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<div class="h1 large discover-page-bg text-center m-0" style="padding: 2em 0;">Discover</div>
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<div class="position-relative my-lg-5 font-italic">Begin Discovering Your Buddha-Nature</div>
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<div class="position-relative p-5 text-120">Discover how buddha-nature is articulated in various Buddhist traditions by exploring multimedia, articles, books, and translations of primary sources from leading Buddhist teachers and academics. This page brings together a collection of curated resources designed to make the concept of buddha-nature understandable and accessible to a general audience.</div>
<div class="position-relative p-5 text-120">Discover how buddha-nature is articulated in various Buddhist traditions by exploring multimedia, articles, books, and translations of primary sources from leading Buddhist teachers and academics. This page brings together a collection of curated resources designed to make the concept of buddha-nature understandable and accessible to a general audience.</div>


<div class="position-relative section-header pt-4 mb-4 pl-4 pb-2 border-bottom-rightfade">Buddha-Nature in Tibet
<div class="h2 position-relative pt-4 mb-4 pl-4 pb-2 border-bottom-rightfade">Buddha-Nature in Tibet


<div class="text-80 text-muted position-absolute" style="bottom: 7px; right: 10px;">[[Site Guide|Complete Site Guide]]</div>
<div class="text-60 text-muted position-absolute" style="bottom: 7px; right: 10px;">[[Site Guide|Complete Site Guide]]</div>


</div>
<div class="position-relative pl-4 section-header text-90">Multimedia</div>
<div class="row m-0 px-lg-5 pt-4">
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/Buddha_Nature:_What_is_it?_How_is_it_different_from_soul?_A_Teaching_from_Zasep_Tulku
|header=Buddha Nature: What Is It? How Is It Different from soul? A Teaching from Zasep Tulku
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/c/cd/Zasep_Tulku-Vimeo.jpg
|content="Everyone has Buddha Nature," explains H.E. Zasep Tulku Rinpoche in a "learning from the Teachers" video on the topic from BuddhaWeekly.
|watermark=Video
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/Discovering_Buddha_Nature:_Talk_by_Yongey_Mingyur_Rinpoche
|header=Discovering Buddha Nature: Talk by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/b/bc/YMR_LamaYadi_LamaTrinley_KhenpoKunga_0534_FLT-1.jpg
|content=Mingyur Rinpoche describes buddha-nature with the metaphor of a diamond covered in mud, explaining how the innate purity of awareness can be obscured, but never changed.
|watermark=Video
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/Dealing_with_Depression:_Interview_with_Jetsunma_Tenzin_Palmo_on_Study_Buddhism
|header=Dealing with Depression: Interview with Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo on Study Buddhism
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/8/82/Jetsunma_Tenzin_Palmo.jpg
|content=Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo discusses buddha-nature beautifully for a general audience.
|watermark=Video
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/What_Is_Buddha-Nature%3F_by_Wulstan_Fletcher
|header=What Is Buddha-Nature? by Wulstan Fletcher
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/d/d1/Fletcher%2C_Wulstan-2014new.jpg
|content=Wulstan Fletcher explains buddha-nature as the deepest aspect of oneself, a wellspring of goodness and wisdom that is always present.
|watermark=Video
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/On_How_Beginning_Students_Might_Engage_with_Buddha-Nature_Teachings_by_Ringu_Tulku
|header=On How Beginning Students Might Engage with Buddha-Nature Teachings by Ringu Tulku
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/c/cf/Ringu_Tulku-267x358.jpg
|content=Ringu Tulku talks about how beginning students might start to orient themselves toward buddha-nature teachings in practice. He explains that it is important to recognize that everybody has the seed of wisdom and compassion within them.
|watermark=Video
}}
  {{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/We_Are_Enlightened_by_Nature
|header=We Are Enlightened by Nature
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/d/d6/Dzigar_Kongtrul_Rinpoche_Mangala_Shri_Bhuti.jpg
|content=Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche provides encouragement that we are all enlightened by nature, and the path is a process of discovering that enlightened nature.
|watermark=Video
}}
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="vienna-gradient pt-5 pb-4">
 
<div class="h4 position-relative pl-4">Multimedia</div>
<div class="position-relative pl-4 section-header text-90">Articles</div>
<div class="row m-0 px-lg-5 pt-4">
<div class="row m-0 px-lg-5 py-4">
{{LocalTile
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/We_Are_Enlightened_by_Nature
|link=Articles/On_Buddhanature—and_What_It_Is_Not
|header=We Are Enlightened by Nature
|header=On Buddhanature—and What It Is Not, by Khandro Rinpoche
|image={{filepath:Dzigar_Kongtrul_Rinpoche_Mangala_Shri_Bhuti.jpg|500}}
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/c/ce/Khandro_Rinpoche_RigpaWiki.jpg
|content=Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche provides encouragement that we are all enlightened by nature, and the path is a process of discovering that enlightened nature.
|content="Buddhism must always be seen as a skillful means for realizing the most basic aspect of human life: one's inherent buddhanature."
|watermark=Video
|watermark=Article
}}
}}
{{LocalTile
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/Discovering_Buddha_Nature:_Talk_by_Yongey_Mingyur_Rinpoche
|link=Articles/Emptiness–Buddhanature
|header=Discovering Buddha Nature: Talk by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
|header=Emptiness–Buddhanature, by Traleg Kyabgon
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/b/bc/YMR_LamaYadi_LamaTrinley_KhenpoKunga_0534_FLT-1.jpg
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/c/c0/Traleg-Rinpoche_LionsRoar.jpg
|content=Mingyur Rinpoche describes buddha-nature with the metaphor of a diamond covered in mud, explaining how the innate purity of awareness can be obscured, but never changed.
|content="Our true nature is buddhanature and that buddhanature is the nature of all sentient beings."
|watermark=Video
|watermark=Article
}}
}}
{{LocalTile
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/Dealing_with_Depression:_Interview_with_Jetsunma_Tenzin_Palmo_on_Study_Buddhism
|link=Articles/Lasting_Happiness
|header=Dealing with Depression: Interview with Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo on Study Buddhism
|header=Lasting Happiness, by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/8/82/Jetsunma_Tenzin_Palmo.jpg
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/b/bc/YMR_LamaYadi_LamaTrinley_KhenpoKunga_0534_FLT-1.jpg
|content=Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo discusses buddha-nature beautifully for a general audience.
|content="... We don’t have to look outside the present moment to experience wisdom, compassion, and the boundless purity of our true nature."
|watermark=Video
|watermark=Article
}}
}}
{{LocalTile
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/What_Is_Buddha-Nature?_by_Wulstan_Fletcher
|link=Articles/This_Is_My_Mind,_Luminous_and_Empty
|header=What Is Buddha-Nature? by Wulstan Fletcher
|header=This Is My Mind, Luminous and Empty, by Tsoknyi Rinpoche
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/thumb/d/d1/Fletcher%2C_Wulstan-2014new.jpg/490px-Fletcher%2C_Wulstan-2014new.jpg
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/2/28/Tsoknyi_TsoknyiRinpocheWebsite.jpg
|content=Wulstan Fletcher explains buddha-nature as the deepest aspect of oneself, a wellspring of goodness and wisdom that is always present.
|content="That something, when I was old enough to fit words to it, is a kind of spark that lights the lives of all living beings.... In many Buddhist teachings, it’s known as buddhanature."
|watermark=Video
|watermark=Article
}}
}}
{{LocalTile
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/On_How_Beginning_Students_Might_Engage_with_Buddha-Nature_Teachings_by_Ringu_Tulku
|link=Articles/The_Example_of_the_Buddha
|header=On How Beginning Students Might Engage with Buddha-Nature Teachings by Ringu Tulku
|header=The Example of the Buddha: Relating the Life of the Buddha to Our Own, by Joseph Goldstein
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/c/cf/Ringu_Tulku-267x358.jpg
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/9/92/Goldstein_Joseph.jpg
|content=Ringu Tulku talks about how beginning students might start to orient themselves toward buddha-nature teachings in practice. He explains that it is important to recognize that everybody has the seed of wisdom and compassion within them.  
|content="Another level on which we can relate is to view the Buddha as a fundamental archetype of humanity; that is, as the full manifestation of buddha-nature, the mind that is free of defilement and distortion..."
|watermark=Video
|watermark=Article
}}
}}
{{LocalTile
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/Buddha_Nature:_What_is_it?_How_is_it_different_from_soul?_A_Teaching_from_Zasep_Tulku
|link=Articles/The_Sky_Dragon's_Profound_Roar
|header=Buddha Nature: What Is It? How Is It Different from soul? A Teaching from Zasep Tulku
|header=The Sky Dragon's Profound Roar, by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/c/cd/Zasep_Tulku-Vimeo.jpg
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/a/a8/Khen_Tsultrim.jpg
|content="Everyone has Buddha Nature," explains H.E. Zasep Tulku Rinpoche in a "learning from the Teachers" video on the topic from BuddhaWeekly.
|content="We practice the genuine dharma because it is a method for clearing away the temporary stains that obscure our vision of the true nature of mind."
|watermark=Video
|watermark=Article
}}
}}
{{LocalTile
</div>
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
 
