Dharmakaya
Definition
A Mahayana Buddhist term often translated as the truth body, reality body, or Dharma body of the Buddha. It points to the ultimate dimension of Buddhahood, beyond a single historical person or physical form.
Literal meaning
Dharma-body or truth-body.
Esoteric meaning
In Netist comparison, Dharmakaya is useful when discussing traditions that describe ultimate reality as more than an object among objects. It can sit beside Netist language about the Net, Source, interdependence, and the Cosmic Body, but it should not be treated as a direct Buddhist name for Atum, Heka, or any Netist force.
Allegorical meaning
Not the lamp, not the flame, not the hand that lights it, but the light by which all lamps are seen.
Extended meaning
Dharmakaya belongs to Buddhist doctrine, especially Mahayana and Vajrayana discussions of the Buddha's three bodies. The usual triad is Dharmakaya, the truth or reality body; Sambhogakaya, the enjoyment or visionary body; and Nirmanakaya, the manifested body that appears in the world. Netism should approach this term through comparison, not ownership. The shared ground is the intuition that reality is interdependent, that awakening changes how one perceives the whole, and that a visible teacher or form can point beyond itself. The difference matters: Dharmakaya is not a creator god, not a physical field, and not simply another word for the Net.
This is borrowed comparative Buddhist vocabulary. Use it carefully, especially around traditions that treat emptiness, Buddha-nature, and the three bodies of the Buddha differently.
Usage
Used in comparative Buddhism, especially when explaining Buddhist views of Buddhahood, ultimate reality, interdependence, and the limits of ordinary form.
Comparative tradition
In Mahayana Buddhism, Dharmakaya is one body of the trikaya teaching. It is commonly paired with Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya, and is often discussed alongside emptiness, suchness, Buddha-nature, and ultimate truth. Netism may compare it to language of interdependence and the Net, but should not erase the Buddhist framework that gives the word its meaning.