nine similes [for the buddha body of form]. According to the Uttaratantra: "Like the buddha in an ugly lotus, like honey in bees, like kernels in husks, like gold in alluvium, treasure in the earth, the stages beginning with the sprout in a tiny seed alpha, a conqueror's body in sodden clothes, royalty in the womb of a vile, and a precious image in clods of earth."