Sambhogakaya

One of my favorite translations of sambhogakaya is "reward-body". Regardless of how we view the actual functioning of the world (as based on karma, God's law, or physics and biology, etc.), I like the idea of a reward-body. This naturally leads to the question of what one is considered to be rewarded for.

I enjoy that, to earn a reward, you must do something, accomplish something, deserve something. What? At the level of subtlety involved in Purpose, the myth of the hero describes a life-journey involving struggle, climax, denouement. The hero is rewarded for success in some trial or set of trials by an end to the trial--which is comparatively very relieving, heavenly, maybe even addicting. Alternatively, the Greek or Shakespearean tragedy may offer an ending that is less than rewarding (punishing). Glory for success, but shame and punishment for failure. We get a mythic sort of narrative. At the level of Understanding, we can consider a context of multiple myths. One of the rewards or completions at this level is a sense of comprehension, of wholeness or systematization/contextualization. "I get it. I know what is happening here." Moving on to Appreciation, we don't limit ourselves to a sense of rational satisfaction in recognizing that mythic explanations can be limiting and partial. We mindfully re-invest the myths as deeply moving, culturally rich, personally meaningful, etc. From this viewpoint, while we may have moments of ignoring the contextualization (other, competing myths), it's not desirable any longer to maintain a true-believerism, a single exclusionary perspective and narrative. We may allow ourselves to be moved by the myths like being moved by a good movie without confusing the movie for reality; we move with the myths. If we get too much into disembodied mindfulness at this point, we are "rewarded" with feeling that we transcend rational understandings, explanations, and scientific doctrine. If we deal more in appreciation-with-mindfulness, we end up feeling more embodied-intelligent rather than less. We move beyond a rational belief in--or position that sets up--the mind-body dichotomy. (That position is more of a scientism than actual, experimental science that includes exploration and emergence.)

Basically, then, we are tried by and rewarded by doing things correctly or punished by and for doing things incorrectly. Beyond that, we are tried by and rewarded by trying to "get it", and we alternatively suffer from not getting it. Another step along and the trial/method/experience is one of either being present and paying attention or missing out on what's going on. With actions, concepts, and attention, we can "do" them well or poorly. The result of doing all of these fairly well is a feeling of inspiration that is somewhat different from relief, comprehension, and connected-present-appreciation. At that point, we can compare everything to inspiration or bliss. It's like asking a guiding question at each level.

1. Am I doing the right thing?
2. Is this reasonable or wise?
3. Am I present, aware?

By the time we are somewhat familiar with inspiration, we are asking, "Is this inspiring; am I centered in and acting from inspiration?" This involves comparing actions, concepts and systems of understanding, and the intention to be present against that balance-point of inspiration. The challenge is to invest each of these with inspiration. By God's Law, karma, or simply good functioning, we end up at this point where there is almost a demand to be inspired by being inspiring and a desire to be inspiring in order to be inspired. Feeling and accepting this challenge may be as important to psychological health as the need for acceptance and love.

As we mature, most of us don't realize that we're moving towards this gold standard. Many people sort of sense it, though, and a usually vague fear arises about not being able to measure up. What blows my mind is that this standard is already implicit, already felt to some extent, and so the fear of not being able to measure up actually comes from the desire to measure up. But if we endorse the fear more than the desire, we end up denying our best aspirations and denying the part in us that allows us to measure up, the part that does measure up.

So at this point, the reward is still earned by accepting the challenge. When we are aware that this is the gold standard we already carry within each of us that we already want to achieve, the standard by which we want to find ourselves and be found worthy, we at least have a fighting chance. When we work with this standard, we actually have the chance of being inspired by what we do and who we are every day. This is universal. It is subtler than belief systems, cultural expectations, and personal temperament. It is the standard you judge me by and the standard I judge you by whether we want to or not. When we deny that, we remove our chances of measuring up, or earning the reward. At this level, it is the same as at each other level in that the trial, the action, the believing, the intention, the method--the living itself--is the reward. Are you ready? Are you in? Yeah, you can't escape even if you tried. Sambhogakaya--no way out, the red pill.