|link=Media/Dzongsar_Jamyang_Khyentse_Rinpoche_Talks_about_Buddha-Nature
<div class="position-relative pl-4 section-header text-90">Books</div>
|header=Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche Talks about Buddha-Nature
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/5/57/Khyentse_Dzongsar_Wikipedia.jpg
<div class="d-flex justify-content-center flex-wrap py-4">
|content=Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche talks about buddha-nature and offers a brief guided meditation.
{{ExploreBook
|watermark=Video
|page=Books/The_Buddha_Nature:_Death_and_Eternal_Soul_in_Buddhism
}}
|image=File:The Buddha Nature- Death and Eternal Soul in Buddhism-front.jpg
{{LocalTile
|authorimage=People/Dalai_Lama,_14th
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|name=[[People/Dalai_Lama,_14th|14th Dalai Lama]] & [[People/Michel,_P.|Peter Michel]]
|link=Media/Matthieu_Ricard:_Is_Buddha-Nature_a_Seed_to_Be_Cultivated_or_Something_that_Must_Be_Revealed?
|title=The Buddha Nature
|header=Matthieu Ricard: Is Buddha-Nature a Seed to Be Cultivated or Something that Must Be Revealed?
|classes=px-4
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/c/cf/Ricard%2C_M..jpg
}}
|content=In an excerpt from "Conversations on Buddha-Nature" with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho, Matthieu Ricard answers this common question.
{{ExploreBook
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|page=Books/Buddha_Nature_(Geshe_Sonam_Rinchen)
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|image=File:Buddha Nature (Geshe Sonam Rinchen)-front.jpg
{{LocalTile
|authorimage=People/Rinchen,_Sonam
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|name=[[People/Rinchen,_Sonam.|Geshe Sonam Rinchen]]
|link=Media/Karmapa_on_The_Nature_of_All_Beings
|title=Buddha Nature
|header=The 17th Karmapa on the Nature of All Beings
|classes=px-4
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/4/4c/Ogyen_Trinley_Dorje_Portrait-WikiCommons.jpg
}}
|content=H.H. the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, comments on a quote of the 3rd Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje: "The nature of all beings is always Buddha" (འགྲོ་བའི་རང་བཞིན་རྟག་ཏུ་སངས་རྒྱས་).
{{ExploreBook
|watermark=Video
|page=Books/Carefree_Dignity
}}
|image=File:Carefree Dignity-front.jpg
{{LocalTile
|authorimage=People/Tsoknyi_Rinpoche
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|name=[[People/Tsoknyi_Rinpoche|Tsoknyi Rinpoche]]
|link=Media/The_Fourteenth_Dalai_Lama_on_Buddha-Nature
|title=Carefree Dignity
|header=The Fourteenth Dalai Lama on Buddha-Nature
|classes=px-4
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/6/6f/Dalai-lama-crop.jpg
}}
|content=The Dalai Lama delivers an address entitled "Buddha-Nature" to members of the Theosophical Society in America on July 21st, 1981. His comments on buddha-nature come after a series of preliminary remarks, at 14 min, 23 secs.
{{ExploreBook
|watermark=Video
|page=Books/Saṃsāra,_Nirvāṇa,_and_Buddha_Nature
}}  
|image=File:Samsāra, Nirvāna, and Buddha Nature-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/Dalai_Lama,_14th
|name=[[People/Dalai_Lama,_14th|14th Dalai Lama]] & [[People/Chodron,_T.|Thubten Chodron]]
|title=Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature
|classes=px-4
}}
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/The_Buddha_Within_(Hookham)
|image=File:Hookham The Buddha Within-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/Hookham,_S.
|name=[[People/Hookham,_S.|Shenpen Hookham]]
|title=The Buddha Within
|classes=px-4
}}
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/Fundamental_Potential_for_Enlightenment_in_Tibetan_Buddhism
|image=File:The Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/Loden,_Thubten
|name=[[People/Loden,_Thubten|Thubten Loden]]
|title=The Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment
|classes=px-4
}}
</div>
</div>
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<div class="position-relative bg-sky-clouds">
<div class="h4 position-relative pl-4 text-90">Articles</div>
 
