With the evolution of Mahāyāna Buddhism, various theories about Śākyamuni Buddha’s body developed. When Śākyamuni passed away, a theory of two bodies emerged which saw the Dharma he preached as his essence. This was called the dharmakāya or Dharma-body and was distinguished from his rūpakāya or material body. After Mahāyāna Buddhism emerged, various buddhas became objects of worship, and the teaching of the three bodies appeared: (1) Dharma-body, which means the body of truth, referring to the eternal and unchanging Dharma, (2) transformation-body, nirmāṇakāya in Sanskrit, yìngshēn in Chinese, which appears in accordance with various sentient beings in order to save them, and (3) reward body, saṃbhogakāya in Sanskrit, bàoshēn in Chinese, which is endowed with perfect merit as recompense for engaging in virtuous practices that are the cause of becoming a buddha. Views of buddhas’ bodies developed even further and subsequently gave rise to many interpretations, such as the Yogācāra Consciousness-only school’s three bodies teaching: (1) Self-nature-body or svabhāvakāya in Sanskrit, (2) Enjoyment-body or saṃbhogakāya in Sanskrit and shòuyòng shen in Chinese, and (3) Transformation-body or nirmāṇakāya in Sanskrit and biànhuà shen in Chinese.