Simple Teachings On Emptiness and Buddha Nature by Josho Adrian Cirlea

REV.
JŌSHŌ ADRIAN CÎRLEA
SIMPLE TEACHINGS
ON EMPTINESS AND
BUDDHA NATURE
Craiova 2020
1
Copyright © Adrian Gheorghe Cîrlea
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without
prior written permission from the author.
Rev. Jōshō Adrian Cîrlea (Adrian Gheorghe Cîrlea) is the

representative of Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Community from Romania,
and founder of Amidaj International temple. He is also the author of
Buddhism of Compassion, 2007, The Path of Acceptance –
Commentary on Tannisho, 2011, Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Teachings,
2012, The True Teaching on Amida Buddha and His Pure Land,
2015, The Four Profound Thoughts Which Turn the Mind Towards
Amida Dharma, 2018, The Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu in Jodo
Shinshu Buddhism,2018 , Commentary on the Sutra on the Buddha
of Infinite Life, 2020, Amida Dharma, 2020.
Cîrlea Gheorghe Adrian

Oficiul Postal 3, Ghiseul Postal 3
Casuta postala 615
Cod poştal (postal code) 200900
Craiova, judet Dolj
Romania
phone: +40/0745038390
e-mail: josho_adrian@yahoo.com
skype id: josho_adrian
Website: www.amida-ji-retreat-temple-romania.blogspot.com
2
I dedicate this book to Adelina Crișan, Arthur Burton,
Bento Abreu, Cătălin Hălmăgeanu, Cristian Anton, C.Y.
Wang, Cheusa Wend, Eb Whipple, Emanoela Cătălina
Marinescu, Daishin Andre Oude Wolbers, Gansen John
Welch, Graham Lawrence, Hsu Liang Mei, Jim E, Maria
Zita D’Abreu, Hokai Sylvie Kirsch, Jaime Salvador
Guzman Valladares, Kosho Arana, Jason Cerf, Jinshin
Cătălina, Joshin David Kruemke, Judy Ng, Heng Ng,
Jufang Wong, Ken Mattholie, Lee Yiyao, Phyllis Latham
Stoner, William Richard Stoner, Neal Oldham, Richard
Laing, Rick Lewis, Robby Van Gelder, Shushin Ioana
Marinescu, Ștefan Mata, Sorinel Cont, Tyler Ulberg,
Tamara Iovan (Cîrlea), Yokusho Gheorghe Cîrlea,
Gheorghe Cîrlea, Cristina Cîrlea, Constantin Iovan,
Ioana Iovan, Maria Zaharia, Valerie Whelan, Waldik D
L Souza and to all sentient beings in the ten directions.
May they all reach the Pure Land of Amida Buddha and
attain perfect Enlightenment.
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction………………………………. …………...5
Chapter I.The illusory nature of samsara……………….7
Chapter II.The reality of Buddha nature……………...15
Collection of passages on the reality of Buddha
nature………………………………………………….26
Chapter III. The difference between the false self and the
True Self (Buddha nature)……………………………68
Collection of passages on the True Self of Buddha
nature………………………………………………….79
Chapter IV. Buddha nature is not empty of itself but only
empty of samsaric phenomena ………………..............92
Collection of passages on the true meaning of
emptiness…………………………………………….104
Chapter V.The enlightened qualities of Buddha nature
.....................................................................................119
Collection of passages on the enlightened qualities of
Buddha nature……………………………………….130
Chapter VI.On the doctrine of innate or primordial
Enlightenment………………………..........................145
Collection of passages on the doctrine of innate or
primordial Enlightenment……………………………154
Chapter VII.The enlightened manifestations for the sake
of saving sentient beings…………………………….158
Chapter VIII.The wrong view of nihilistic emptiness
……….........................................................................165
Chapter IX.The Nembutsu is true and real…………..172
Chapter X.What did Shinran mean by “shinjin (faith) is
Buddha nature”?.........................................................186
Chapter XI.Only Buddhas can see Buddha nature….199
Chapter XII. Conclusion ……....................................205
4
Introduction
"Speak to dreamers in the language of dreams" 1
Emptiness and Buddha nature are very hard

topics and we, Jodo Shinshu followers who have a
simple faith in Amida, do not possess the high spiritual
capacities of the advanced esoteric Vajrayana
practitioners, so it would be impossible and useless to try
to enter too deep into this topic. It is not the practice of
our school to try to recognize and dwell in ultimate
reality in the present life, with this very body, so we do
not need to know everything about emptiness and
Buddha nature. However, it is good to know a few things
about it so that we cannot be confused by false spiritual
friends who play smart with such terms and use them in
a distorted manner to justify or impose their own
opinions on others. This is why from the immense ocean
of authentic Dharma literature on emptiness and Buddha
nature I took only a small part which is enough to have a
little clue about this topic, as little as samsaric dreamers
like us can have.
My goal as a Jodo Shinshu priest is to help others entrust

to Amida Buddha and aspire to birth in His Pure Land
after death, so whatever I write or say, even when I
speak about emptiness and Buddha nature, I do it with
this intention in mind.
1
Khenpo TsultimGyamtso.
5
All sentient beings have Buddha nature. This Buddha
nature is now obscured, but it has always been there.
Obscured Buddha nature may become unobscured
Buddha nature if the obscurations are purified, and they
will be automatically purified when we are born in the
Pure Land of Amida Buddha. There, in that Enlightened
realm, everything is conducive to Enlightenment, unlike
here, in samsara, where everything is conducive to more
obscurations, blind passions and suffering.
To practice for the attainment of Enlightenment in this

samsaric environment is like trying to melt ice by
placing it in the snow, while to be born in the Pure Land
is like putting ice into a powerful stove. The ice of our
obscurations will be melted by the Enlightened Power of
Amida and His Pure Land, thus revealing our innate
Buddha nature with its myriad qualities.
Perhaps by clearing up the confusions brought by false

teachers who talk about emptiness and Buddha nature in
a way that leads to nihilistic and materialistic views, my
readers will be able to discover the joy of faith and true
aspiration for that wonderful ultimate Reality of
Wisdom, Compassion and unconditional Freedom where
Amida and all Buddhas are guiding us through the Pure
Land teaching.
Namo Amida Bu,
Jōshō Adrian Cîrlea

August 12, 2564 Buddhist Era (2020 C.E.),
Year of the Metal Rat
Amidaji International Temple
6
Chapter I. The illusory nature of Samsara
“The eye coursing in conceptuality

Is very mistaken.
What is seen by mistake is unreal.
A Buddha does not have the unreal.”2
All Dharma gates speak about suffering and the

end of suffering. In Jodo Shinshu we do the same, so
what is the origin of suffering? Generally speaking,
suffering comes from ignorance which means taking as
real and permanent that which is unreal and
impermanent, desiring unreal objects, identifying with an
illusory sense of self and pursuing unreal and useless
goals. All that we experience, individually and
collectively, with our bodies and unenlightened minds is
samsara. Depending on our karma these experiences are
classified into the six realms of existence: hell dwellers,
hungry ghosts (pretas), animals, humans, asuras
(demigos) and gods (devas) 3.
Simply stated, all beings are in a collective dream where
they experience the joys and sorrows they themselves
created with their own minds. Just like a beautiful dream
or a nightmare is caused by the good or bad thoughts we
had during the daytime, we also experience life in the
2
Buddhavatamsaka Sutra, as quoted in The Mountain Doctrine by
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, translated and introduced by Jeffrey
Hopkins, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaka New York, Boulder,
Colorado, 2006, p530
3
I already talked about them in detail in The Four Profound
Thoughts Which Turn the Mind Towards Amida Dharma, so I will
not describe them again, here.
7
above dreamlike samsaric states due to our own
thinking, words and actions.
A dream and a magical display of our own minds – this

is the definition of samsara. A dream is “real” only for
the dreamer immersed in his own self-created fantasies,
but not real for an Awakened One (a Buddha). A dream
exists as long as fantasies and illusions exist and
disappears when they disappear. Thus, we can say that
the samsaric dreamlike experiences, good or bad, happy
or painful, are the effect, while the illusions and
attachments are the causes. As long as the causes for the
cyclic existence are there in our minds, samsara will
continue to exist for us. It is as simple as that. For the
sleeping (unenlightened) mind all the worlds he sees and
all the experiences he has are real, although from the
perspective of true reality, they are just a dream or a
magical display:
“The triple realms of illusory wind

Are seen as like dreams in dreams.”4
Because all phenomena of the samsaric existence arise

due to the various combination of causes and conditions
and disappear when such causes and conditions
disappear, they are said to be empty and without self,
that is, without a self existent independent reality of their
own. You often hear the concept of emptiness or
4
Vajra Garland Tantra, as quoted in The Mountain Doctrine by
Colorado, 2006, p.69
8
voidness (sunyata) in the Buddhist texts, so this is
exactly what it means – the non-reality (non-real in the
ultimate sense) of samsaric phenomena who are
constantly changing and do not exist independent of
causes and conditions.
Anything that exists due to the combination of causes

and conditions cannot have a true, genuine reality.
Although the samsaric phenomena appear as real to our
unenlightened eyes, they are actually unreal and not true
to the enlightened eyes of the Buddhas. From the
perspective of the unenlightened beings, samsara exists,
while from the perspective of the Enlightened Ones,
samsara is empty or void, that is, it exists only at a
relative level, but does not have true existence.
This is exactly why it is said in the Heart Sutra:
“When Holy Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva performed the

deep practice in the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom,
He contemplated that there were five aggregates
(skandhas) but observed that they were devoid of
essential nature.
In this case, Shariputra, form is voidness (emptiness)

and voidness (emptiness) is itself form; voidness is not
different from form, and form is not different from
voidness; that which is form is voidness, and that which
is voidness is form. So it is for perception, conception,
volition and consciousness.
9
O Shariputra, all things have the characteristics of
voidness.5
All the physical and mental elements of a being are

classified in five types of aggregates (skandhas): 1) form
(a generic name for all kinds of matter and the body), 2)
feeling or sensation, 3) perception, 4) mental formations
(mental states), 5) consciousness or mind. All these
elements of a person are considered empty or devoid of
essential nature because they depend on various causes
and conditions and are always changing just like a guy in
his twenties will not be exactly the same when he will be
fifty. Here the words “devoid of essential nature” are
extremely important as they point to the deep truth that
samsaric phenomena are not the ultimate reality or the
Buddha nature which is the essential nature, uncreated,
unchanged and indestructible, hence not empty.
In the Sublime Continuum of the Great Vehicle it is said,
5
Translation by ZuioHisao Inagaki,
http://web.mit.edu/stclair/www/horai/heart-sk.htm
There are many other English translations from which I mention the
one made by Nalanda Translation Committee, “Noble
Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva, said to venerable
Shariputra,
‘O Shariputra, a son or daughter of noble family who wishes to
practice the profound Prajnaparamita should see in this way: seeing
the five skandhas to be empty of nature. Form is emptiness;
emptiness also is form. Emptiness is no other than form; form is no
other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, perception,
formation, and consciousness are emptiness. Thus, Shariputra, all
dharmas (phenomena) are emptiness.”
Nalanda Translation Committee,
https://www.dharmanet.org/HeartSutra.htm
10
“The aggregates [and so forth] which are the fruitions
of afflictive
emotions and [contaminated] actions
Are like a magician's illusions, emanations, [because
although
they appear variously in dependence upon conditions,
when analyzed they are without truth'].”6
Also, Shakyamuni encourages us in the Diamond Sutra

to,
“Regard this phantom world

As a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud
A flickering lamp — a phantom — and a dream.”
Here are a few more passages related with the

dreamlike nature of samsaric existence which might help
you contemplate on this profound truth:
“I bow at the feet of the Masters

Who teach that all phenomena
Merely arise from conditions,
Without any self, soul or creator, and are like a dream,
An illusion, a mirage, or an echo.
6
Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum of the Great Vehicle, The Mountain
Doctrine by Dolpopa, translated and introduced by Jeffrey Hopkins,
Snow Lion Publications, Ithaka New York, Boulder, Colorado,
2006, p110
11
I bow at the feet of the Masters
Who clearly teach that objects appear
To be external, but are merely
The habitual propensities of mind,
And that even mind, intellect
And consciousness are mere names,
Mere designations, just emptiness like space.”7
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, General Commentary on the
Doctrine
„The Blessed One taught,

‚Whatever phenomenon
is deceptive, that is false.’
Everything conditioned
are deceptive phenomena,
thus they are false.”8
Root Verses on Madhyamaka
“Train yourself in understanding that all ego clinging

and fixation on phenomena have no self-nature. No
matter what meritorious action you may be involved in,
7
The Buddha from Dolpo, A Study and Thought of the Tibetan
Master, Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, revised and enlarged edition, by
Cyrus Stearns, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaka, New York, p.120-
121
8
Cyrus Stearns, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaka, New York, p.264
12
understand that all phenomena are like dreams and
magic.”9
Padmasambhava, Dakini Teachings
“I have realized that all phenomena are like dreams, like

magic.”10
Padmasambhava, Advice from the Lotus-Born
“When you feel attachment towards something attractive

or aversion towards something repulsive, understand
that to be your mind's delusion, nothing but a magical
illusion.
When you hear pleasant or unpleasant words,
understand them to be an empty resounding, like an
echo. When you encounter severe misfortune and misery,
understand it to be a temporary occurrence, a deluded
9
Dakini Teachings – Padmasabhava’s Oral Instructions to Lady
Tsogyal, recorded and concealed by YesheTsogyal, revealed by
Nyang Ral Nyima Oser and Sangye Lingpa, translated according to
the oral teachings of Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rrinpoche by Erik Pema
Kunsang, Rangjung Yeshe publications, 1999, p.2
10
Advice from the Lotus-Born, A Collection of Padmasambhava’s
advice to the Dakini YyesheTsogyal and other close disciples from
the terma treasure revelations of Nyang Ral Nyima Ozer, Guru
Chowang, Pema Ledrel Tsal, Sangye Lingpa, Ridgzin Godem and
Chokgyur Lingpa, translated from the Tibetan by Erik Pema
Kunsang, p.26
13
experience. Recognize that the innate nature (Buddha
nature) is never apart from you.”11
11
advice to the DakiniYyesheTsogyal and other close disciples from
Kunsang, p.29
14
Chapter II. The reality of Buddha nature
Buddha nature has many names like Tathagata-

garbha, Buddha-garbha, Self, Nirvana, Buddhahood,
Enlightenment, Suchness, Thusness, Dharmakaya, etc,
all indicating to the fact that there is something truly
REAL, uncreated and unconditioned beyond the various
levels of illusion, blind passions, and the empty samsaric
phenomena.
In the Tathagatagarbha Sutra, Shakyamuni put on a

miraculous display for the sake of teaching beings the
doctrine of Buddha nature,
“There appeared in the sky a countless number of

thousand-petaled lotus flowers as large as chariot
wheels, filled with colors and fragrances that one could
not begin to enumerate. In the center of each flower
was a conjured image of a Buddha. The flowers rose
and covered the heavens like a ratna banner, each
flower giving forth countless rays. The petals all
simultaneously unfolded their splendor and then,
through the Buddha rddhi (power), all withered in an
instant. Within the flowers all the Buddha images sat
cross-legged in the lotus position, and each issued forth
countless hundred thousands of rays. The adornment of
the spot at the time was so miraculous (adbhuta) that the
whole assembly rejoiced and danced ecstatically. In fact,
it was so very strange and miraculous that all began to
wonder why all the countless wonderful flowers should
suddenly be destroyed. As they withered and darkened,
15
the smell they gave off was foul and loathsome.”12
He then explained,
"Kulaputras13 (noble sons), here is a comparison that

can be drawn between the countless flowers conjured up
by the Buddha that suddenly withered and the
innumerable conjured Buddha images with their many
adornments, seated in the lotus position within the
flowers, who cast forth light so exceedingly rare that
there was no one in the assembly who did not show
reverence. In a similar fashion, kulaputras, when I
regard all beings with my Buddha eye (cakshur), I see
that hidden within the blind passions (kleshas) of greed
(raga), confusion (lobha), hatred (dvesha ) and
obscuration (moha) there is seated augustly and
unmovingly the Tathagata jnana (wisdom of
Tathagata/Buddha), the Tathagata-vision and the
Tathagata kaya (the ultimate body of Tathagata/
Buddha).
Kulaputras (noble sons), all beings, though they find

themselves with all sorts of blind passions
(kleshas/bonno), have a Tathagatagarbha that is
eternally unsullied, and that is replete with virtues no
12
Tathagatagarbha Sutra, translated by William H. Grosnick,
published in "Buddhism In Practice" (Donald S. Lopez[ed.],
Princeton University Press, 1995
13
Kulaputra is a sanskrit term meaning “a nobly born son”. It is used
frequently in Mahayana sutras to refer to devoted disciples of the
Buddha.
16
different from my own. Moreover, kulaputras, it is just
like a person with supernatural vision who can see the
bodies of Tathagatas seated in the lotus position inside
the flowers, even though the petals are not yet unfurled;
whereas after the wilted petals have been removed, those
Tathagatas are manifested for all to see. In similar
fashion, the Buddha can really see the beings Tathagata-
garbha. And because He wants to disclose the
Tathagata-garbha to them, He expounds the sutras and
the Dharma, in order to destroy blind passions (kleshas)
and reveal the Buddha-dhatu (Buddha element or
Buddha nature).
Kulaputras, such is the Dharma of all Buddhas. Whether

or not Buddhas appear in the world,
the Tathagata-garbha of all beings are eternal and
unchanging. It is just that they are covered by the blind
passions (kleshas) of sentient beings. […]
The Buddha sees that all kinds of beings

Universally possess the Tathagata-garbha.
It is covered by countless kleshas (blind passions),
Just like a tangle of smelly, wilted petals.
So I, on behalf of all beings,
Everywhere expound the Saddharma14,
In order to help them remove their kleshas (blind
passions)
And quickly reach the Buddha way.
I see with my Buddha eye
14
The Sanskrit term "Saddharma" is composed of the words
'Dharma' ('law/teaching') and 'sat' ('right, true, and good').
17
That in the bodies of all beings
There lies concealed the Buddha-garbha (essence of
Buddha),
So, I expound the Dharma in order to reveal it.”15
The display of lotus flowers that withered and started to

smell badly but contained images of Buddhas inside is
very easy to understand. The smelly lotuses are us,
people filled with blind passions and ignorance, caught
in the chains of samsaric existence. However, such
wretched beings possess the Buddha nature. In
comparison with the deluded personality (the false self)
represented by the smelly and withered lotuses, this
Buddha nature is our true reality and our true Self, as
Shakyamuni also said in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra,
“Non-self (false self or not the true self) is samsara, the

Self (true Self) is the Tathagata”16
Because samsara and all that it includes, especially the

samsaric beings, depends on causes and conditions and it
is empty (void), it cannot be our true identity, so it is not
the self of anybody, while the true nature of all beings
which is eternal, uncreated and unconditioned is what we
really are - our true Self, our genuine identity. Speaking
in ultimate terms, we are not samsara, but concealed
15
published in "Buddhism In Practice" (Donald S. Lopez [ed.],
Princeton University Press, 1995. Some words were adapted by me
for a better understanding.
16
Mahaparinirvana Sutra, translated by Kosho Yamamoto from
Dharmakshema’s Chinese version, edition printed by Dr Tony Page,
2004, verse 119, p.22
18
Buddha nature, we are not samsaric beings, but
undiscovered Buddhas. When you, the reader of these
lines, will discover your Buddha nature and become a
Buddha in the enlightened environment of the Pure Land
of Amida, then you will become the real YOU or the
Real Self. As Shakyamuni also said:
“’Self’ means ‘Tathagatagarbha’. Every being has

Buddha nature. This is the Self. Such Self has, from the
very beginning, been under cover of innumerable
defilements (kleshas). That is why man cannot see it.”17
The term Tathagatha-garbha or Buddha-garbha refer to

the same thing. “Garba” means womb, matrix, essence
or embryo. So, the Tathagathagarbha or Buddhagarbha
are translated as having the essence of Tathagatha or
Buddha. When it is said in some texts that “all beings
are Tathagathagarbha” it means something like “all
beings possess the heart-essence of the Tathagatha”18
and that all beings have the essence (garbha) of the
Tathagatha/Buddha.19
The term Tathagata is a synonym for Buddha. It is
composed of "tathā" and "āgata, which means "thus
come", or "tathā" and “gata", which means "thus
17
2004, verse 417, p.69
18
The Tathagatagarbha doctrine or Tathagatagarbha Sutras are
Shakyamuni’s collection of teachings focused on the idea that all
beings have Buddha nature.
19
The Buddha Within, Tathagatagarbha Doctrine According to the
Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhaga, S.K. Hokam,
State University of New York Press, 1991, p.99-100
19
gone". The term refers to a Buddha who has "thus gone"
from samsara into Nirvana, but also who has "thus
come" from Nirvana to work for the salvation of all
sentient beings.
Now coming back to the Tathagatagarbha Sutra, we see

that Shakyamuni makes a number of comparisons to help
us better understand the truth that all beings equally
possess the Buddha nature (Buddha essence/Tathagatha
essence). Let’s read and reflect on them (the words in
brackets are my own),
"Or kulaputras (noble sons), it is like pure honey in a

cave or a tree, surrounded and protected by a countless
swarm of bees. It may happen that a person comes along
who knows some clever techniques. He first gets rid of
the bees and takes the honey, and then does as he will
with it, eating it or giving it away far and wide.
Similarly, kulaputras, all beings have the
Tathagatagarbha (the essence of Tathagatha/Buddha
nature). It is like pure honey in a cave or tree, but it is
covered by kleshas (blind passions/defilimenets), which,
like a swarm of bees, keep one from getting to it. With
my Buddha eye I see it clearly, and with appropriate
virtuous expedients I expound the Dharma, in order to
destroy kleshas and reveal the Buddha vision (help them
discover their Buddha nature and its inherent Buddha
wisdom). And everywhere I perform Buddha deeds for
the benefit of the world (Buddha helps all beings
discover their Buddha nature).
[…]
20
It is just like what happens when all the kernels,
The husks of which have not yet been washed away,
Are disdained by someone who is impoverished,
And said to be something to be discarded.
But although the outside seems like something useless,
The inside is genuine and not to be destroyed.
After the husks are removed,
It becomes food fit for a king.
I see that all kinds of beings
Have a Buddhagarbha (the essence of the
Buddha/Buddha nature) hidden by kleshas (blind
passions).
I preach the removal of those things
To enable them to attain universal wisdom.
Just as I have a Tathagata-dhatu (nature of
Tathagatha/Buddha),
So do all beings.”
Or, kulaputras (noble sons), it is like the genuine gold

that has fallen into a pit of waste and been submerged
and not seen for years. The pure gold does not decay,
yet no one knows that it is there (unenlightened beings
cannot see their Buddha nature). But suppose there
came along someone with supernatural vision, who told
people, 'Within the impure waste there is a genuine gold
trinket. You should get it out and do with it as you
please.' Similarly, kulaputras, the impure waste is your
innumerable klesha (blind passions). The genuine gold
trinket is your Tathagatagarbha (Buddha
essence/Buddha nature). For this reason, the Tathagata
widely expounds the Dharma to enable all beings to
21
destroy their kleshas (blind passions), attain correct
perfect Enlightenment and perform Buddha deeds.
"It is like a store of treasure

Inside the house of an impoverished man.
The owner is not aware of it.
For a very long time it is buried in darkness,
As there is no one who can tell of its presence.
When you have treasure but do not know of it (when you
are unenlightened),
This causes poverty and suffering (you are subject of
samsaric sufferings).
When the Buddha eye observes beings,
It sees that, although they transmigrate
Through the five gati (five realms of samsaric
existence)20
There is a great treasure in their bodies
That is eternal and unchanging.
"It is like a traveler to another country

Carrying a golden statue,
Who wraps it in dirty, worn-out rags
And discards it in an unused field.
One with supernatural vision sees it
And tells other people about it.
They remove the dirty rags and reveal the statue
And all rejoice greatly.
My supernatural vision is like this.
20
The samsaric realms are numbered six or five. When they are said
to be five, the realm of asuras (demigods) is counted among the
realms of the devas (gods) and when they are said to be six, the
asuras are counted separately.
22
I see that beings of all sorts
Are entangled in kleshas (blind passions) and evil
actions
And are plagued with all the sufferings of samsara.
Yet I also see that within
The dust of ignorance of all beings,
The Tathagatagarbha (the essence of Tathagataha/the
Buddha nature) sits motionless,
Great and indestructible.
After I have seen this,
I explain to bodhisattvas that
Kleshas (blind passions) and evil actions
Cover the most victorious body(the Dharmakaya or
body of ultimate Reality/Buddha nature).
You should endeavor to sever them (we sever our blind
passions upon birth in the enlightened environment of
Amida’s Pure Land),
And manifest the Tathagata jnana (the Buddha wisdom).
Or, kulaputras (noble sons), it is like a woman who is

impoverished, vile, ugly and hated by others, who bears
an Arya (noble) son in her womb. He will become a
Cakravartin King (universal monarch), a ruler of all the
four directions. But she does not know his future history
and constantly thinks of him as a baseborn,
impoverished child. In like fashion, the Tathagata sees
that all beings are carried around by the samsara cakra
(wheel of samsara), receiving suffering and poison, but
their bodies possess the Tathagatagarbha (the essence of
Tathagatha/Buddha nature). Just like that woman, they
do not realize this. This is why the Tathagata (Buddha)
everywhere expounds the Dharma, saying, 'do not
23
consider yourselves inferior or base. You all personally
possess the Buddhadhatu (the nature of Buddha).'
Or, kulaputras (noble sons), it is like a master foundry

man casting a statue of pure gold. After casting is
complete, it is inverted and placed on the ground.
Although the outside is scorched and
blackened, the inside is unchanged. When it is opened
and the statue taken out, the golden
color is radiant and dazzling. Similarly, when the
Tathagata observes all beings, He sees that the
Buddhagarbha (essence of Buddha/Buddha nature) is
inside their bodies replete with all its many virtues.
After seeing this, He reveals far and wide that all beings
will obtain relief. He removes kleshas (blind passions)
with his Vajra jnana (diamond wisdom) and reveals the
Buddha-kaya (Dharmakaya or body of ultimate reality)
like a person uncovering a golden statue.”21
The above passages are so simple to understand that they

need no further explanations. The Buddha nature is real
and is the true nature of all beings. It is what we’ll find
upon birth in the Pure Land of Amida after the death of
this illusory body. Unlike the various samsaric planes of
existence, the Pure Land (also called Land of Peace) is
the soil (realm) of Enlightenment, the perfect garden
manifested by Amida where everything is conducive to
the discovery of our Buddha nature and its inherent
perfect qualities. As Shinran said,
21
published in "Buddhism In Practice" (Donald S. Lopez[ed.],
Princeton University Press, 1995
24
“Tathagata is none other than Nirvana;
Nirvana is called Buddha-nature.
Beyond our ability to attain it in the state of foolish
beings,
We will realize it on reaching the Land of Peace”.22
More about the special characteristics of this Buddha

nature will be explained in the next chapters.
22
Hymns of the Pure Land (Jodo Wasan) – Hymns to Amida based
on Various Sutras, The Colelcted Works of Shinran, Jodo Shinshu
Hongwanji-ha, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Kyoto, 1997,
p.350
25
Collection of passages on the reality
of Buddha nature
Here is a collection of passages that will help you

contemplate on the teaching explained at chapter two.
“The essence of the Well-gone One pervades all

migrators”23
King of Meditative Absorption Sutra
*
“All sentient beings have the essence of the Thus-gone
One”.24
Small Parinirvana Sutra
“For example, as butter permeates milk, likewise the

Essence of the Thus-gone One pervades all sentient
beings.”25
Mahaparinirvana Sutra
23
The Jewel Ornament of Liberation – The Wish-fulfiling Gem of the
Noble Teachings, Gampopa, translated into English by Khenpo
Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaka, New
York, 1998, p.49
2424
The Jewel Ornament of Liberation – The Wish-fulfiling Gem of
the Noble Teachings, Gampopa, translated into English by Khenpo
York, 1998, p.49
2525
York, 1998, p.49
26
*
“[The Mahaparinirvana sutra states]:

‘The One Vehicle is called Buddha nature. For this
reason, I proclaim that each and every sentient being
possesses Buddha nature. All sentient beings possess the
One Vehicle. Because it is covered over by their
ignorance, they cannot see it.’
The Garland Sutra states:
The bodies of all the Buddhas

Are only one Dharma body (Dharmakaya of Dharma
nature/Buddha nature);
They possess one and the same mind and wisdom;
Their [ten] powers and [four] fearlessnesses are equally
the same.’”26
Commenting on the above passages Shinran Shonin

added:
“Now, we see that the spiritual attainment described

above (the attainment of Buddha nature) is all the great
benefit to be gained in the Pure Land of Peace and
26
Mahaparinirvana Sutra and Garland Sutra as quoted by Shinran
Shonin in his Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and
Enlightenment, chapter II, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata
Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 67
27
Provision and the inconceivable, ultimate virtues
actualized by the Buddha’s [Primal] Vow.”27
Shinran Shonin, Kyogyoshinsho
“One who has seen Buddha nature is no longer a

sentient being.”28
Mahaparinirvana Sutra as quoted by Shinran Shonin in
his Kyogyoshinsho
“May all sentient beings

Destroy their evil passions forever
And clearly see Buddha nature.”29
his Kyogyoshinsho
“Further, liberation is called unsurpassed

supremacy.…Unsurpassed supremacy is true liberation;
true liberation is Tathagata.… When one has realized
27
Kyogyoshinsho – On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and
Enlightenment, chapter II, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata
28
Enlightenment, chapter III, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata
29
28
highest, perfect Enlightenment, one becomes free of
attachment and doubt. Being free of attachment and
doubt is true liberation; true liberation is Tathagata.…
Tathagata is Nirvana; Nirvana is the inexhaustible; the
inexhaustible is Buddha nature; Buddha nature is
certainty; certainty is highest, perfect Enlightenment.
Bodhisattva Kasyapa said to the Buddha, ‘World-
honored One, if Nirvana, Buddha nature, certainty, and
Tathagata are terms that have the same meaning, why do
you teach the Three Refuges?’ The Buddha replied to
Kasyapa, ‘Son of good family, all sentient beings seek
the Three Refuges because they fear samsara. Through
the Three Refuges30 they come to know of
Buddha nature, certainty, and Nirvana.’”31
his Kyogyoshinsho
“Since Tathagatas are eternal and are not subject to

change, they are called true reality.”32
his Kyogyoshinsho
30
You can read about the meaning of the Three Refuges in my
book, The Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu in Jodo Shinshu
Buddhism, p. 207 and Amida Dharma, fascicle 12.
31
Enlightenment, chapter V, translated by Hisao Inagaki, Numata
32
29
*
“Space is neither within nor without but all sentient

beings posses it. So it is with Buddha nature.”33
his Kyogyoshinsho
“Those who violate the four major prohibitions, those

who commit the five grave offenses, and icchantikas all
have Buddha-nature.…”34
his Kyogyoshinsho
Icchantikas are those who have no stock of good karma

and thus no possibility of attaining Buddhahood through
their personal power. However, they and all the lowest
beings have Buddha nature.
*
“Sons of good families, I always declare that all sentient
beings have Buddha nature; this is the teaching that is in
accord with my own intention. Although they all have
33
34
30
Buddha nature they cannot see it because it is covered
over by evil passions.”35
his Kyogyoshinsho
“All Buddhas, World-honored Ones, see Buddha nature

with their eyes as clearly as if they were looking at a
mango in the palm of their hand.”36
his Kyogyoshinsho
“What is not true is not Thusness. What is not Thusness

is not the Tathagata.”37
The Sutra on Utterly Quiescent and Certain Magical
Meditative Concentration
*
What is known as ‘Tathagata essence’ is Nirvana,
indestructible like space and the sky. The past, present,
35
36
37
Master, DolpopaSherab Gyaltsen, revised and enlarged edition, by
31
and future blessed Buddhas present it with the word
Nirvana and the term basic space of phenomena.”38
Ghanavyuha Sutra
“The Nirvana realm is the Dharmakaya of the Buddha.