<div class="position-relative section-header pt-4 mb-4 pl-4 pb-2 border-bottom-rightfade">Buddha-Nature in East Asia</div>
<div class="row m-0 px-lg-5 py-4">
{{LocalTile
<div class="position-relative pl-4 section-header text-90">Multimedia</div>
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
 
|link=Articles/On_Buddhanature—and_What_It_Is_Not
<div class="row m-0 px-lg-5 py-4">
|header=On Buddhanature—and What It Is Not, by Khandro Rinpoche
{{LocalTile
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/thumb/c/ce/Khandro_Rinpoche_RigpaWiki.jpg/433px-Khandro_Rinpoche_RigpaWiki.jpg
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|content="Buddhism must always be seen as a skillful means for realizing the most basic aspect of human life: one's inherent buddhanature."
|link=Media/Buddha-Nature_—_Episode_22_of_True_Words:_A_Shingon_Buddhist_Podcast
|watermark=Article
|header=Buddha-Nature by Rev. George Kosho Finch
}}
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/8/84/Finch_Rev._George_Kosho_patheos.jpg
{{LocalTile
|content=This week's topic is Buddha Nature, in Sanskrit: ''tathāgatagarbha'' (如来藏). All sentient beings are considered to be in possession of the Buddha Nature, the potential to attain enlightenment.
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|watermark=Audio
|link=Articles/Emptiness–Buddhanature
}}
|header=Emptiness–Buddhanature, by Traleg Kyabgon
{{LocalTile
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/c/c0/Traleg-Rinpoche_LionsRoar.jpg
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|content="Our true nature is buddhanature and that buddhanature is the nature of all sentient beings."
|link=Media/It_Is_Your_Buddha_Nature_That_Sees,_Hears_and_Speaks!―Dharma_Talk_by_Daehaeng_Kun_Sunim
|watermark=Article
|header=It Is Your Buddha-Nature That Sees, Hears, and Speaks!
}}
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/3/37/Daehaeng_Wikipedia.jpg
{{LocalTile
|content=Daehaeng Kun Sunim, a Seon (Zen) master and Buddhist nun from Korea, responds to questions about the concept of Juingong (the underlying mind) from an audience member.
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|watermark=Video
|link=Articles/Lasting_Happiness
}}
|header=Lasting Happiness, by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
{{LocalTile
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/b/bc/YMR_LamaYadi_LamaTrinley_KhenpoKunga_0534_FLT-1.jpg
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|content="... We don’t have to look outside the present moment to experience wisdom, compassion, and the boundless purity of our true nature."
|link=Media/Trusting_in_Our_Own_Buddha_Nature
|watermark=Article
|header=Trusting in Our Own Buddha-Nature
}}
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/6/68/Sattizahn_Ed_SFZC.jpg
{{LocalTile
|content=Rinso Ed Sattizahn gives a dharma talk at San Francisco Zen Center's City Center on the topic of buddha-nature. He touches on selections from Dōgen's ''Genjōkōan'' to illustrate this Buddhist teaching
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|watermark=Audio
|link=Articles/This_Is_My_Mind,_Luminous_and_Empty
}}
|header=This Is My Mind, Luminous and Empty, by Tsoknyi Rinpoche
{{LocalTile
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/2/28/Tsoknyi_TsoknyiRinpocheWebsite.jpg
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|content="That something, when I was old enough to fit words to it, is a kind of spark that lights the lives of all living beings.... In many Buddhist teachings, it’s known as buddhanature."
|link=Media/One's_True_Mind_and_Inherent_Nature_by_Sheng_Yen
|watermark=Article
|header=One's True Mind and Inherent Nature by Sheng Yen
}}
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/c/c9/ShengYen_Tricycle.jpeg
{{LocalTile
|content=Our true mind is the pure mind of wisdom free of defilements. Our inherent nature refers to the nature of our being something common, which is also called the Buddha-nature.
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|watermark=Video
|link=Articles/Spotless_from_the_Start
}}
|header=Spotless from the Start
{{LocalTile
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/5/57/Khyentse_Dzongsar_Wikipedia.jpg
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|content="In order to overcome the five main obstacles facing a bodhisattva," says Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, "we must realize that all beings are primordially pure."
|link=Articles/Kokyo_Henkel_on_Buddha-Nature
|watermark=Article
|header=The Cloudless Sky of Buddha-Nature
}}
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/5/56/Henkel_Kokyo_personal_website.jpg
{{LocalTile
|content=Rev. Kokyo Henkel teaches on "The Cloudless Sky of Buddha Nature" at the San Francisco Zen Center on September 6, 2011.
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|watermark=Audio
|link=Articles/The_Sky_Dragon's_Profound_Roar
}}
|header=The Sky Dragon's Profound Roar, by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso
</div>
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/a/a8/Khen_Tsultrim.jpg
</div>
|content="We practice the genuine dharma because it is a method for clearing away the temporary stains that obscure our vision of the true nature of mind."
<div class="vienna-gradient pt-5 pb-4">
|watermark=Article
 
}}
<div class="position-relative pl-4 section-header text-90">Articles</div>
 
<div class="row m-0 px-lg-5 py-4">
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/Mind_Is_Buddha
|header=Mind Is Buddha
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/9/99/Arnold_Geoffrey_Shugen_Wikipedia.jpg
|content=Geoffery Shugen Arnold, Sensei, on Case 30 of the Gateless Gate, “Mazu’s ‘Mind is buddha.'”
|watermark=Article
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/Everything_Is_Buddhanature
|header=Everything Is Buddhanature
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/3/35/Blacker_Melissa_Personal_Website.jpg
|content=Original sin vs. original goodness: Mahayana Buddhism offers a more hopeful view of human nature.
|watermark=Article  
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/Trust_Practice,_Practice_Trust
|header=Trust Practice, Practice Trust
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/6/64/Chayat_Sherry_zen_studies_society.jpg
|content=When we truly give ourselves over to practice, explains Roko Sherry Chayat, we let go of our dependence on outcomes and begin to trust just being what we are, buddhanature, revealed right here, right now, in this very body and place.
|watermark=Article
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/Impermanence_is_Buddha_Nature
|header=Impermanence Is Buddha Nature
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/8/88/Fischer_norman.jpg
|content=Change isn’t just a fact of life we have to accept and work with, says Norman Fischer. Practitioners have always understood impermanence as the cornerstone of Buddhist teachings and practice.
|watermark=Article
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/On_the_Awakening_of_Faith_in_the_Mahāyāna
|header=On the ''Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna''
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/5/50/Alexander_Gardner.jpg
|content=An introduction to the Awakening of Faith, an immensely important treatise popular in all traditions of Buddhism in East Asia.
|watermark=Article
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/The_Path_of_Gratitude
|header=The Path of Gratitude
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/f/fb/Jeff_wilson_dailybuddhism.jpg
|content=In Shin Buddhism, we don’t practice to achieve anything—not enlightenment, good karma, a favorable rebirth, or material rewards. We practice simply to give thanks for what we have received.
|watermark=Article
}}
</div>
 
