San shen, Sān shēn, Sān shén: 6 definitions
Introduction:
San shen means something in Buddhism, Pali. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism
三身 [san shen]—trikāya. 三寶身 [san bao shen] The threefold body or nature of a Buddha, i.e. the 法 [fa], 報 [bao], and 化身 [hua shen], or dharmakāya, sambhogakāya, and nirmāṇakāya. The three are defined as 自性 [zi xing], 受用 [shou yong], and 變化 [bian hua], the Buddha-body per se, or in its essential nature; his body of bliss, which he "receives" for his own "use" and enjoyment; and his body of transformation, by which he can appear in any form; i.e. spiritual, or essential; glorified; revealed. While the doctrine of the trikāya is a Mahāyāna concept, it partly results from the Hīnayāna idealization of the earthly Buddha with his thirty-two signs, eighty physical marks, clairvoyance, clairaudience, holiness, purity, wisdom, pity, etc. Mahāyāna, however, proceeded to conceive of Buddha as the Universal, the All, with infinity of forms, yet above all our concepts of unity or diversity. To every Buddha Mahāyāna attributed a three-fold body: that of essential Buddha; that of joy or enjoyment of the fruits of his past saving labours; that of power to transform himself at will to any shape for omnipresent salvation of those who need him. The trinity finds different methods of expression, e.g. Vairocana is entitled 法身 [fa shen], the embodiment of the Law, shining everywhere, enlightening all; Locana is 報身 [bao shen]; c.f. 三賓 [san bin], the embodiment of purity and bliss; Śākyamuni is 化身 [hua shen] or Buddha revealed. In the esoteric sect they are 法 [fa] Vairocana, 報 [bao] Amitābha, and 化 [hua] Śākyamuni. The 三賓 [san bin] are also 法 [fa] dharma, 報 [bao] saṅgha, 化 [hua] buddha. Nevertheless, the three are considered as a trinity, the three being essentially one, each in the other. (1) 法身 [fa shen] Dharmakāya in its earliest conception was that of the body of the dharma, or truth, as preached by Śākyamuni; later it became his mind or soul in contrast with his material body. In Mādhyamika, the dharmakāya was the only reality, i.e. the void, or the immateria1, the ground of all phenomena; in other words, the 眞如 [zhen ru] the tathāgatagarbha, the bhūtatathatā. According to the Huayan (Kegon) School it is the 理 [li] or noumenon, while the other two are 氣 [qi] or phenomenal aspects. "For the Vijñānavāda... the body of the law as highest reality is the void intelligence, whose infection (saṃkleҫa) results in the process of birth and death, whilst its purification brings about Nirvāṇa, or its restoration to its primitive transparence" (Keith). The "body of the law is the true reality of everything". Nevertheless, in Mahāyāna every Buddha has his own 法身 [fa shen]; e.g. in the dharmakāya aspect we have the designation Amitābha, who in his saṃbhogakāya aspect is styled Amitāyus. (2) 報身 [bao shen] Sambhogakāya, a Buddha's reward body, or body of enjoyment of the merits he attained as a bodhisattva; in other words, a Buddha in glory in his heaven. This is the form of Buddha as an object of worship. It is defined in two aspects, (a) 自受用身 [zi shou yong shen] for his own bliss, and (b) 他受用身 [ta shou yong shen] for the sake of others, revealing himself in his glory to bodhisattvas, enlightening and inspiring them. By wisdom a Buddha's dharmakāya is attained, by bodhisattva-merits his saṃbhogakāya. Not only has every Buddha all the three bodies or aspects, but as all men are of the same essence, or nature, as Buddhas, they are therefore potential Buddhas and are in and of the trikāya. Moreover, trikāya is not divided, for a Buddha in his 化身 [hua shen] is still one with his 法身 [fa shen] and 報身 [bao shen], all three bodies being co-existent. (3) 化身 [hua shen]; 應身 [ying shen]; 應化身 [ying hua shen] nirmāṇakāya, a Buddha's transformation, or miraculous body, in which he appears at will and in any form outside his heaven, e.g. as Śākyamuni among men.
[The following represents an unverified English translation. For all purposes consult the original Chinese text.]