The attainment of the Dharmakaya is the One Vehicle.
The Buddha is not different from the Dharmakaya. The
Buddha is himself the Dharmakaya.”39
Queen Srimala and her Lion’s Roar Sutra
The discovered Buddha nature is called Dharmakaya.
“There is no doubt that the Buddha nature is obscured

by all the stores of defilements, there is also no doubt
that the Dharmakaya of the World Honored One
transcends all the stores of defilement.”40
Queen Srimala and her Lion’s Roar Sutra
38
39
Queen Srimala and her Lion’s Roar Sutra, verse 82, translated by
TsultrimGyurme,
https://whatdobuddhistsbelieve.wordpress.com/teachings/queen-
srimala-sutra
40
TsultrimGyurme,
srimala-sutra
32
*
“The nature of mind (Buddha nature) as the element of

space
does not [depend upon] causes or conditions,
nor does it [depend on] a gathering of these.
It has neither arising, cessation, nor abiding.
This clear and luminous nature of mind

is as changeless as space. It is not afflicted
by desire and so on, the adventitious stains,
which are sprung from incorrect thoughts.
It is not brought into existence

by the water of karma, of the poisons, and so on.
Hence it is also not consumed by the cruel fires
of dying, falling sick, and aging.”41
Bodhisattva Maitreya, The Mahayana Uttaratantrashastra
This [Tathagatagarbha] abides within the shroud of the

afflictions,
as should be understood through [the following nine]
examples:
Just like a Buddha in a decaying lotus, honey amidst
bees,
Buddha nature – The Mahayana Uttaratantrashastrawith

41
Commentary, by Arya Maitreya, written down byArya Asanga,

commentary byJamgon Kongtrul LodroThaye, explanations
byKhenpo TsultrimGyamtso Rinpoche, translated by Rosemarie
Fuchs, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York, 2000, p. 27
33
a grain in its husk, gold in filth, a treasure underground,
a shoot and so on sprouting from a little fruit,
a statue of the Victorious One in a tattered rag,
a ruler of mankind in a destitute woman's womb,
and a precious image under [a layer of] clay,
this Buddha element (Buddha nature) abides within all
sentient beings,
obscured by the defilement of the adventitious poisons.
The defilements correspond to the lotus,
the insects, the husk, the filth, the earth,
the fruit, the tattered rag, the pregnant woman
direly vexed with burning suffering, and the clay.
The Buddha, the honey, the grain, the gold,
the treasure, the nyagrodha tree, the precious statue,
the continents' supreme ruler, and the precious image
are similar to the supreme undefiled element (Buddha
nature).
Seeing that in the calyx of an ugly-colored lotus

a Tathagata dwells ablaze with a thousand marks,
a man endowed with the immaculate divine vision
takes it from the shroud of the water-born's petals.
Likewise, the Sugata with His Buddha eye perceives His

own true
state even in those who must abide in the hell of direst
pain.
Endowed with compassion itself, which is unobscured
and endures
to the final end, He relieves them from their
obscurations.
34
Once his divine eye sees the Sugata abiding within the
closed ugly lotus, the man cuts the petals.
Seeing the perfect Buddha nature within beings,
obscured by the shroud of desire, hatred, and the other
mental poisons,
the Muni (The Sage/The Buddha) does likewise and
through His compassion defeats all their veils.
Honey is surrounded by a swarm of insects.

A skillful man in search of [honey]
[employs], upon seeing this, suitable means
to fully separate it from the host of bees.
Likewise, when His eye of omniscience

sees the honey-like element of awareness (Buddha
nature),
the Great Sage causes its bee-like veils
to be fully and radically abandoned.
Aiming to get honey that is obscured by millions and

millions of honey bees,
the man disperses all these bees and procures the honey,
just as he wishes.
The unpolluted knowledge present in all sentient beings
(Buddna nature) is similar to the honey,
and the Victor (the Buddha) skilled in vanquishing the
bee-like poisons resemblesthe man.
A grain when still in its husk

is not fit to be eaten by man.
Those seeking food and sustenance
remove this [grain] from its husk.
35
[The nature of] the Victorious One, which is present
within beings
[but] mixed with the defilement of the poisons, is similar
to this.
While it is not freed from being mingled with the
pollution of these afflictions,
the deeds of the Victor will not be [displayed] in the
three realms of existence.
(One who has not discovered his Buddha nature cannot
truly help sentient beings)
Unthreshed grains of rice, buckwheat, or barley, which

not having emerged from their husks
still have husk and beard, cannot be turned into
delicious food that is palatable for man.
Likewise, the Lord of Qualities (Buddha nature) is
present within all beings, but His
body is not liberated from the shroud of the poisons.
Thus, His body cannot bestow the joyous taste of
Dharma upon sentient beings stricken by the famine of
their afflictions.
While a man was traveling, gold he owned fell into a

place filled with rotting refuse.
This [gold], being of indestructible nature, remained for
many centuries just as it was.
Then a god with completely pure divine vision saw it
there and addressed a man: ‘Purify this supremely
precious gold
lying here in this [filth], and [then convert it into
something]
36
that is worth being made from such a precious
substance!’
Likewise, the Muni (the Sage/the Buddha) sees the

quality [of] beings, which is sunken in the filth-like
mental poisons,
and pours His rain of sacred Dharma upon them
to purify the muddiness of their afflictions.
Once the god has seen the gold that has fallen into the
place full of rotting refuse,
insistently he directs the man's attention to this
supremely beautifulthing so he may completely cleanse
it.
Seeing within all beings the precious perfect Buddha that
has fallen into the great filth of the mental poisons,
the Victorious One does likewise and teaches the
Dharma to persuade them to purify it.
If an inexhaustible treasure were buried

in the ground beneath a poor man's house,
the man would not know of it, and the treasure
would not speak and tell him ‘I am here!’
Likewise, a precious treasure is contained in each
being's mind.
This is its true state which is free from defilement.
Nothing is to be added and nothing to be removed.
Nevertheless, since they do not realize this,
sentient beings continuously undergo the manifold
sufferings of deprivation.
37
When a precious treasure is contained within [the
ground beneath] a poor man's house,
the treasure cannot tell him ‘I am here!’ [and] the man
does not know of its presence.
Like the poor man, beings are [unaware] that Dharma's
treasure (Buddha nature) lies in the house of their minds
and the great Sage truly takes birth within the world to
cause them to attain [this treasure].
(Buddhas appear in the world to help beings awaken to
their innate Buddha nature. This is also the reason why
Shakyamuni came to this world and taught Amida
Dharma.)
The seed contained in the fruit of a mango or similar

trees
[is possessed of] the indestructible property of sprouting.
Once it gets plowed-earth, water, and the
other[conditions],
the substance of a majestic tree will gradually come
about.
The fruit consisting of the ignorance and the other

defects of beings
contains in the shroud of its peel the virtuous element of
the Dharmakaya (Buddha nature).
Likewise, through relying on virtue, this [element] also
will gradually turn into the substance of a King of Munis
(King of Sages/Buddha).
By means of water, sunlight, wind, earth, time, and

space, thenecessary conditions,
38
the tree grows from within the narrow shroud of the fruit
of a banana or mango.
Similarly, the fertile seed (Buddha nature) of the Perfect
Buddha, contained within the
fruit-skin of the mental poisons of beings,
also grows from virtue as its necessary condition, until
the [shoot of]
Dharma is seen and augmented [towards perfection].
An image of the Victorious One made from precious

material lies by the road, wrapped in an evil-smelling
tattered rag.
Upon seeing this, a god will alert the [passersby]
to its presence by the road to cause its retrieval.
Likewise, being possessed of unhindered vision

[the Buddha] sees the substance of the Sugata (Buddha
nature)
wrapped in the multitude of the mental poisons,
even in animals, and teaches the means to free it.
When his eye perceives the statue of the Tathagata,

which is of precious nature
but wrapped in a stinking rag and lying by the road, the
god points
it out to passersby, so that they retrieve it.
Likewise, the Victor (the Buddha) sees that the element

(Buddha nature), wrapped in the tattered
garments of the poisons and lying on samsara's road,
is present even within animals, and teaches the Dharma
so that itmay be released.
39
A woman of miserable appearance
who is without protection and abides in a poor house
holds in her womb a glorious king,
not knowing that a lord of man dwells in her own body.
Birth in an existence is similar to the poor house.

Impure beings are like the woman bearing [a king] in
her womb.
Since he is present within her, she has protection.
The undefiled element is like [the king] who dwells in
her womb.
A ruler of the earth dwells in the womb of a woman who

has an unpleasant appearance and whose body is
dressed in dirty clothes.
Nevertheless, she has [to abide] in a poor house and
undergo the experience of direst suffering.
Likewise, beings deem themselves unsheltered though a
protector resides within their own [minds].
Thus, they have to abide in the ground of suffering, their
minds being unpeaceful under the predominating drive
of the mental poisons.
(Beings wander in samsara aimlessly and experience all
kinds of sufferings although their innate Buddha nature
is perfectly enlightened and free.)
An artistically well-designed image of peaceful

appearance, which has been cast in gold and is [still]
inside [its mold], externally has the nature of clay.
Experts, upon seeing this, will clear away the outer layer
and cleanse the gold therein.
40
Likewise, those of supreme enlightenment (the Buddhas)
fully see that there are defilements [on] the luminous
nature (Buddha nature),
but that these stains are just adventitious,
and purify beings, who are like jewel mines, from all
their veils.
Recognizing the nature of an image of peaceful

appearance,
flawless and made from shimmering gold,
while it is [still] contained in its mold, an expert removes
thelayers of clay.
Likewise, the omniscient (the Buddha) know the peaceful
mind (Buddha nature), which issimilar to pure gold,
and remove the obscurations by teaching the Dharma,
[just asthe mold] is struck and chipped away.
The lotus, the bees, the husk, the filth,

the earth, the skin of the fruit, the tattered rag,
the woman's womb, and the shroud of clay
[exemplify the defilements], while [the pure nature]
is like the Buddha, the honey, the kernel, the gold,
the treasure, the great tree, the precious statue,
the universal monarch, and the golden image.
It is said that the shroud of the mental poisons,
[which causes the veils] of the element of beings
(Buddha nature),
has had no connection with it since beginningless time,
while the nature of mind (Buddha nature), which is
devoid of stains,
41
[has been present within them] since beginningless
time.”42
“As is pure gold, water free from dirt, the sky without a
cloud, so is [the Mind] pure when detached from the
false imagination.”43
The Lankavatara Sutra
The Mind here stands for the Buddha nature.
“What is meant by an eternally-abiding reality? The

ancient road of reality, Mahamati, has been here all the
time, like gold, silver, or pearl preserved in the mine,
Mahamati; the Dharmadhatu (Buddha nature) abides
forever, whether the Tathagata appears in the world or
not; as the Tathagata eternally abides so does the
reason (dharmata) of all things; reality forever abides,
reality keeps its order, like the roads in an ancient city.
For instance, Mahamati, a man who is walking in a
forest and discovering an ancient city with its orderly
42
Buddha nature – The Mahayana Uttaratantrashastra with
Commentary, by Arya Maitreya, written down byArya Asanga,
commentary byJamgon Kongtrul LodroThaye, explanations by
Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated byRosemarie
Fuchs, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York, 2000, p. 32-37
43
The Lankavatara Sutra, translated for the first time from the
original Sanskrit by DaisetzTeitaro Suzuki,
http://lirs.ru/do/lanka_eng/lanka-nondiacritical.htm
42
streets may enter into the city, and having entered into it,
he may have a rest, conduct himself like a citizen, and
enjoy all the pleasures accruing therefrom. What do you
think, Mahamati? Did this man make the road along
which he enters into the city, and also the various things
in the city?
Mahamati said: No, Blessed One.
The Blessed One said: Just so, Mahamati, what has
been realised by myself and other Tathagatas is this
reality, the eternally-abiding reality (sthitita), the self-
regulating reality (niyamata), the suchness of things
(tathata), the realness of things (bhutata), the truth itself
(satyata).”44
The eternally abiding reality is the Buddha nature which

is uncreated just like the ancient city with its orderly
streets were not created by the traveler, but only
discovered by him.
“The essence of Suchness (Buddha nature) knows no

increase or decrease in ordinary men, the Hinayanists,
the Bodhisattvas, or the Buddhas. It was not brought into
44
The Lankavatara Sutra, chapter LXI, translated for the first time
from the original Sanskrit by DaisetzTeitaro Suzuki,
43
existence in the beginning nor will it cease to be at the
end of time; it is eternal through and through.”45
MasterAshvaghosha, Awakening Faith in the Mahayana
“The Tathagata-garbha has no beginning, and that

therefore ignorance has no beginning. If anyone asserts
that sentient beings came into existence outside this
triple world, he holds the view given in the scriptures of
the heretics. Again, the Tathagata-garbha does not have
an end; and the Nirvana attained by the Buddhas, being
one with it, likewise has no end.”46
MasterAshvaghosha, Awakening Faith in the Mahayana
“We have roamed about in one confused state of

experience after another, endlessly. At the same time, we
haven’t lost our Buddha nature. Our Buddha nature is
never separate from our minds. Though we are not apart
from it, we do not know it, and thus we wander in
samsaric existence.
[…] The Buddha nature pervades all sentient beings.
We have not lost it; it has never been apart from our
mind for even a single instant. This Buddha nature is
45
Awakening Faith in the Mahayana by Master Ashvaghosha,
translated by Yoshito S. Hakedas,
https://whatdobuddhistsbelieve.wordpress.com/the-ocean-of-nirvana
46
44
always present, and the only thing that conceals it is our
own thinking. Nothing else obscures it. The essence
becomes obscured by the expression. The expression of
our own attention takes the form of the confused thinking
that obscures us. In other words, we are obscuring our
own Buddha nature.”47
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, The Fourth Dharma of
Gampopa
“When pure gold is covered by dirt, it is not obvious that

it is gold, even though this dirt is temporary. But once
the dirt is removed, we realize that the gold is gold. In
the same way, when our confusion is purified, the
wisdom that is our basic wakefulness is made manifest.
At present the state of ordinary people is like pure gold
covered with dirt. Our Buddha nature is covered by
temporary obscurations. Once it is purified, then gold is
just pure gold. As long as our mind is confused,
bewildered, deluded, and mistaken, our Buddha nature
continues to be dragged through the realms of samsara.
But when the mind is unconfused, unmistaken, and
undeluded, it is the Buddha nature itself.”48
47
Quitenssential Dzogchen, chapter 12, The Fourth Dharma of
Gampopa by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, translated and compiled by
Erik Pema Kunsang and Marcia Binder Schmidt, Rangjung Yeshe
Publications, 2006, p. 95-96
48
Publications, 2006, p. 97
45
Gampopa
“If we didn’t already have this wish-fulfilling jewel

(Buddha nature), it would be difficult to find. But, as a
matter of fact, through all our beginningless lifetimes we
have never been without it. If we were told, ‘You must
possess a wish-fulfilling jewel!’ then we would be in
trouble because we would suddenly have to come up
with something we don’t possess. But the wish-fulfilling
jewel of Buddha nature is already present in us. It is
because of our ignorance and delusion that we do not
recognize it and continue life after life among the six
classes of sentient beings. How sad that people throw
away what is really valuable and instead chase after
food, wealth, a good reputation, and praise!”49
Gampopa
“This awakened mind of awareness is not made out of

any material substance; it is self-existing and inherent in
yourself.”50
49
50
Quitenssential Dzogchen, chapter 13, Pointing the Staff at the Old
Man by Master Padmasambhava, translated and compiled by Erik
46
Padmasambhava, Pointing the Staff at the Old Man
“Samsara is being caught up in unwholesome action and

circling among the six classes of beings from one state to
another. Nirvana is having recognized the nature of
mind (Buddha nature) and thereby having totally cut
through samsaric attachment. […] Unknowing
(marigpa) is not knowing the nature of mind. Knowing
(rigpa) is the knowing of the original wakefulness”.51
Shri Singha, Ten Profound Points of Essential Advice
“This Buddha nature is present in everyone, from the

Dharmakaya Buddha Samantabhadra down to the tiniest
insect, even the smallest entities you can only see
through a microscope. In all of these beings, the Buddha
nature is identical.”52
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, The Inheritance
Pema Kunsang and Marcia Binder Schmidt, Rangjung Yeshe

51
Quitenssential Dzogchen,Ten Profound Points of Essential Advice,
by Shri Singha, translated and compiled by Erik Pema Kunsang and
Marcia Binder Schmidt, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2006, p. 113
52
Quitenssential Dzogchen, The Inheritance, by Tulku Urgyen
Rinpoche, translated and compiled by Erik Pema Kunsang and
47
“We need to distinguish between mind and mind-
essence. The mind-essence of sentient beings and the
awakened mind of the Buddhas is the same. Buddhahood
means being totally stable in the state before dualistic
thought occurs. A sentient being like ourselves, not
realizing our essence, gets caught up in our own thinking
and becomes bewildered. Still, the essence of our mind
and the very essence of all awakened Buddhas is
primordially the same. Sentient beings and Buddhas
have an identical source, the Buddha nature. Buddhas
became awakened because of realizing their essence.
Sentient beings became confused because of not
realizing their essence. Thus, there is one basis or
ground and two different paths.”53
“A Buddha is someone who has recognized the essence

itself and is awakened through that. A sentient being is
someone who hasn’t and who is confused by his or her
own thinking. Someone who has failed to recognize the
essence of mind (Buddha nature) is called a sentient
being. Someone who has realized the nature itself and
becoming stable in that realization is called a
Buddha.”54
53
54
48

Who teach that, like a butter lamp within a vase,
The treasure of a pauper, and so forth,
The Sugata essence (Buddha nature), luminosity,
Or the Dharmakaya exists within the sheath
Of the relative, incidental aggregates.

Who carefully distinguish,
‘All imagined and dependent phenomena are non-
existent,
But the fully established true nature
Is never non-existent.’

Who teach, ‘All relative phenomena
Are merely the dependent origination55
Marcia Binder Schmidt, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2006, p. 125-

126
55
“Since all things in the phenomenal world are brought into being
by the combination of various causes and conditions, they are
relative and without substantiality or self-entity. From the
transcendental viewpoint, this absence of self-entity is called
emptiness; from the phenomenal viewpoint, it is called dependent
generation, and is the central doctrine of Buddhism that denies the
existence of any form of eternal or substantial being. When applied
to sentient beings’ endless lives in Samsara, it becomes the Twelve
Links of Dependent Origination.” (Seekers Glossary of Buddhism)
These twelve are described in the following way:
49
Of cause and result, but the self-arisen
Absolute (Buddha nature) transcends dependent
origination.”56
DolpopaSherabGyaltsen, General Commentary on the
Doctrine

Who teach, ‘All outer and inner phenomena
Are merely the confusing sphere of ignorance,
1. Through IGNORANCE are conditioned

2. VOLITIONAL ACTIONS or KARMA FORMATIONS.
Through volitional actions is conditioned
3. CONSCIOUSNESS Through consciousness are conditioned
4. MENTAL and PHYSICAL PHENOMENA Through mental
and physical phenomena are conditioned
5. THE SIX FACULTIES which correspond to the five sense
organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body) and the mind. Through
the six faculties is conditioned
6. SENSORIAL and MENTAL CONTACT55 Through sensorial
and mental contact is conditioned
7. SENSATION Through sensation is conditioned
8. DESIRE, THIRST Through thirst is conditioned
9. CLINGING Through clinging is conditioned
10. THE PROCESS OF BECOMING Through the process of
becoming is conditioned
11. BIRTH Through birth are conditioned
12. Decay, sorrow, lamentation, pain, despair, OLD AGE and
DEATH.
Then the cycle is repeated again, as after death comes rebirth.
56
122
50
But the other is the true nature,
Self-arisen primordial awareness’
Drawing the distinction between consciousness (mind-
stream of unenlightened beings)
And primordial awareness (Buddha nature),
Samsara and Nirvana, and the two truths.”

Who distinguish and teach,
‘The relative three worlds are just an exaggerated,
confusing appearance,
While the absolute three worlds, the Sugata essence
(Buddha nature)
Are an indestructible, unimagined, unconfusing
appearance.”57
DolpopaSherabGyaltsen, General Commentary on the
Doctrine
“I bow to you who teach that

united, indivisible, equal-flavored,
indestructible, self-arisen primordial awareness,
the Primordial-Buddha,
is present in all as Thusness with stains,
is like the sky, and exists as the universal ground.”58
57
58
51
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, General Commentary on the
Doctrine
The Buddha nature or Thusness is present in all of us but

it is covered with the stains of illusions, blind passions
and attachments. These stains will be removed
automatically after we are born in the Pure Land of
Amida making us able to see our Buddha nature.
“If it is consciousness,
it is not self-arisen primordial awareness.
If it is consciousness,
it is not permanent, stable, and eternal.
it is not the Sugata essence.
it is not great Nirvana.
If it is natural luminosity,
it is not consciousness.”59
DolpopaSherabGyaltsen, The Fourth Council
Here consciousness stands for the mind-stream of

unenlightened beings which is not the Buddha nature or
primordial awareness, natural luminosity, the eternal,
59
52
Sugata essence and Nirvana. These two should NOT be
confused nor treated as the same thing, as Dolpopa
further instructed:
“Since primordial awareness and consciousness

are just like light and darkness,
and exist like nectar and poison,
it is completely impossible
for them to have a common ground,
so do not mix them together as one!
If they are mixed together,

the Buddha's doctrine is damaged,
not clarified.”60
Illusions, blind passions, attachments (“incidental

stains”) are not the Buddha nature (“ground of
purification”/“universal ground primordial”), just like
the sky is not the clouds that cover it:
“The ground of purification

is the universal-ground primordial
awareness that is like the sky,
the object of purification is the incidental
stains that are like clouds,
the purifying agent is the truth
of the path that is like a relentless wind,
and the result of purification
is the separated result that is like
60
Master, DolpopaSherabGyaltsen, revised and enlarged edition, by
53
the sky free of clouds.
Thus it has been taught,

but many [adherents] of the flawed Tretayuga
and later eons, who are not expert in that,
claim that the object of purification
and the ground of purification are one,
which is the same as claiming that
the clouds ·and the sky are one.”61
In our case, the “purifying agent” is the Power of Amida