<div class="position-relative pl-4 section-header text-90">Books</div>
 
<div class="d-flex justify-content-center flex-wrap py-4">
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/No_River_to_Cross
|image=File:No River to Cross-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/Daehaeng
|name=[[People/Daehaeng|Daehaeng]]
|title=No River to Cross
|classes=px-4
}}
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/Zen_Mind,_Beginner's_Mind
|authorimage=People/Suzuki,_S.
|name=[[People/Suzuki,_S.|Suzuki]]
|title=Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
|classes=px-4
}}
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/Buddha_Nature_(Sallie_King)
|authorimage=People/King,_S.
|name=[[People/King,_S.|King]]
|title=Buddha Nature
|classes=px-4
}}
</div>
</div>
</div>


{{FeaturedItem
<div class="position-relative pl-4 section-header text-90">Books</div>
|page=Primary_Sources
|description=<div class="section-header mt-2 mb-4 pl-4 border-bottom-rightfade">Study the Sources</div>
<div class="pr-lg-5 pl-4">The seeds of buddha-nature teachings are sprinkled throughout the sutras and tantras of the Buddhist canon. A core group of scripture that initially taught buddha-nature known as the tathāgatagarbha sūtras date between the second and fourth centuries. These include the ''Tathāgatagarbhasūtra'', the ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'', the ''Śrīmālādevīsūtra'' and several others. The famous ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra'' was also important for buddha-nature theory. In Tibetan Buddhism the late-Indian treatise ''Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra'', or ''Gyü Lama'' as it is known in the Tibetan, serves as a major source for buddha-nature. In East Asia the ''Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna'' (大乗起信論) and the ''Vajrasamādhisūtra'' were the most influential treatises in spreading buddha-nature theory. And in Japan, the Zen master Dōgen (1200–1253), whose instructional lectures were collected in his ''Shōbōgenzo'', also wrote extensively on the topic of buddha-nature. All of these important buddha-nature texts have been translated into English by leading scholars and translators. Below is a selection of these works:</div>
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/thumb/c/c7/Maitreya_statue.jpg/431px-Maitreya_statue.jpg
|textclasses=maitreya-gradient pt-2 pb-3
|imageposition=right
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}}
<div class="section-header mt-5 mb-4 pl-4 pb-2 border-bottom-rightfade">Buddha-Nature in Translation</div>
 
