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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).

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Title Speaker

Discovering Self Through Zen Mind

Serial: RB-00906A

Sesshin

Buddhism, Buddha Nature, Work
Sep 1994
Roseburg

Blue Cliff Record: Case #50

Serial: BZ-00940A

Saturday Lecture

BCR-50, Samadhi, Doubt, Platform Sutra, confusion, Lotus Sutra, Birth-and-Death,...
Jul 16 1994
Berkeley Zen Center

Book of Serenity: Shoyoruko (Book of Equanimity)

Serial: BZ-00238

Class 5 of 5

First Principle, Buddha Nature, War, Ordinary Mind, Duality, Practice Period,...
Jun 02 1994
5
Berkeley Zen Center

Book of Serenity

Serial: BZ-00237

Class 4 of 5

Hate, Discrimination, confusion, Buddha Nature, Precepts, Duality, Non-discrimination...
May 27 1994
4
Berkeley Zen Center

Tozan's Poem

Serial: BZ-00962B

No Gap; Don't Objectify, Saturday Lecture

Tozan, Subject-and-Object, Separation, Practice Period, Subject-and-Object, Book of...
Apr 16 1994
Berkeley Zen Center

This Moment's Activity

Serial: BZ-00108A

Sesshin Day 1

Samadhi, Bell, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, Offering, Posture, Buddha Nature, Ego,...
Mar 24 1994
Tassajara

Platform Sutra: Monk FaTa; Life and Death

Serial: BZ-00551

Class 9 of 10

Lotus Sutra, Birth-and-Death, Happiness, Soto Zen, Karmic Consciousness, Karma,...
Mar 22 1994
9
Tassajara

Platform Sutra

Serial: BZ-00557

Class 7 of 10

Evil, Big Mind, Discrimination, Buddha Nature, Hindrances, Five Ranks, Nirvana, Soto...
Mar 04 1994
7
Tassajara

Essence of Zen

Serial: BZ-00227

Class 3 of 3

Precepts, Practice Period, Priest, Culture, Dream World, Lay, Ordination, Interview,...
Mar 02 1994
3
Berkeley Zen Center

Parinirvana Sutra and Suzuki Roshi’s Legacy

Serial: BZ-00980B

Lecture

Nirvana Sutra, Buddha Nature, Precepts, Nirvana, Impermanence, Daily Life, Tassajara...
Feb 12 1994
Berkeley Zen Center

Mumonkan: Case #10

Serial: BZ-00980A

Essence of Mind "Alone and Poor", Saturday Lecture

MM-10, Attachment, Greed, Practice Period, Buddha Nature, Tassajara Zen Mountain...
Feb 05 1994
Berkeley Zen Center

Platform Sutra

Serial: BZ-00559

Class 2 of 10

Platform Sutra, Buddha Nature, Dharma Transmission, Transmission, Evil, Lotus Sutra,...
Jan 19 1994
2
Tassajara

Platform Sutra

Serial: BZ-00558

Class 1 of 10

Sixth Patriarch, Buddha Nature, Evil, Ordination, Platform Sutra, Instruction, Lay,...
Jan 14 1994
1
Tassajara

Zen Vision: Beyond Illusion and Form

Serial: RB-00891

Seminar_The_Eye_of_the_Truth

Buddha Nature, Nirvana, Koan
1994
Münster

Refining Your Life

Serial: BZ-01497A

Rohatsu Day 3

Tenzo Kyokun, Bell, Sanctuary, Emotions, Book of Serenity, Soto Zen, Discrimination,...
Dec 01 1993
Berkeley Zen Center

Saturday Lecture

Buddha, Buddha Nature, Time
Nov 13 1993
City Center

Nagarajuna and Dogen on Buddhanature

Serial: BZ-00659B

Happiness, Reward, and Love, One-Day Sitting

Buddha Nature, Happiness, Love, Buddha Nature, Happiness, Birth-and-Death, Daily Life...
Nov 07 1993
Berkeley Zen Center

Blue Cliff Record: Case #2

Serial: BZ-00657A

Joshu's "The Way Is Not Difficult", Saturday Lecture

Joshu, BCR-2, confusion, Attachment, Hate, Buddha Nature, Daily Life, Emotions,...
Sep 18 1993
Berkeley Zen Center

1993 Parliament of World Religions

Serial: BZ-00628A

Seeking Common Ground, Sesshin Day 1

Religion, Current Events, Religion, American, Politics, Separation, Buddha Nature,...
Sep 04 1993
Berkeley Zen Center

Trusting Relationships in Zen Practice

Greed, Passions, Buddha Nature, Desire, Attachment
Jun 28 1993

Practice and Boredom

Serial: BZ-00670A

Sesshin Day 5

Zazen, Stillness, Daily Life, Pure Existence, Doubt, Posture, Soto Zen, Separation,...
Jun 13 1993
Berkeley Zen Center

Transmission of Light

Serial: BZ-00219

Class 4 of 5

Buddha Nature, Offering, Evil, Eight Awarenesses, Lineage, Buddha Ancestors, Duality...
May 27 1993
4
Berkeley Zen Center

Transmission of the Light

Serial: SF-00041

Wednesday night teisho

Birth-and-Death, Buddha Nature, Karmic Consequences, Karma, Attachment, Delusion,...
May 26 1993

Transmission of Light: The 38th Ancestor Seigen Gyoshi; Not Getting Caught in Stages

Serial: BZ-00666B

Saturday Lecture

Seigen Gyoshi, Liberation, Lineage, Buddha Nature, Bodhidharma, Current Events, Don...
May 22 1993
Berkeley Zen Center

Transmission of Light

Serial: BZ-00214

Class 3 of 5

Attachment, Passions, Four Noble Truths, Offering, Buddha Nature, Lineage, Don't...
May 20 1993
3
Berkeley Zen Center