Buddha manifested through His Name and His Pure
Land where our “incidental stains” (illusions and blind
passions) are melted and separated from the innate
Buddha nature. It is simple logic to realize that the
Buddha nature and defilements are not one and the same:
“The ground of purification is permanent

and the object of purification is impermanent.
Please consider whether or not those two are one.
The ground of purification is taintless

and the object of purification is the taints.
Please consider whether or not those two are one.
The ground of purification is utter purity

and the object of purification is total affliction.
Please consider whether or not those two are one.”62
61
162
54
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, The Fourth Council
Samsara is not Buddha nature (Nirvana) but only a

reflection which appears because the Buddha nature
exists and is not known, just like the reflection of the
moon in water is not the moon itself but could not appear
without the moon. Only because the moon is real can it
be reflected in the water. Only because the Buddha
nature is real is there samsara as an illusionary reflection
and imperfect imitation. For example, we dream during
the night and then we wake up in the morning thinking
that we are now awake, living in the awakened reality.
However, our so-called awakened state is just an
imitation, a reflection, a shadow of the real awareness
and awakened state which is to be found exclusively in
the Buddha nature.
The mistake many modern-day practitioners make is to
say that everything is empty and non-existent, including
samsara and Nirvana (Buddha nature). However, a
reflection which is indeed empty and ultimately non-
existent cannot appear without a real moon, just like
samsara cannot appear without a real Buddha
nature. Master Dolpopa said:
“Is a relative possible

without an absolute?
Is the incidental possible

without a primordial?
62
55
Are phenomena possible
without a true nature?”63
Samsara appears due to ignorance of our true nature

which is Buddha nature. Buddhahood appears due to
knowing or becoming aware of the Buddha nature.
Buddhas are those who know and dwell in the Buddha
nature while samsaric beings are those who do not know
Buddha nature and so they dwell in their own mind
constructs and illusions. The world of samsaric beings
seems real and the state of our minds is a very good
imitation of awareness, however, both are mere illusory
reflections which appear from not knowing the real
world of awakening – the Buddha nature and its innate
qualities. Thanks to the help offered by Amida Buddha
we’ll come to know this real world of Awakening once
we reach His Pure Land after death.
“That which is self-arisen pristine wisdom, ultimate

truth, abiding pervasively in all does not differ in anyone
as to its natural purity, but through the force of persons
there are the differences of purity from adventitious
defilements and of impurity due to adventitious
defilements, like the fact that the whole sky – which by its
own nature does not exist as entities of clouds and is
purified of entities of clouds – is not purified of clouds in
63
165
56
some areas and is purified of clouds in other
areas.Therefore, it is not contradictory that just as sky
that is not purified of clouds does not exist in any area,
so sky that is purified of clouds does not exist in any
area, but, due to the area, there is impure sky and there
is pure sky. Similarly,while the naturally pure, sole,
basic element of the ultimate (Buddha nature) abides
together with defilements in some persons and abides
without defilements in some, it is posited as the basis and
the fruit through the force of the presence or the absence
of defilements in persons, [but] the entity of the
noumenon (Buddha nature) does not differ.
Hence, persons who have abandoned all adventitious

defilements have no need to again practice true paths
because they have completed training, and they have
already attained the body of ultimate pristine wisdom
(Dharmakaya of Dharma-nature/Buddha nature).
Persons other than them just need to practice true paths
properly because although the final Buddha integrally
abides in them, it has not been attained because of being
obstructed by adventitious defilements.
Moreover, this cultivation of the path is not for the sake

of producing a body of attributes:
- because the uncompounded basic element that
has an immutable nature is not fit to be produced
by any causes and conditions
57
- and because it has abided always primordially
with a spontaneous nature without needing to be
produced.”64
DolpopaSherabGyaltsen, Mountain Doctrine
We cannot say that empty sky does not exist because in

some areas the sky is covered partially or totally with
clouds. Similarly, we cannot say that Buddha nature does
not exist because in the case of some people is covered
by much defilement while in the case of others there is
less defilement. Buddha nature is the same for all no
matter how many blind passions and illusions cover it.
Also, the Buddha nature always exists; it existed before
discovering it on the moment of attaining Enlightenment
and it exists after we discover it. It is not produced and
does not depend on anything.
“Self-cognizing, self-illuminating pristine wisdom that is

nondual with the basic element is called the ultimate
truth, the uncompounded noumenon.”65
Taranatha, The Essence of Other-Emptiness
64
The Essence of Other-Emptiness, Taranatha, translated and
annotated by Jeffrey Hopkins in collaboration with Lama Lodro
Namgyel, Snow Lion Boston & London, 2007, p. 70-71
65
Namgyel, Snow Lion Boston & London, 2007, p. 69
58
“Maitreya’s Ornament for the Great Vehicle Sutras
says:
‘Because Thusness (Buddha nature) does not differ in

all,
And its state of having been purified is the One-Gone-
Thus (Tathagata/Buddha),
All transmigrating beings have its matrix.’
This means that Thusness and One-Gone-Thus are one

entity and that just this is the matrix-of-One-Gone-Thus.
Matrix-of-One-Gone-Thus, matrix-of-One-Gone-to-
Bliss, and Buddha-matrix are equivalent. Although it
resides equally in all phenomena – Buddhas, sentient
beings, and so forth – it resides in sentient beings in the
manner of a matrix, and it resides in Buddhas in a
manifest manner. Therefore, the ultimate Buddha itself
exists like a matrix in the middle of the mental
continuums of sentient beings, and consequently it is
said that all sentient beings possess the matrix-of-One-
Gone-Thus. This matrix-of-One-Gone-to-Bliss exists in
sentient beings, and sentient beings’ matrix-of-One-
Gone-to-Bliss is also called the ‘naturally abiding
lineage’and ‘basic constituent.’”66
66
59
“Although just that Thusness of a Buddha abides in
sentient beings, sentient beings do not perceive it from
their own side, and hence it is a matrix that has the
meaning of being hidden to sentient beings.”67
“Since all sentient beings have the basic cause, the

essence of Enlightenment (Buddha nature), you are also
connected with them and so you must liberate them all
from samsara.”68
“Becoming enlightened can be compared to water

cleared of sediments, gold cleansed of impurities, or the
sky cleared of clouds.”69
67
68
Nyang Ral NyimaOser and Sangye Lingpa, translated according the
oral teachings of Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rrinpoche by Erik Pema
69
Nyang Ral Nyima Oser and Sangye Lingpa, translated according to
the oral teachings of Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rrinpoche by Erik Pema
60
*
“What is the difference between Buddhas and sentient

beings?' It is nothing other than realizing or not
realizing mind. The substance of the awakened state of
Buddha (Buddha nature), is present within you, but you
don't recognize it. Not recognizing their minds (Buddha
nature), beings stray into the six streams of existence.”70
“Your material body may be old, but awakened mind

(Buddha nature) doesn't age. It knows no difference
between young and old. The innate nature is beyond bias
and partiality. When you recognize that awareness,
innate wakefulness (Buddha nature),is present in
yourself, there is no difference between sharp and dull
faculties.When you understand that the innate nature,
free from bias and partiality, is present in yourself, there
is no difference between great and small learning. Even
though your body, the support for the mind, falls apart,
the Dharmakaya of awareness wisdom (Buddha nature)
is unceasing...”71
70
Chowang, Pema Ledrel Tsal, SangyeLingpa, Ridgzin Godem and
Kunsang, p.36
71
61
“You may dearly treasure this body of flesh and blood

and cling to it as being yourself, but as it is only on loan
from the elements, unless you attain the nonarising
Dharmakaya, it will soon be snatched away. So, treasure
and capture the stronghold of nonarising Dharmakaya!”
The “nonarising Dharmakaya” is the Dharmakaya of

Dharma nature or the discovered Buddha nature.
“When it says Tathagatagarbha, or ‘essence of the

Tathagatas,’ it means that we have within ourselves this
essence of the Buddhas, an essence that enables us to
become a Buddha.”72
Khenchen Thrangu, On Buddha Essence, A Commentary
on Ranjung Dorje’s treatise

Kunsang, p.102
72
On Buddha Essence, A Commentary on Ranjung Dorje’s treatise,
Khenchen Thrangu, translated by Peter Alan Roberts, edited by
Clark Johnson, Shambhala, Boston & London, 2006, p. 2
62
“Some people find it strange that samsara should have
no beginning, because everything must have a beginning
somewhere. But not only beings but all things have no
beginning. Take for example a flower: where does a
flower come from? It comes from a sprout, which itself
came from a seed, and that seed came from last year's
flower, and last year's flower came from the previous
year's seed, and so on. So, the flower has no beginning.
Similarly, the succession of lives of an individual in
samsara also has no beginning. Although there is no
beginning, there is an end, because when one attains the
state of Buddhahood there is the end of samsara.
The text says that samsara does have an end, while other
texts describe samsara as beginningless and endless, so
that could be confusing. For an individual, samsara is
beginningless but will have an end. However, since there
is an inconceivable number of beings, samsara is endless
because there will never be a time when samsara is
completely empty. That is why we may see samsara
described as both endless and having an end.
Although samsara is beginningless, the true nature of the

mind can be realized and the Buddha nature can
manifest; therefore, samsara does have an end. But
Buddha nature is obscured by incidental (or
adventitious) obscurations, which can be eliminated and
removed. In terms of the true nature, the Buddha nature
is not stained by incidental obscurations. The Buddha
nature, or Buddha essence, remains pure by nature, and
it also has the quality of permanence. Therefore, the
63
Buddha nature has the qualities of both purity and
permanence.”73
“When the delusion of samsara is eliminated, we reach

Buddhahood. So, samsara is beginningless but it comes
to an end.Once we reach Buddhahood, there is no return
to wandering in samsara. It's as if there is a rope that we
mistake for a snake. Seeing the snake is a delusion, and
as a result of that, we feel fear. Buddhahood is like the
rope, and the delusion is like the snake, or samsara.
Once we see that there's no snake, then the delusion of
the snake disappears and the suffering of the fear of the
snake is gone. In the same way, once there is
Buddhahood, there is no return to wandering in
samsara.
The word Nirvana is a Sanskrit term. The Tibetan

equivalent is nyangen ledepa, with nyangen meaning
‘misery, pain, and suffering,’ and ledepa meaning ‘to
transcend.’ So, the full meaning is ‘the transcendence of
pain and suffering.’ Once the nature of the mind
(Buddha nature) is realized, there is the transcendence

73

Clark Johnson, Shambhala, Boston & London, 2006, p.5-6
64
of pain and suffering. We leave pain and suffering
behind and enter into a state of peace and bliss.”74
“We may wonder whether there is any defect in Buddha

nature, or Buddha essence.
Buddha nature itself is completely pure and without any
fault. It is not sometimes present and sometimes not; it
has the quality of permanence. If it is permanent, why
can't we see this Buddha nature? The reason is that it
has been obscured since beginningless time. It has been
covered up by something that obscures it so that it
cannot be seen. So, Buddha nature is pure by nature, it is
permanent, it has no beginning, and because of this, it
has no end.”75
“All beings are Buddhas because all beings have

Buddha nature within them. But this Buddha nature is
obscured by the incidental stains, which are the negative
74
75
Clark Johnson, Shambhala, Boston & London, 2006, p.6
65
qualities of the mind. By incidental stains we mean stains
that are not part of the Buddha nature, the Buddha
essence, much as the dirt and rubbish covering gold are
not part of the gold.
Buddha nature is explained in the text through the use of

three examples. These examples are given in Maitreya's
Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes. The first
example is of water, which can be polluted by dirt and
made muddy, but the dirt is only incidental because
when the water is left to stand it becomes clear again.
The second example is of gold, which might develop
some tarnish, but this tarnish can be easily removed with
a little rubbing without affecting the gold itself. Finally,
the sky or empty space is completely pure and unstained,
with clouds sometimes appearing to obscure it, but these
clouds are not part of the nature of the sky, so they can
blow away and leave the sky clear. The purity of the sky
is in no way affected by the clouds covering it. These are
three examples showing how Buddha nature is obscured
but can also be purified.
Nagarjuna likewise explains the obscuring of Buddha

nature, or Buddha essence, with an example of the sun
and the moon. The sun and moon in themselves are
perfectly bright and clear and have no impurities. But
the sun and moon can be obscured by various things,
such as clouds, dust, smoke, and eclipses. In the same
way, Buddha nature, which is changeless, can be
obscured by the five defilements of desire, aggression,
ignorance, pride, and jealousy.
66
So, Buddha nature is obscured by stains, but the stains
can be eliminated, just as once the clouds are gone from
the sun and moon, the sun and moon are perfectly bright
and there's no need to create a new moon or sun. In the
same way, once what obscures water, gold, and sky is
removed, their natural purity appears, and there is no
need to create that purity. Buddha nature is not
something that we have to develop or create.”76

76

67
Chapter III. On the difference between the false self
and true Self (Buddha nature)
Many Buddhists nowadays might get confused

when they read the word “Self” in my previous chapter
because they remember the doctrine of non-self or non-
ego that they heard in other parts of the Buddha’s
teachings. However, they have to understand the
difference between the self that is negated and the true
Self that is affirmed in many sutras.
The self that is negated is the idea of a permanent entity

that goes unchanged from life to life. This can be refuted
by a simple observation of our personalities. Nobody
stays the same at all ages and in every period of his
present life. I am 42 years old now when I am writing
these lines and I can say with certainty that I am not
exactly the same person I was at 16 or 20, nor will I be
the same if I reach 80. There is, of course, a causal or
karmic continuity between me at 20 and me at 42, but
definitely, we are not exactly the same person. Anybody
can see the changes in his body and mind and certainly
after two or three more rebirths the changes will be even
greater. This is why sometimes it is said in Buddhism
that there is no soul or no self, in the sense that there
is no unchanged identity which passes from year to
year and life after life. We do not go through the
present life and the endless lives of samsaric existence
with the same mind or body, so we can affirm without
any mistake that there is no permanent self in this
unenlightened and illusory driven personality.
68
However, the Self that is affirmed in the Buddha Dharma
is not related with our samsaric personalities, but with
the Buddha nature as Shakyamuni said in
Mahaparinirvana Sutra,
“The Self spoken of in Buddhism is the Buddha-

Nature.”77
Only the false self, usually called mind-stream, which is

a dynamic and ever-changing ensemble of various
sensations, feelings, ideas, thoughts, etc, is born again
and again in various planes of existence, but NOT the
true Self or Buddha nature.
“Buddha-Nature is not something that has been made.

Only, it is overspread by defilement. That is why I say
that beings do not possess the Self .”78
“Beings do not possess the Self” means that

unenlightened personalities are NOT the true Self or
Buddha nature because Buddha nature “is not something
that has been made” – it is not the product of ideas,
sensations, feelings, illusions, blind passions and karma.
Unlike our unenlightened mind-streams, the true Self or
Buddha nature is eternal and always existing, uncreated,
independent and unchanged.
77
2004, verse 415, p.68
78
2004, verse 451, p.75
69
Unfortunately, some Buddhist disciples are against using
the term “Self”, stating that it is alien to Buddhism. They
have this attitude because they do not know or don’t
want to accept that it was used by Shakyamuni himself
in many sutras or because they do not get the true
meaning of Self. Thus, they misuse the teaching on non-
self as explained above and do not get the difference
between the false self (non-self) and the true Self
(Buddha nature),
“When non-self is talked about, common mortals say

that there cannot be Self in the Buddhist teaching. One
who is wise should know that non-self is a temporary
existence (samsaric/unenlightened existence) and is not
true. Knowing thus, one should not have any doubt.
When the hidden Tathagatagarbha (Tathagata
essence/Buddha nature) is stated as being empty and
quiet79, common mortals will think of ceasing and
extinction. ‘One who is wise knows that the Tathagata is
Eternal and Unchanging.’”80
“The hidden Tathagatagarbha (Tathagata

essence/Buddha nature) is stated as being empty” refers
to the fact that the Buddha nature is empty of illusion
and blind passions, but NOT empty of itself or empty
79
Being “quiet” indicates that Buddha nature is not evident, but
hidden under the many layers of our unenlightened personality or
the false self.
80
2004, verse 443, p.74
70
of true Reality81. Only samsaric phenomena that are the
product of causes and conditions do not have real
existence while the Buddha nature is eternal and
unchanging because it is the true reality, uncreated and
independent of causes and conditions. Being empty of
illusion and blind passions or empty of any samsaric
phenomena does NOT mean that Buddha nature is non-
existent or extinct as some “common mortals” (people
without Mahayana wisdom) think.
Whenever the Buddha used expressions like “non-self”

or “there is no self”, He referred to the unenlightened
personalities of samsaric beings, and whenever He said
that there is a Self, He was referring to the Buddha
nature. Beings have no self in the sense that their mind-
streams are constantly changing and depend on causes
and conditions, and have a true Self (with caps lock “S”)
in the sense that their true nature beyond the various
layers of illusions and blind passions is Buddha nature.
This is how we should understand such things and
always make the clear distinction between false self
(non-self) and true Self.
Also, sometimes the Buddha denies the idea of self in

the sense of a creator god-universal self called Brahma
who is, in fact, just a mere powerful and mortal god, the
product of past karma and still a prisoner of samsara.
In conclusion, any teaching about the non-self given by

the Buddha is provisional and applies exclusively to the
81
I will talk about this very important aspect of Buddha nature being
empty of illusions but not empty of itself in the next chapter.
71
realm of samsaric phenomena and samsaric beings,
while the teaching on true Self represents His true
intention in explaining the indestructible Buddha nature.
In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra it is said,
“The empty is the totality of samsara and the non-empty

is Great Nirvana. Non-Self is samsara, and the Self is
Great Nirvana.”82
“What is based on causal relations has no Self. Non-self
is suffering and empty. The body of the Tathagata is not
based on causal relations. Because there are no causal
relations, we say that there is the Self. The Self is the
Eternal, Bliss, Self, and the Pure.”83
The ultimate body of any Tathagata or Buddha is

uncreated and eternal, always existing and not dependent
on causal relations. This is why it is the True Self or
Buddha nature. Only that which depends on causes and
conditions lacks self and is truly empty. 84
82
Mahaparinirvana Sutra, editin translated by Stephen Hodge from
the Tibetan version,
https://www.nirvanasutra.net/stephenhodgetrans4.htm
83
2004, verse 1184, p.270
84
Mentions of the true Self and what is not Self can also be found in
the Pali canon, from which I quote just a few passages:
” ‘But what have you, young men, to do with a woman?’ ‘We, Lord,
a group of as many as thirty friends of high standing, with our
wives, were amusing ourselves in this woodland grove; one had no
wife, so a woman of low standing was brought along for him. Then,
Lord, as we were heedlessly amusing ourselves, that woman of low
72
standing, taking our belongings, ran away. Consequently, Lord, we
friends, doing our friend a service and seeking for that woman, are
roaming about this woodland grove.’
” What do you think of this, young men? Which is better for you,
that you should seek for a woman or that you should seek for the
Self?’ ‘Truly, this were better for us, Lord, that we should seek for
the Self.’ ‘Well then, young men, you sit down, I will teach you
Dharma.’”
(Source: Mahavagga I 31-32 The Book of the Discipline (Vinaya
Pitaka) Volume IV (Mahavagga), translated by I.B. Horner, M.A).
Here Shakyamuni says that we must not confuse form, feeling,
perception, mental formations, consciousness with the Self or
Buddha nature:
“Thus it was heard by me. At one time the Blessed One was living in
the deer park of Isipatana near Benares. There, indeed, the Blessed
One addressed the group of five monks.
‘Form, O monks, is not-self; if form were self, then form would not
lead to suffering and it should obtain regarding form: ‘May my form
be thus, may my form not be thus’; and indeed, O monks, since form
is not-self, therefore form leads to suffering and it does not obtain
regarding form: ‘May my form be thus, may my form not be thus.’
‘Feeling, O monks, is not-self; if feeling were self, then feeling
would not lead to suffering and it should obtain regarding feeling:
‘May my feeling be thus, may my feeling not be thus’; and indeed, O
monks, since feeling is not-self, therefore feeling leads to suffering
and it does not obtain regarding feeling: ‘May my feeling be thus,
may my feeling not be thus.’
‘Perception, O monks, is not-self; if perception were self, then
perception would not lead to suffering and it should obtain
regarding perception: ‘May my perception be thus, may my
perception not be thus’; and indeed, O monks, since perception is
not-self, therefore, perception leads to suffering and it does not
obtain regarding perception: ‘May my perception be thus, may my
perception not be thus.’
‘Mental formations, O monks, are not-self; if mental formations
were self, then mental formations would not lead to suffering and it
should obtain regarding mental formations: ‘May my perception be
thus, may my mental formations not be thus’; and indeed, O monks,
73
In the Queen Srimala Sutra it is said,
“Bhagavan, the Buddha Nature is neither an

impermanent mundane self, nor personality, nor
samsaric living being nor destiny. The Buddha Nature is
not a realm for misguided sentient beings who adhere to
belief in a substantially existent personality or for those
who adhere to wrong views and have thoughts which are
confused by emptiness (who do not understand the real
since mental formations are not-self, therefore, mental formations

lead to suffering and it does not obtain regarding mental
formations: ‘May my mental formations be thus, may my mental
formations not be thus.’
‘Consciousness, O monks, is not-self; if consciousness were self,
then consciousness would not lead to suffering and it should obtain
regarding consciousness: ‘May my consciousness be thus, may my
consciousness not be thus’; and indeed, O monks, since
consciousness is not-self, therefore, consciousness leads to suffering
and it does not obtain regarding consciousness: ‘May my
consciousness be thus, may my consciousness not be thus.’”
Anatta-lakkhana Sutta: The Discourse on the Not-self Characteristic,
SN 22.59
“At Savatthi. “Bhikkhus, form is impermanent…. Feeling is
impermanent…. Preception is impermanent…. Volitional formations
are impermanent…. Consciousness is impermanent. What is
Impermanent is suffering. What is suffering is non-self. What is non-
self should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: This is
not mine, this I am not, this is not my Self.”
SamyuttaNikaya 22.46
“Bhikkhu you should abandon desire for whatever is non
self”
SamyuttaNikaya, 22.68
“Bhikkhu, you should abandon desire for whatever does not belong
to self.”
SamyuttaNikaya, 22.69
74
meaning of emptiness). O’ Bhagavan, the Buddha
Nature is the womb of the Dharmakaya, the womb of the
Dharmadhatu85, the womb of the Noumenon, the womb
of the inherent purity.”86
In the Dharma Drum Sutra it is said,
“Kasyapa said to the Buddha, ‘Please turn to no-self,

having talked about Self for a while.’
The Buddha told Kasyapa, ‘I explain the meaning of no-
self to destroy the worldly view (wrong view) of self.”
So, the Buddha taught the truth that samsaric phenomena

do not have a self in order to help them abandon clinging
to things that depend on causes and conditions.
However, such a teaching does not imply that there is no
true Self beyond illusions.
Bodhisattva Vasubandhu also said,
“In pure voidness Buddhas achieve the supreme Self of

selflessness, and realize the spiritual greatness of the
Self by discovering the Pure Self.”87
85
Literally ‘the essence or expanse of phenomena’. All-
encompassing space. Dharmadhatu is synonymous with Buddha
nature. It also has the meaning of “sphere of reality”.
86
TsultrimGyurme,
srimala-sutra
87
Vasubandhu on the Sutralamkara 9:23, Thurman translation.
75
Here again, the Pure Self or the supreme Self of
selflessness stands for the Buddha nature.
The right view of the Buddha Dharma is to accept the

existence of the true Self or Buddha nature, which is the
real YOU, hidden inside the many layers of “your”
deluded and ever changing samsaric personality.
In the Queen Srimala Sutra it is said,
“Know that those living beings who have devout faith in

the Buddha and view the Buddha as having Permanence,
Bliss, Self and Purity do not stray away from the correct
path. In truth it is those living beings that have the Right
View. Why is this? Because the Dharmakaya (the aspect
of ultimate reality/Buddha nature) of the World Honored
One is the perfection of permanence, the perfection of
bliss, the perfection of the Noumenon Self, and the
perfection of purity. Those living beings who see the
Dharmakaya of the Buddha in this way are the ones who
have seen correctly. Those who see correctly are called
the Sons and Daughters of the Lord, born from His
heart, born from His mouth, born from the Dharma,
those who act as if they are a manifestation of the
Dharma, heirs to the Dharma.”
Those who deny the existence of the real Self or Buddha

nature by misunderstanding or misinterpreting the
various teachings of Shakyamuni on the non-self of
samsaric phenomena are in a grave error and they should
be regarded as heretics and proponents of wrong views:
76
“Those who propound the doctrine of non-Self are to be
shunned in the religious rites of the monks, and not to be
spoken to, for they are offenders of the Buddhist
doctrines, having embraced the dual views of Being and
non-Being [existence and non-existence].”
“The doctrine of the Self shines brilliantly; it is like the

rising of the apocalyptic fire [lit., the fire of the end of
the world, yug-anta-agni], burning up the forest of Self-
lessness, wiping away the faults of the heretics.”88
In the Angulimala Sutra it is said,
“Then Angulimala replied to the elder renunciate

Dabba, ‘People who lack learning and have wrong
views get angry with those who teach the Tathagata-
garbha (the doctrine that all beings have the Tathagata
essence or Buddha nature) to the world, and expound
non-self in place of the Self as their doctrine. He who
teaches the Tathagata-garbha, even at the expense of his
own life, knowing that such people are inexperienced
with words and lacking in balance, has true patience and
teaches for the benefit of the world. […]
Then Aṅgulimala said to Purṇa-maitrayaṇi-putra, ‘Ah,

elder Purṇa, your practice is that of a mosquito, for you
are unable to teach a Dharma-discourse. Even a
mosquito can make a buzzing noise, so be silent, you
88
Lankavatara Sutra, Existence and Enlightenment in the
Lankavatara Sutra: A Study in the Ontology and Epistemology of
the Yogacara School of Mahayana Buddhism (SUNY Series in
Buddhist Studies), 1990, Florin Giripescu Sutton, page 98
77
foolish man who are like a mosquito!
Purṇa, those who think that no-self is the Dharma,
because they do not understand the Tathagata’s
underlying meaning, fall like moths into the lamp of
ignorance. […]
Those who were shameless crows in previous lives, who

were extremely ungrateful and ate unclean food, are
even now impoverished, lacking in shame, and do not
have faith in the Tathagata-garbha. In future lives too,
these are none other than those who will become
agitated upon hearing about the Tathagata-garbha from
somebody who gives beneficial teachings”.89
89
The Mahayana AngulimalaSutra, translation by Stephen Hodge
78
Collection of passages on the True Self
of Buddha nature
Here you can read and contemplate more

passages related with the doctrine of Self and my
explanations in chapter three.
“If it is said: ‘Since the Tathagata is not perfect in

innumerable virtues, He is non-eternal and must change.
He abides in the All-Void and expounds non-Self.’ Any
such sutra or vinaya is of Mara. If a sutra says: ‘The
true Enlightenment of the Tathagata is beyond knowing.
Also, He is perfect in innumerable asamkhyas of virtues.
Therefore, He is Eternal and there can be no change’.
Any such sutra or vinaya is what the Buddha said. Any
person who follows what Mara says is Mara’s kindred.
Any person who follows what the Buddha says is a
Bodhisattva.”90
There are many false teaches nowadays who state that

everything is void or empty and that there is no true Self,
misunderstanding the teachings of Shakyamuni who in
fact said that there is no permanent self in the samsaric
mind-stream of beings, but NOT that there is no true Self
beyond the various layers of illusions and blind passions.
This true Self is Buddha nature and it actually exist. It is
eternal, unchanged and uncreated.
90
2004, p.64
79
The teaching taught by the Buddha on the idea of “self”
was offered gradually as it is explained in the following
passages:
“Also, next, O good man! As an example: a woman has

a child who, while yet very young, is seized by illness.
Worried by this, the woman seeks out a good doctor. The
good doctor comes and compounds three medicines,
which are butter, milk, and rock candy. This he gives
her, to have it taken by the child. Then he says to the
woman: ‘When the child has taken the medicine, do not
give any milk to the child for some time. When the
medicine has worked its way out, you may then give
milk.’ Then the woman applies a bitter substance to her
nipple and says to the child: ‘Do not touch it [i.e. her
nipple]. My nipple is poisonous.’ The child is dying for
the milk and wants to have it. [But] on hearing of the
poison, it runs away. After the medicine has done its
work, the mother washes her nipple, calls in her child
and gives it [her nipple]. Although hungry, the child,
having heard about the poison, will not come to it. The
mother then says:
‘I only put poison on my nipple so as to give you the
medicine. As you have already taken the medicine, I
have washed the poison off. Come! Take my nipple. It is
not bitter any more.’ On hearing this, the child slowly
comes back and takes it.
O good man! The case is the same with the Tathagata. In

order to save beings, He gives them the teaching of non-
Self. Having practised the Way thus, beings do away
with the [cast of] mind that clings to self and gain
80
Nirvana. All of this is to do away with people’s wrong
concepts, to show them the Way and cause them to stand
above, to show them that they adhere to self, that what
obtains in the world is all false and not true, and to make
them practise non-Self and purify themselves. This is
similar to the woman’s applying a bitter substance to her
nipple out of love for her child. It is the same with the
Tathagata. For practising the Void, I say that all do not
have the Self. This is like the woman’s cleaning her
nipple and calling for her child to partake of her milk.
The case is the same with me, too: I speak of the
Tathagatagarbha. For this reason, the bhiksus do not
entertain fear. It is analogous to the child who hears its
mother, slowly comes back and takes the milk. The
situation is the same with the bhiksus. They should know
well that the Tathagata hides nothing.”91
In order to help His disciples abandon attachment to

themselves, Shakyamuni taught that there is no
permanent and no true self in their mind-stream and
illusory personalities that change constantly due to
various causes and conditions. Then, after they
understood that and were cured of wrong views
regarding themselves, He teaches that there is a true Self,
a Buddha nature beyond the many layers of illusions
which is the only reality which deserves their attention.
He explains somewhat similar the same teaching
technique in the Sutra of the Great Dharma Drum:
91
2004, p.69
81
“The Buddha told Kasyapa, ‘I explain the meaning of no
self to destroy the worldly view of self. If I did not say so,
how could I induce people to accept the Dharma of the
great teacher? When the Buddha pronounces no self,
sentient beings become curious. To hear what they have
never heard before, they come to the Buddha. Then I
enable them to enter the Buddha Dharma through
hundreds of thousands of causes and conditions. Once
they have entered the Buddha Dharma with growing
faith, they diligently train and energetically progress in
their learning of the Dharma of Emptiness. Then I
pronounce to them the eternal peace and bliss, and the
liberation that still manifests form. […] Through
hundreds of thousands of causes and conditions, I
explain to them liberation, Nirvana, and no self. Then I
see sentient beings mistake liberation for ultimate
extinction. Those without wisdom pursue extinction.
Then I pronounce, through hundreds of thousands of
causes and conditions, that there still is form after
achieving liberation.’ Kasyapa said to the Buddha,
‘World-Honored One, achieving liberation and
command means that sentient beings must be eternal. By
analogy, upon seeing smoke, one deduces that there must
be fire. If there is a [true] Self in one, then there can be
liberation. Saying that there is a [true] Self means that
there is form after achieving liberation. This is not the
worldly self-view, nor is it the statement of cessation or
perpetuity.”92
92
Sutra of the Great Dharma Drum, Translated from Sanskrit into
Chinese in the Liu Song Dynasty by the Tripitaka
Master Guṇabhadra from India, English translation by Rulu,
http://www.sutrasmantras.info/sutra19.html
82
*
“Every being has Buddha nature. This is the Self. Such

