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Buddha Nature Talks

In Buddhist philosophy and soteriology, Buddha-nature (Chinese: fóxìng 佛性, Japanese: busshō, Vietnamese: Phật tính, Sanskrit: buddhatā, buddha-svabhāva) is the innate potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all sentient beings already have a pure Buddha-essence within themselves. "Buddha-nature" is the common English translation for several related Mahāyāna Buddhist terms, most notably tathāgatagarbha and buddhadhātu, but also sugatagarbha, and buddhagarbha. Tathāgatagarbha can mean "the womb" or "embryo" (garbha) of the "thus-gone one" (tathāgata), and can also mean "containing a tathāgata". Buddhadhātu can mean "buddha-element", "buddha-realm", or "buddha-substrate".
Buddha-nature has a wide range of (sometimes conflicting) meanings in Indian Buddhism and later in East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist literature. Broadly speaking, it refers to the belief that the luminous mind, "the natural and true state of the mind", which is pure (visuddhi) mind undefiled by afflictions, is inherently present in every sentient being, and is eternal and unchanging. It will shine forth when it is cleansed of the defilements, that is, when the nature of mind is recognized for what it is.
The Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (2nd century CE), which was very influential in the Chinese reception of these teachings, linked the concept of tathāgatagārbha with the buddhadhātu. The term buddhadhātu originally referred to the relics of Gautama Buddha. In the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, it came to be used in place of the concept of tathāgatagārbha, reshaping the worship of physical relics of the historical Buddha into worship of the inner Buddha as a principle of salvation.
The primordial or undefiled mind, the tathāgatagārbha, is also often equated with the Buddhist philosophical concept of emptiness (śūnyatā, a Mādhyamaka concept); with the storehouse-consciousness (ālāyavijñāna, a Yogācāra concept); and with the interpenetration of all dharmas (in East Asian traditions like Huayan). The belief in Buddha-nature is central to East Asian Buddhism, which relies on key Buddha-nature sources like the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. In Tibetan Buddhism, the concept of Buddha-nature is equally important and often studied through the key Indian treatise on Buddha-nature, the Ratnagotravibhāga (3rd–5th century CE).
Title | Speaker | |
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2008.01.19-serial.00112B Buddha, Practice, Buddha Nature |
Jan 19 2008 |
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The Mind of the Great Sage of IndiaSatipattana Sutra, Theravada, Zazen, Big Mind, Four Noble Truths, Realization, Suzuki... |
Jul 10 2007 City Center |
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Sesshin as a Koan for the BodySerial: SF-00990 Sesshin Lecture: Easter/Buddha's Birthday; enlightenment experiences; dharmakaya; not doing anything; nirmanakaya; this is your life Sesshin, Enlightenment, San Quentin, Zazen, Buddha's Birthday, Birth-and-Death,... |
Apr 08 2007 Green Gulch Farm |
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Intelligence of the Natural WorldSerial: SF-00941 Sesshin Lecture: frog chorus; silence and activity; pain and fear of pain; Bodhidharma Bodhidharma, Sesshin, Prajna Paramita, Silence, Buddha Ancestors, Composure, Buddha... |
Apr 07 2007 Green Gulch Farm |
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Check The Messenger WithinSerial: SF-00994 Strategies, gaining ideas; "paying it forward"; close investigation of the self; Orpheus and Eurydice; Rilke; hidden anger - staying with the emotion Dongshan, Sesshin, Suzuki Roshi, Monkey Mind, Vow, Buddha Nature, Emotions, Manjushri... |
Apr 05 2007 Green Gulch Farm |
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The Secrets of the BodySerial: SF-00993 Sesshin Lecture: great effort, no result; ritual, bowing; Diamond Sutra; boundaries Right Effort, Suzuki Roshi, Buddha Nature, Bowing, Bodhisattva Way, Vow, Liberation,... |
Apr 04 2007 Green Gulch Farm |
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Sesshin PracticesSerial: SF-00992 Sesshin Lecture: ordinary mind is the Tao; practice of confession; guilt/shame; Self-Receiving and -Employing Samadhi Sesshin, Zhaozhou, Ordinary Mind, Suzuki Roshi, Right Effort, Posture, Buddha Nature... |
Apr 03 2007 Green Gulch Farm |
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Living in Accord with Birth and DeathSerial: SF-00991 Sesshin Lecture: confirming Buddha nature; sesshin: gathering of heart/mind; what's the business under the patchwork robe?; story of Patacara Sesshin, Buddha Nature, Patacara, Birth-and-Death, Practice Period, Lineage, Ceremony... |
Apr 02 2007 Green Gulch Farm |
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Right SpeechSerial: SF-00037 The eight-fold path and its relationship to the precepts. Ummon, Koan, Right Speech, Suzuki Roshi, Conversation, Heart Sutra, Zazen, Buddha... |
Sep 16 2006 |