Buddha nature

Buddha nature — when the Buddha became enlightened he realized that all beings without exception have the same nature and potential for enlightenment, and this is known as buddha nature.

Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche says:

It is because this ground or sugatagarbha or potential is common to all beings that they are capable of attaining enlightenment. If they did not have such a ground then they could never become buddhas.

For example: a stone doesn’t have the ‘ground’ or potential to produce oil, and so no matter how much you might press it and grind it—even if you use modern tools and machinery—you will never extract any oil. A sesame seed, on the other hand, does have the potential to produce oil, and by pressing it in the right way, sesame oil can and will be produced. So it is because the potential exists as part of our basic nature that we can become buddhas.

Sogyal Rinpoche writes:

When we say Buddha, we naturally think of the Indian prince Gautama Siddhartha who reached enlightenment... Buddha, however, has a much deeper meaning. It means a person, any person, who has completely awakened from ignorance and opened to his or her vast potential of wisdom. A buddha is one who has brought a final end to suffering and frustration, and discovered a lasting and deathless happiness and peace.

But for many of us in this skeptical age, this state may seem like a fantasy or a dream, or an achievement far beyond our reach. It is important to remember always that Buddha was a human being, like you or me. He never claimed divinity, he merely knew he had the buddha nature, the seed of enlightenment, and that everyone else did too.

The buddha nature is simply the birthright of every sentient being, and I always say, “Our buddha nature is as good as any buddha’s buddha nature.” This is the good news that the Buddha brought us from his enlightenment in Bodhgaya, and which many people find so inspiring. His message—that enlightenment is within the reach of all—holds out tremendous hope. Through practice, we too can all become awakened. If this were not true, countless individuals down to the present day would not have become enlightened.

How Do We Know That We Have Buddha Nature?

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche answers:

When we talk of the Buddha’s qualities, we speak of khyen tse nü sum. Khyen is ‘to know’, or ‘knowing’; tsé is ‘loving’, ‘compassion’, or ‘love’; nü means ‘ability’, ‘capacity’, or ‘power’. [Sum is ‘three’]

Generally speaking, when we talk about Buddha’s qualities, or Buddha’s mind, two things are most important: wisdom and compassion. Somebody who has developed his or her wisdom and compassion to the utmost [is what we can call] a ‘buddha’. That’s how it is usually described in the easiest way. Buddha is somebody who has blossomed—that’s why the term ‘san-gyé’ is used—[with] wisdom and compassion. A buddha has to have these two.

So, to see if you have this buddha nature or not, you should see whether you have a little bit of these two or not. Something that can be like a seedling, a little bit of knowledge, a capacity to learn, or a capacity to understand, and the capacity to love. If you have that, then you have buddha nature.

That’s from the logical point of view.

Terms for Buddha Nature

The usual term for ‘buddha nature’ in the Mahayana teachings is tathagatagarbha, but in the Vajrayana the term is sugatagarbha.

• Essence of the Bliss Gone (Skt. sugatagarbha; Tib. deshek nyingpo; Wyl. bde gshegs snying po)
• Essence of the Thus Gone (Skt. tathāgatagarbha; Tib. deshek nyingpo; Wyl. de gshegs snying po or de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po)
• Class/Family/Lineage/Heritage/Gene/Potential (Skt. gotra; Tib. rik; Wyl. rigs)
• Element (Skt. dhātu; Tib. kham; Wyl. khams)

The Two Kinds of Potential (Skt. gotra)

In his Khenjuk, Mipham Rinpoche writes:

The 'naturally present potential' (Wyl. rang bzhin gnas rigs) is the essence of the tathagatas. In essence, it is naturally arising and uncompounded wisdom, the union of awareness and emptiness, the dharmadhatu which has always been inseparable from the kayas and wisdoms. It is naturally pure, the nature of things, just as it is, pervading all phenomena, beyond any transition or change, like space. Although it is within this context that the ordinary aggregates, elements and faculties of beings are born and die, this nature itself remains beyond birth and death. It is through the realization of this nature that the Three Jewels come into being. This immaculate 'element' (Wyl. khams) is present in all beings without exception as the very nature of their minds, just like the example of a treasure beneath the earth and so on. Nevertheless, for those in whom this nature remains veiled by the four stains, and who have not activated their potential, despite its presence, it does not function in an apparent way [rather like a candle kept inside a jar]. And although they are naturally pure, because they are obscured by temporary veils, this nature is beyond most people's imagination. If the veils that obscure the potential are reduced, it serves to inspire us with a longing to leave samsara behind and attain nirvana.

The four veils that obscure our potential are (1) an antipathy to the Mahayana teachings, (2) the view of self, (3) fear for the sufferings of samsara, and (4) a lack of concern for beings' welfare.

The causes for purifying these veils are: (1) an interest in the Mahayana teachings, (2) a high degree of wisdom, (3) meditative concentration (samadhi), and (4) love.

When we possess these four, through the force of awakening our potential, we come to possess the 'developing potential' (Wyl. rgyas 'gyur gyi rigs) through which we can properly cultivate the virtues of the Mahayana.

Treatises on Buddha Nature

• Maitreya, Uttaratantra Shastra
• Rangjung Dorje, Treatise on Buddha Nature (snying po bstan pa)

Teachings on Buddha Nature

Teachings given to the Rigpa sangha:

• Tsoknyi Rinpoche, The Buddha Nature and the Introduction of the Right View of Meditation: Rigpa centre L'Orangeraie, Paris, 29-30 May 1999

Further Reading

• S.K. Hookham, Buddha Within: Tathagatagarbha Doctrine According to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhaga , SUNY Press, 1992
• Douglas S. Duckworth, Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the Nyingma Tradition, State University of New York Press, 2008.
• Andy Karr, Contemplating Reality (Shambala Publications: 2007), pages 168-173.