Self has, from the very beginning, been under cover of
innumerable defilements. That is why man cannot see it.
O good man! [Imagine that] there is a poor woman here.
She has true gold concealed in her house. But none of
the people of her house, whether big or small, know of it.
But there is a stranger, who, through expediency, says to
the poor woman: ‘I shall employ you. You must now go
and weed the land!’ The woman answers: ‘I cannot do
this now. If you let my son see where the gold is hidden, I
will soon work for you’. The man says: ‘I know the way.
I shall point it out to your son.’ The woman further says:
‘Nobody of my house, whether big or small, knows [of
this]. How can you?’ The man says: ‘I shall now make it
clear.’ The woman says further: ‘I desire to see. Pray let
me.’
The man digs out the gold that had lain hidden. The
woman sees it, is gladdened, and begins to respect that
person. O good man! The case is the same with the
Buddha-Nature which man has. Nobody can see it. This
is analogous to the gold which the poor woman
possessed and yet could not see. O good man! I now let
persons see the Buddha-Nature that they possess, which
is overspread by defilements. This is analogous to the
poor woman who cannot see the gold, even though she
possesses it. The Tathagata now reveals to all beings the
storehouse of Enlightenment, which is the Buddha
nature, as it is called. If all beings see this, they are
gladdened and will take refuge in the Tathagata. The
good expedient is the Tathagata, and the poor woman is
83
all the innumerable beings, and the cask of true gold is
the Buddha nature.”93
“The Buddha nature is strong and vigorous. It is hard to

destroy. Therefore, there is nothing that can kill it. If
there were something that could indeed kill it, Buddha
nature would die. [But] nothing can ever destroy such
Buddha nature. Nothing of this nature can ever be cut.
‘The nature of Self is nothing other than the hidden
storehouse of the Tathagata’. Such a storehouse can
never be smashed, set on fire, or done away with.
Although it is not possible to destroy or see it, one can
know of it when one attains unsurpassed
Enlightenment.”94
“And next, O good man! As an analogy: there is a man

here who knows well what is hidden [under the ground].
He takes a sharp hoe, digs into the ground and hits upon
such things as stones and gravel. All goes through and
nothing hinders [i.e. the hoe digs through everything,
93
2004, p.69
94
2004, p.70
84
without being obstructed]. Only when the diamond
comes in its way, can the hoe not dig through. Now, no
sword or hatchet can destroy a diamond. O good man!
The Buddha nature of beings is like this. It is something
that all those people who discuss things, Marapapiyas95,
all men and devas cannot destroy. Whatever occurs and
is done can certainly be destroyed, like stones and sand.
The True Self of the Buddha nature is like the diamond,
which cannot be crushed.”96
“If there are those who, with enhanced faith and

understanding, seek the Buddha store, the true Self, and
the eternally abiding Dharma body, the Tathagata will
pour the water of sarvajna [overall wisdom-knowledge]
on their heads and crown them with the white silk scarf
of the Mahayana.”97
Sutra of the Great Dharma Drum
95
Mara Papiyas are chieftains of Maras – celestial demons.
96
2004, p.70-71
97
85
“Kasyapa asked the Buddha, ‘World-Honored One, if
there is a [true] Self in one, why is it covered up by one’s
afflictions, which are like dirt?’
The Buddha told Kasyapa, ‘Very good! Very good! You
should ask the Tathagata this question. As an analogy, a
goldsmith perceives the purity of gold. He thinks about
why such pure gold is mixed with dirt and seeks the
origin of the dirt. Will he find its origin?’
Kasyapa replied, ‘No, World-Honored One.’
The Buddha told Kasyapa, ‘If he spends his entire
lifetime thinking about the initial cause of the dirt since
time without a beginning, will he find the original state?
He will acquire neither gold nor the origin of dirt.
However, if he diligently uses skillful means to remove
the dirt mixed with the gold, he will acquire the gold.’
The Buddha told Kasyapa, ‘Thus [one’s true] Self is
covered up by one’s afflictions, like dirt. If a person who
wants to see his [true] Self thinks: ‘I should search for
this self and the origin of afflictions,’ will that person
find the origin?’
Kasyapa replied to the Buddha, ‘No, World-Honored
One.’
The Buddha told Kasyyapa, ‘If one diligently uses
skillful means to remove one’s afflictions, which are like
dirt, one will realize one’s [true] Self.’”98
98
86
Some questions are useless from the Dharmic point of
view, especially those regarding the origin or the so-
called “beginning” of samsara. The words “beginning
and end” are the product of an unenlightened mind
which cannot conceive things beyond the duality of
beginning and end, etc. The most important thing as long
as we are unenlightened is to use “skillful means” or the
Buddhist Path to remove the illusions and defilements
which cover the true Self (Buddha nature). Once this true
reality is revealed we’ll find answers to all questions, or
better said, all questions will cease because everything
will be known and understood automatically. 99
In our case, the Nembutsu of faith and birth in the Pure
Land after death are the means through which we can
99
This passage is somewhat similar with the parable of the poisoned
arrow. There was a man who had been injured by a poisoned arrow.
His friends came immediately to remove the arrow in order to save
his life. But the wounded one objects: “I don’t want you to remove
this arrow until I find out who released it towards me, what clan he
belonged to, what kind of wood was the blow made of, what
feathers were used, etc.” Then Buddha asked His disciples if this
man proceeded correctly and if he really should wait until he got the
answers to all his questions or if he should just remove the arrow
and save his life. It goes without saying that this man was an idiot.
But he is not just a character in a strange or funny story; he
represents us all who, just like him, preoccupy ourselves with
useless and wrongly addressed questions, neglecting what is really
important: our state of beings drowned in illusions and suffering.
There are questions which troubled many spiritual seekers: whether
the Universe is finite or infinite and questions regarding the
beginning and the end of the world. Not only are these questions
spiritually useless, they also don’t lead to an authentic
transformation. The arrow is the first to be destroyed, that is the
illusion which enchains the beings and leads to repeated births and
deaths while the rest remains to be regarded later.
87
remove the “dirt” from our true Self. This is because the
enlightened realm of Amida is the best furnace for
separating gold (our Buddha nature) from the impurities
that are attached to it (our illusions and blind passions).
“Kasyapa asked the Buddha, ‘If there is true Self

(Buddha nature), why it is not seen?’
The Buddha told Kasyapa, ‘I will now give you an
analogy. For example, a beginning student is learning
the five letters [five sets of five consonants], which are
used to compose stanzas of verses. If one wants to know
the meanings [of the verses] before learning [the
letters], can one know them? One should first learn [the
letters], then one will know [the meanings]. Having
learned [the letters], one needs to be taught by the
teacher, who uses examples to indicate the meanings of
verses composed of words. If one can listen to and
accept the teacher, one will acquire understanding of the
meanings of the verses, and believe and appreciate them.
The [true] Self is now covered up by the store of
afflictions. If someone says, ‘Good man, the Tathagata
store is such and such,’ then the hearer immediately
wants to see it. Is he able to see it?’ Kasyapa replied,
‘No, World-Honored One.’
The Buddha told Kasyapa,‘For example, the student

who does not know the meanings of the verses should
follow the teacher on faith. Kasyapa, know that the
Tathagata is the speaker of truthful words. He truthfully
describes the existence of sentient beings. You will know
88
later, like that student who has learned [from his
teacher]. I now explain to you the realm of sentient
beings by four veiled analogies. These four are the eye
blinded by a disease, the moon covered by heavy clouds,
the water in a well to be dug, and the flame of a lamp
inside a container. Know that these four analogies
involve the causes and conditions for realizing one’s
Buddha nature. All sentient beings have Buddha nature
with immeasurable excellent appearance, majesty, and
radiance. Because of Buddha nature, all sentient beings
can attain Parinirvaṇa. For example, the disease of the
eye can be cured. Before one has encountered a good
physician, one’s eye is sightless. Once a good physician
appears, one will quickly perceive sights. Indeed, the
immeasurable store of afflictions covers and obstructs
one’s Tathagata nature (Buddha nature). Unless one
encounters Buddhas, one mistakes no self for Self, and
non-self for belongings of Self. After encountering
Buddhas, one then knows about one’s true Self. As if
cured of a disease, one’s eye opens and sees clearly. The
eye disease refers to one’s afflictions, and the eye refers
to one’s Tathagata nature (Buddha nature).
When the moon is covered by clouds, it is neither bright
nor clear. Likewise, when one’s Tathagata nature is
covered up by afflictions, it is neither bright nor clear. If
one discards one’s cloud-like afflictions, one’s
Tathagata nature will be bright and clear, like the full
moon. When one digs a well, dry dirt indicates that
water is still far away. When one gets wet dirt, one
knows that water is near. If one gets the water, then it is
the ultimate [end]. If one encounters Buddhas and learns
to do good karmas and to remove one’s afflictions, like
89
dirt, one will realize one’s Tathagata nature, which is
like the water. This nature is also like the flame of a
lamp inside a container. It is useless to sentient beings
when its brilliance is hidden. If the container is removed,
then the light of the lamp will shine everywhere.
Likewise, one’s afflictions are the container that hides
one’s Tathagata store, which is useless to sentient beings
when its appearance and majesty are neither bright nor
clear. If one discards the store of afflictions, eradicating
them all forever, then one’s Tathagata nature (Buddha
nature) will fully manifest its excellent appearance and
radiance for Buddha work. It is like shattering the
container so that sentient beings can enjoy the
lamplight.”100
“I respectfully prostrate to the absolute

perfect Buddha, the Blessed One,
who is Thusness, ultimate purity,
Self, great bliss, and permanence.”101
DolpopaSherabGyaltsen, The Fourth Council
100
101
Master, DolpopaSherabGyaltsen, revised and enlarged edition, by
90
“Absolute truth has the quintessence
of the five kayas of the Buddha
and is the omnipotent Self
of the five types of primordial awareness”.102
The Expression of the Names
102
91
Chapter IV. Buddha nature is not empty of itself but
only empty of samsaric phenomena
There are two types of emptiness: 1) self

emptiness and 2) other emptiness.
We may call the first “empty-emptiness” and the second
“non-empty-emptiness”.
Self emptiness means that something is empty of its own

entity or self. This is the case with any samsaric
phenomena, including the outer world and inner world of
unenlightened beings.
Anything that appears due to various combinations of
causes and conditions is self empty. Anything that
changes is self-empty. Anything that can be analyzed
and divided in small fragments and atoms is self empty.
Any samsaric universe with all the various planets, solar
systems and unenlightened beings living there is self
empty because they appear due to various causes and
conditions, change due to causes and conditions and
disappear due to causes and conditions.
Anything that is self empty is a dream, a mirage, a

magical display, and ultimately not real. All phenomena
and beings of samsaric existence are self empty. The so-
called inner or outer reality that unenlightened beings
experience is self empty and ultimately not real. It is like
when you wake up from a dream and you realize it was
just a dream with unreal events, while when you were
immersed in it you felt that was the real world. The
Awakened Ones (the Buddhas) who also act as awakener
of others became aware of their Buddha nature (true
92
reality) and by dwelling in it they have realized that the
dream world of sleeping beings (unenlightened
beings/not Buddhas yet) is self empty and not actually
real.
Samsara, being self empty has only a relative reality just

like the dream is real for the dreamer, while the Buddha
nature and those who dwell in it (the Buddhas)
experience the True Reality – the reality of the
Awakened Ones. The single goal of all the various
Dharma Gates is to help you escape the dream world of
samsara and awake to the true Reality or the Reality of
Buddha nature which is NOT self empty, but only empty
of illusions, empty of blind passions, empty of
defilements, etc, and filled with the infinite qualities of
true freedom.
It is extremely important to understand the

difference between self emptiness, that was described
above and was mentioned in the Heart Sutra, and other
emptiness.
Buddha nature is NOT actually empty or not self empty
for the simple reason that it is the true Reality,
unconditioned by anything, not created by anything, not
dependent on anything, not appearing according to
causes and conditions, not changing according to causes
and conditions and not disappearing due to causes and
conditions. A dream appears due to various reasons but
the reality experienced when awake has always been
there and it is what you awake to when you stop
dreaming. Thousands upon thousands of dreams
(samsaric states of existence) may appear and
93
disappear but the reality (Buddha nature) never
changes and it is always there. This is why such a
reality is not self empty.
There is only one way in which we can say that true

reality or Buddha nature is empty and that is other
emptiness or non-empty-emptiness. The samsaric
phenomena of inner and outer world is empty-emptiness
because it is truly empty, while the Buddha nature is
non-empty-emptiness because it is only empty of
samsara, but not empty of itself and not empty of its
innate enlightened qualities.
Unfortunately, even during the presence of Shakyamuni
Buddha in flesh and bones and nowadays, more than
2500 years after, there are some who do not understand
the difference between empty-emptiness and non-empty-
emptiness or between what is truly empty (self empty)
and that which is only empty of other (empty of illusions
and samsaric phenomena). This is exactly why I am
writing this text because it is essential that members of
Amidajihave the right understanding of all main
Buddhist doctrines.
In the AngulimalaSutra it is said103 (comments in

brackets are my own),
103
The fragments I quoted here from this sutra are told by
Angulimala to Manjushri who pretends to not know the difference
between the two types of emptiness. People should not think that
since Angulimala was a sinful person what he said is not true, for he
is actually a Buddha in disguise! In the same sutra it is said that to
the south in a vast land of Buddhas there is a land called “Decorated
by all Jewels”, where a Budha called “Liked When Seen by All the
94
“For example, a rain-storm falls from a great cloud, and
a person with a childish nature picks up a piece of hail.
Thinking that it is a precious vaidurya jewel, the person
carries it home and, not daring to hold it due to its great
coldness thinks to treat it as a treasure and carefully
puts it into a vase. Seeing that round piece of hail melt,
the person thinks, ‘Empty’, and turns speechless.
Similarly, one who meditates on extreme emptiness and
considers emptiness to be profound uncomfortably sees
all phenomena to be destroyed. Even· non-empty
liberation is seen and considered to be emptiness”.
First some people think that samsaric phenomena (the

piece of hail) are permanent. Then they realize that they
are empty and impermanent. So far so good, nothing
wrong here, but the problem appears when they start
thinking that because samsaric phenomena are empty
and without a self, then everything should be empty and
without self, even the Buddha nature (vaidurya jewel)
and its innate qualities (non-empty phenomena):
“For example, having thought that a piece of hail is a

jewel, the person meditates even on jewels as empty.
Likewise, you also consider non-empty phenomena to be
empty. Seeing phenomena as empty, you also destroy
non-empty phenomena as empty. [However] empty
phenomena are other; non-empty phenomena are other
(empty phenomena or samsaric phenomena are different
from non-empty phenomena or the qualities and
attributes inherent in the Buddha nature). The tens of
World Manifestly Elevated Great Effort” resides, and He manifested

as Angulimala.
95
millions of afflictive emotions like hail-stones are
empty. The phenomena in the class of non-virtues, like
hailstones, quickly disintegrate. Buddha, like a vaidurya
jewel, is permanent. The scope of liberation also is like
a vaidurya jewel. […]
Buddha nature is permanent and non-empty of its own

entity. Like a pot empty of water that is still a pot but
empty of the water element, or a house empty of humans
who is still a house but without human beings, the
Buddha nature is empty of defilements and the defects of
samsara, but not empty of itself and its innate Buddha
qualities. This is why we say that Buddha nature is
“non-empty-emptiness”:
“An empty home in a built-up city is called empty due to

the absence of humans. A pot is empty due to the absence
of water. A river is empty due to water not flowing. Is a
village that is without ·householders called ‘empty-
empty?’ Or are the households empty in all respects?
They are not empty in all respects; they are called empty
due to the absence of humans.
Is a pot empty in all respects? It is not empty in all
respects; it is called ‘empty’ due to the absence of water.
Is a river empty in all respects? It is not empty in all
respects; it is called ‘empty’ because water is not
flowing. Similarly, liberation is not empty in all respects;
it is called ‘empty’ because of being devoid of all
defects. A Buddha, a supramundane Victor, is not
empty but is called ‘empty’ because of being devoid of
defects and due to the absence of humanness and
96
godhood that have ten of millions of afflictive
emotions.”104
Also, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, using the non-

existence of a horse in a cow and the non-existence of a
cow in a horse, states that the Buddha nature and
Nirvana is other-empty in the sense of not being empty
of itself:
“Child of lineage, a horse does not exist in a cow, but it

is not suitable to say that a cow does not exist, and a cow
does not exist in a horse, but it is not suitable to say that
even a horse does not exist. Nirvana also is like that;
Nirvana does not exist in afflictive emotions, and
afflictive emotions do not exist in Nirvana. Hence, it is
said to be the non- existence of the one in the other.”105
Master Shan-tao said:
“In His attainment of highest truth, the Buddha is the

One most revered in all the heavens. He has awakened
104
AngulimalaSutra as quoted in The Mountain Doctrine by Dolpopa
Sherab Gyaltsen, translated and introduced by Jeffrey Hopkins,
Snow Lion Publications, Ithaka New York, Boulder, Colorado,
2006, p.210-211
105
MahaparinirvanaSutra, as quoted in The Mountain Doctrine by
97
to the truth that Buddha-nature is not void (not empty of
itself)”.106
Speaking about the virtues and the activities of those

born in the Pure Land, Shakyamuni said,
“With the Buddha eye, they completely realize the nature

of dharmas (phenomena) 107.
They observe with the eye of equality that the three
worlds are empty and nonexistent.“108
He also said, when describing the spiritual journey of

Bodhisattva Dharmakara before He became Amida
Buddha:
“He dwelled in the realization that all dharmas

(phenomena) are empty, devoid of distinctive features,
and not to be sought after, and that they neither act nor
arise; He thus realized that all dharmas are like magical
creations.”109
106
Master Shan-tao as quoted by Shinran in his Kyogyoshinsho,
chapter I, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism
Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.9
107
When “dharma” is written with small “d” it refers to phenomena.
When it is written with “D” like in “Dharma”, it refers to the
Buddhist teaching.
108
The Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from
Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart,
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation
and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.44
109
98
From the point of view of ultimate reality or
Dharmakaya (Buddha nature) the various phenomena of
samsaric existence are like “magical creations” and are
seen as “neither act nor arise” because they do not have
a real, permanent existence. For Dharmakara
Bodhisattva such an understanding of the emptiness of
all phenomena of samsaric existence versus the true
reality of ultimate Dharmakaya or Buddha nature was
not an intellectual one, the product of mind categories
and rationalizations, but a genuine realization in which
He dwelt constantly. By having access to this true
reality, He could then manifest His Enlightened realm in
accordance with His Vows.
If the Buddha nature and its innate qualities were really

empty of themselves then it would mean that they do not
actually exist or they exist only at the relative level (do
not have real existence). Without a real Buddha nature
with truly existent Buddha qualities (Buddha
attributes), there would be no real liberation from
samsara and all the Dharma Gates would be useless
because they would not really liberate anybody.
In the Queen Srimala Sutra it is said:
“There are two types of Emptiness wisdom concerning

the Buddha Nature which are as follows. (1) The Buddha
nature is empty from, separate from, independent from
and different from all the stores of defilement. (2) The
Buddha nature is not-empty from, is not separate from,

and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.22
99
not independent from and not different from the
inconceivable Buddha Attributes which are more
numerous than the sands of the river Ganges”.110
In Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum of the Great Vehicle it

is said:
“The Matrix of the One gone thus

(Tathagatagarbha/Buddha nature) is empty of all the
coverings of separable and removable afflictive
emotions and is not empty of the inseparable,
unremovable, inconceivable Buddha-qualities more
numerous than the sands of the Ganges”111
In The Awakening of faith in Mahayana by Master

Ashvaghosa it is said:
“Suchness (Budhha nature) has two aspects if

predicated in words. One is that it is truly empty (sunya),
for this aspect can, in the final sense, reveal what is real
(by seeing what is false you can understand the
true). The other is that it is truly nonempty (a-sunya), for
its essence itself is endowed with undefiled and excellent
qualities”.112
110
Queen Srimala and her Lion’s Roar Sutra, chapter 9, verse 97,
translated by Tsultrim Gyurme,
srimala-sutra
111
https://whatdobuddhistsbelieve.wordpress.com/tathagatagarbha-
in-relation-to-emptiness
112
The Awakening of faith in Mahayana, Attributed to Asvaghosha,
Translated by Yoshito S. Hakedas, Columbia University Press,
100
Liberation and that in which we are liberated (the
Buddha nature) cannot be relative or not truly existent.
Only the samsaric dream can be relatively real (real for
the dreamer) and actually not real from the perspective
of ultimate Reality of the Buddha nature in which all
Buddhas dwell and where they want to liberate us. Also,
the so-called liberation obtained by those who follow
non-Buddhist or heretical views and who do not
understand true emptiness is not real liberation.
In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra it is said:
“Moreover, release is non-empty-empty (non-empty-

emptiness). That which is called "empty-empty" is
nothingness. Nothingness is like the release of the order
of the naked ones (Jains). Since the naked ones do not
really have release, it is called "empty-empty." Because
real release is not like that, it is non-empty-empty. Non-
empty-emptiness is real release. Real release is the One-
gone-thus (Tathagata/Buddha).”113
Because samsaric phenomena and the so-called release

(liberation) of non-Buddhists are false, they are called
“empty-empty”, that is, empty of themselves. Anything
which is false does not really exist, so it is a “release”
into nothingness. However, the Buddhist release which
1967, https://whatdobuddhistsbelieve.wordpress.com/the-ocean-of-
nirvana
113
MahaparinirvanaSutra, as quoted in The Mountain Doctrine by
101
leads to innate Buddha nature is true and real. For this
reason, it is called non-empty-empty, that is, empty in
the sense of not having any more illusions, blind
passions and defilements. As non-Buddhists, like the
Jains mentioned above, do not understand Buddha
nature, they remain entangled in illusions, so they cannot
have true release.
Shinran Shonin himself quoted Mahaparinirvana Sutra

on this aspect in his Kyogyoshinsho,
"The emancipation of non-Buddhist ways is called

impermanent; the emancipation of Buddhist ways is
called eternal".114
"The ninety-five nonbuddhist teachings115 defile the

world;
The Buddha's path alone is pure.
Only by going forth and reaching Enlightenment can we
benefit others
in this burning house; this is the natural working of the
Vow".116
114
Nirvana Sutra quoted by Shinran, Kyogyoshinsho, chapter V,
Kyogyoshinsho - The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism
Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.182
115
Shinran explained that by „ninety-five nonbuddhist teachings” he
meant not a fixed number but that the nonbuddhist paths are divided
into numerous kinds.
116
Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the Dharma Ages,The Collected Works
of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu
Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.401
102
Because the Buddhist Path has true knowledge of the
Buddha nature and perfect ways to discover it (reaching
Enlightenment), we say that it is supreme among all
other religions.
103
Collection of passages on the
true meaning of emptiness
Here you can read and contemplate more

passages related with my explanations in chapter four on
the fact that Buddha nature is not empty of itself but only
empty of samsaric phenomena and illusions.
“The element (Buddha nature) is empty of the

adventitious [stains],
which are featured by their total separateness.
But it is not empty of the matchless properties,
which are featured by their total inseparability.”117
Shastra
Buddha nature is empty of the defilements that cover it

and which can’t penetrate it, just like dirt cannot
penetrate a diamond. Also, as fire cannot be separated
from its heat, Buddha nature cannot be separated from its
innate qualities.
“Mahamati, what is meant by the emptiness in its highest

sense of ultimate reality realisable by noble wisdom? It
Buddha nature – The Mahayana Uttaratantrashastra Shastra

117
with Commentary, by Arya Maitreya, written down byArya Asanga,

commentary byJamgon Kongtrul LodroThaye, explanations by
Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated by Rosemarie
104
is that in the attainment of an inner realisation by means
of noble wisdom there is no trace of habit-energy
generated by all the erroneous conceptions [of
beginningless past]. Thus, one speaks of the highest
emptiness of ultimate reality realisable by noble
wisdom.”118
Thus, we can say that the state of perfect Enlightenment

is empty of erroneous conceptions and the habit energy
created by them.
“That all things are devoid of self-nature means that

there is a constant and uninterrupted becoming, a
momentary change from one state of existence to
another; seeing this, Mahamati, all things are destitute
of self-nature. So, one speaks of all things having no self-
nature.”119
“Now I will give a name to our Buddha nature. It is

called empty and cognizant self-existing wakefulness.
118
119
105
The empty aspect, the essence, is like space that
pervades everywhere. But inseparable from this empty
quality is a natural capacity to cognize and perceive,
which is basic wakefulness. Buddha nature is called self-
existing because it is not made out of anything or created
by anyone. Self-existing means uncreated by causes in
the beginning and undestroyed by circumstances in the
end. This self-existing wakefulness is present in all
beings without a single exception. Our thinking and self-
existing wakefulness are never apart. The thinking mind
is called expression, while the basic wakefulness is
called essence. Thus, there are actually two names for
the mind. In the case of an ignorant sentient being, the
mind is called empty cognizance with a core of
ignorance (marigpa). The mind of all the Buddhas is
called empty cognizance with a core of awareness
(rigpa).”120
Gampopa
The emptiness of Buddha nature which is inseparable

from wakefulness and awareness means, as I explained
at chapter four, non-empty-emptiness in the sense that it
is only empty of illusions and blind passions, but not
empty of itself and its innate qualities. This is why it has,
for example, the “natural capacity to cognize and
perceive” and why it is “self-existing”. On the other
hand, our thinking mind is self-empty in the sense that is
120
106
only an expression or a projection that is constantly
changing according to circumstances, illusions and
attachments. The explanation of the difference between
our “thinking mind” which “is called expression” and
“the basic wakefulness” which “is called essence
(Buddha nature)” is explained in the following passage
from the same work:
“The state of being a Buddha is unconfused and

undeluded, just like the sun shining in the sky. The state
of mind of sentient beings is like the reflection of the sun
on water. Just as the reflection is dependent upon
water, our thoughts are dependent upon objects. The
object is what is thought of, and the subject is the
perceiving mind. Subject-object fixation is the cause for
continuing in deluded samsaric existence, day and night,
life after life. The fixation upon subject and object, the
perceiving subject and the perceived object, is solidified
again and again each moment and thus recreates
samsaric existence. Right now we have the five sense
objects of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. In
between, as the gates, we have the five senses, and there
are also the various consciousnesses that continuously
apprehend these different sense objects.”121
121
107
Kalki Pundarika made another comparison: “(Samsaric)
existence and Nirvana (Buddha nature) are not identical,
but like a shadow and the sun”122.
“Dharmas (chö) are wholesome (samsaric) phenomena,

unwholesome phenomena, and neutral phenomena -
everything that can be described and indicated in this
way. Dharmata (chönyi) means that they are all empty in
essence, empty by nature, and empty of
characteristics.”123
Shri Singha, Ten Profound Points of Essential Advice
“Relative truth is empty of self-nature

And absolute truth is empty of other.
If the mode of emptiness

Of the two truths is not understood in this way,
there is danger of denying complete Buddhahood.”124
122
Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, revised and enlarged edition by
Cyrus Stearns, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaka, New York, 2010,
p.110
123
Quitenssential Dzogchen,Ten Profound Points of Essential
Advice, by Shri Singha, translated and compiled by Erik Pema
Kunsang and Marcia Binder Schmidt, Rangjung Yeshe Publications,
2006, p. 118
124
108
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, Sun Clarifying the Two
Truths
In the category of relative truth are included all samsaric

phenomena. About them we say that they exist only at
the relative level because they appear according to
causes and conditions but ultimately are empty and non-
existent.
In the category of absolute truth are included the Buddha
nature and all its myriad qualities as well as the Buddhas
who dwell in it. The Buddha nature is always existing,
having no beginning and no end, thus, it is only “empty
of other”, that is, empty of defilements and whatever it is
not absolute truth.
Those who do not understand the difference between
emptiness of samsaric phenomena and non-emptiness or
“empty of other” emptiness of Buddha nature, actually
deny Buddahood and the existence of Buddhas. Such
ignorant people usually say that everything is empty,
including the Buddha nature, thus falling into the heresy
of nihilistic emptiness about which I talked at chapter
ten.
“Carefully distinguishing
Empty of self-nature and empty of other,
What is relative is all taught
To be empty of self-nature,
And what is absolute is taught
109
To be precisely empty of other.”125
“Because relative and incidental entities are completely

nonexistent in their true mode of existence (in absolute
truth they don’t exist), they are empty of own-essence.
That is being empty of self-nature. Because the original
absolute that is empty of those relative phenomena is
never nonexistent, it is empty of other.”126
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, Analysis of Dharma for the
Ruler of Jang
“Carefully distinguishing
empty of self-nature and empty of other,
what is relative is all taught
to be empty of self-nature,
and what is absolute is taught
to be precisely empty of other.”127
125
126
Cyrus Stearns, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaka, New York, p.88-89
127
110
*
“The ultimate reality of all profound sutras and tantras

that carefully present Thusness (Buddha nature) and so
forth is emptiness of other, never emptiness of self-
nature.
(Such sacred texts support the idea that Buddha nature is
only empty of other, that is, empty of defilements and
samsaric phenomena but not empty of its own nature).
It is absolute, never relative. It is the true nature, never a

phenomenon. It is Nirvana, never samsara.
It is primordial awareness, never consciousness.

