When one realizes Dharmakaya he is endowed with the wisdom of knowing nature as it is (skt. yathabhuta) and with the wisdom of all existing objects of knowledge. Owing to the removal of all the veils and obstructions covering the mind his omniscient mind gives rise to twofold body i.e. Sambho-gakaya and Nirmanakaya.
There are four characteristic features of Sambhogakaya Buddha. Firstly, he is always endowed with 32 major marks and 80 minor marks. Secondly, he always teaches Mahayana among the families of irreversible bodhisattvas. Thirdly, he resides in one specific buddha field. Fourthly, he perfectly enjoys that Buddha realm with great peace and happiness.
Sambhogakaya means ‘perfect enjoyment body’. The bodhisattva since the beginning of his career has taken vows of relieving suffering of all sentient being and giving them peace and happiness. So he guides suffering beings to Bodhisattva level. The enjoyment body of Buddha then converts beginner bodhisattvas to perfect Enlightenment through guidance Hence, Sambhogakaya is very pure and perceptible only to realized Bodhisattvas. Enjoyment here means the ful-fillment of his vows and aspirations of the Buddha. In Sam-bhogakaya there is no limit of capacity or ability of his body, speech and mind. Whatever he wishes or aspires for the qualities of the Buddha, he will get the fruit as he desires when he attains Buddhahood. For example Bhikshu Dharmakar, when he was a bodhisattva, made 48 vows and aspirations in order to relieve the suffering and to get himself established into Buddhahood. Later on according to his vows and aspirations, Bhikshu Dharmakar became Buddha Amitabha in Sukhavati heaven.
According to Tantric Buddhist tradition, all Buddhas like Vajradhara, Vajrasattva and Yidam deities appear in the form of Sambhogakaya. They have all sorts of ornaments and garments signifying the qualities of enlightenment. The multi-arm, multi-face and multi-emblems they hold are the embodiments of the qualities of enlightenment.
Shambhogakaya has eight qualities of mastery.
1. He is endowed with the mastery of body which can take any shape or form to tame sentient beings according to their need.
2. He is endowed with mastery of speech which has 64 qualities and can turn the wheel of dharma for sentient beings as needed.
3. He is endowed with mastery of mind which possesses non-conceptual compassion.
4 He is endowed with unimpeded miraculous powers.
5. He is endowed with mastery of desire being unstained even when presented with sensual pleasures of all kinds.
6. He is like a wish-fulfilling gem fulfilling the desires and hopes of beings.
7. He resides in the pure abode of Akanistha continuously as the dharma king over three realms.
8. He is endowed with realization of one taste between Nirvana and Samsara signifying his mastery of all pervasiveness.
Hence all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas of high rank, Istadevatas i.e. Yidam Herukas are depicted in their Sambhogakaya aspects. Their specific color, emblems, faces are the metaphorical ways of expressing the qualities of enlightenment. For example 1000-armed Mahakala represents the deity indicating 16 types of emptiness he represents. Four-armed Mahakala represents his dominion over four Maras, the (four obstructions on the path of Enlightenment). Yamantaka, who kills the Lord of death, represents the deathlessness aspect of perfect enlightenment.In another context Sambhogakaya is also said to be an illusory body which a dying sentient being experiences in the intermediate state after death. He will see various peaceful and wrathful deities which are the emanations of his own thought forms. In Tantric Buddhist tradition this mental body in the intermediate state is utilized for realization of illusory body and then Mahamudra.