三身 [san shen]—(Three Bodies)—[名數 [ming shu] (Numerical Terms)] There are four types: the three bodies of 法 [fa] (Dharma), 報 [bao] (Reward), and 應 [ying] (Response); the three bodies of 自性 [zi xing] (Self-nature), 受用 [shou yong] (Enjoyment), and 變化 [bian hua] (Transformation); the three bodies of Dharma, Response, and Transformation; and the three bodies of Dharma, Reward, and Transformation. See the 附錄 [fu lu] (appendix) for the entry on the Three Bodies in the 三字部 [san zi bu] (Three-character section). There are two types of 三法身 [san fa shen] (Three Dharma Bodies). See the appendix for the entry on 法身 [fa shen] (Dharma Body). (Dharma Body) [術語 [shu yu] (Technical Term)] Refers to the 佛 [fu] (Buddha)'s Three Bodies. As stated in 經論 [jing lun] (sutras and treatises), there are sometimes 二身 [er shen] (Two Bodies), or even 十身 [shi shen] (Ten Bodies), with many ways of 開合 [kai he] (expansion and contraction), but Three Bodies is considered the 通途 [tong tu] (common way). Indeed, the differences among the 諸身 [zhu shen] (various bodies) do not go beyond the Three Bodies.
三身—【名數】有四種：法、報、應之三身。自性、受用、變化之三身。法、應、化之三身。法、報、化之三身是也。見三字部三身條附錄。
三法身有二種。見法身條附錄。(法身)
【術語】佛之三身也。經論所說，或二身乃至十身，開合多途，然以三身為通途。蓋諸身之不同不出三身也。
[míng shù] yǒu sì zhǒng: fǎ,, bào,, yīng zhī sān shēn. zì xìng,, shòu yòng,, biàn huà zhī sān shēn. fǎ,, yīng,, huà zhī sān shēn. fǎ,, bào,, huà zhī sān shēn shì yě. jiàn sān zì bù sān shēn tiáo fù lù.
sān fǎ shēn yǒu èr zhǒng. jiàn fǎ shēn tiáo fù lù.(fǎ shēn)
[shù yǔ] fú zhī sān shēn yě. jīng lùn suǒ shuō, huò èr shēn nǎi zhì shí shēn, kāi hé duō tú, rán yǐ sān shēn wèi tōng tú. gài zhū shēn zhī bù tóng bù chū sān shēn yě.
[ming shu] you si zhong: fa,, bao,, ying zhi san shen. zi xing,, shou yong,, bian hua zhi san shen. fa,, ying,, hua zhi san shen. fa,, bao,, hua zhi san shen shi ye. jian san zi bu san shen tiao fu lu.
san fa shen you er zhong. jian fa shen tiao fu lu.(fa shen)
[shu yu] fu zhi san shen ye. jing lun suo shuo, huo er shen nai zhi shi shen, kai he duo tu, ran yi san shen wei tong tu. gai zhu shen zhi bu tong bu chu san shen ye.
三身 ts = sān shēn p refers to [proper noun] “Trikaya”; Domain: Buddhism 佛教 [fu jiao]; Notes: Sanskrit equivalent: trikāya, Japanese: sanshin, Tibetan: sku gsum; the doctrine teaches that a Buddha has three bodies: the nirmanakaya, which manifests in time and space, the sambhogakaya or body of bliss or clear light, and the Dharmakaya or Truth body (BL 'trikāya', p. 923; FGDB '三身 [san shen]', SH '三身 [san shen]', p. 77; Shambhala 'trikāya') .
Chinese Buddhism (漢傳佛教, hanchuan fojiao) is the form of Buddhism that developed in China, blending Mahayana teachings with Daoist and Confucian thought. Its texts are mainly in Classical Chinese, based on translations from Sanskrit. Major schools include Chan (Zen), Pure Land, Tiantai, and Huayan. Chinese Buddhism has greatly influenced East Asian religion and culture.
Languages of India and abroad
Chinese-English dictionary
[The following represents an unverified English translation. For all purposes consult the original Chinese text.]