(Buddha nature is not the mind-stream of samsaric
beings).
It is pure, never impure. It is a sublime Self, never

nothingness. It is great bliss, never suffering.
It is permanent and stable, never impermanent. It is self-
arisen, never other-arisen. It is natural, never
fabricated. It is primordial, never incidental. It is
Buddha, never sentient being. It is the kernel, never the
husk. It is definitive meaning, never provisional
meaning. It is ultimate, never temporary. It is the true
mode of reality, never the mode of confusion. It is true,
never false. It is perfect, never mistaken.
It is the ground of emptiness,

never just empty.
111
(Buddha nature is not just empty like the samsaric
phenomena, but actually empty only of samsara and
never empty of its own innate qualities)
It is virtue, never vice.It is authentic, never inauthentic.

It is stainless, never stained.
Therefore, these are the same as Great Madhyamaka. All

the sublime sutras of the third Dharma wheel and all the
treatises of Maitreya are the same as Great
Madhyamaka. The pristine tantras are also likewise.”128
Great Madhyamaka (or Great Madhyamika) is the Great

Middle Way in accordance with the views expressed in
this book that Buddha nature is true reality which is
empty of other (empty of defilements) but not empty of
its own nature. Master Taranatha said:
“The Great Middle Way is the Middle Way School of

Cognition, renowned in Tibet as Other Emptiness
(Shentong). It is illuminated by the texts of the foremost
holy Maitreya, by the superior Asangha and by the
supreme scholar Vasubandhu129 and is greatly
128
263
129
As you know, Vasubandhu is also the 2nd Indian Patriarch of our
school. The works related with the Great Middle Way are:
Commentary on Maitreya’s Differentiation of the Middle and the
Extremes, Explanation of Maitreya’s Ornament for the Great
Vehicle Sutras, Principles of Explanation, The Thirty, and
112
illuminated by the superior Nagarjuna’s Praise of the
Element of Attributes130”131
The third Dharma Wheel or the third turning of the

Wheel of Dharma comprises sutras like
Tathagatagarbha Sutra, Mahaparinirvana Sutra,
Dharma Drum Sutra, Queen Srimala Sutra, Angulimalya
Sutra, etc, where Shakyamuni explained that all sentient
beings have Buddha nature (Tathagatagarbha doctrine)
and the potential to become Buddhas. It also teaches the
abandonment of the clinging to emptiness.
“I cannot yield to those who,

accept that all is precisely empty of self-nature,
accept that emptiness of self-nature is the absolute,
(the wrong view of everything is empty)
accept that the absolute is empty of self-nature,
(the wrong view of Buddha nature being empty of itself
and its innate qualities)
accept that concepts are the Dharmakaya,
accept that the five poisons are primordial awareness,
(the wrong view of saying that samsaric phenomena are
not different from Nirvana)132
commentaries on the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras attributed to

Vasubandhu by the Tibetan Jonangpa school.
130
I will use some quotes from this book in the following pages.
131
annotated by Jeffrey Hopkins in collaboration with Lama
LodroNamgyel, Snow Lion Boston & London, 2007, p. 62-63
132
For Buddhas who are free wherever they go, everything is like
Nirvana, but that is not related with the above wrong view.
113
accept that consciousness is Buddha,
(the wrong view of saying that the mind-streams or egos
of samsaric beings are not different from Buddhas or
Buddha nature)
accept that karmic appearances are Buddha,
(the wrong view of saying that samsaric phenomena that
appear due to karma are not different from Buddha
nature and its qualities which are unborn and do not
depend on causes and conditions)
accept that Buddha is just an empty name,
(wrong view of thinking that Buddhas are just symbols
or metaphors)
accept that Buddha never exists,
(wrong view of nihilistic emptiness)
accept that absolute Buddha does not exist”133
(also, the wrong view of nihilistic emptiness)
“Self-emptiness is not the pure final [Middle Way]. The

highest of views is only other-emptiness.”134
Master Dolpopa as explained in The Essence of Other-
Emptiness by Taranatha
133
282
134
LodroNamgyel, Snow Lion Boston & London, 2007, p. 122
114
To say that everything is empty of itself is not the true
Middle Way (Madhyamika). The true Middle Way and
the highest Buddhist view is that Buddha nature is only
empty of other, that is, empty of defilements and
illusions.
“The thoroughly established nature (Buddha nature), the

matrix-of-One-Gone-to-Bliss, is never empty of its own
entity but is primordially empty of others, that is,
conventionalities. Hence, the thoroughly established
nature, the ultimate truth, is other-empty, not self-
empty.”135
“Since conventionalities such as forms, sounds, odors,

tastes, and so forth are in the class of consciousness,
they are without true existence, and since noumenal
forms, sounds, and so forth are in the class of pristine
wisdom, they are truly established.
Dolpopa’s Mountain Doctrine (316): ‘In that way
Thusness (Buddha nature), the basis of emptiness,
having many synonyms is the basis primordially empty
and void of all adventitious phenomena and is the pure
basis. Hence, primordially pure phenomena ranging
135
115
from forms through omniscience are noumenal
thoroughly established forms and so forth and also forms
and so on passed beyond the three realms and the three
times.’”
Manifestations caused by the karma of unenlightened

beings are ultimately empty and non-existent. However,
the manifestations (“pure phenomena”) of Buddhas who
are established in their Buddha nature (noumenon) are
true and real.
“Also, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra makes

pronouncements within differentiating well between
empty forms, and so forth, and nonempty forms, and so
forth:
‘Kaundinya, empty form – due to the condition of
ceasing – attains release in the aspect of non-empty
form. This should be known in extension likewise with
regard to feelings, discriminations, compositional
factors, and consciousnesses.’
Concerning those, respectively the forms and so forth of

adventitious defilements are empty of their own entities –
an emptiness of non-entities – and the forms and so forth
of the matrix-of-One-Gone-to-Bliss are the ultimate,
116
other-emptiness, emptiness that is the [ultimate] nature
of non-entities.”136
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, Mountain Doctrine
“The forms and so forth of the matrix-of-One-Gone-to-

Bliss” are the Dharmakaya as compassionate means
which is empty of other, that is, empty of defilements
and illusions, and so really existing.
“Whatever external appearance you perceive is a

naturally occurring appearance and a
naturally empty-emptiness; let it be, free from mental
constructs. Within, whatever moves in your mind,
whatever you think, has no essence but is empty.”137
Self emptiness or empty-emptiness means that

something is empty of its own entity. This is the case
with any samsaric phenomena, including the outer world
and inner world of unenlightened beings.
136
137
Kunsang, p.102
117
“You and all others are deluded by not recognizing what
is devoid of a self-nature to be so.”138

138

Kunsang, p.106
118
Chapter V.The enlightened qualities
of Buddha nature
As mentioned previously, the Buddha nature has

many innate qualities (attributes), also called the
qualities of liberation or of Dharmakaya. They are
usually compared with the attributes of a precious jewel,
like for example, its light, color and shape that are
inseparable from it.
I will also use a different comparison to help you make
an idea. Imagine you lived for many years in a smelly,
isolated and narrow prison cell where you could not
walk, nor see the sun and breathe fresh air. Then, you are
liberated into the most beautiful park where you have
everything you need. Now think about the “qualities” of
your tiny prison cell and those of the beautiful park. Bad
air, bad smell, cement walls and floor, artificial light,
restricted area for movement, versus fresh air,
unrestricted movement and freedom, open space, natural
light from the sun, chirping of birds, etc. The things you
could not even dream about when you were imprisoned
you can now do freely by having access to the open
space of nature and its wonderful qualities.
In the exact way that park with all its beauties has
always been there even if you were imprisoned and
could not see it, the Buddha nature with its inherent
qualities has always been present although you were
living within the limitations of samsaric existence.
119
There are two aspects of Buddha nature: 1) the
aspect of space and 2) the aspect of wisdom and
luminosity.
The aspect of space represents the emptiness of samsaric

phenomena, that is, our Buddha nature being empty of
illusions, blind passions, and any type of defilements. It
also pervades everything, like space. There is no place
where Buddha nature is not present.
The aspect of wisdom and luminosity comprises the

thirty-two innate qualities of Buddha nature. However, it
is said that each of these thirty-two has millions of
further qualities. Thus, there is an unceasing display of
qualities from the Buddha nature (Dharmakaya). 139
Any Buddha has two kinds of wisdom which are

inherent in the Buddha nature: 1) the wisdom of the true
nature of things and 2) the wisdom of the variety of
phenomena.
The thirty-two qualities of Buddha nature belong to the
wisdom of the variety of phenomena. Such qualities are
inherent to the Buddha nature just like the rays of light
belong to the sun. The clouds may hinder us from seeing
the sun and its natural qualities, but when they are
dissipated, we can clearly admire them and receive their
benefits. It is not that the sun and its qualities were
created when the clouds disappeared because they were

139
KhenchenThrangu, translated by Peter Alan Roberts, edited by

Clark Johnson, Shambhala, Boston & London, 2006, p. 62-62.
120
always there although we could not perceive them. 140
The same applies to the Buddha nature and its innate
qualities. They are always present under the many layers
of our samsaric personalities and they will become
manifest when we enter the enlightened realm of
Amida’s Pure Land which has the power to dissipate the
clouds of various illusions and obscurations.
The thirty-two qualities are classified in three categories:

a) the ten powers, b) the four fearlessnesses and c) the
eighteen distinct qualities.141
a) The ten powers

1) The power to know what is correct, for example,
that virtuous actions lead to happiness, and what is
incorrect, for example, that unvirtuous actions lead to
misery. The first power includes full knowing of the
three types of beings’ karma: the karma that will
manifest in this life, the karma that will manifest in the
very next life and the karma that is not so strong and will
manifest in another indefinite period of time in the
future.
140
Clark Johnson, Shambhala, Boston & London, 2006, p. 51
141
In my explanations of the thirty-two qualities I relied on two
books: On Buddha Essence, A Commentary on Ranjung Dorje’s
treatise by KhenchenThrangu, translated by Peter Alan Roberts,
edited by Clark Johnson, Shambhala, Boston & London, 2006, p.
50-60 and Treasury of Precious Qualities, volume I, by Jigme
Lingpa, Padmakara Translation Group, revised edition, Shambhala
Publications, 2010, p. 456 – 459 These qualities are also taught in
various Mahayana sutras and treatises.
121
2) The power of knowledge of the results of
actions. This means to know that certain causes bring
certain results, including the positive actions and
negative actions. In short, this power represents the
capacity to know every detail about all the particular
individual relationships between causes and results, why
this or that person was born in such and such a realm of
existence and is experiencing this or that type of life, etc.
Nobody except the Buddhas have the ability to know
every little karmic detail of someone’s life.
3) The power to know the makeup of beings. This

means to know the different aspirations and interests of
beings, so that when He wants to guide them a Buddha
knows who are those impressed by the display of
miraculous powers, by the good behavior of the teacher,
by his wisdom or who have faith in hearing the
teachings, etc
4) The power of knowing the different capacities

and potential of beings. Some excel in understanding,
some in diligence, some in mindfulness, while others in
faith or in meditation, etc A Buddha knows all of this.
5) The power of knowing the different aspirations

and interests of beings. For example, some are interested
in Hinayana, some in Mahayana, while others in
Vajrayana. Some are interested in knowledge and
wisdom, while others in morality or meditation, etc
6) The power to know all paths and where they lead.
122
A Buddha knows what faults or qualities may arise on
this or that path, and what paths to be avoided.
7) The power of knowing the various states of

meditation and concentration (samadhi), what
defilements are eliminated by them and what qualities or
obstacles one may encounter in one’s practice.
8) The power of having the divine sight and

clairvoyance through which the Buddha can see
everything in the past, present and future. Nothing can
stay hidden from Him and so He looks with compassion
upon all beings everywhere.
9) The power of knowing the countless past lives of

all beings without exception
10) The power of knowing the final elimination of

any defilement, that everything that needs to be
eliminated has been eliminated. The Buddha knows that
for Him all the veils of emotional and cognitive
obscurations have been removed together with their
habitual tendencies.
b) The four fearlessnesses

These four fearlessnesses apply to any hostility with
regard to what Buddhas teach or say about themselves
and others.Ven. Thrangu Rinpoche explained them as
follows:
“In the first fearlessness, the Buddha looks at himself

and thinks, ‘All my faults have been eliminated.’ Nobody
123
else can say, ‘There's one fault that you haven't
eliminated.’ Everything that needs to be eliminated has
been eliminated. This first fearlessness is called
sarvadharma-sambhodi in Sanskrit and means that the
Buddha has gained realization of the variety of
phenomena.
The second fearlessness is the perfection of realization;

all the positive qualities in oneself have been developed,
and one can say, ‘All these qualities have been realized.’
No one can say, ‘There's this quality that you haven't
developed.’ Having all qualities developed, the Buddha
is endowed with the wisdom of knowing all phenomena.
No one can accuse the Buddha by saying, ‘You don't
know about this area of phenomena.’ The Buddha is
fearless because He knows that He has the wisdom of the
true nature of phenomena.
The third is the fearlessness of teaching the path to

benefit others. It is a fearlessness of telling beings, ‘This
is the path you must follow to get the result.’ No one can
say, ‘Actually, this path doesn't help. That's just a lot of
hardship for no purpose.’ The Buddha has this
fearlessness in that He can say that if one practices this
path it will bring the result, and no one can contradict
Him.
The [fourth] fearlessness also benefits others by

teaching them the obstacles to be avoided on the path.
[…] The Buddha is able to teach beings the Path and the
obstacles, and He knows that none of these is a waste of
time or effort. So, the ability to teach people the
124
obstacles to the path is attained through the wisdom of
knowing all phenomena. […] It isn't the case that the
Buddha thinks, ‘Whoops! I left one out. I forgot to tell
them that they have to give that up. Oh dear, I
haven't taught very well today.’ The Buddha has
complete knowledge of what to teach. When the Buddha
says that one should avoid something, He doesn't leave
anything out. He also doesn't worry that somebody will
be able to dispute with Him or that He's made a mistake.
So, there are two aspects of fearlessness which benefit

oneself and two aspects of fearlessness which benefit
others, making up four fearlessnesses. The reason the
Buddha is shown seated on a lion supported throne in
many pictures and statues is to symbolize these four
fearlessnesses, because a lion is unafraid of any other
animal.”142
c) The eighteen distinct qualities

These are the result of the presence of the ten powers and
the four fearlessnesses. They are called “distinct
qualities” because they belong only to the Buddhas and
not to Pratyekabuddhas143, Arhats144 of the Hinayana or
bodhisattvas in aspirations145.
142
Clark Johnson, Shambhala, Boston & London, 2006, p. 56-57
143
Pratyekabuddhas are solitary Buddhas who attained personal
freedom from birth and death without following a teacher or as
some texts say, who keep the identity of the teachers secret:
“secretive about their teachers, and enjoying solitude”(The Jewel
Ornament of Liberation – The Wish-fulfiling Gem of the Noble
Teachings, Gampopa). However, they did not attain the perfect
125
The eighteen qualities can be classified in four groups:
1) the six qualities of conduct, 2) the six qualities of
realization, 3) the three qualities of activity and 4) the
three qualities of ultimate wisdom.
The six qualities of conduct are:

1) Buddhas never make any mistake or error. Most
of the time Arhats of Hinayana and Pratyekabuddhas do
not make mistakes, but sometimes they do, like for
example, stepping on a snake by accident, so this quality
of never ever making any mistake belongs only to the
Buddhas.
2) The Buddha never speaks nor makes any sounds
in a way that is not meaningful.
3) A Buddha never forgets anything. Pratyeka
Buddhas and Arhats of the Hinayana can sometimes
forget things, but this never happens to a Buddha
4) A Buddha is always in meditation. No matter
what He does, His meditative state is never lost.
5) A Buddha never has any impure or ego-centric
thoughts. He always looks to beings with
indiscriminative Compassion and always wishes to
benefit them.
6) A Buddha is never in a state of ignorance,
Enlightenment of the Buddhas, don’t have Infinite Wisdom and

Compassion and are not interested in saving sentient beings.
144
The Arhats of the Hinayana are beings who attained personal
freedom from birth and death but did not attain the perfect
Enlightenment of the Buddhas. Thus, they do not have Infinite
Wisdom and Infinite Compassion and are not interested in saving
sentient beings.
145
Bodhisattvas in aspirations are not Buddhas yet but follow the
Path to become one for themselves and all beings.
126
dullness or a neutral state when He is not aware or not
understanding something or somebody. Awareness and
understanding are always present.
The six qualities of realization are:

1) A Buddha always aspire to benefit and teach
sentient beings. His aspiration never disappears or
decreases.
2) His diligence never decreases. His motivation to
benefit and teach is always present.
3) A Buddha is always aware of the beings He has
to teach and never forgets them. He knows who is to be
taught and trained, and what is the proper time to do this.
4) There is never a degradation in the concentration
of a Buddha
5) A Buddha knows and understands everything
about samsara and Nirvana
6) A Buddha has ultimate and supreme wisdom
because He is completely free from any defilements and
their causes. A Buddha no longer has any obscuration
related to the defilements and no obscuration to
knowledge. He also has the wisdom of knowing that
Liberation has occurred and that now He dwells in the
ultimate Dharmakaya or Buddha nature. This kind of
wisdom never declines nor disappears.
The three qualities of activity are:

1) All the actions of a Buddha are meaningful and
benefit sentient beings. No matter what a Buddha does,
even when He stays silent or closes His eyes, or walks,
laughs, etc, has a meaning and is for the benefit of
sentient beings.
127
2) All the words of the Buddha are meaningful and
benefit sentient beings. A Buddha never ever says
useless words or words without benefit.
3) A Buddha never has any pointless thoughts and
motivations.
All these three qualities of activity of the Buddha are

preceded by wisdom and followed by wisdom.
The three qualities of ultimate wisdom are:

1) Buddhas can see into the past with wisdom that is
without attachment and without any impediment.
2) Buddhas can see into the present with wisdom
that is without attachment and without any impediment
3) Buddhas can see into the future with wisdom that
is without attachment and without any impediment
A Buddha is free of the obscurations and obstructions of

defilements as well as the obscurations and obstructions
to knowledge. In seeing the past, present and future the
wisdom of a Buddha is free from desire and the
obstructions brought by desire, free from anger and the
obstructions caused by anger, and free from ignorance
and the obstructions caused by ignorance. Also, when
seeing the past, present and future, a Buddha’s wisdom
is not subject to belief in a permanent self of samsaric
phenomena but is able to see their emptiness as well as
the Buddha nature which is not empty of itself. Thus, He
never falls for incorrect beliefs and ideas.
All Buddhas have these 32 qualities of liberation and

they are also found in our Buddha nature, just we cannot
128
use them in the state of samsaric beings. As long as we
have not yet awakened to our Buddha nature these
qualities remain hidden below the many levels of
illusions and blind passions just like a precious gem with
amazing qualities stays hidden in a pile of shit.
However, after we are born in the enlightened realm of
Amida Buddha where everything is conducive to
Enlightenment, we’ll immediately discover our Buddha
nature and activate these 32 and other amazing qualities.
129
Collection of passages on the enlightened qualities
of Buddha nature
“All beings possess the Buddha nature. Because of the

Buddha nature, beings possess within themselves the 10
powers, the 32 signs of perfection, and the 80 minor
marks of excellence.”146
“Having faults that are adventitious

and qualities that are its nature,
it is afterwards the same as before.
This is Dharmata ever unchanging.”147
Shastra
“Buddha qualities are indivisible.

The true state is [always] free from any fickleness and
deceit.
Since beginningless time the nature has been peace
itself.”148
146
2004, p.88
147
commentary byJamgon Kongtrul LodroThaye,explanations
byKhenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated byRosemarie
130
Shastra
“Luminous clear light is not created.

It is indivisibly manifest [in the nature of beings]
and holds all the Buddha properties
outnumbering the grains of sand in the river Ganges.”149
Shastra
Buddha nature is not empty of itself, but cognizant and

luminous, filled with innumerable enlightened qualities.
When we attain perfect Enlightenment in the Pure Land
of Amida we experience the natural supreme Light and
perfect knowledge inherent in our Buddha nature. It will
be like getting out of a narrow and stinky cell into the
open space of the most beautiful natural park with
innumerable wonders and beauties. Everything becomes
possible in that moment.
148
commentary byJamgon Kongtrul LodroThaye,explanations by
149
commentary byJamgon Kongtrul LodroThaye,explanations
byKhenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated byRosemarie
131
“The presence [of the element], its result,
its qualities, and the achievement of benefit
are the objects of understanding of a Buddha.
When towards these four, as explained above,
one of understanding is filled with devotion
to their presence, ability, and qualities,
he will be quickly endowed with the fortune
by which one attains the state of a Tathagata.”150
Shastra
The “element” is the Buddha nature filled with

innumerable enlightened qualities. The result is the
discovery of the Buddha nature. “Benefit” is self-benefit
and the benefit of others by becoming able to help all
beings. When hearing in faith and devotion about the
existence of Buddha nature with all its qualities and the
capacities to help all beings and when we want to attain
this state, we will be guided by all Buddhas towards it.
Receiving faith in Amida Buddha and saying His Name
in faith is also due to the work and guidance of all
Buddhas. People who accept the existence of Buddha
nature with its inherent qualities and do not fall into the
wrong view of nihilistic emptiness have more chances to
become open to the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha.

150

132
From the beginning, Suchness in its nature is fully
provided with all excellent qualities; namely, it is
endowed with the light of Great Wisdom, the qualities of
illuminating the entire universe, of true cognition and
mind pure in its self-nature; of eternity, bliss, Self, and
purity; of refreshing coolness, immutability, and
freedom. It is endowed with these excellent qualities
which outnumber the sands of the Ganges, which are not
independent of, disjointed from, or different from the
essence of Suchness, and which are suprarational
attributes of Buddhahood. Since it is endowed
completely with all these, and is not lacking anything, it
is called the Tathagata-garbha when latent and also the
Dharmakaya of the Tathagata.”151
Master Ashvaghosha, Awakening Faith in the Mahayana
“It should be understood that the Tathagata-garbha

(essence of the Tathagata/Buddha nature), from the
beginning, contains only pure excellent qualities which,
outnumbering the sands of the Ganges, are not
independent of, severed from, or different from
Suchness; that the soiled states of defilement which,
outnumbering the sands of the Ganges, are not
independent of, severed from, or different from
Suchness; that the soiled states of defilement which,
151
https://whatdobuddhistsbelieve.wordpress.com/the-ocean-of-
nirvana/
133
outnumbering the sands of the Ganges, merely exist in
illusion; are, from the beginning, nonexistent; and from
the beginningless beginning have never been united with
the Tathagata-garbha. It has never happened that the
Tathagata-garbha contained deluded states in its
essence and that it induced itself to realize Suchness in
order to extinguish forever its deluded states.”152
Master Ashvaghosha, Awakening Faith in the Mahayana
“Within our Buddha nature are three qualities of

enlightened body, speech, and mind. The unchanging
quality that is like the openness of space is called vajra
body. The unceasing quality is called vajra speech. The
unmistaken quality, the capacity to perceive even without
thought, is called vajra mind. These three – vajra body,
speech, and mind – are inherently present as the nature
of all sentient beings. All we need to do is recognize this.
Even though we have the three vajras, we don’t know it,
and thus we continue to wander in samsara. Ordinary
confusion covers up our innate three vajras. Our
physical body of flesh and blood covers the vajra body.
The words and sounds we utter, which are interrupted
and intermittently created, obscure the unceasing quality
of vajra speech. And our train of thoughts that comes
and goes and endlessly arises and ceases from moment
152
134
to moment, day after day, life after life, is exactly what
obscures the unmistaken quality of vajra mind.”153
Gampopa
“The Buddha nature, the Sugata-garbha, is already

present as the nature of our own mind, just like the
unchanging brilliance of the sun shining in the sky. But
due to our ordinary dualistic thinking, this sun of the
Buddha nature is not evident; we don’t see it. Not even a
fraction of the innate qualities of Buddhahood are
manifest in the state of mind of a normal person. The
conceptual thoughts we have day and night obscure our
Buddha nature, just like the sun in the sky is
momentarily covered by clouds and seems to be
obscured. Due to the passing clouds of ignorance, we do
not recognize the Buddha nature. The ever-present
Buddha nature is like the unhindered sun shining in the
sky, but sunshine never reaches inside a cave facing
north. This cave is an analogy for misunderstanding,
wrong view, or partial understanding. From primordial
time until this very moment, the main actions we have
performed have been the activities of the three poisons –
attachment, anger, and dullness. We have continuously
engaged in liking, disliking, and remaining indifferent,
153
Gampopa by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche,translated and compiled by
135
not just in one or two lives but throughout countless
lifetimes.”154
Gampopa
“The state of complete Enlightenment contains many

great qualities like the fourfold fearlessnesses, the ten
powers, the eighteen unique qualities, and so forth. The
state of Buddhahood also contains the capacity to
transform an instant into an eon and an eon into an
instant. The qualities of Buddhahood are inconceivable,
and all these qualities are inherently present in the
Buddha nature. They are not some new qualities that are
achieved later on. There are not two different types of
Buddha nature – it is not that the Buddhas have one type
of Buddha nature and we sentient beings have another
type.”155
Gampopa
154
155
136
“Please understand that self-existing wakefulness
(rangjung yeshe) is primordially endowed with all
perfect qualities. The qualities of Enlightenment are not
a fabrication or a product. They are present from the
very beginning. It’s like the unchanging brilliance of the
sun shining inthe sky. It can be obscured by clouds, but
these clouds are neither primordial nor intrinsic to the
sky; they are always temporary, momentary. What
prevents full realization of our innate nature of self-
existing wakefulness (Buddha nature) is the momentary
occurrence of thoughts and fixation. Because this
occurrence is momentary, it can be cleared away.It’s
very important to understand this.”156
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Buddha Nowhere Else
Bodhisattva Nagarjuna said in Praise of the Element of