<div class="d-flex justify-content-center flex-wrap py-4">
<div class="d-flex justify-content-center flex-wrap py-4">
{{ExploreBook
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/A_Buddha_Within:_The_Tathāgatagarbhasūtra
|page=Books/Our_Human_Potential
|authorimage=People/Zimmermann, M.
|image=File:Our Human Potential-front.jpeg
|name=[[People/Zimmermann, M.|Zimmermann]]
|authorimage=People/Dalai_Lama,_14th
|title=A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra
|name=[[People/Dalai_Lama,_14th|14th Dalai Lama]] & [[People/Hopkins,_J.|Jeffrey Hopkins]]
|title=Our Human Potential
|classes=px-4
|classes=px-4
}}  
}}
{{ExploreBook
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/The_Nirvana_Sutra_Volume_I
|page=Books/Buddha_Nature_(Geshe_Sonam_Rinchen)
|authorimage=People/Blum,_M.
|image=File:Buddha Nature (Geshe Sonam Rinchen)-front.jpg
|name=[[People/Blum,_M.|Blum]]
|authorimage=People/Rinchen,_Sonam
|title=The Nirvana Sutra, Vol. 1
|name=[[People/Rinchen,_Sonam.|Geshe Sonam Rinchen]]
|title=Buddha Nature
|classes=px-4
|classes=px-4
}}
}}
{{ExploreBook
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/The_Lion's_Roar_of_Queen_Śrīmālā
|page=Books/Carefree_Dignity
|authorimage=People/Wayman,_A.
|image=File:Carefree Dignity-front.jpg
|name=[[People/Wayman,_A.|Alex Wayman]] & [[People/Wayman,_H.|Hideko Wayman]]
|authorimage=People/Tsoknyi_Rinpoche
|title=The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā
|name=[[People/Tsoknyi_Rinpoche|Tsoknyi Rinpoche]]
|title=Carefree Dignity
|classes=px-4
|classes=px-4
}}
}}
{{ExploreBook
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/The_Lankavatara_Sutra:_A_Zen_Text
|page=Books/Saṃsāra,_Nirvāṇa,_and_Buddha_Nature
|image=File:Lankavatara Sutra Translation Commentary-front.jpg
|image=File:Samsāra, Nirvāna, and Buddha Nature-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/Red_Pine
|authorimage=People/Dalai_Lama,_14th
|name=[[People/Red_Pine|Red Pine]]
|name=[[People/Dalai_Lama,_14th|14th Dalai Lama]] & [[People/Chodron,_T.|Thubten Chodron]]
|title=The Lankavatara Sutra: A Zen Text
|title=Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature
|classes=px-4
}}
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/Progressive_Stages_of_Meditation_on_Emptiness_(2016)
|image=File:Progressive_Stages_of_Meditation_on_Emptiness_(2016)-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/Gyamtso,_Khenpo_Tsultrim
|name=[[People/Gyamtso,_Khenpo_Tsultrim|Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso]]
|title=Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness
|classes=px-4
|classes=px-4
}}
}}
{{ExploreBook
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/Buddha_Nature:_The_Mahayana_Uttaratantra_Shastra
|page=Books/Fundamental_Potential_for_Enlightenment_in_Tibetan_Buddhism
|image=File:Buddha Nature The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra-front.jpg
|image=File:The Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/Fuchs,_R.
|authorimage=People/Loden,_Thubten
|name=[[People/Fuchs,_R.|Fuchs]]
|name=[[People/Loden,_Thubten|Thubten Loden]]
|title=Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra
|title=The Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment
|classes=px-4
|classes=px-4
}}
}}
</div>
</div>
<div class="position-relative bg-sky-clouds">
<div class="position-relative section-header pt-4 mb-4 pl-4 pb-2 border-bottom-rightfade">Buddha-Nature in East Asia</div>
<div class="position-relative pl-4 section-header text-90">Multimedia</div>
<div class="row m-0 px-lg-5 py-4">
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/Buddha-Nature_—_Episode_22_of_True_Words:_A_Shingon_Buddhist_Podcast
|header=Buddha-Nature by Rev. George Kosho Finch
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/8/84/Finch_Rev._George_Kosho_patheos.jpg
|content=This week's topic is Buddha Nature, in Sanskrit: ''tathāgatagarbha'' (如来藏). All sentient beings are considered to be in possession of the Buddha Nature, the potential to attain enlightenment.
|watermark=Audio
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/It_Is_Your_Buddha_Nature_That_Sees,_Hears_and_Speaks!―Dharma_Talk_by_Daehaeng_Kun_Sunim
|header=It Is Your Buddha-Nature That Sees, Hears, and Speaks!
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/3/37/Daehaeng_Wikipedia.jpg
|content=Daehaeng Kun Sunim, a Seon (Zen) master and Buddhist nun from Korea, responds to questions about the concept of ''Juingong'' (the underlying mind) from an audience member.
|watermark=Video
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
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|header=Trusting in Our Own Buddha-Nature
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|content=Rinso Ed Sattizahn gives a dharma talk at San Francisco Zen Center's City Center on the topic of buddha-nature. He touches on selections from Dōgen's ''Genjōkōan'' to illustrate this Buddhist teaching.
|watermark=Audio
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Media/One's_True_Mind_and_Inherent_Nature_by_Sheng_Yen
|header=One's True Mind and Inherent Nature by Sheng Yen
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/c/c9/ShengYen_Tricycle.jpeg
|content=Our true mind is the pure mind of wisdom free of defilements. Our inherent nature refers to the nature of our being something common, which is also called the buddha-nature.
|watermark=Video
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/Kokyo_Henkel_on_Buddha-Nature
|header=The Cloudless Sky of Buddha-Nature
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/5/56/Henkel_Kokyo_personal_website.jpg
|content=Rev. Kokyo Henkel teaches on "The Cloudless Sky of Buddha Nature" at the San Francisco Zen Center on September 6, 2011.
|watermark=Audio
}}
</div>
</div>
<div class="vienna-gradient pt-5 pb-4">
<div class="position-relative pl-4 section-header text-90">Articles</div>
<div class="row m-0 px-lg-5 py-4">
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/Mind_Is_Buddha
|header=Mind Is Buddha
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/9/99/Arnold_Geoffrey_Shugen_Wikipedia.jpg
|content=Geoffery Shugen Arnold, Sensei, on Case 30 of the Gateless Gate, “Mazu’s ‘Mind is buddha.'”
|watermark=Article
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/Everything_Is_Buddhanature
|header=Everything Is Buddhanature
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/3/35/Blacker_Melissa_Personal_Website.jpg
|content=Original sin vs. original goodness: Mahayana Buddhism offers a more hopeful view of human nature.
|watermark=Article
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/Trust_Practice,_Practice_Trust
|header=Trust Practice, Practice Trust
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/6/64/Chayat_Sherry_zen_studies_society.jpg
|content=When we truly give ourselves over to practice, explains Roko Sherry Chayat, we let go of our dependence on outcomes and begin to trust just being what we are, buddhanature, revealed right here, right now, in this very body and place.
|watermark=Article
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/Impermanence_is_Buddha_Nature
|header=Impermanence Is Buddha Nature
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/8/88/Fischer_norman.jpg
|content=Change isn’t just a fact of life we have to accept and work with, says Norman Fischer. Practitioners have always understood impermanence as the cornerstone of Buddhist teachings and practice.
|watermark=Article
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/On_the_Awakening_of_Faith_in_the_Mahāyāna
|header=On the ''Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna''
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/5/50/Alexander_Gardner.jpg
|content=An introduction to the ''Awakening of Faith'', an immensely important treatise popular in all traditions of Buddhism in East Asia.
|watermark=Article
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes=col-sm-6 col-lg-6
|link=Articles/The_Path_of_Gratitude
|header=The Path of Gratitude
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/f/fb/Jeff_wilson_dailybuddhism.jpg
|content=In Shin Buddhism, we don’t practice to achieve anything—not enlightenment, good karma, a favorable rebirth, or material rewards. We practice simply to give thanks for what we have received.
|watermark=Article
}}
</div>
<div class="position-relative pl-4 section-header text-90">Books</div>
<div class="d-flex justify-content-center flex-wrap py-4">
{{ExploreBook
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/Treatise_on_Awakening_Mahāyāna_Faith
|page=Books/No_River_to_Cross
|authorimage=People/Lusthaus, D.
|image=File:No River to Cross-front.jpg
|name=[[People/Jorgensen, J.|Jorgensen]] & [[People/Lusthaus, D.|Lusthaus]], et al.
|authorimage=People/Daehaeng
|title=Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith
|name=[[People/Daehaeng|Daehaeng]]
|title=No River to Cross
|classes=px-4
|classes=px-4
}}
}}
{{ExploreBook
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/The_Formation_of_Ch'an_Ideology_in_China_and_Korea
|page=Books/Zen_Mind,_Beginner's_Mind
|image=File:The Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/Suzuki,_S.
|authorimage=People/Buswell,_R.
|name=[[People/Suzuki,_S.|Suzuki]]
|name=[[People/Buswell,_R.|Robert Buswell]]
|title=Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
|title=The Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea
|classes=px-4
|classes=px-4
}}
}}
{{ExploreBook
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/The_Heart_of_Dōgen's_Shōbōgenzō
|page=Books/Buddha_Nature_(Sallie_King)
|image=File:The Heart of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/King,_S.
|authorimage=People/Waddell,_N.
|name=[[People/King,_S.|King]]
|name=[[People/Waddell,_N.|Waddell]] & [[People/Abe, M.|Abe]]
|title=Buddha Nature
|title=The Heart of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō
|classes=px-4
|classes=px-4
}}
}}
</div>
</div>
</div>


<div class="section-header mt-4 mb-4 pl-4 pb-2 border-bottom-rightfade">More from the Experts</div>
{{FeaturedItem
|page=Primary_Sources
|description=<div class="section-header mt-2 mb-4 pl-4 border-bottom-rightfade">Study the Sources</div>
<div class="pr-lg-5 pl-4">The seeds of buddha-nature teachings are sprinkled throughout the sutras and tantras of the Buddhist canon. A core group of scripture that initially taught buddha-nature known as the tathāgatagarbha sūtras date between the second and fourth centuries. These include the ''Tathāgatagarbhasūtra'', the ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'', the ''Śrīmālādevīsūtra'' and several others. The famous ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra'' was also important for buddha-nature theory. In Tibetan Buddhism the late-Indian treatise ''Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra'', or ''Gyü Lama'' as it is known in the Tibetan, serves as a major source for buddha-nature. In East Asia the ''Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna'' (大乗起信論) and the ''Vajrasamādhisūtra'' were the most influential treatises in spreading buddha-nature theory. And in Japan, the Zen master Dōgen (1200–1253), whose instructional lectures were collected in his ''Shōbōgenzo'', also wrote extensively on the topic of buddha-nature. All of these important buddha-nature texts have been translated into English by leading scholars and translators. Below is a selection of these works:</div>
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/thumb/c/c7/Maitreya_statue.jpg/431px-Maitreya_statue.jpg
|textclasses=maitreya-gradient pt-2 pb-3
|imageposition=right
|imageclasses=flip-h
|additionalcontent=<div class="border-top-redfade py-3 d-flex justify-content-center flex-wrap"></div>
}}
<div class="section-header mt-5 mb-4 pl-4 pb-2 border-bottom-rightfade">Buddha-Nature in Translation</div>


