Buddha-nature

Buddha-nature is the innate capacity or potential of sentient beings to attain Buddhahood. Buddhist traditions differ over whether it is an inherent quality, an emptiness of intrinsic nature, or a teaching expressed provisionally.

Buddhahood: The awakened state of a buddha, marked by liberating wisdom and compassion. Buddha-nature names the potential whose fulfillment is Buddhahood.
Madhyamaka: A Mahāyāna philosophical tradition that analyzes phenomena as empty of inherent existence. Its emphasis on emptiness challenges readings of Buddha-nature as a substantial essence.
Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra: A Mahāyāna scripture that prominently teaches Buddha-nature and the permanence of the Buddha. Its influential account helped establish Buddha-nature as a universal teaching.
Shikantaza: A Soto Zen meditation practice of just sitting without pursuing a specific object or result. Its non-striving approach is often related to trusting innate capacity for awakening.
Ratnagotravibhāga commentary tradition: The body of Indian and Tibetan explanations of the Ratnagotravibhāga’s Buddha-nature teachings. Commentators disagree over whether its language describes an ultimate reality or a potential.
Tathāgatagarbha: A Mahāyāna teaching that all sentient beings possess a womb or seed of buddhahood. This scriptural concept is a central source for Buddha-nature teachings.
Yogācāra: A Mahāyāna philosophical tradition that analyzes consciousness and the processes shaping experience. Its accounts of consciousness offer a distinct framework for interpreting Buddha-nature.
Ratnagotravibhāga: An Indian treatise systematizing teachings on the tathāgata’s lineage and Buddha-nature. It organizes scriptural arguments into a framework for understanding Buddha-nature.
Kōan: A brief story, question, or exchange used in Zen training to provoke insight. Kōan practice can unsettle habitual views that obscure Buddha-nature.
Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra: A Mahāyāna scripture that presents tathāgatagarbha as a basis for discussing the dharmakāya. Its formulations sharpen the question of how Buddha-nature relates to ultimate reality.

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