Attributes (words in normal brackets are my own and
words in special brackets [..] are the words of Master
Dolpopa:
“Homage and obeisance to the element of attributes

(Buddha nature with its innate qualities),
Definitely dwelling in all sentient beings,
Which if one does not thoroughly know
One wanders in the three existences.
156
Quitenssential Dzogchen, Buddha Nowhere Else, by Tulku
Urgyen Rinpoche, translated and compiled by Erik Pema Kunsang
and Marcia Binder Schmidt, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2006, p.
175
137
[Due to being mixed with limitless defilement, the
element of attributes is not seen;
For example,]157 just as due to having purified milk
The essence of butter [is seen] without [obstructive]
defilement,
So due to having purified [and extinguished] the
afflictive emotions [through the Path]
The very undefiled element of attributes [is manifestly
seen].
(Buddha nature becomes visible only after we extinguish
the afflictive emotions. In our case, the Path for
purifying afflictive emotions is the Nembutsu of Faith
and the place for purifying them is the Pure Land of
Amida that we attain after death.)
Just as a butter-lamp dwelling inside a pot

Is not in the least perceived,
So the element of attributes (Buddha nature with its
innate qualities) also
Is not perceived inside the pot of afflictive emotions.
[Finally] when the [obstructive] pot has [entirely] been

broken,
[The element of attributes] illuminates
[And is seen] to the ends of space.
The element of attributes is not [newly] produced,

[And its entity] never ceases [while one is a sentient
being].
At all times [during the basal state, the path, and the
Brackets [..] are from Master Dolpopa’s [Interlinear

157
Commentary on Nagarjuna’s] Praise of the Element of Attributes.
138
fruit] it is without afflictive emotions [in its nature]—
In the beginning [in the basal state], the middle [during
the path], and the end [during the fruit primordially]
free from defilement.
(Buddha nature and its innate enlightened qualities is the
same no matter if we discover it or not. Buddha nature is
the Base in the sense that it has always existed and it is
the Fruit in the sense that we can discover it after
following the Path, which in our case, is the Nembutsu
of Faith and birth in the Pure Land.)
Just as a vaidurya gem

At all times is luminous
But dwelling inside an [obstructive] stone
Its light is not manifest,
So the element of attributes obscured by afflictive
emotions
Is very undefiled [in its nature],
But its light is not manifest in the cyclic existence [of
afflictive emotions],
Becoming [manifestly] luminous in Nirvana.
(Nirvana is the discovery of our Buddha nature.)
[Although the element of attributes is naturally pure, it

is obstructed by obstructing factors;
For example,] even the undefiled sun and moon
Are obscured by five obstructions –
Clouds, mist, smoke,
The face of Rahu158, and dust and the like.
Similarly, the mind of clear light [which is the nature
158
Rahu is a chief demigod (asura) who sometimes obscures the
sun.
139
of all sentient beings]
Is obscured by five obstructions—
Desire, harmful intent, laziness,
Excitement, and doubt.
[Therefore, although a Buddha in which all qualities

such as the powers and so forth are integrally complete
exists primordially159 in all sentient beings, the
defilements are extinguished through striving at
the Path clearing away obstructions, but the clear
light is not consumed; for example,]
When a garment [made from a hard mineral] that is
stained
With various defilements and to be cleansed [of
defilement]
by fire is put in fire, its stains are burned but it is not.
So, similarly, with regard to the mind of clear light
(Buddha nature)
Which has the stains of desire and so forth,
Its stains are burned by the fire of wisdom [on the
Path]
But [since it does not burn the clear light, the qualities
of the clear light do not become non-existent the
way iron is consumed or worn away, and hence]
that [path] does not [burn away] the clear light.
(The Buddhist Path destroys the stains of blind passions
and illusions, but does not destroy the Buddha nature and
its innate qualities. The Pure Land of Amida Buddha
where we are to be born is like a great fireplace where
159
See chapter six of this book, “On the idea of innate or primordial
Enlightenment”.
140
the stains of defilements are removed and the Buddha
nature is revealed automatically.)
All the sutras [such as the Mother Sutras and so forth]

Spoken by the Conqueror that teach emptiness
Overcome the afflictive emotions [of conceiving self]
But do not diminish [and refute] the essential
constituent.
(The above sutras that teach emptiness do so to help us
abandon the idea of a permanent self (ego) in our blind
passions and ignorance, but do not say that “the essential
constituent” or Buddha nature does not exist.)
[Ultimately the element of attributes cannot be refuted;

For example,] just as water existing on the sphere
ofearth
Resides [in its nature] without defilement,
So the pristine wisdom inside afflictive emotions
Similarly [always] abides without defilement [never
suitable to be non-existent].
(Buddha nature exists and is not stained by our afflictive
emotions that cover it since the beginingless past.)
[Though it exists, it is not seen if the obstructions are

not purified;
For example,] just as a child exists in the belly
Of the womb but is not seen,
So the element of attributes covered
With afflictive emotions also is not seen [though always
resident].
141
(We cannot see Buddha nature and its innate qualities –
here described as “element of attributes”– as long as we
are unenlightened and still have blind passions.)
[A single river has different states due to relation with

other causes and conditions;]
Just as a river in summer
Is said to be ‘warm’
But that [same river] itself in cold season
Is said to be ‘cold,’
So when [the element of attributes is] covered with the
nets of afflictive emotions,
It is called ‘sentient being,’
But when that [element of attributes] itself is separated
from afflictive emotions,
It is called ‘Buddha.’”160
(Buddhas are those who uncovered their Buddha nature
from afflictive emotions and illusions, while sentient
beings are those whose Buddha nature is still covered by
them.)
“The five qualities of Buddha nature are: it is

beginningless, it has no end, it is pure, it is permanent,
and it is obscured. This fifth quality of being obscured
and not able to be seen is illustrated by an example
found in the Uttaratantra. In this example, someone has
a large lump of very pure gold and he loses it outside,
160
LodroNamgyel, Snow Lion Boston & London, 2007, p. 63-67
142
where it becomes covered by rubbish and dirt. Many
years go by, and a poor person comes along and builds a
crude shack on this garbage. He lives there with
verylittle food and clothing, yet underneath him is this
huge lump of pure gold. But the gold can't say to the
man, ‘I'm a lump of gold and I'm underneath you,’ and
the man can't see into the ground to see that the gold is
there. The gold itself hasn't undergone any change in all
that time, even though it's obscured by all this garbage;
it remains gold and never changes. If a clairvoyant
person came along, he would see this poor man in his
shack and think, ‘He's having a very hard time, but
hedoesn't have to suffer. He's got a huge lump of gold
just underneath him, and all he has to do is dig away
and reveal it.’ The clairvoyant feels great compassion
for the poor man and says to him, ‘You don't need to live
like this. All you have to do is dig under your floor and
you'll find a large nugget of gold.’ The poor man, of
course, has to believe the clairvoyant person in order to
get the gold. But if he does believe the clairvoyant
and digs under the floor, then the gold will be revealed.
Similarly, we have Buddha nature, just like the poor
man's hiddengold that was always present and
unchanged, but we can't see this Buddha nature, and so
we experience the suffering that comes from living in
samsara.
But, because we have Buddha nature, or Buddha

essence, we don't need to continue suffering. The Buddha
feels compassion for beings, seeing that they have
Buddha nature yet experience the suffering of samsara,
and He says, ‘You don't have to undergo all this
143
suffering, because you have within you Buddha nature,
and through practicing you will be able to manifest it.’ If
we believe in this and practice the Buddhist teachings,
we will be able to uncover our Buddha nature and gain
freedom from samsara.”161
“We might ask, ‘Who created this element (Buddha

nature)?’ No one created it; it has no creator, but it does
possess its own qualities and characteristics. The
Buddha's knowledge, the Buddha's love, the qualities of
the Buddha's speech and mind are all present in this
element; they are all ready to manifest.”162
161
162
Clark Johnson, Shambhala, Boston & London, 2006, p.20
144
Chapter VI. On the doctrine of innate
or primordial Enlightenment163
Whenever I used the image of seeds planted into

a good soil and growing into trees was just to explain the
potential we have of becoming Buddhas. However, I
have never used it in order to say that the Buddha nature
we discover when we become Buddhas is something
created by us and not already present with all its
enlightened qualities beyond the many layers of illusions
and blind passions. As I clearly specified in fascicle 2 of
Amida Dharma, the potential I refer to is to awaken to
the Buddha nature that is already present:
“Just like all seeds have the natural potential to become

trees, all sentient beings have the natural potential to
become Buddhas, that is, to awaken to their own
Buddha nature. Beyond the various layers of our
delusory personality, the Buddha nature is the true
reality, uncreated and indestructible, the treasure hidden
in every one of us. When it's discovered, the causes of
suffering and repeated births and deaths are annihilated
and the one who attained it becomes himself a savior
and guide of all beings that are still caught in the slavery
of samsara”.
So, our Buddha nature is primordially pure and

primordially enlightened, having all the innate qualities I
talked about in the last chapter. What we call attainment
of perfect Enlightenment, Buddhahood or Nirvana
163
The idea of innate or primordial Enlightenment is also
called Original Enlightenment
145
actually means the discovery of this Buddha nature, like
finding a shining jewel hidden in the mud. It does not at
all means that before Enlightenment the Buddha nature
did not exist and came into existence after, or it existed
only as a seed, and now it exists as something different.
In fact, the Buddha nature is eternal and has always
existed no matter if some discover it or not (attain or do
not attain Buddhahood). This is similar with lighting up
a room where there are treasures which were not seen
before due to darkness. One cannot say that the treasures
appeared when the light was turn on, as they existed
before too, just they were hidden in the dark.
Shakyamuni Buddha said in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra:
“It is not the case that the inherent nature of Nirvana did
not primordially exist but now exists. Regardless of
whether there are Buddhas or not, its intrinsic nature
and attributes are permanently present. Because beings
are enveloped by the afflictions (kleshas), they do not
perceive it and they say that Nirvana does not exist.
Bodhisattva-mahasattvas, who train their minds with
morality, insight and meditative concentration, eradicate
the afflictions and then come to perceive it. Hence, they
know that Nirvana is permanently present by nature
and is not something which did not exist primordially
but now does exist. Therefore, they deem it to be
permanent. For example, noble son, suppose there was a
well containing the seven kinds of treasures in a dark
room. People might know that they are there but are
unable to see them, because of the darkness. Then a wise
person, skilled in means, came bearing a large, bright
lamp and illumined things so that everybody could see
146
them. This person did not think to himself that originally
there was no water or the seven kinds of treasure there
but now there is. Nirvana too is like that: it is
primordially existent and does not just come into
existence in the present. Because of the obscuring
darkness of the afflictions, beings do not see it. The
Tathagata, endowed with all-knowing awareness
(sarvajna-jnana) lights the lamp of insight with His skill
in means (upaya-kausalya) and causes bodhisattvas to
perceive the permanence, the bliss, the Self, and the
purity of Nirvana. Therefore, the wise will not say that
this Nirvana did not exist primordially but now exists.
[…]
“For example, noble son, suppose there is water

endowed with the eight tastes below the ground but
nobody is able to reach it. Then some wise person sets to
work and digs down until he reaches it. Nirvana is like
that. Or else, suppose there is a blind man who cannot
see the sun or moon. A skilled doctor might cure him so
that he becomes able to see them, though it is not the
case that the sun and moon did not originally exist but
now do. Nirvana is like that – it has existed
primordially and not just come into being in the
present.”
So, Nirvana, Dharmakaya, Buddhahood, etc, and

Buddha nature are the same thing. They all refer to the
discovery of the inherent Buddha nature, dwelling in it
and never being blind to it again.
147
“The ‘extinction of suffering’ is known as the
Dharmakaya of the World Honored One, which is
beginningless, uncreated, unborn, undying, free from
destruction, permanent unchanging, eternal, inherently
pure, and separate from all the stores of defilement. The
Dharmakaya is also not different from the
inconceivable Buddha nature. The Dharmakaya of the
World Honored One is called the Buddha nature when it
is obscured by the stores of defilement. […]“164
When one is not yet Enlightened, we just say he has

Buddha nature but he does not see it – “it is obscured by
the stores of defilement”. When one attains
Enlightenment, we refer to His Buddha nature as
Dharmakaya body of ultimate reality. So, actually
Dharmakaya is the discovered Buddha nature that
has always been there. We can say the same about
Nirvana or Emancipation (Enlightenment). Shinran
Shonin himself quoted Mahaparinirvana Sutra on this
topic, in his Kyogyoshinsho:
“Emancipation is called the supreme that is

unexcelled… The supreme that is unexcelled is none
other than true Emancipation; true Emancipation is
none other than Tathagata… If one has attained highest
perfect Enlightenment, one is free of desire and free of
doubt. To be free of desire and free of doubt is true
Emancipation, true emancipation is Tathagata…
Tathagata is Nirvana, Nirvana is the inexhaustible, the
164
Queen Srimala Sutra, Chapter 8: The Dharmakaya,
srimala-sutra
148
inexhaustible is Buddha-nature, Buddha-nature is
unchanging, the unchanging is highest perfect
Enlightenment.”165
“The Dharma-body (Dharmakaya) is eternity, bliss, Self,

and purity. It is forever free of all birth, aging, sickness,
and death, of not-white and not-black, not-long and not-
short, not-this and not-that, not learning and not non-
learning; hence, whether the Buddha appears in the
world or does not appear in the world, He is constantly
unmoving and without change (His Buddha nature
never changes) “166
To be “forever free” from birth, aging, sickness, death,

etc, means to be eternal, that is, without beginning or
end. Also, whether somebody becomes a Buddha or not
(awakens or not to his Buddha nature) that Buddha
nature never changes. By quoting these passages and
many others it is clear that Shinran Shonin was very
much aware of the doctrine of Tathagatagarbha and
innate Enlightenment. More than this, he also wanted to
express the idea that Buddha nature itself, which is the
non-ceasing and non-perishing element of all beings, is
165
Mahaparinirvana Sutra as quoted by Shinran Shonin in his
Kyogyoshinsho, chapter V, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin
Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto,
1997, p.181
166
1997, p.188.
149
the very thing that makes possible the attainment of
Enlightenment:
“All sentient beings are non-ceasing and non-perishing,

and thus attain highest perfect Enlightenment.”167
The non-ceasing and non-perishing aspect of sentient

beings is their Buddha nature and exactly because they
have Buddha nature, they are able to attain perfect
Enlightenment, that is, to reach a point when they can
see the Buddha nature, as perfect Enlightenment is
nothing else than turning the light on and see the treasure
in the room that has always been there.
This teaching that because of Buddha nature we can

aspire to and become Buddhas (beings who dwell in
their Buddha nature) is very important. Everybody wants
to be happy and all beings search for a meaning in their
lives. Thus, they intuitively know there is something
stable that can be found beyond the everyday ups and
downs, sorrows and difficulties. That something they
always search and long for is actually the unconscious
intuition of their Buddha nature but unfortunately, they
do not know where to search and so they are looking for
fulfillment in the wrong places.
Unlike false teachers and worldly ideologies, the

Buddhas appear in the world to turn our minds in the
167
1997, p.189
150
right direction and offer us the right tools to dig into our
layers of illusions and blind passions to discover our
Buddha nature. The right tools are the various Dharma
Gates and practices associated with them, so if we do not
practice the Dharma we cannot find the Buddha nature,
even though it already exists with all its innate qualities.
I heard a lot of people nowadays wrongly assuming that

because they have Buddha nature they are already
Enlightened without the need to do anything. However,
we are warned against such an attitude in many sutras
and instructions of various Masters:
“A person might say: ‘I have already attained

unsurpassed Enlightenment! Why? Because
I have the Buddha nature. Any person possessing the
Buddha nature has assuredly attained unsurpassed
Enlightenment. Consequently, I attain Enlightenment.’
Then, one should know, such a person infringes the
parajika (does a great sin/offence). Why so? There
surely is the Buddha nature. But not yet having
practiced the best expedient of the Way, the person has
not yet seen it. Having not yet seen it, there can be no
attaining of unsurpassed Enlightenment.”168
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche also said on this matter:
“Our basic nature is in no way different from that of a

Buddha. It’s like pure space, which, whether it is
168
2004, verse 397, p.65
151
obscured by clouds or is a cloudless and clear sky,
remains the same in its basic, essential nature. But if you
pretend that your nature is already enlightened and
don’t progress along the path of removing the
obscurations, then your enlightened nature doesn’t
become realized. […]169
If our nature wasn’t already enlightened, we couldn’t

awaken to it no matter how hard we tried. Buddha
nature cannot be fabricated. Our nature is primordially
enlightened, but at present our ordinary body, speech
and discursive thinking obscures it. The nature of our
mind, Buddha nature, is like space itself, but it is space
obscured by clouds. The whole point of Dharma
practice is to remove the clouds and allow the
actualization of what already is – the awakened state of
mind, the Buddha nature.”170
All the genuine Dharma Gates of Buddhist teaching talk

about three main aspects:
1) The Basis, 2) The Path and 3) the Fruit
The Basis is the hidden Buddha nature which is already

perfectly Enlightened and filled with innumerable
qualities. This Buddha nature resides in all beings but it
169
From the book As it is, translated by Erik Pema Kunsang,
https://quotes.justdharma.com/pretending-enlightenment-tulku-
urgyen-rinpoche/
170
From the book As it is, translated by Erik Pema Kunsang
https://quotes.justdharma.com/buddha-nature-cannot-be-fabricated-
tulku-urgyen-rinpoche/
152
is not yet manifesting due to being covered by many
layers of illusions and blind passions.
The Path is composed of the various practices taught in
many sutras and Dharma Gates with the intention of
removing the illusions and blind passions that obscure
our already present Buddha nature.
The Fruit is the Buddha nature that has had the illusions
and blind passions that obscured it removed, thus
allowing it to be seen and manifest itself. This fruit is
called perfect Enlightenment, Buddhahood, Nirvana,
Dharmakaya, etc
In the case of Pure Land Dharma Gate or Jodo Shinshu

(Amida Dharma), the Path is to say the Nembutsu of
Faith in Amida Buddha, aspiring to be born in His Pure
Land after death where in such a perfectly enlightened
environment our illusions and blind passions will
naturally melt like ice meeting fire, thus revealing our
innate Buddha nature.
153
Collection of passages on the doctrine of innate or
primordial Enlightenment
“If the Buddha element (Buddha nature) were not

present,
there would be no remorse over suffering.
There would be no longing for Nirvana,
nor striving and devotion towards this aim.”171
Shastra
“Even though our nature is primordially enlightened, we

are oblivious to that fact. Therefore we
need to become re-enlightened. Once we are re-
enlightened, we no longer need to wander in samsara.
The Buddha nature is the very identity within which the

body, speech, mind, qualities, and activities of all
Buddhas are complete. […] The unchanging quality is
called the vajra body, the unceasing quality is called the
vajra speech, and the undeluded quality is called the

171

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated by Rosemarie
154
vajra mind. The indivisible unity of the three is exactly
what is meant by Buddha nature.”172
“Self-existing wakefulness is the realized state of all

Buddhas from the very beginning; it is primordial.
Self-existing wakefulness is in all beings; it simply needs
to be known.”173
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Buddha Nowhere Else
“It is experienced as a great original wakefulness

without center or edge, an immense all-pervasiveness
that is primordially empty and free. This original
wakefulness (Buddha nature) is intrinsic and self-
existing. It is not made right now, but is present within
yourself from the very beginning.”174
172
Rinpoche ,translated and compiled by Erik Pema Kunsang and
173
Quitenssential Dzogchen, Buddha Nowhere Else, by Tulku
Urgyen Rinpoche,translated and compiled by Erik Pema Kunsang
and Marcia Binder Schmidt, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2006, p.
165
174
Kunsang, p.36
155
“This awakened mind of awareness (Buddha nature) is

not made out of any material substance;
it is self-existing and inherent in yourself. It defies the
limitations of permanence and annihilation. […] The
awakened state of Enlightenment is your own awareness
that is naturally awake. In it there is nothing that goes to
the hells; awareness is naturally pure. In it there is no
practice to carry out; its nature is naturally
cognizant.”175
Buddha nature does not belong to samsara, so it does not

suffer nor does it experience hell. For one who dwells in
Buddha nature there is no need to practice or accomplish
anything. He naturally knows everything because
Buddha nature is naturally cognizant.

175

the terma treasure revelations of NyangRalNyima Ozer, Guru
Kunsang, p.102
156
“Because this Buddha nature exists, beings can practice
and attain the goal. They can reach Enlightenment
because all beings have the Buddha nature.”176
KhenchenThrangu, On Buddha Essence, A Commentary
The attainment of perfect Enlightenment means the

discovery of Buddha nature. We can only discover
something which already exists, so Enlightenment is like
turning the light in a room with a treasure.

176

157
Chapter VII. The enlightened manifestations for the
sake of saving sentient beings
The innate qualities of Buddha nature are

activated when we attain perfect Enlightenment, that is,
when we actually discover it. As I explained earlier, the
discovered Buddha nature is called Dharmakaya. This
Dharmakaya and its innate qualities enter into action in
the moment of Enlightenment, taking various forms and
manifestations for the sake of saving sentient beings.
While the mind-streams of beings and the samsaric

environment in which they live are the effect of various
causes and conditions and are thus considered to be
empty of themselves, the Dharmakaya is only empty of
illusions, blind passions and any samsaric phenomena,
but NOT empty of itself. Because of this, the ultimate
reality and everything that is rooted in it has true and real
existence. Buddhas (fully Enlightened Beings) are true
and real no matter the form they manifest or the
emanations they create for the salvation of samsaric
beings.
The minds of people in samsara are constantly changing

like feathers in the wind, depending on various causes
and conditions, while the minds of Buddhas are fixed in
true reality like mountains. Anything the samsaric beings
think, say, do or manifest is false, while everything the
Buddhas think, say, do or manifest is true.
158
What do unenlightened beings manifest? They manifest
samsaric realms and samsaric forms which lead to more
illusions, blind passions and suffering.
What do the Buddhas manifest? They manifest
enlightened reams and enlightened forms which lead to
wisdom, Buddha nature and happiness.
The manifestations of Buddhas include Pure Lands,

transcendental forms or various sacred formulas like
Names, mantras, dharanis, etc. All these are true and real
because they belong to what is true and real. Such
manifestations do not depend on causes and conditions
or on the limitations of the mind-streams of samsaric
beings, but on the Infinite Wisdom and Infinite
Compassion that is inherent in the ultimate Dharmakaya
or Buddha nature. When we attain perfect
Enlightenment and discover our Buddha nature in the
Pure Land of Amida, we’ll also be capable of
manifesting whatever forms we want to save others.
Anything related with the ultimate reality of the

Buddhas, their activities and manifestations is included
in the teaching on the Two Bodies or the Three Bodies
(Trikaya) 177.
177
The Dharmakaya of Dharma-nature is identical with the
Dharmakaya referred to in the Trikaya doctrine, and the
Dharmakaya of Expediency (Dharmakaya as Compassionate means)
corresponds to the Sambhogakaya or Recompensed Body.
Nirmanakaya or various Transformed Bodies are
manifested/emanated from Sambhogakaya and thus, we can
consider it as part of the Dharmakaya of Expediency.
159
The Two Bodies doctrine that we use at Amidaji was
explained byMaster T’an-luan in his Ojoronchu.
According to him, all Buddhas have two bodies
(aspects):
1. Dharmakaya of Dharma-nature (HosshoHosshin)178

and
2. Dharmakaya of Expediency (HobenHosshin), which is
also called Dharmakaya as Compassionate means179.
The first is the ultimate, unconditioned reality beyond

form – the discovered Buddha nature or the Buddha
nature activated when attaining perfect Enlightenment.
This Nirvanic body is equally shared by all Buddhas180,
while the second is the specific and individuated
manifestation of each one of them for the sake of saving
sentient beings.
178
In the Hongwanji edition is translated as “Dharma body as
Suchness”. The Pure Land Writings, Volume II, Tanluan,
Commentary on the Treatise on the Pure Land, The Shin Buddhism
Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, Japan,
2018, p.134
179
In the Hongwanji edition it is translated as “Dharma body as
Compassionate means”.The Pure Land Writings, Volume II,
Tanluan, Commentary on the Treatise on the Pure Land, The Shin
Japan, 2018, p.134
180
T’an-luan said:“All Buddhas Tathagatas are called ‘equally
enlightened ones’”. Master Shan-tao said: “All Buddhas have
attained one and the same Enlightenment”. Also, in the Garland
Sutra, quoted by Shinran Shonin in his Kyogyoshinsho, it is said:
“The bodies of all Buddhas are only one Dharma body”.
160
The relation between the two is described as follows
(words in brackets are my own):
“From the Dharmakaya of Dharma-nature originates

the Dharmakaya of Expediency; through the
Dharmakaya of Expediency, the Dharmakaya of Dharma
nature is revealed. These two Dharmakayas are
different, but inseparable; they are one, but not the
same. For this reason, the extensive presentation and the
condensed presentation enter into each other. These two
are comprised in the Dharmakaya”.181
“The Nirvanic Dharma-body is the body of Dharma-

nature (Buddha nature); since the Dharma-nature is
Nirvanic, the Dharma-body is formless. Because it is
formless, there is no form which it cannot manifest. For
this reason, the Body adorned with the marks of
excellence (Dharmakaya as Compassionate means) is
itself the Dharma-body”.182
As we have seen in the above passages, all

manifestations of the Buddhas are themselves ultimate
Dharmakaya, included in the Dharmakaya, manifested
from Dharmakaya, not separated from Dharmakaya183.
181
“Ojoronchu – T’an-luan’s Commentary on Vasubandhu’s
Discourse on the Pure Land, A Study and Translation” by Hisao
Inagaki, Nagata Bunshodo, Kyoto, 1998.p.264-265
182
Ojoronchu, Master T’an-luan, as quoted in The Three Pure Land
Sutras, A Study and Translation from Chinese, by Hisao Inagaki in
collaboration with Harold Stewart, Nagata Bunshodo, Kyoto, 1995,
chapter 3 – Development of the Pure Land teaching in China, p.88
183
Just as heat cannot be separated from fire, the manifestations of
the Buddhas (Dharmakaya as Compassionate
161
As Dharmakaya is the ultimate reality of Buddha nature,
all Buddha’s manifestations are not empty or false like
the samsaric phenomena, but true and real.
The various Dharmakayas of compassionate means are

“different” and “not the same” in the sense that they do
not appear in the same way to the unenlightened beings
for which they are manifested, but “are one” and
“inseperable” because they are the ultimate
Dharmakaya of Dharma nature (Buddha nature) itself.
The Dharmakaya as Compassionate means (Dharmakaya

of Expediency) includes, as I said above, the Pure Lands
of the Buddhas, their transcendental forms or bodily
forms in accordance to the beings they save, various
sacred formulas like Names and mantras, etc. The Pure
Land of Amida Buddha184, Amida Himself185 in many
manifestations and His Name are part of this
Dharmakaya as Compassionate means and are
inseparable from the ultimate Dharmakaya of Dharma
nature. Because of that they are truly existent and NOT
empty of themselves. Only samsaric phenomena are
ultimately non-real (they exist only at relative level),
while the Nirvanic manifestations are always REAL.
means/Sambhogakaya) cannot be separated from the ultimate

Dharmakaya of Dharma nature.
184
See the chapter “The two aspects of the Pure Land” from my
book, The True Teaching on Amida Buddha and His Pure Land,
Dharma Lion Publications, Craiova, 201, p.101
185
See the chapter “The doctrine of the Three Buddha-Bodies and
Two Buddha-Bodies in relation with Amida Buddha and His Pure
Land, from my book, The True Teaching on Amida Buddha and His
Pure Land, Dharma Lion Publications, Craiova, 201, p.88
162
Amida, in His causal stage as Bodhisattva Dharmakara
made the following promise about His Pure Land:
My land, being like Nirvana itself,