三身 [sān shēn] [san shen]—
Buddhist terminology. In Mahayana Buddhism, it is said that the Buddha has three bodies: Dharmakaya (法身 [fa shen]), Sambhogakaya (報身 [bao shen]), and Nirmanakaya (化身 [hua shen]). Dharmakaya (法身 [fa shen]) refers to the true nature of all phenomena and is also known as "Svabhavikakaya" (自性身 [zi xing shen]). Sambhogakaya (報身 [bao shen]) refers to the Buddha's body in the Pure Land world and is also known as "food body" (食身 [shi shen]), "enjoyment body" (受用身 [shou yong shen]), or "reward body" (應身 [ying shen]). Nirmanakaya (化身 [hua shen]) is the form manifested to teach and benefit ordinary beings, such as Shakyamuni Buddha (釋迦牟尼佛 [shi jia mou ni fu]), and is also known as "transformation body" (變化身 [bian hua shen]). Mahayana-abhidharma-samuccaya-vyakhya (《大乘法苑義林章 [da cheng fa yuan yi lin zhang]》), Volume 7: "Based on conventional truth (世俗諦 [shi su di]), the three bodies are said to be manifested according to circumstances. Dharmakaya (法身 [fa shen]) is the empty principle (空理 [kong li]), Sambhogakaya (報身 [bao shen]) is empty wisdom (空智 [kong zhi]), and the manifestation for benefiting beings is called Nirmanakaya (變化身 [bian hua shen])."
三身：佛教用語。大乘佛教謂佛身有法身、報身和化身三種。法身指一切現象的真實性，也稱為「自性身」。報身指佛淨土世界中的佛身，也稱為「食身」、「受用身」、「應身」。化身為教化利益凡夫眾生而現出的形象，如釋迦牟尼佛，也稱為「變化身」。《大乘法苑義林章》卷七：「依世俗諦隨機所現說有三身，法身空理，報身空智，利物所現名變化身。」
sān shēn: fú jiào yòng yǔ. dà chéng fú jiào wèi fú shēn yǒu fǎ shēn,, bào shēn hé huà shēn sān zhǒng. fǎ shēn zhǐ yī qiè xiàn xiàng de zhēn shí xìng, yě chēng wèi “zì xìng shēn” . bào shēn zhǐ fú jìng tǔ shì jiè zhōng de fú shēn, yě chēng wèi “shí shēn” ,, “shòu yòng shēn” ,, “yīng shēn” . huà shēn wèi jiào huà lì yì fán fū zhòng shēng ér xiàn chū de xíng xiàng, rú shì jiā móu ní fú, yě chēng wèi “biàn huà shēn” . < dà chéng fǎ yuàn yì lín zhāng> juǎn qī: “yī shì sú dì suí jī suǒ xiàn shuō yǒu sān shēn, fǎ shēn kōng lǐ, bào shēn kōng zhì, lì wù suǒ xiàn míng biàn huà shēn.”
san shen: fu jiao yong yu. da cheng fu jiao wei fu shen you fa shen,, bao shen he hua shen san zhong. fa shen zhi yi qie xian xiang de zhen shi xing, ye cheng wei "zi xing shen" . bao shen zhi fu jing tu shi jie zhong de fu shen, ye cheng wei "shi shen" ,, "shou yong shen" ,, "ying shen" . hua shen wei jiao hua li yi fan fu zhong sheng er xian chu de xing xiang, ru shi jia mou ni fu, ye cheng wei "bian hua shen" . < da cheng fa yuan yi lin zhang> juan qi: "yi shi su di sui ji suo xian shuo you san shen, fa shen kong li, bao shen kong zhi, li wu suo xian ming bian hua shen."
[The following represents an unverified English translation. For all purposes consult the original Chinese text.]
三神 [sān shén] [san shen]—
1. Celestial deities (天神 [tian shen]), terrestrial deities (地祇 [de qi]), and mountains (山嶽 [shan yue]). Wen Xuan (文選 [wen xuan]), Sima Xiangru's Fengshan Wen (司馬相如 [si ma xiang ru]．封禪文 [feng chan wen]): "Your Majesty is modest and does not initiate it, carrying the joy of the three deities." Wen Xuan, Yang Xiong's Ganquan Fu (揚雄 [yang xiong]．甘泉賦 [gan quan fu]): "Moving Heaven and Earth, rectifying the three deities against them."