<div class="row m-0 alex-gradient">
<div class="d-flex justify-content-center flex-wrap py-4">
<div class="col-lg-9 p-0">
{{ExploreBook
{{FeaturedItem
|page=Books/A_Buddha_Within:_The_Tathāgatagarbhasūtra
|page=People/Gardner,_A.
|authorimage=People/Zimmermann, M.
|title=First Writer-In-Digital-Residence: Alex Gardner
|name=[[People/Zimmermann, M.|Zimmermann]]
|description=Alex Gardner served as the writer-in-residence for Tsadra Foundation's Buddha-Nature Project from 2017-2019. Read his introductory articles on the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' and the history of buddha-nature theory.
|title=A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/5/50/Alexander_Gardner.jpg
|classes=px-4
|textclasses= pt-3 pb-2
}}  
}}
{{ExploreBook
</div>
|page=Books/The_Nirvana_Sutra_Volume_I
<div class="col-lg-3 p-3">
|authorimage=People/Blum,_M.
<div class="sub-section-header mt-4 mt-lg-2 mb-2 text-center"></div>
|name=[[People/Blum,_M.|Blum]]
<div class="d-flex justify-content-around flex-wrap">
|title=The Nirvana Sutra, Vol. 1
{{RelatedButton
|classes=px-4
|link=/index.php/Articles/On_the_Ratnagotravibhāga
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|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/5/50/Alexander_Gardner.jpg
{{ExploreBook
|text=On the Ratnagotravibhāga
|page=Books/The_Lion's_Roar_of_Queen_Śrīmālā
|label-right=Article
|authorimage=People/Wayman,_A.
|target=_blank
|name=[[People/Wayman,_A.|Alex Wayman]] & [[People/Wayman,_H.|Hideko Wayman]]
|wrapperclasses=my-2 depth-0
|title=The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā
|textclasses=text-90
|classes=px-4
}}
}}
{{RelatedButton
{{ExploreBook
|link=/index.php/Articles/A_History_of_Buddha-Nature_Theory:_The_Literature_and_Traditions
|page=Books/The_Lankavatara_Sutra:_A_Zen_Text
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/5/50/Alexander_Gardner.jpg
|image=File:Lankavatara Sutra Translation Commentary-front.jpg
|text=A History of Buddha-Nature Theory: The Literature and Traditions
|authorimage=People/Red_Pine
|label-right=Article
|name=[[People/Red_Pine|Red Pine]]
|target=_blank
|title=The Lankavatara Sutra: A Zen Text
|wrapperclasses=my-2 depth-0
|classes=px-4
}}
}}
</div>
{{ExploreBook
</div>
|page=Books/Buddha_Nature:_The_Mahayana_Uttaratantra_Shastra
</div>
|image=File:Buddha Nature The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/Fuchs,_R.
|name=[[People/Fuchs,_R.|Fuchs]]
|title=Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra
|classes=px-4
}}
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/Treatise_on_Awakening_Mahāyāna_Faith
|authorimage=People/Lusthaus, D.
|name=[[People/Jorgensen, J.|Jorgensen]] & [[People/Lusthaus, D.|Lusthaus]]
|title=Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith
|classes=px-4
}}
{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/The_Formation_of_Ch'an_Ideology_in_China_and_Korea
|image=File:The Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/Buswell,_R.
|name=[[People/Buswell,_R.|Buswell]]
|title=The Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea (The ''Vajrasamādhi Sūtra'')
|classes=px-4
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{{ExploreBook
|page=Books/The_Heart_of_Dōgen's_Shōbōgenzō
|image=File:The Heart of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō-front.jpg
|authorimage=People/Waddell,_N.
|name=[[People/Waddell,_N.|Waddell]] & [[People/Abe, M.|Abe]]
|title=The Heart of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō
|classes=px-4
}}
</div>


<div class="position-relative bg-sky-clouds">
<div class="section-header mt-4 mb-4 pl-4 pb-2 border-bottom-rightfade">More Scholarship on Buddha-Nature</div>


<div class="position-absolute h-100 w-100 opac-50 bg-light"></div>
{{FeaturedItem
|page=Articles/Karl_Brunnhölzl_Interview_on_Buddha-Nature
|title=Karl Brunnhölzl's Buddha-Nature Interview
|description=In an interview with the Tsadra Foundation, Karl Brunnhölzl discusses why one might study buddha-nature, the purpose of the buddha-nature teachings, and the concept of the innate luminosity of mind.
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images/e/e1/Brunnholzl_Karl_Mitra-Karl.jpg
|textclasses=karl-gradient pl-1 pt-2 pb-3
|additionalcontent=<div class="py-3 mb-3 d-flex justify-content-center flex-wrap row">
{{CustomSmallSessionTile
|classes=col-md-4 text-70
|title=Why Study Buddha-Nature?
|bottomLeftLabel=Interview Clip
|minutes=2:07
|link=Media/Why_Study_Buddha-Nature?_by_Karl_Brunnhölzl
}}
{{CustomSmallSessionTile
|classes=col-md-4 text-70
|title=The Purpose of Buddha-Nature Teachings
|bottomLeftLabel=Interview Clip
|minutes=3:38
|link=Media/What_Is_the_Purpose_of_Buddha-Nature_Teachings?_by_Karl_Brunnhölzl
}}
{{CustomSmallSessionTile
|classes=col-md-4 text-70
|title=What Is Luminosity?
|bottomLeftLabel=Interview Clip
|minutes=4:21
|link=Media/What_Is_Luminosity?_by_Karl_Brunnhölzl
}}
</div>


<div class="position-relative section-header pt-5 mb-4 pl-4 pb-2 border-bottom-rightfade">Discover More Resources</div>
<div class="sub-section-header mt-4 mt-lg-2 mb-2">[[Karl Brunnhölzl]]'s Seminal Work on Buddha-Nature</div>