Will be beyond comparison.”186
This means that all the manifestations of the Pure Land

are grounded in the perfect Enlightenment of Amida
Buddha and are conducive to Enlightenment. We
ourselves will attain Enlightenment when we are born in
the Pure Land because the essence of the Pure Land is
Enlightenment/Nirvana/Dharmakaya/Buddha nature
itself. Otherwise, if the Pure Land was not an
enlightened realm and not grounded in ultimate Buddha
nature, it would produce only sensorial attachments, like
other Samsaric realms do, but Shakyamuni
Buddha187and our Masters188 were very clear that this is
not the case.
186
and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.9-10
187
For example, when He explained the role and origin of the
wonderful birds of the Pure Land, Shakyamuni said:
“Shariputra, you should not assume that these birds are born as
retribution of their evil karma. The reason is that none of the three
evil realms exists in that Buddha-land. Shariputra, even the names
of the three evil realms do not exist there; how much less the realms
themselves? These birds are manifested by Amida Buddha so that
their singing can proclaim and spread the Dharma”.
188
For example, Master T’ao-ch’o said in his An Le Chi, „The
streams, birds, and forests all expound the Dharma, which awaken
people to the principle of non-arising.”
163
Bodhisattva Vasubandhu stated in his Jodoron189:
"The adornments of the Land of the Buddha of

Immeasurable Life are the wondrous manifestations of
the ultimate reality (Dharmakaya/Buddha nature)".
And in the Essentials of Faith Alone, Master Seikaku

said:
“’The Land of Bliss is the realm of Nirvana, the

uncreated’.
The “uncreated” is referring of course, to ultimate

Dharmakaya beyond forms or the Buddha nature from
which all the manifestations for the sake of saving
sentient beings emerge in accordance with the specific
vows of different Buddhas. In our case, the Pure Land of
Amida appeared when He attained perfect
Enlightenment and thus brought His 48 vows to
fulfilment. In that moment, from ultimate Dharmakaya
or Buddha nature, His land took the form and
manifestations described in the sutras and especially in
His 31st and 32nd Vows, while also maintaining its
formless Dharmakaya essence.
Because the Pure Land is Nirvana in manifestation and it

is grounded in the ultimate reality of Dharmakaya of
Dharma nature, it is NOT empty of itself like the
samsaric phenomena, but truly REAL.
Treatise on the Pure Land, in The Pure Land Writings, vol I – the
189
Indian Masters, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 2012, p. 57
164
Chapter VIII. The wrong view of nihilistic emptiness
Unfortunately, nowadays many followers are

confused by wrong views and deny the existence of
individuated Buddhas by misinterpreting ultimate reality
or Dharmakaya of Dharma nature as some kind of
nihilistic emptiness in which nothing exists. They think
that when one attains Enlightenment one goes into some
kind of extinction when in fact, at that moment only
illusions and blind passions disappear and go extinct,
thus allowing for true reality to be revealed. Simply
stated, it is like waking up from a dream and realizing
we are not the person in the dream and that the reality to
which we are awakened to (Buddha nature/ultimate
Dharmakaya) is the true reality with real qualities unlike
the false appearances of the dream.
Buddhas do not exist in the way we exist, that is,

conditioned samsaric beings with illusions, blind
passions, attachments and a distorted view of reality,
but this does NOT mean they do not actually exist!
Their existence is grounded in the true reality of Buddha
nature which upon being discovered we refer to as
Dharmakaya of Dharma nature (ultimate Dharmakaya).
We cannot say that our dream like samsaric existence is
true and real while the Buddhas realm of existence is just
a myth, symbol or metaphor! It is idiotic to state such a
thing!
Being awake to the true reality, a Buddha has access to
all the inherent qualities of this natural state of
wakefulness which include a clear mind, clear thinking
165
and knowing, the capacity to act without restrictions190,
etc. The dream person had only a relative existence and
appeared under certain causes and conditions as every
dream is formed under the influence of various thoughts
and actions, while the awakened person or Buddha has
true existence because He has access to the reality as it is
with all its inherent qualities. Thus, instead of being a
nihilistic emptiness, the state of awakening is actually
full of real life and unlimited capacities. Nobody who
wakes up from a night dream thinks that he is now
extinct while the dream was the true reality. In the same
way, one who becomes a Buddha and awakens to the
reality of Buddha nature does not turn into a literary
metaphor, symbol or fictional character, nor does He
think He is now extinct, but realizes that this is the true
Reality and the true mode of living.
Nowadays many Buddhists do not understand the

meaning of avoiding the extremes of nihilism and
eternalism or of existence and non-existence, so let me
explain it in very simple words. To say that everything
exists, including a samsaric self (ego) and an eternal
creator god is the extreme of eternalism, while to say
that nothing exists is the extreme of nihilism. However,
by saying about samsaric beings and their environment
that they exist only in a relative way because they
depend on causes and conditions and are constantly
changing, I avoided the extreme of both nihilism (non-
existence) and the extreme of eternalism. Because
samsaric beings and their environment exist only at a
190
See for example the 32 qualities explained at chapter five.
166
relative level we do not say that they exist eternally and
without change (eternalism), but we also do not say they
do not exist at all (nihilism) like they do not appear.
Samsaric phenomena are like a dream – its “real” when
we dream it, but actually from the point of view of the
awakened state of mind they do not truly exist in an
absolute sense. In the same way, when we speak about
Buddhas we do not say they exist like us,
unenlightened beings caught in samsara, so we do not
fall into the extreme of eternalism (existence), but we
also do not say they do not exist at all which means we
do not fall into the extreme of non-existence and
nihilism. Buddhas do not exist like us, but they also
exist as Enlightened Beings awakened to the true
reality of Buddha nature. However, when deluded
scholars explain them as myths, symbols, metaphors or
fictional characters they actually reduce them to non-
existence, because it is like saying that they exist only as
expressions of the imagination of unenlightened beings,
something like a benevolent Santa Claus.
As you have seen at chapter five, I like to compare this

Buddha nature with the open space of a beautiful park
where one roams freely and does whatever he wants, and
the state of samsaric beings with that of prisoners living
in a smelly narrow cell. Prison life is fixed, extremely
limited and filled with suffering while life in the open
space of nature is a happy one, unconditioned and free.
As our limited minds are incapable of understanding that
which is beyond conceptual thinking and this book is
intended for ordinary people without any pretension of
the high spiritual insights of the esoteric schools, I think
167
it’s very useful to use this image of the open space of a
beautiful park versus the narrow prison cell to explain
the characteristics of Buddha nature and those of
samsaric existence. People who lived many years in a
smelly and narrow prison cell might not think of the
beautiful natural park outside their cells, with fresh air,
birds chirping, clean water and lack of stress, but this
does not mean that the park doesn’t exist. In the same
way, samsaric beings might tend to deny the existence of
Buddhas with their natural enlightened qualities or the
extraordinary and other worldly descriptions of the Pure
Lands but this does not mean that their attitude has
anything in common with the true teaching.
The fact that the entire canon of sutras is filled with

active Buddhas and their miraculous actions for guiding
and saving sentient beings should make us reflect that
although beyond our understanding, they are very much
alive and real. The world of Buddhas and their
activities is so extraordinarily presented in the sutras
not because they are mythical but because their
reality is truly extraordinary and beyond the karmic
confines of our samsaric existence. Those descriptions
point to a totally different reality and way of life.
If you live in an ugly prison cell and you hear about

somebody visiting a spectacular waterfall or walking
through a high mountain with big trees and chirping
birds, fresh air and invigorating smells you might find it
too fantastic to believe. However, your narrow cell is not
the true reality. It’s the same with the reality of the
Buddhas which is the true Reality. As beings who live
168
their entire lives in the narrow cells of our limited bodies
that survive on food and water, grow old, get sick, etc,
we find it hard to believe that some guys can actually
have as many bodies or forms they like, go wherever
they want in seconds without leaving the place where
they stay at present, hear everyone’s thoughts, know
everyone’s previous lives and anything they desire to
know, etc. However, this is the Reality of those who
dwell in their Buddha nature and are called Buddhas.
We should not deny their existence because we have
never experienced this.
Many Masters urged us to not fall into the extreme view

of nihilistic emptiness that denies the extraordinary
qualities of the ultimate reality, the existence of the
Enlightened Ones who dwell in it, or the Pure Lands
which are the expression in transcendental forms of the
same reality manifested for the sake of saving sentient
beings.
In my explanations of the Primal Vow191 I showed that

the only people who self-exclude from the salvation
offered by Amida Buddha are those who slander the
right Dharma. As Master T’an-luan explained, to
slander the right Dharma means “saying there is no
Buddha”192 and quoting a sutra he stated that such
191
See the chapter dedicated to the Primal Vow from my books The
Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu or Commentary on the Sutra on the
Buddha of Infinite Life.
192
Master T’an-luan Commentary on Vasubandhu’s Discourse on
the Pure Land (Ojoronchu),The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin
169
people cannot be born in the Pure Land of Amida and
attain Enlightenment, but go directly to the lowest hell.
Also, Master Padmasambhava said:
“The sign of having gone astray is to start making

statements such as ‘There are no Buddhas above!
There are no sentient beings below! Everything is
emptiness since it doesn’t exist!
The shortcoming of this way of straying is the conceptual
thought, ‘everything is emptiness!’. Such an attitude
makes you abandon all forms of spiritual activity such as
devotion and pure perception, refuge and bodhicitta,
loving kindness and compassion, and so forth. Instead
you become involved in mundane pursuits. With regard
to evil, this attitude makes you wantonly engage in
unvirtuous actions. Someone who acts in this way of
perverting what is true will have no other place to go
than Vajra Hell.
Having perverted the truth of what is virtuous, the effect
of such demented practice is to take rebirth as someone
holding the extreme view of nihilism. Having perverted
the truth of cause and effect, you flounder through the
ocean of suffering. Tsogyal, there are many who claim to
realize emptiness, but very few realize the ultimate
natural state.”193

1997, p.145
193
Advice from the Lotus-Born, translated from the Tibetan by Erik
Pema Kunsang, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1994, p. 45.
170
Very few can actually dwell in the natural state of
ultimate reality and see things with the innate wisdom of
Buddha nature, which is why many practitioners who
play smart with ideas of emptiness, while they are still
unenlightened and not free from the bondage of samsara,
fall into the nihilistic views. Such a view is dangerous
for all aspects related to the Buddhist Path, as the
deluded person who is influenced by it not only denies
the existence of Buddhas, but also does not understand
rebirth, the law of cause and effect and may even neglect
morality and the teachings on good behavior. Everything
can go wrong for the one with a nihilistic view of
emptiness. This is exactly why Shakyamuni said in the
Sutra on the Supreme Refuge:
“‘Even if all sentient beings gave rise to the view of ego,

as big as mount Sumeru, I would not be horrified. The
reason is that although they have not yet attained
emancipation, they do not at any time reject the law of
causality and retributions for their acts. If someone
gave rise to the view of voidness (emptiness), as small
as a poppy-seed, I would not tolerate this. What is the
reason? Because such a view goes against the law of
causality and those who hold it are most likely to fall
into an evil realm. Wherever they are born, they will
undoubtedly disobey my teaching.”194
194
Passage quoted by Master Tao-ch’o in Collection of Passages on
the Land of Peace and Bliss - AN LE CHI, translated by ZuioHisao
Inagaki, Horai Association International, Singapore, 2015, p.40
171
CHAPTER IX. The Nembutsu is true and real
“In this fleeting world - this burning house - all matters

without exception are empty and false, totally without
truth and sincerity. The Nembutsu alone is true and
real."195
The above words of Shinran Shonin summarizes many

of the teachings presented in this book.
“All matters without exception are empty and false”,
that is, all samsaric phenomena are empty of themselves
and by being empty they are also a lie, (“without truth”),
a magical display, an illusion and ultimately not real.
The Nembutsu alone is true and real because it is the
Name manifested by Amida Buddha from ultimate
reality and Buddha nature itself. It is part of the
Dharmakaya as Compassionate means which is
inseparable from the Dharmakaya of Dharma-nature.
As Buddhas are truly awake (the word “Buddha” means

the “Awakened One”) they constantly invent methods to
take us out of the dream world and bring us to the true
reality of Buddha nature. Among these methods, the
easiest to use by ordinary people filled with heavy
illusions and blind passions is the Nembutsu of faith in
Amida.
Did it happen to you to be in a nightmare and you did a

certain thing to get out of it and awake? For example,
195
Shinran Shonin, Tannisho, The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin
1997
172
when I was a child, blinking my eyes in the dream was
the quickest way for me to escape a nightmare. It is the
same with the Nembutsu of faith. We are saying Namo
Amida Bu (Nembutsu) in the dream of samsara, with our
minds that are sleeping minds, but this Namo Amida Bu
is the means through which Amida guides us out of
sleep. The Name works because it is not part of the
dreaming world but of the True Reality, so by saying
it we enter into Amida’s influence and thus on the
path to Awakening.
In the nightmare of repeated births and deaths we say the

Nembutsu of faith and, after a while, depending on how
long or short our life is, we die in the dream and wake up
as Buddhas in the Pure Land of Amida. Then our true
and real life begins as Awakened Ones helping other
beings to wake up from their own nightmares.
We think that we dream when we are sleeping and that

now we are awake because we do not sleep. In fact, we
just go from one dream to another. In all these
wanderings, the Name of Amida is the only contact
we have with the world of reality and Enlightenment,
with Amida Buddha and His Pure Land. Although
we say it in the dream, the Nembutsu is the only
element that does not belong to the dream.
The Name of Amida is not part of samsara but the

world of Enlightenment. When we say the Nembutsu
of faith we enter the stage of non-retrogression for
discovering this ultimate reality that we’ll attain upon
173
leaving our present samsaric bodies.
Shinran Shonin explained how the ultimate reality of

Amida Buddha - His Dharmakaya of Dharma nature,
represented in the following passage by the word
“Suchness”, as well as all His manifestations for the sake
of saving sentient beings (glorious body of skilful
means/Dharmakaya as compassionate means) are
included in His Name which is thus called, the “great
practice”:
" It is the treasure-sea of merits of true Suchness,

ultimate reality. For this reason, it is called great
practice".196
"The ten repetitions of the Name197 arise from the

unsurpassed faith by taking as object the Name of Amida
Tathagata of a glorious body of skilful means that
comprises immeasurable merits that are true and
pure".198
Attention here, please -the Name is manifested by

Amida from True Suchness (Dharmakaya of Dharma-
196
Shinran Shonin, Kyogyoshinsho, chapter II, Kyogyoshinsho – On
Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao
Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research,
Kyoto, 2003, p. 9
197
Here the number ten is used to signify that any number of
Nembutsu is equally good.
198
Shinran Shonin, Kyogyoshinsho, chapter III, Kyogyoshinsho – On
Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment, translated by Hisao
Inagaki, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research,
Kyoto, 2003, p. 163
174
nature), however the saying of the Name on our part
does not mean we understand Suchness in the here and
now, but that we have faith in “Amida Tathagata of a
glorious body of skilful means”, that is, in Amida
manifested as Dharmakaya of Compassionate means
(Sambhogakaya) 199. We are not supposed to dwell in
ultimate reality while we are still in our samsaric bodies,
and we cannot actually have faith in Dharmakaya of
Dharma-nature which is beyond anything we can
conceive with our unenlightened minds. This is why we
need Amida Buddha in form and Name as was explained
in the Larger Sutra by Shakyamuni. However, Amida as
Dharmakaya of Compassionate means, that is, His
transcendental manifestation in the Pure Land and
His Name, are never separated from His
Dharmakaya of Dharma-nature. This is why the
Nembutsu is true and real and contains all the myriad
enlightened qualities of Buddha nature.
Honen Shonin gave us a very important teaching on the

contents of the Name of Amida Buddha. Please listen
carefully to his words and my explanations:
"The Japanese designation for Amitabha - Amida -
consists of only three characters (A-MI-DA). Within this
Name, however, is the merit of the inner realization of
199
The Dharmakaya of Dharma-nature is identical with the
Dharmakaya referred to in the Trikaya doctrine, and the
Dharmakaya of Expediency (Dharmakaya as Compassionate means)
corresponds to the Sambhogakaya or Recompensed Body.
Nirmanakaya or various Transformed Bodies are
manifested/emanated from Sambhogakaya and thus, we can
consider it as part of the Dharmakaya of Expediency.
175
Tathagata Amida and His external activities, as well as
the merit of Buddha Shakyamuni's extremely profound
teachings, which are as numerous as the grains of sand
in the Ganges. Who can fathom this?
Master Shan-tao, in the chapter 'Essentials of the

Commentary' of the 'Commentary on the Meditation
Sutra', interpreted this Name thus:
'The Chinese term for Amida Buddha, 'A-mi-t'o-fo', is a

transliteration of the language of India. It was
interpreted into Chinese as 'Enlightened One Whose Life
Is Immeasurable (Wu-liang-shou-chiao)'. 'Immeasurable
Life (Wu-liang-shou) points to the Dharma, and
'Enlightened One (chiao)' is a person. Both the Dharma
and the person are combined into 'Enlightened One
Whose Life Is Immeasurable'. Accordingly, He is
referred to as 'A-mi-t'o-fo'.’ […]
Therefore, all of the merits of the teachings, the

meditative practices on the phenomenal aspect of reality
and the noumenal principle, the unmatched power
acquired through meditation and wisdom, the wisdom of
inner realization, and the merit of external activities, as
well as all of the virtues and undefiled Enlightenmentof
Tathagata Amida, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara,
Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, Bodhisattva
Samanthabhadra, Bodhisattva Manjusri, Bodhisattva
Ksitigarbha, Nagarjuna, and the Bodhisattvas200 and
200
Bodhisattvas in the Pure Land refer to those who attained
Enlightenment in the Pure Land and are now Buddhas who manifest
as Bodhisattvas. For a better understanding of this idea read chapter
176
Sravakas201 of the Pure Land are encompassed in the
three characters of the Name of Amida. This being so,
would there be any Dharma not included in the teaching
for birth in the Pure Land?”202
The above teachings of Master Honen and Master

Shantao are extraordinary! The Name we say as
Nembutsu in the formula of NamoAmida Bu or any
other way (Namo Amituofo/Namo Amitabha, etc)
contains the Enlightenment of Amida Buddha himself
(His “wisdom of inner realization“) which includes all
the 32 innate qualities that I talked about at chapter five,
and all His manifestations for the sake of saving sentient
beings (His “external activities”). More than this, by
listing other Buddhas and Enlightened Bodhisattvas
(Buddhas who manifest as Bodhisattvas) Master Honen
implies that in fact the inner realization
(Enlightenment) and activities (manifestations) of
ALL Buddhas are included in Amida’s Name. The
names given there, Amida, Avalokitesvara,
“The qualities of Bodhisattvas in the audience” from my book,

Commentary on the Sutra on the Buddha of Infinte Life, Dharma
Lion Publications, Craiova, 2020, p. 24, https://amida-ji-retreat-
temple-romania.blogspot.com/2019/01/commentary-on-sutra-on-
buddha-of.html
201
Here “sravaka” is not used with the sense of a Hinayana follower,
but of a close enlightened disciple of Amida in His Pure Land.
202
Honen Shonin, Commentary on the Three Sutras of Pure Land
Buddhism, The Promise of Amida Buddha - Honen's Path to Bliss,
The Promise of Amida Buddha - Honen's Path to Bliss; English
translation of the Genko edition of the works of Honen Shonin -
Collected Teachings of Kurodani Shonin: The Japanese Anthology
(WagoToroku), translated by Joji Atone and Yoko Hayashi, Wisdom
Publications, Boston, 2011, p.81-82
177
Mahasthamaprapta, Samantabhadra, Manjushri,
Ksitigarbha or the Enlightened Ones of the Pure Land,
etc, do not indicate a closed list, but are a hint to the fact
that all Buddhas are included as those names are
connected with many other Buddhas, too.
Therefore, there is NO Buddhist practice and no
Buddhist teaching that is not included in the Name of
Amida. Although we cannot follow all teachings and
practices through our own power, if we rely on Amida
Buddha and say His Name in faith we automatically
fulfill all Dharma Gates because all are included in the
Nembutsu.
Master Honen continues:
“The three Japanese characters in the name of Amida

(A-MI-DA) are interpreted by other Buddhist schools in
a number of different ways. The Shingon school teaches
that the letter 'A' in the Sanskrit alphabet indicates the
origin of all phenomena and the state of
nonproduction, and that the letter 'A' produces forty-two
Sanskrit characters. All existence is contained in the
letter 'A'; therefore, the Name of Amida is considered to
be most meritorious.
The Tendai school teaches the theory of the three aspects

of truth articulating ultimate reality - the truths of
emptiness, temporariness, and the middle path; the
doctrine of the three causes leading to Buddhahood - the
innate Buddha nature, the wisdom discerning the
ultimate principle, and virtuous deeds that cultivate
wisdom; the teaching of the three bodies of a Buddha -
178
the Dharma Body, the Rewarded Body, and the
Transformed Body (Trikaya doctrine); and the merits
possessed by a Tathagata: these theories are all
contained in the three characters of the Name of
Amida. Hence, the merit of the letters is considerable.
As illutrated, each school has interpreted the three
letters in the Name of Amida from its own doctrine's
perspective.
Now the essence of our Pure Land school is the belief

that the three characters, 'A-MI-DA', embody the
entire Buddhist teachings, including the theory of the
Shingon school that the letter 'A' in the Sanskrit alphabet
indicates the origin of all phenomena and the state of
nonproduction; the teachings of the oneness of the three
aspects of truth taught by the Tendai school. the theory
that the middle path emerges from the eightfold negation
taught by the Sanron school203; the theory of the five
levels of contemplation from the principles of mind-only
203
The Sanron school was one of the six schools of Nara and one of
the thirteen schools of China. The Sanron tradition was first
transmitted to China by Kumarajiva (344-413) in the early 5th
century and then introduced into Japan in 625. Sanron literally
means 'three treateses' refering to the three texts on which the school
was based. The three treatises are Nagarjuna's Treatise on the
Middle Way (Madhyamaka Sastra) and Treatise on the Twelve
Gates (Dvadasamukha Sastra), and Aryadeva's (3rd century) One
Hundred Verse treatise (Sata Sastra).The Promise of Amida Buddha
- Honen's Path to Bliss; English translation of the Genko edition of
the works of Honen Shonin - Collected Teachings of Kurodani
Shonin: The Japanese Anthology (WagoToroku), translated by Joji
Atone and Yoko Hayashi, Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2011, fn
98, p.424
179
of the Hosso school204; basically, all of the Dharma in
the universe. This is because no Buddhist doctrines are
excluded from the teaching for birth in the Pure Land.
Nevertheless, the heart of the vows of Amida Buddha

does not expect one to believe in all of the above. He
will come to receive all beings who simply recite
Nembutsu with deep devotion."205
Even if we don’t understand the above teachings of the

Buddhist schools listed by Honen Shonin, we are
amazed to hear that all of them are comprised in the
Name of Amida and so, if we say the Name in faith it is
as if we fulfill all of them. Of course, our spiritual
capacities being limited we cannot follow and practice
anything related with the self power paths like Shingon,
Tendai, Sanron, Hosso or others, so we cannot say that
we have any merit in this. It is the Name of Amida that is
meritorious, pure and perfect and because of it we’ll be
able to reach the goal of all Buddhist Paths, teachings
204
The Hosso school, a Mahayana school, was one of the six school
of Nara and one of the thirteen schools of China. The Hosso school
is based on the doctrine of Mind-Only as advocated by Asangha
(310-390), Vasubandhu (5th century), and Dharmapala (6th
century). The main text of the school is the Treatise on the
Attainment of Consciousness-Only (Vijnaptimatratasiddhi Sastra,
Jp. Jo Yuishiki-ron), compiled by the 7th century Chinese pilgrim
Hsuan-tsang. The Hosso tradition was introduced into Japan in 652.
205
Honen Shonin, Commentary on the Three Sutras of Pure Land
Buddhism, The Promise of Amida Buddha - Honen's Path to Bliss;
English translation of the Genko edition of the works of Honen
Shonin - Collected Teachings of Kurodani Shonin: The Japanese
Anthology (WagoToroku), translated by Joji Atone and Yoko
Hayashi, Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2011, p.82-83
180
and practices – the discovery of Buddha nature with its
enlightened qualities.
I will not insist on the Tendai, Hosso and Sanron, but I
would like to say something about the Shingon teachings
on the letter “A”. In the Japanese – English Buddhist
dictionary it is explained,
“Meditation on the Sanskrit letter ‘A’ is the most

important meditation in Esoteric Buddhism. The sound
‘A’ is regarded as the source from which all words are
produced. It is therefore termed ‘the mother of all
sounds.’ […]. In Esoteric Buddhism it symbolizes the
unity of the whole world”.206
“The commentary on the Mahavairocana Sutra says:

‘The ‘A’ syllable gate is the king of all mantras’”. 207
In The Ten Stages of Mind, Master Kukai208 quotes the

Mahavairocana-sutra:
“Why is this mantra teaching? Because the principle of
the letter A is that all natures (dharmas) are
fundamentally unborn…”209
206
The Seekers Glossary of Buddhism, edited by Van Hien Study
Group, Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and
Canada, 2003, p.1
207
Shingon, Taiko Yamasaki (192), The Seekers Glossary of
Buddhism, edited by Van Hien Study Group, Sutra Translation
Committee of the United States and Canada, 2003, p.1
208
Founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan.
209
The ShingonAjikan, Meditation on the Syllable ‘A’: An analysis
of components and development by Ronald S. Green
181
Here “natures (dharmas)” means samsaric phenomena.
From the point of view of ultimate Buddha nature, such
phenomena are not real, so they are not actually born.
Their birth, development and disappearance are like a
magical display. They seem to appear, but they do not
really exist.
He also said:
“Again, the five types of letter ‘A’210 are the mind of

the highest Enlightenment. That is, based on these
letters sounds issue forth and Buddhism is taught…”211
The Bodhicitta-sastra states:
“In the minds of all sentient beings there is an element

of pure nature…It is likened to one of the sixteen phases
of the moon – that in which the moon appears
brightest…Therefore, a mantra practitioner should, by
means of ‘A’ –syllable visualization, awaken the inherent
brightness within his mind, causing a gradual cleansing
and brightening, and a realization of the knowledge of
the non-arising of phenomena. The ‘A’ –syllable has the
meaning of the originally non-arisen nature of all
dharmas (samsaricphenomena)”.212
210
Refers to a, ā, am, ah, āh as elucidated in the Mahāvairocana-sūtra
(Hakeda 220-1)
211
The Shingon Ajikan, Meditation on the Syllable ‘A’: An analysis
212
182
In his writing entitled Meaning of Sound, Word, and
Reality (Shōjijissōgi),Kukai said:
“For what does the sound ‘A’ stand? It denotes a

name-word (myōji) of the Dharmakaya Buddha;
namely, it is sound and word.’”213
In The category of Invariant Meanings, he writes:
“The sound ‘A’ is the mother of all letters; it is the

essence of all sounds; and it stands for the
fountainhead of all-inclusive Reality.”214
In The Category of Ultimate Meanings, he writes:
“A sutra states: “The letter A signifies ‘the Enlightened

mind,’ ‘the gateway to all teachings,’ ‘nonduality,’ ‘the
goal of all existences,’ ‘the nature of all existences,’
‘freedom,’ and ‘the Dharmakaya.’” These are the
ultimate meanings of the letter A.”215
So, as we see above, the Name of Amida Buddha which

contains the letter “A” , described as “the mother of all
letters”, “the king of all mantras”, “Dharmakaya”, “the
fountainhead of all-inclusive Reality”, “the mind of the
highest Enlightenment”, etc, is not just a simple name,
213
214
215
183
nor a samsaric phenomena, but the manifestation of
ultimate reality. It is part of the Dharmakaya as
Compassionate means which is inseparable from the
Dharmakaya of Dharma-nature (Buddha nature). This is
why Shinran said that “Nembutsu alone is true and real”
and this is why we conclude that the Name of Amida is
NOT empty of itself, but only empty of illusions,
blind passions and anything that is false. Not only that
the Name is not empty of itself, but is actually filled with
all the qualities of Buddha nature that are revealed
through the inner realization or perfect Enlightenment of
Amida and all Buddhas. It also contains all the
manifestations of Amida and the Enlightened Ones and
all perfect teachings and authentic Dharma Gates. This is
why Honen said “no Buddhist doctrines are excluded
from the teaching for birth in the Pure Land”. All the
merits of Buddhist teachings and practices that lead to
Enlightenment are included in the Name of Amida, so
when we say Namo Amida Bu in faith we fulfil all of
them.
The length of time needed to explain all the subtleties of

Amida’s Name presented in the above passages by
Master Honen would be too much for this simple book,
so I will not insist further. However, for us, ordinary
people, to be born in the Pure Land there is no need to
understand or believe in all of them, as Honen said at the
end of the text:
“Nevertheless, the heart of the vows of Amida Buddha

does not expect one to believe in all of the above. He will
184
come to receive all beings who simply recite Nembutsu
with deep devotion”.
Ordinary people don’t need to be engineers or know

everything about flying technology to travel by planes.
In the same way, we don’t need to know all the
“technical” and transcendental details of the Name of
Amida to be saved by Him, but simply entrust to Him
and say His Name in faith. The promise of Amida
Buddha in His Primal Vow is easy to understand by
everybody: “entrust to me, say my Name (Nembutsu)
and wish to be born in my land”. Nothing else. No deep
understanding about the ultimate nature of the Name, the
meaning of letter “A” or the various teachings of
Shingon, Tendai, Sanron, Hosso, etc mentioned in the
above passages.
If we just hear the Promise of Amida and say His Name
in faith that is enough to be taken to the Pure Land at the
end of our illusory bodies and discover our Buddha
nature there.
The Name of Amida brings our salvation without us
knowing how it works, just like a plane will take us to
destination even if we are ignorant peasants who know
nothing about flying technology.
185
CHAPTER X. What did Shinran mean by
“shinjin (faith) is Buddha nature”?
I heard some people misinterpreting the saying

used by Shinran; “shinjin is Buddha nature” as to mean
that shinjin (faith) actually means to believe in the
existence of Buddha nature. Of course, Shinran accepted
the existence of Buddha nature as He was quoting a lot
from Mahaparinirvana Sutra and other sutras where
Shakyamuni teaches about it. However, this was not his
intention when he said that “great shinjin” or “great
faith” is Budha nature.
First let’s see how he said that:
"The person who attains shinjin and joy

Is taught to be equal to the Tathagatas.
Great shinjin is itself Buddha-nature;
Buddha-nature is none other than Tathagata".216
What did Shinran mean by being equal with the

Tathagathas (Buddhas) because of having shinjin (faith)?
He explained:
“The Garland Sutra states that those who have attained

true shinjin (faith) are already certain to become
Buddhas and therefore are equal to the Tathagatas.”
So, because people who entrust to Amida are certain to

become Buddhas in the Pure Land, they are called “equal
216
Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the Pure Land (Jodo Wasan),The
Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series,
Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p. 350-351
186
to the Tathagatas”. It does NOT mean we are now
Tathagatas or Buddhas but that all Buddhas look to us as
their future colleagues in Enlightenment and saving
sentient beings.
“The Buddhas in the ten quarters rejoice in the settling

of this mind [of shinjin] and praise it as being equal to
the hearts and minds of all Buddhas. Thus, the person of
true shinjin (faith) is said to be equal to Buddhas. He is
also regarded as being the same as Maitreya, who is in
[the rank of] succession to Buddhahood.”
“…all Buddhas feel great joy when such a person

rejoices in the realization of true shinjin, and they
proclaim, ‘This person is our equal.’Sakyamuni's words
of rejoicing are found in the Larger Sutra: ‘The one who
sees, reveres, and attains [the Dharma] and greatly
rejoices - that person is my excellent, close companion’;
thus He teaches that the person who has attained shinjin
is equal to Buddhas.”
Shinjin or great faith is the cause of becoming Buddhas.

