of the four great elements. While abiding as the four great elements, transformation into any form, at any moment, becomes possible — and beings neither see it nor are caught by it. The Buddha dwells corresponding to each and every being.
When Buddha-nature is brought into the world of beings, it must be settled upon some object. And for that object to be settled, there must be a material quality at the place where it settles. It is not enough for this object to exist merely as a mental formation or a concept; when it is settled practically at the level of the world of beings, it must be built upon a frequency belonging to the domain of matter.
As it is built up in that way, once it becomes matter, it forms as something like a body. That body is, in truth, entirely in accordance with Dhamma, in accordance with science, in accordance with theory. It is not settled in the flesh-body — yet it cannot be said that it is entirely apart from the flesh-body either. It is not in the mind-body (chitta kaya) — yet it cannot be said it is entirely apart from the mind-body either. All of these are, in fact, contained within it. So when Buddha-nature manifests, what is called the thirty-two marks of the Great Being becomes settled upon this body. These very thirty-two marks are what become the omniscient element. As the external cause is being formed, the elemental composition of the Buddha's body changes. This omniscient element is connected to the knowledge-faculties of Buddhahood — it is from here that the connection to omniscient knowledge is made. It is the omniscient knowledge present within Buddha-knowledge that operates and, through the medium of the four great elements, is reconfigured for the sake of a being's karmic outcome.
There is another side to this phenomenon too. When the potency of Dhamma manifests, that potency becomes enthroned. That is, the potency of Dhamma being built up as matter is what is created as being 'seated on the Dhamma-throne' or 'seated on the diamond-throne' (dharmasanarudha, vajrasanarudha).
When the potency of the Dhamma-principle rises to prominence, it is built up as matter. Being built up as matter is itself the symbol of its establishment. But considered purely as vision and as a source of energy, this only becomes a matter accepted by worldly convention once it has been built up as matter.
So the purpose and nature of Buddha-nature, being built up as matter — that is what exists as the thirty-two marks of the Great Being.
Buddha-nature has no body. So if the body of Buddha-nature is to be shown, the matter of Buddha-nature is what these marks are built from. If an ordinary human body is built from thirty-two impure parts, then a body endowed with the thirty-two marks of the Great Being is built, as described above, through Buddha-nature being built up upon the frequency of matter.
If the mind is a special kind of energy, then the material body of the mind is precisely this thirty-two-part impure body. And so the body proper to Buddha-nature is this body endowed with the marks of the Great Being. Calling it a 'rare body' is exactly why it is described in terms of these marks of the Great Being. The thirty-two marks of the Great Being are not something formed within the physical body. They are formed within the frequencies of matter relative to Buddha-nature.
Relative to an ordinary human body, the mind is settled within the impure body. In just the same way, Buddha-nature is settled within the material body endowed with the thirty-two marks of the Great Being. But this is not a body visible from the outside.
Within Buddha-nature there is both a theoretical aspect and a Dhamma-based aspect. How Buddha-nature is to be seen is itself a question for the being. This is not a matter about an individual person — this Dhamma-principle is universal; whoever you are, this applies to you too. The theoretical way of it cannot be seen directly. What can be seen is presented in this form instead.
The way the qualities and characteristics of the subtle Buddha-body behave as conduct, and the way Buddha-nature is seen through its virtues, can be summarised in a form easily grasped by a being's mind. Even though one does not dwell permanently in Buddha-nature, and even after a Buddha's parinirvana, if someone wishes to settle their own mind, to prepare their mind, they can reflect on the virtues arising from these subtle bodily qualities specific to the thirty-one realms.
What is 'this earthly plane'? It is the thirty-one realms. These thirty-one realms — spanning the range accessible to mind, from the animal realm up through progressive development to the highest Akanittha Brahma realm — constitute this earthly plane. There is no earthly plane beyond these thirty-one realms.
If someone reflects on these qualities, their mind and their karma become purified. Whoever sees these qualities has those qualities become established within them. Whoever reflects on these qualities finds their mind grow calm and cool. Whoever contemplates these qualities finds their wisdom grow.
A Buddha is a fruit that has been reached. A bodhisatta is the journey travelled to arrive at that fruit — an extremely difficult journey. If you see that bodhisatta, you yourself are changed, moment by moment, in every moment you see them. In an age when no Buddha has arisen, it is through paying homage to the bodhisatta that you begin to see that bodhisatta within yourself.
Adapted from “දෙතිස් මහා පුරුෂ ලක්ෂණ” — read the original Sinhala article.
Want to explore this further?
This article is a starting point. The full teaching is explored directly, with room for real questions, at the Mahaguru Centre’s Dhamma Clarity Sessions and Weekly Q&A.
Visit the Mahaguru CentreBuddha
A look at how a fully enlightened Buddha comes into being out of the universe's basic elements, and why today's seekers approach the path so differently from practitioners in the Buddha's own era.
Buddha
An explanation of how a Buddha's dispensation (sasana) is set up differently in different eras, and what it takes for someone to reach arahantship in each of them.
Buddha
Craving (tanha) is not something the mind can simply grasp and resist — this teaching traces it as a mechanism, from a single spark at the root of perception to the karmic paths it creates, and how a Buddha's four powers dissolve it.