<div class="row m-0 px-lg-5 pt-0 pb-5">
<div class="row d-flex justify-content-center">
{{LocalTile
{{PageTileQuery
|classes= mw-customtoggle-literaturetile col-sm-6 col-lg-4 offset-lg-2
|query=[[Books/When_the_Clouds_Part]]
|header=The Literature
|classes=mt-2 mb-4 col-lg-6
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/d/d0/Sutra.jpg
}}
|content=Texts and multilingual resources.
|left-bottom-label=expand
|extracontent=
<div class="row mw-collapsible mw-collapsed pb-4" id="mw-customcollapsible-literaturetile">
{{MiniTileCustom
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/thumb/7/7f/Articles.jpeg/320px-Articles.jpeg
|link=Secondary_Sources
|text=The Bibliography
}}
{{MiniTileCustom
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/4/48/Buddha.jpg
|link=Primary_Sources
|text=The Source Texts
}}
{{MiniTileCustom
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/thumb/3/3a/Screen_Shot_2018-06-20_at_3.54.38_PM.png/498px-Screen_Shot_2018-06-20_at_3.54.38_PM.png
|link=Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga_Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
|text=The Ratnagotravibhāga
}}
{{MiniTileCustom
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/d/d8/Sutra_alt.jpeg
|link=Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga_Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra/Root_Verses
|text=The Multilingual Root Verses
}}
</div>
}}
{{LocalTile
|classes= mw-customtoggle-librarytile col-sm-6 col-lg-4
|header=The Library
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/thumb/7/79/Library-unsplash.jpg/320px-Library-unsplash.jpg
|content=A curated space for publications on buddha-nature.
|left-bottom-label=expand
|extracontent=
<div class="row mw-collapsible mw-collapsed pb-4" id="mw-customcollapsible-librarytile">
{{MiniTileCustom
|link=Library
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/thumb/7/79/Library-unsplash.jpg/320px-Library-unsplash.jpg
|text=The Complete Library
}}
{{MiniTileCustom
|link=Library/Books
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/thumb/d/db/Books.jpg/320px-Books.jpg
|text=Books
|wrapperclasses=col-6 pr-1
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{{MiniTileCustom
|link=Library/Dissertations
|image=https://commons.tsadra.org/images-commons/thumb/1/16/Dissertations.jpeg/320px-Dissertations.jpeg
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|wrapperclasses=col-6 pl-1
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{{MiniTileCustom
|link=Library/Articles
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Latest revision as of 11:30, 28 August 2024


Begin Discovering Your Buddha-Nature

Discover how buddha-nature is articulated in various Buddhist traditions by exploring multimedia, articles, books, and translations of primary sources from leading Buddhist teachers and academics. This page brings together a collection of curated resources designed to make the concept of buddha-nature understandable and accessible to a general audience.
Buddha-Nature in Tibet
Complete Site Guide
Multimedia
Video
We Are Enlightened by Nature
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche provides encouragement that we are all enlightened by nature, and the path is a process of discovering that enlightened nature.
Video
Discovering Buddha Nature: Talk by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur Rinpoche describes buddha-nature with the metaphor of a diamond covered in mud, explaining how the innate purity of awareness can be obscured, but never changed.
Video
Dealing with Depression: Interview with Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo on Study Buddhism
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo discusses buddha-nature beautifully for a general audience.
Video
What Is Buddha-Nature? by Wulstan Fletcher
Wulstan Fletcher explains buddha-nature as the deepest aspect of oneself, a wellspring of goodness and wisdom that is always present.
Video
On How Beginning Students Might Engage with Buddha-Nature Teachings by Ringu Tulku
Ringu Tulku talks about how beginning students might start to orient themselves toward buddha-nature teachings in practice. He explains that it is important to recognize that everybody has the seed of wisdom and compassion within them.
Video
Buddha Nature: What Is It? How Is It Different from soul? A Teaching from Zasep Tulku
"Everyone has Buddha Nature," explains H.E. Zasep Tulku Rinpoche in a "learning from the Teachers" video on the topic from BuddhaWeekly.
Video
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche Talks about Buddha-Nature
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche talks about buddha-nature and offers a brief guided meditation.
Video
Matthieu Ricard: Is Buddha-Nature a Seed to Be Cultivated or Something that Must Be Revealed?
In an excerpt from "Conversations on Buddha-Nature" with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho, Matthieu Ricard answers this common question.
Video
The 17th Karmapa on the Nature of All Beings
H.H. the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, comments on a quote of the 3rd Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje: "The nature of all beings is always Buddha" (འགྲོ་བའི་རང་བཞིན་རྟག་ཏུ་སངས་རྒྱས་).
Video
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama on Buddha-Nature
The Dalai Lama delivers an address entitled "Buddha-Nature" to members of the Theosophical Society in America on July 21st, 1981. His comments on buddha-nature come after a series of preliminary remarks, at 14 min, 23 secs.
Articles
Article
On Buddhanature—and What It Is Not, by Khandro Rinpoche
"Buddhism must always be seen as a skillful means for realizing the most basic aspect of human life: one's inherent buddhanature."
Article
Emptiness–Buddhanature, by Traleg Kyabgon
"Our true nature is buddhanature and that buddhanature is the nature of all sentient beings."
Article
Lasting Happiness, by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
"... We don’t have to look outside the present moment to experience wisdom, compassion, and the boundless purity of our true nature."
Article
This Is My Mind, Luminous and Empty, by Tsoknyi Rinpoche
"That something, when I was old enough to fit words to it, is a kind of spark that lights the lives of all living beings.... In many Buddhist teachings, it’s known as buddhanature."
Article
Spotless from the Start
"In order to overcome the five main obstacles facing a bodhisattva," says Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, "we must realize that all beings are primordially pure."
Article
The Sky Dragon's Profound Roar, by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso
"We practice the genuine dharma because it is a method for clearing away the temporary stains that obscure our vision of the true nature of mind."
Books

Our Human Potential-front.jpeg

14th Dalai Lama & Jeffrey Hopkins
Our Human Potential

Buddha Nature (Geshe Sonam Rinchen)-front.jpg

Geshe Sonam Rinchen
Buddha Nature

Carefree Dignity-front.jpg

Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Carefree Dignity

Samsāra, Nirvāna, and Buddha Nature-front.jpg

14th Dalai Lama & Thubten Chodron
Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature

Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness (2016)-front.jpg

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso
Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness

The Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment-front.jpg

Thubten Loden
The Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment
Buddha-Nature in East Asia
Multimedia
Audio
Buddha-Nature by Rev. George Kosho Finch
This week's topic is Buddha Nature, in Sanskrit: tathāgatagarbha (如来藏). All sentient beings are considered to be in possession of the Buddha Nature, the potential to attain enlightenment.
Video
It Is Your Buddha-Nature That Sees, Hears, and Speaks!
Daehaeng Kun Sunim, a Seon (Zen) master and Buddhist nun from Korea, responds to questions about the concept of Juingong (the underlying mind) from an audience member.
Audio
Trusting in Our Own Buddha-Nature
Rinso Ed Sattizahn gives a dharma talk at San Francisco Zen Center's City Center on the topic of buddha-nature. He touches on selections from Dōgen's Genjōkōan to illustrate this Buddhist teaching.
Video
One's True Mind and Inherent Nature by Sheng Yen
Our true mind is the pure mind of wisdom free of defilements. Our inherent nature refers to the nature of our being something common, which is also called the buddha-nature.
Audio
The Cloudless Sky of Buddha-Nature
Rev. Kokyo Henkel teaches on "The Cloudless Sky of Buddha Nature" at the San Francisco Zen Center on September 6, 2011.
Articles
Article
Mind Is Buddha
Geoffery Shugen Arnold, Sensei, on Case 30 of the Gateless Gate, “Mazu’s ‘Mind is buddha.'”
Article
Everything Is Buddhanature
Original sin vs. original goodness: Mahayana Buddhism offers a more hopeful view of human nature.
Article
Trust Practice, Practice Trust
When we truly give ourselves over to practice, explains Roko Sherry Chayat, we let go of our dependence on outcomes and begin to trust just being what we are, buddhanature, revealed right here, right now, in this very body and place.
Article
Impermanence Is Buddha Nature
Change isn’t just a fact of life we have to accept and work with, says Norman Fischer. Practitioners have always understood impermanence as the cornerstone of Buddhist teachings and practice.
Article
On the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna
An introduction to the Awakening of Faith, an immensely important treatise popular in all traditions of Buddhism in East Asia.
Article
The Path of Gratitude
In Shin Buddhism, we don’t practice to achieve anything—not enlightenment, good karma, a favorable rebirth, or material rewards. We practice simply to give thanks for what we have received.
Books

No River to Cross-front.jpg

Daehaeng
No River to Cross

Zen Mind Beginner's Mind-front.jpg

Suzuki
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Buddha Nature (Sallie King)-front.jpg

King
Buddha Nature
Study the Sources
The seeds of buddha-nature teachings are sprinkled throughout the sutras and tantras of the Buddhist canon. A core group of scripture that initially taught buddha-nature known as the tathāgatagarbha sūtras date between the second and fourth centuries. These include the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, the Śrīmālādevīsūtra and several others. The famous Laṅkāvatārasūtra was also important for buddha-nature theory. In Tibetan Buddhism the late-Indian treatise Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra, or Gyü Lama as it is known in the Tibetan, serves as a major source for buddha-nature. In East Asia the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna (大乗起信論) and the Vajrasamādhisūtra were the most influential treatises in spreading buddha-nature theory. And in Japan, the Zen master Dōgen (1200–1253), whose instructional lectures were collected in his Shōbōgenzo, also wrote extensively on the topic of buddha-nature. All of these important buddha-nature texts have been translated into English by leading scholars and translators. Below is a selection of these works:
Buddha-Nature in Translation

A Buddha Within-front.jpg

Zimmermann
A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra

The Nirvana Sutra Volume I-front.jpg

Blum
The Nirvana Sutra, Vol. 1

The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā-front.jpg

Alex Wayman & Hideko Wayman
The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā

Lankavatara Sutra Translation Commentary-front.jpg

Red Pine
The Lankavatara Sutra: A Zen Text

Buddha Nature The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra-front.jpg

Fuchs
Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra

Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith-front.jpeg

Jorgensen & Lusthaus
Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith

The Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea-front.jpg

Buswell
The Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea (The Vajrasamādhi Sūtra)

The Heart of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō-front.jpg

Waddell & Abe
The Heart of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō
More Scholarship on Buddha-Nature
Karl Brunnhölzl's Buddha-Nature Interview
In an interview with the Tsadra Foundation, Karl Brunnhölzl discusses why one might study buddha-nature, the purpose of the buddha-nature teachings, and the concept of the innate luminosity of mind.
Buddha Nature Intro Animation Top.png
Why Study Buddha-Nature?
Interview Clip
2:07 min
Buddha Nature Intro Animation Top.png
The Purpose of Buddha-Nature Teachings
Interview Clip
3:38 min
Buddha Nature Intro Animation Top.png
What Is Luminosity?
Interview Clip
4:21 min
Karl Brunnhölzl's Seminal Work on Buddha-Nature
Book
When the Clouds Part
"Buddha nature" (tathāgatagarbha) is the innate potential in all living beings to become a fully awakened buddha. This book discusses a wide range of topics connected with the notion of buddha nature as presented in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and includes an overview of the sūtra sources of the tathāgatagarbha teachings and the different ways of explaining the meaning of this term. It includes new translations of the Maitreya treatise Mahāyānottaratantra (Ratnagotravibhāga), the primary Indian text on the subject, its Indian commentaries, and two (hitherto untranslated) commentaries from the Tibetan Kagyü tradition. Most important, the translator’s introduction investigates in detail the meditative tradition of using the Mahāyānottaratantra as a basis for Mahāmudrā instructions and the Shentong approach. This is supplemented by translations of a number of short Tibetan meditation manuals from the Kadampa, Kagyü, and Jonang schools that use the Mahāyānottaratantra as a work to contemplate and realize one’s own buddha nature. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Tsadra Foundation Series. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2014.
First Writer-In-Digital-Residence: Alex Gardner
Alex Gardner served as the writer-in-residence for Tsadra Foundation's Buddha-Nature Project from 2017-2019. Read his introductory articles on the Ratnagotravibhāga and the history of buddha-nature theory.

On the Ratnagotravibhāga

Article

A History of Buddha-Nature Theory: The Literature and Traditions

Article
Current Writer-In-Digital-Residence: Karma Phuntsho
Lopen (Dr) Karma Phuntsho is one of Bhutan’s leading intellectuals. He has finished monastic training in Bhutan and India before he pursued a M.St in Classical Indian Religions, and D.Phil in Oriental Studies at Balliol College, Oxford. Read his weekly blog on topics related to Buddhism and buddha-nature, visit his "Ask the Writer-in-Residence" page to get answers to your questions, or watch the ongoing video series "Conversations on Buddha-Nature."

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Conversations on Buddha-Nature

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The Literature
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The Ratnagotravibhāga

The Multilingual Root Verses
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A curated space for publications on buddha-nature
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The Complete Library

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The Ratnagotravibhāga

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The purpose of the buddha-nature website is to provide a resource hub for trustworthy information for learning about and teaching the concept of buddha-nature, its associated texts, teachings, lineages, and relevant Buddhist ideas. Unique content will be shared here, but the site will primarily act as a broker for other projects and authors that have already created quality materials, which we will curate for a wide range of audiences.

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