化身

nirmāṇakāya, 應身, 應化身; 變化身 The third characteristic or power of the (sa) trikāya 三身, a Buddha's metamorphosic body, which has power to assume any shape to propagate the Truth. Some interpret the term as connoting pan-Buddha, that all nature in its infinite variety is the phenomenal 佛身 Buddha-body. A narrower interpretation is his appearance in human form expressed by 應身, while 化身 is used for his manifold other forms of appearances.