A Reworking of the Prajna Paramita Sutra in 8000 Lines

Serial: BZ-00666A

Lecture

Perfect Wisdom, Buddha Nature, Heart Sutra, Buddha Mind, Subject-and-Object,...
May 17 1993
Berkeley Zen Center

Keizan’s Transmitting Light; Tung Shan: the Teaching of Inanimate Things

Serial: BZ-00665B

Lecture

Attachment, Discrimination, Lotus Sutra, War, Birth-and-Death, Practice Period,...
May 15 1993
Berkeley Zen Center

Transmission of Light

Serial: BZ-00212

Class 1 of 5

Monastic Practice, Transmission, Buddha Nature, Teacher-and-Student, Continuous...
May 06 1993
1
Berkeley Zen Center

Lay Ordination and Priest Ordination

Serial: BZ-00661A

Sesshin Day 1

Ordination, Priest-and-Lay, Priest, Ordination, Lay, Lay Practice, Karma, Commitment...
Mar 13 1993
Berkeley Zen Center

Awakening Through Zen's Living Connection

Precepts, Thich Nhat Hanh, Heart Sutra, Bell, Buddha Nature
Mar 10 1993

The Four Modes or Categories of Master Rinzai

Serial: BZ-00649B

Saturday Lecture

Rinzai, Mindfulness, Discrimination, Daily Life, Constancy, Ego, Samadhi, Big Mind,...
Mar 06 1993
Berkeley Zen Center

What is Meant by Saving All Beings?

Serial: BZ-00648A

Hui Neng, The Platform Sutra, One-Day Sitting

Hui Neng, Platform Sutra, Vow, Four Noble Truths, Buddha Nature, Greed, Attachment,...
Jan 31 1993
Berkeley Zen Center

Ten Precepts: Overview and First Precept

Serial: BZ-00616

Class 1 of 6

Precepts, Bodhisattva Precepts, Lineage, Mahayana, Ordination, Bodhidharma, Monastic...
Jan 14 1993
1
Berkeley Zen Center

Shakyamuni Buddha

Serial: BZ-00645B

Lecture

Concentration, Nirvana, Culture, Buddha Nature, Attachment, Beginners, Posture,...
Dec 12 1992
Berkeley Zen Center

Day Off Class Zazenshin

Serial: BZ-01483

Class 6 of 6

Doubt, Commitment, Intuition, Buddha Nature, Discrimination, Big Mind, Darkness-and-...
Nov 19 1992
6

Day Off Class

Serial: BZ-01484

Class 5 of 6

Precepts, Buddha Ancestors, Transmission, Silent Illumination, Buddha Nature, Current...
Nov 14 1992
5

Embracing Zen's Messy Truths

Priest, Buddha Nature, Silence, Hate, Koan
Nov 08 1992

Zen in Everyday Life Unveiled

Silence, Priest, Buddha Nature, Hate, Koan
Nov 08 1992

Day Off Class

Serial: BZ-01481

Class 4 of 6

Duality, Birth-and-Death, Non-duality, Buddha Nature, Silence, Subject-and-Object,...
Oct 24 1992
4

Day Off Class

Serial: BZ-01480

Class 2 of 6

Dragons, Gaining Mind, Sixth Patriarch, Dharma Transmission, Subject-and-Object,...
Oct 14 1992
2

The Dragon Who Never Sleeps: Taisho on Gathas and their Use

Serial: BZ-00640

Lecture

Vow, Priest, Bodhisattva Precepts, Right Speech, Lay, Mahayana, Evil, Practice Period...
Oct 12 1992
Berkeley Zen Center

Balance: Relax Your Mind

Serial: BZ-00639B

Lecture

Culture, Buddha Nature, Samsara, Gratitude, Bodhidharma, Evil, Concentration, Bell,...
Oct 10 1992
Berkeley Zen Center

Living Mindfully Beyond Emotions

Emotions, Buddha Nature, Sanctuary, Equanimity, Desire
Sep 20 1992

Living Zen: Everyday Enlightenment

Emotions, Buddha Nature, Sanctuary, Desire, Equanimity
Sep 20 1992

Genjokoan: Manifesting Larger Being Through Small Being

Serial: BZ-00635A

Lecture

Subject-and-Object, Big Mind, Absolute-and-Relative, Duality, Religion, Impermanence...
Aug 22 1992
Berkeley Zen Center

Mumonkan Case #30: Baso’s This Very Mind is Buddha

Serial: BZ-00633B

Lecture

Buddha Mind, Instruction, Buddha Nature, Transmission, Hate, Posture, American, Ego...
Aug 01 1992
Berkeley Zen Center

Mumonkan, Case #1: Joshu’s Mu and the Importance and Significance of the Lotus Sutra

Serial: BZ-00633A

Lecture

Lotus Sutra, Buddha Nature, Four Noble Truths, Three Treasures, Book of Serenity,...
Jul 25 1992
Berkeley Zen Center

Communion and Communication

Serial: BZ-00631B

Saturday Lecture

First Principle, Discrimination, Intuition, Duality, Bodhisattva Precepts, Monastic...
Jul 11 1992
Berkeley Zen Center

Genjokoan

Serial: BZ-00709B

Sesshin Day 2

Genjokoan, Buddha Nature, Duality, Samsara, Birth-and-Death, Nirvana, Non-duality,...
Jun 25 1992
Berkeley Zen Center

Mumonkan Cases #30 & 33: Baso’s Two Responses: Buddha is Mind, Buddha is not Mind

Serial: BZ-00708B

Lecture

Intuition, Culture, Transmission, Ordinary Mind, Subject-and-Object, Teacher-and-...
Jun 20 1992
Berkeley Zen Center

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