The Unity of the Three Bodies of the Buddha

In the Lotus Sutra, the unity of the Three Bodies in the person of Shakyamuni Buddha is a key teaching. The reason this unity is so important is that none of the three aspects of Buddhahood makes any sense without the others. They are all aspects of one buddha, of one reality. By focusing on only one aspect, we lose sight of the living reality of Buddhahood and are left with mere abstractions. For example, the Dharma-body by itself cannot he perceived through concepts or images, but only through a spiritual intuition of its universal nature. The Enjoyment-body is the embodiment of that intuition in an ideal spiritual form that can impart his awakening to others. But this awakening remains hidden from us until it is expressed in this world by the Transformation-body in the form of the historical Buddha.

Lotus Seeds