2. In Taoism, the three harmful worms within the human body. See the entry for "San Peng" (三彭 [san peng]).
三神：1.天神、地祇、山嶽。《文選．司馬相如．封禪文》：「陛下謙讓而弗發，挈三神之歡。」《文選．揚雄．甘泉賦》：「感動天地，逆釐三神者。」
2.道家稱人體內的三種害蟲。參見「三彭」條。
sān shén:1. tiān shén,, de qí,, shān yuè. < wén xuǎn． sī mǎ xiāng rú． fēng chán wén>: “bì xià qiān ràng ér fú fā, qiè sān shén zhī huān.” < wén xuǎn． yáng xióng． gān quán fù>: “gǎn dòng tiān de, nì lí sān shén zhě.”
2. dào jiā chēng rén tǐ nèi de sān zhǒng hài chóng. cān jiàn “sān péng” tiáo.
san shen:1. tian shen,, de qi,, shan yue. < wen xuan. si ma xiang ru. feng chan wen>: "bi xia qian rang er fu fa, qie san shen zhi huan." < wen xuan. yang xiong. gan quan fu>: "gan dong tian de, ni li san shen zhe."
2. dao jia cheng ren ti nei de san zhong hai chong. can jian "san peng" tiao.
三身 [sān shēn] refers to: “three bodies”.
三身 is further associated with the following language/terms:
[Tibetan] sku gsum.
[Vietnamese] tam thān.
[Korean] 삼신 / samsin.
[Japanese] サンジン / sanjin.
Chinese language.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Chen, Shen, Can, Shan.
Starts with (+5): San cheng, San cheng zhong xing jie huo sheng guo, San shen fan zan, San shen fu xing, San shen ji yi fu, San shen lun zhu, San shen pu ti, San shen ru lai, San shen san de, San shen shan, San shen ye, San shen zu, San sheng, San sheng cheng fu, San sheng ge, San sheng liu shi jie, San sheng nu zhen, San sheng si, San sheng xue, San sheng xun zi.
Full-text (+175): Yi ti san shen zi xing fu, Yi yue san shen, San shen ru lai, San shen ye, San shen san de, San shen fu xing, Fa bao hua san shen, San shen ji yi fu, San shen pu ti, Wu zhi suo sheng san shen, San shi san shen, San shen fan zan, Fu san shen zan, San fu shen, Bao shen, San shen lun zhu, Shou yong shen, Bian hua shen, Dai lie sheng ying shen, San tian.
Relevant text
Search found 5 books and stories containing San shen, Sān shēn, Sānshēn, Sanshen, Sān shén, Sānshén, 三身, 三神; (plurals include: San shens, Sān shēns, Sānshēns, Sanshens, Sān shéns, Sānshéns). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Buddha-nature (as Depicted in the Lankavatara-sutra) (by Nguyen Dac Sy)
Glossary Of Chinese Characters
1. Early period (e): The Anuttarāśraya-sūtra < [Chapter 2 - The Buddha-Nature in the Tathāgatagarbha Literature]
Taisho: Chinese Buddhist Canon
The discourse on Previous Lives, Scroll 3 < [Part 159 - The discourse on Previous Lives and Contemplation of the Mind-Ground]
Part 145 - Discourse on the Nirvana of the Buddha’s Mother < [Agama Section (Volume 1-2)]
Sutta 6: The Dharma for Purifying All Defilements < [Part 125 - Ekottara-Agama (Numbered Discourses)]
Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies
From Tiantaishan to Hieizan: The View from the Keiran Shūyō Shū 渓嵐拾葉集 < [Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies 4.1 (2021)]
The Ritual of the Buddhoṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Maṇḍala < [Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies 1.2 (2018)]
Pojo Chinul 普照知訥 (1158–1210), the Fabao ji tanjing 法寶記壇經, and the Evolution... < [Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies 4.2 (2021)]
A Dictionary Of Chinese Buddhist Terms (by William Edward Soothill)
Buddhism on a Countercurrent: A Case Study of the Hamon < [Volume 16, Issue 6 (2025)]
What Was in the “Precious Casket Seal”? < [Volume 12, Issue 1 (2021)]
The Formation of the Bhikṣu Ordination in 19th Century Chosŏn Korea < [Volume 12, Issue 4 (2021)]