However, according to Shinran, shinjin does not mean to
have faith in Buddha nature, but to hear and entrust to
the promise of Amida Buddha in His Primal Vow:
"Shinjin (faith) is hearing the Vow of the Tathagata and

being free of doubt".217
217
Shinran Shonin, Notes on Once-calling and Many-calling, The
Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.474
187
"'Entrusting' is to be free of doubt, believing deeply and
without any double-mindedness that the Tathagata's
Primal Vow is true and real."218
"Concerning entrusting:
One becomes sure of the attainment of Birth [in the Pure
Land]. This mind, being deep trust, is like diamond."219
This shinjin which means to entrust to Amida’s Primal

Vow is the very cause of attaining Nirvana or Buddha
nature.
Honen Shonin said:
"Through entrusting oneself, one is enabled to enter the

city of Nirvana.”220
And Shinran commented:
“'The city of Nirvana' is the Pure Land of peace.

'Through entrusting oneself, one is enabled to enter':
These words exhort us to know that the person who has
218
Shinran Shonin, Notes on the Inscriptions on Sacred Scrolls, The
219
Shinran Shonin, Gutoku's Notes, The Collected Works of Shinran,
Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha,
Kyoto, 1997, p.612
220
Shinran quoted and explained this passage from Honen’sThe
Passages on the Nembutsu Selected in the Primal Vow in his Notes
on the Inscriptions on Sacred Scrolls, The Collected Works of
Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu
188
realized true and real shinjin is able to enter the true
land fulfilled through Tathagata's Primal Vow. Know
that shinjin (faith) is the seed of Enlightenment, the
seed for realizing the supreme Nirvana."221
He also said:
"'The Vow of entrusting with sincere mind is the cause of

Enlightenment'222: refers to true and real shinjin, which
is given by Amida Tathagata. This shinjin is the very
cause for the attainment of the supreme
Enlightenment."223
Nirvana or Buddha nature will be attained not “here and

now” as some deluded scholars say, but after birth in the
Pure Land:
“Tathagata is none other than Nirvana;

Nirvana is called Buddha nature.
Beyond our ability to attain it in the state of foolish
beings,
221
222
A quote from a passage from 'The Hymn of True Shinjin' by
Gutoku Shinran, disciple of Shakyamuni, in Japan. Shinran explains
his own words from that hymn.
223
189
We will realize it on reaching the Land of Peace.”224
“We clearly know from the Tathagata’s teaching of truth
and the Master’s commentaries that the Pure Land of
Peace and Provision is the True Land of Recompense.
Sentient beings with delusion and defilements cannot
see Buddha nature here, because it is covered over by
evil passions. The Nirvana Sutra says: ‘I say that
bodhisattvas of the tenth stage see a little of Buddha
nature’. Hence, we know that when we reach the
Buddha Land of Peace and Bliss, Buddha nature will
certainly be revealed to us – through the merit
transference by the Primal Vow Power.’”225
In letter 14 of Lamp for the Latter Ages (Mattosho),

Shinran explained the verses quoted at the beginning of
this chapter in the following way:
“The person who attains shinjin and joy

Is taught to be equal to the Tathagatas.
Great shinjin is itself Buddha-nature;
Buddha-nature is none other than Tathagata.
Nevertheless, among the people of single-hearted

practice there seem to be some who misunderstand,
saying that the statement by fellow-practicers that the
224
Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the Pure Land, The Collected Works of
Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu
225
Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p. 229-
230
190
person who rejoices in shinjin (faith) is equal to
Tathagatas reflects an attitude of self-power and inclines
toward the Shingon teaching. I do not wish to pass
judgment on others, but for my own clarification I write
you of this matter.
There is another hymn:
Those who attain true and real shinjin (faith)

Immediately join the truly settled;
Thus having entered the stage of non-retrogression,
They necessarily attain Nirvana.
The statement, “they attain Nirvana,” means that when

the heart of the persons of true and real shinjin (faith)
attain the fulfilled land [of the Pure Land]at the end of
his or her present life, that person becomes one with the
light that is the heart of Tathagata, for His reality is
immeasurable life and His activity is inseparable from
immeasurable light. This seems to be the reason for
saying: “Great shinjin is itself Buddha-nature;
Buddha-nature is none other than Tathagata.” In my
understanding, this corresponds to the Eleventh, Twelfth,
and Thirteenth Vows.”226
So, according to Shinran the reason for saying that

shinjin is Buddha nature is to show that people who
have faith (shinjin) are sure to attain Buddha nature
(Nirvana/perfect Enlightenment/Buddhahood) after
226
Shinran Shonin, Lamp for the Letter Ages, letter 14, The
191
birth in the Pure Land. Thus, shinjin (faith) is the
cause that leads us to Nirvana and Buddha nature.
The jewel of Buddha nature is hidden under billions of

layers of blind passions, illusions and attachments
accumulated during many lifetimes. This is why it is
impossible to find it while you are still caught in this
samsaric realm of existence, itself the effect of your
karma and the collective karma of all unenlightened
beings. However, in the Pure Land, the same jewel is in
plain sight, you just stretch your arm and “take it”. This
is how easy it is to discover your Buddha nature in the
enlightened environment of Sukhavati.
Shinran always kept in mind the method for attaining

Buddha nature. As I mentioned earlier at chapter six, all
the genuine Dharma Gates of Buddhist teaching talk
about three main aspects: 1) the Basis, 2) the Path and 3)
the Fruit.
The Basis is the hidden Buddha nature which is already
perfectly Enlightened and filled with innumerable
qualities. In our case, the Path is to entrust (shinjin) in
Amida Buddha and say His Name in faith, wishing to be
born in His Pure Land after death (the three requirements
of the Primal Vow).
The Fruit is the discovery of Buddha nature or Nirvana
that we attain after being born in the Pure Land. This is
why shinjin (faith) is Buddha nature – because
shinjin is the Path to Buddha nature.
To say that shinjin means to have faith in Buddha nature

is like assuming that because one has Buddha nature one
192
is already enlightened and does not need to do anything
else. It is to eliminate the Path to Buddha nature which in
the case of Jodo Shinshu is faith (shinjin) and the
Nembutsu of faith. To accept the existence of Buddha
nature (which is something Buddhists of all schools
should accept) does not mean we actually dwell in the
Buddha nature, or that we have really discovered it.
To prove even more that shinjin does NOT mean to have

faith in the existence of Buddha nature and other ideas
related with ultimate reality, I quote the following
passage from Shinran:
"When I deeply contemplate matters, I find that

attainment of joyful faith arises from the Tathagata’s
mind in which the Primal Vow was selected and
embraced, and that the awakening of true faith occurs
through the compassionate skilful means of the Great
Sage. However, monks and laypeople of this latter age
and the masters of these days, drowned in the concepts
of “one’s self-nature [being identical with Buddha]”
and “[all that exists is in] one’s mind,” despise true
Enlightenment in the Pure Land; or, deluded by self-
power efforts to perform meditative and non-meditative
good practices, they are ignorant of the adamantine true
faith".227
Those fake Jodo Shinshu Buddhists who say that “all

exists in one’s mind” and are constantly talking about

227

193
Buddha nature but not the Pure Land method to attain it
are people who have no true faith (shinjin) in the Primal
Vow. They are the ones who deny the existence of
Amida Buddha, calling Him a metaphor, symbol or
fictional character or who say that the Pure Land is “here
and now” or in one’s mind, and not a real, enlightened
place to be attained after death, etc. What they do is to
deny the existence of Dharmakaya as compassionate
means (Dharmakaya of expediency/Sambhogakaya) on
the basis of a nihilistic interpretation of Dharmakaya of
Dharma nature. They do not understand that although
our Buddha nature and the Buddha nature of Amida are
the same in their ultimate reality, we actually need to
have faith in Amida in form and Name in order to reach
it. Also, they deny forms and manifestations thinking
that everything exists in one’s mind, when we see that
unenlightened minds as well as enlightened minds are
always accompanied by forms and manifestations –
samsaric minds give rise to samsaric worlds and
enlightened minds manifest Pure Lands or other
enlightened forms to save all beings.
Shinjin (faith) itself is the manifestation of Amida in the

heart and mind of the follower who has listened deeply
and opened himself to His Primal Vow and it contains
the acceptance of the reality of Amida Buddha and His
Pure Land that are to be found outside of one’s mind. As
Honen Shonin said:
„Although there is one Amida Buddha, His teachings

have different interpretations. The Shingon school
teaches that Amida Buddha resides in one’s own heart
194
(mind); they do not admit His existence outside of one’s
heart. The Pure Land school, however, teaches that
Bodhisattva Dharmakara realized Buddhahood and
became Amida Buddha and now resides in the West.
These two viewpoints reflect great differences between
the two schools”.
Shinjinor simple faith is a direct link with Amida in form

and Name. As the true nature of Amida in form and
Name is ultimate Dharmakaya of Dharma nature or
Buddha nature itself, we can also say that shinjin is a
direct link to this ultimate Reality, too. However, shinjin
cannot appear in our hearts and minds by understanding
ultimate reality (which is impossible to know at the level
we are now as unenlightened beings) but by becoming
open to Amida in form and Name (Dharmakaya as
compassionate means/Dharmakaya of
Expediency/Sambhgakaya aspect). Nowadays this is
what many deluded scholars do not understand – without
accepting the existence of Amida and His Pure Land one
cannot receive shinjin because shinjin itself is not some
kind of unmanifested Dharmakaya, but is received
through the Dharmakaya as compassionate means, that
is, Amida Buddha in His transcendental and
manifestation aspect. The Primal Vow does NOT mean
faith in ultimate Dharmakaya as this is beyond anything
and cannot be grasped by our unenlightened minds, but
in the specific Amida Buddha (whose nature is ultimate
Dharmakaya) who manifested in a specific form and
Name with whom beings can have a relation of faith and
create a karmic connection. This is why Shinran said:
195
“Since it is with this heart and mind of all sentient
beings that they entrust themselves to the Vow of the
Dharma-body (Dharmakaya) as compassionate means,
this shinjin (faith) is none other than Buddha-nature.
This Buddha-nature is Dharma-nature. Dharma-nature
is Dharma-body. For this reason there are two kinds of
Dharma-body with regard to the Buddha. The first is
called Dharma-body as Suchness (Dharmakaya of
Dharma nature) and the second, Dharma-body
(Dharmakaya) as compassionate means.”
Faith (shinjin) is directed to Amida in the aspect of

Dharmakaya as compassionate means
(Sambhogakaya) which is not separated from
Dharmakaya of Dharma nature or Buddha nature.
This is also why we can say that in its ultimate reality
faith is Buddha nature. Although the Buddha nature or
Dharmakaya of Dharma nature “has neither color nor
form” and “the mind cannot grasp it nor words describe
it”, from this “oneness was manifested form, called
Dharma-body as compassionate means (Amida in form
and Name).”228
Amida Buddha as the object of our faith is Amida as

compassionate means that is never separated from
His Dharmakaya of Dharma nature. Thus, Amida is
not something that exists “in our minds” or some
kind of unmanifested Dharmakaya. He is a living
Buddha with access to the ultimate reality beyond
Shinran Shonin, Notes on ‘Essentials of Faith Alone’, The

228

196
any concepts and forms, but also very active in His
Pure Land as well as in our samsaric realms, guiding
us to salvation through His Primal Vow.
Just as the Name is true and real because it was

manifested by Amida from Dharmakaya of Dharma-
nature, shinjin is also NOT an empty samsaric
phenomenon, because the “attainment of joyful faith
arises from the Tathagata’s Mind in which the Primal
Vow was selected and embraced”.
Thus, although it is manifested in our minds as faith, its
origin is in Amida’s Mind and is awakened in us
“through the compassionate skilful means of the Great
Sage”. I already explained this process in The Meaning
of Faith and Nembutsu229, so I will not insist on it now.
Both faith (shinjin) and the Nembutsu of faith are

manifested in our minds and on our lips by Amida
Buddha as Dharmakaya of compassionate means (Amida
as Sambhogakaya) from the Dharmakaya of Dharma
nature. This is why they are NOT samsaric phenomena
and NOT empty, but TRUE AND REAL. They are true
and real because they are rooted in ultimate reality
and can be used by Amida Buddha to take us to His
enlightened realm, itself not empty and not false, where
we will naturally discover our innate, not empty and not
false, Buddha nature.
229
The Meaning of Faith and Nembutsu in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism,
by Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea, Dharma Lion Publications, Craiova,
2018, p. 145.
197
Only real vehicles (the Primal Vow, faith and Nembutsu)
and real friends (Amida Buddha) can take us to real
destinations (the Pure Land where we attain the real
Buddha nature).
198
Chapter XI. Only Buddhas can see Buddha nature
All beings have Buddha nature which is the Basis

and also the Fruit (the finalization) of the Path. However,
even among those who are disciples of the Buddha not
all have the same aspiration. Thus, not everyone obtains
the fruit of discovering their Buddha nature.
“O’ Bhagavan, the wisdom of the Buddha Nature is the

World Honored One’s wisdom of Sunyata (Emptiness).
The Buddha Nature is not something that has been seen
or realized by any Arhat, or Pratyekabuddha. There are
two types of Emptiness wisdom concerning the Buddha
Nature which are as follows: 1) The Buddha nature is
empty from, separate from, independent from and
different from all the stores of defilement. 2) The Buddha
nature is not-empty from, is not separate from, not
independent from and not different from the
inconceivable Buddha Attributes which are more
numerous than the sands of the river Ganges. […]
All the [sravaka] disciples and Pratyekabuddhas are

stuck in the domain of the four inverse views because of
their incorrect knowledge of emptiness. This is why none
of the Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas have ever seen
or attained the Buddha Nature. Only the Buddha’s have
experienced the extinction of all suffering and destroyed
199
all the stores of defilement. They alone have practiced
all the paths which lead to the extinction of suffering.”230
In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra it is said:
“The wise perceive emptiness and non-emptiness, the

permanent and the impermanent, suffering and bliss, Self
and non-Self. The empty is the totality of samsara and
the non-empty is Great Nirvana, non-Self is
samsara, and the Self is Great Nirvana. To perceive the
emptiness of everything and not to perceive non-
emptiness is not termed the Middle Way, to perceive the
non-Self of everything, and not to perceive the Self is not
termed the Middle Way. The Middle Way is termed the
Buddha-dhatu (Buddha nature/Buddha essence). For
this reason, the Buddha-dhatu is eternal and
unchanging. Because beings are enveloped in ignorance,
they are unable to perceive it. Sravakas and
Pratyekabuddhas perceive the emptiness of everything,
but do not perceive the non-emptiness, they perceive
the absence of self [i.e. non-Self] in all things, but do
not perceive the Self. For this reason, they do not attain
the ultimate emptiness. Because they do not attain the
supreme emptiness, they do not walk the Middle Way.
Because they lack the Middle Way, they do not perceive
the Buddha-dhatu.”
230
Queen Srimala and her Lion’s Roar Sutra, chapter 9, verse 97,
translated by TsultrimGyurme,
srimala-sutra
200
An Arhat is the saint and the culmination of the
Hinayana Buddhist teaching. He has overcome the
outward manifestation of the afflictive emotions but has
not completely uprooted their psychic imprint. He is free
from samsara but has not attained perfect Enlightenment.
For this reason we say he did not discover the Buddha
nature.
A Hinayana Sravaka or Hinayana Hearer is the Buddhist

disciple who fears samsara and wishes to achieve
Nirvana but has little compassion. It is said:
“One who is afraid upon seeing the suffering of samsara

And yearns to achieve Nirvana
But has little interest in benefiting sentient beings –
These are the three marks of the Hearer family.”231
These should NOT be confused with the sravakas

mentioned in the The Larger Sutra which refer to people
who might have been Hinayana sravakas in a previous
existence before being born in the Pure Land and who
are now faithful enlightened disciples of Amida Buddha
and hear the teaching directly from Him.
A Pratyekabuddha (Solitary Realizer) is one who has the

above three marks and in addition is arrogant, keeps his
master’s identity secret and prefers to stay in solitary
places. It is said:

231

York, 1998, p.51
201
“Fear at the thought of samsara, yearning for Nirvana,
Little compassion, arrogance,
Secretive about their teachers, and enjoying solitude
A wise one should understand that these are the marks of
the Solitary Realizer family.”232
The Sravakayana (Sravaka vehicle) and

Pratyekabuddhayana are the two vehicles (yana) of the
Hinayana, while the Bodhisattvayana is the Mahayana
which aims at attaining Nirvana for all beings.
According to the above sutras the Arhats, Sravakas and

Pratyekabuddhas of the Hinayana do not attain
Buddhahood and so they do not discover their Buddha
nature because they have an “incorrect knowledge of
emptiness”, that is, they can’t accept the difference as
explained in this book between other emptiness or non-
empty-emptiness (“supreme emptiness”) of Buddha
nature, and self emptiness or empty-emptiness of
samsaric phenomena which simply means that Buddha
nature is only empty of illusions, blind passions and any
samsaric phenomena (empty of other things that are not
Buddha nature – other emptiness), but NOT empty of
itself and its own innate qualities (“attributes”), as
Queen Srimala said:
“The Buddha nature is empty from, separate from,

independent from and different from all the stores of

232

York, 1998, p.51
202
defilement. The Buddha nature is not-empty from, is not
separate from, not independent from and not different
from the inconceivable Buddha Attributes which are
more numerous than the sands of the river Ganges”.
On the other hand, the samsaric phenomena are empty of

themselves because they are depending on causes and
conditions and always changing. Many people
nowadays, followers of Mahayana in name only call
themselves Madhyamikas or Middle Way disciples but
have a wrong view on emptiness in the sense that they
think everything is self-empty, including Nirvana and
Buddha nature. However, as Mahaparinirvana Sutra
said “the empty is the totality of samsara and the non-
empty is Great Nirvana”. Hinayana Sravakas and
Pratyekabuddhas perceive the emptiness of everything
that relatively exists in samsara and know the non-self
aspect of all samsaric phenomena, but they don’t
perceive the non-emptiness of Nirvana and the true Self
of Buddha nature. Only those who become Buddhas and
start using its myriad innate qualities to help all beings
see and know Buddha nature. We, followers of the
Primal Vow, will become Buddhas in the moment we are
born in the Pure Land of Amida and see Buddha nature.
Many so-called Mahayana practitioners talk all day long

about emptiness and oneness but don’t accept that
Buddha nature and Buddhas dwelling in it are NOT self-
empty but only empty of illusions, blind passions and
attachments. They are nothing more than pitiful atheists
and materialists who follow the wrong view of nihilistic
203
emptiness and who will never see Buddha nature. It
would be beneficial for you if you stay away from them.
204
Chapter XII. Conclusion
I hope the teachings of this book were easy to

understand. Let me state again the essentials.
Samsara is suffering but it is suffering in a dream from
which we can wake up if we follow the various Dharma
Gates taught by the Buddha and the Masters of various
lineages. Buddha nature exists and it is the true reality to
which we wake up when we attain perfect
Enlightenment. This reality is empty of defilements,
illusions and suffering, but filled with myriads of
enlightened qualities that will benefit us and others. It is
the fountainhead of many enlightened manifestations for
the sake of guiding and saving sentient beings. It is the
open space of freedom and endless possibilities that we
attain after escaping our narrow smelly cell of samsaric
existence. There is nothing we need to add to this
Buddha nature as it is already perfect since beginningless
time. Fortunately for us, ordinary people who have no
chance to discover it through our own power, Amida
Buddha made a Vow that He will bring to His
enlightened realm all beings who entrust to Him, say His
Name in faith, and wish to be born in His Pure Land
after death. There we can easily and naturaly discover
our innate Buddha nature with its myriad qualities. As
the Path to the Pure Land, faith itself and saying of the
Name (Nembutsu) are rooted in Amida’s Dharmakaya as
compassionate means which is never separated from the
Dharmakaya of Dharma nature. Faith and Nembutsu are
the hooks with which Amida drags us to His Pure Land
where we discover our Buddha nature.
205
Those ordinary people who say that we don’t need the
Pure Land to attain perfect Enlightenment and discover
our innate Buddha nature because “everything is in the
mind” are making a grave mistake and are ignorant of
their spiritual limitations. As we all know from daily life,
in some places and with some people we become more
agitated or calmer. Although everything happens in the
mind, the environment and the people around us
influence our minds. There will always be more peace in
our minds when we are in the presence of peaceful
people.
The samsaric environment in which we live is the effect

of our personal and collective karma. It is like the dream
which occurs at night because of our thoughts and
actions during the daytime. It is our manifestation and
emanation. Here, everything, from noisy people to evil
beings and various difficulties, can be an obstacle for the
mind to discover its own inner peace and Buddha nature.
However, in the Pure Land everything is leading to
Enlightenment. That environment is manifested by
Amida from ultimate Reality and it is filled with His
enlightened presence and various Enlightened saints.
Unlike here where every material object can hurt us or
cause us to drown even more in illusions and
attachments, in the Pure Land the water, the trees, the
“food”, the flowers, the breeze are all emanating deep
enlightened sounds and teachings because those are
enlightened manifestations, not samsaric phenomena.
This is why in that enlightened realm the various layers
of our illusory personality immediately melt and our
206
mind naturally finds its true essence – the Buddha
nature.
Please never forget the Base, the Path and the Fruit.
Buddha nature is the base in the sense that we already
have it, just it is now covered by the many layers of
illusions and blind passions. It is also the fruit, meaning
that we’ll discover it when we attain perfect
Enlightenment in the Pure Land, while the Nembutsu of
Faith in Amida’s Primal Vow is the Path. We cannot
discover our innate Buddha nature without Amida’s help
and birth in His enlightened realm.
NamoAmida Bu
207

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REV.

JŌSHŌ ADRIAN CÎRLEA

Rev. Jōshō Adrian Cîrlea (Adrian Gheorghe Cîrlea) is the

Cîrlea Gheorghe Adrian

"Speak to dreamers in the language of dreams" 1

Emptiness and Buddha nature are very hard

My goal as a Jodo Shinshu priest is to help others entrust

To practice for the attainment of Enlightenment in this

Perhaps by clearing up the confusions brought by false

Jōshō Adrian Cîrlea

“The eye coursing in conceptuality

All Dharma gates speak about suffering and the

A dream and a magical display of our own minds – this

“The triple realms of illusory wind

Because all phenomena of the samsaric existence arise

Anything that exists due to the combination of causes

“When Holy Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva performed the

In this case, Shariputra, form is voidness (emptiness)

All the physical and mental elements of a being are

In the Sublime Continuum of the Great Vehicle it is said,

Also, Shakyamuni encourages us in the Diamond Sutra

“Regard this phantom world

Here are a few more passages related with the

“I bow at the feet of the Masters

„The Blessed One taught,

“Train yourself in understanding that all ego clinging

“I have realized that all phenomena are like dreams, like

“When you feel attachment towards something attractive

Buddha nature has many names like Tathagata-

In the Tathagatagarbha Sutra, Shakyamuni put on a

“There appeared in the sky a countless number of

"Kulaputras13 (noble sons), here is a comparison that

Kulaputras (noble sons), all beings, though they find

Kulaputras, such is the Dharma of all Buddhas. Whether

The Buddha sees that all kinds of beings

The display of lotus flowers that withered and started to

“Non-self (false self or not the true self) is samsara, the

Because samsara and all that it includes, especially the

“’Self’ means ‘Tathagatagarbha’. Every being has

The term Tathagatha-garbha or Buddha-garbha refer to

Now coming back to the Tathagatagarbha Sutra, we see

"Or kulaputras (noble sons), it is like pure honey in a

Or, kulaputras (noble sons), it is like the genuine gold

"It is like a store of treasure

"It is like a traveler to another country

Or, kulaputras (noble sons), it is like a woman who is

Or, kulaputras (noble sons), it is like a master foundry

The above passages are so simple to understand that they

More about the special characteristics of this Buddha

Here is a collection of passages that will help you

“The essence of the Well-gone One pervades all

“For example, as butter permeates milk, likewise the

“[The Mahaparinirvana sutra states]:

The Garland Sutra states:

The bodies of all the Buddhas

Commenting on the above passages Shinran Shonin

“Now, we see that the spiritual attainment described

“One who has seen Buddha nature is no longer a

“May all sentient beings

“Further, liberation is called unsurpassed

“Since Tathagatas are eternal and are not subject to

“Space is neither within nor without but all sentient

“Those who violate the four major prohibitions, those