One major problem

I enjoy writing this blog because, among other things, it tells me not all people are mentally challenged when it comes to Buddhism.  This brings me to one of the major problems with some Buddhists. It has to do with Buddha-nature; more specifically the dictum that  “All sentient beings have Buddha nature.”  

This passage comes from the Mahayana Sutra named the Mahaparinirvana.  This same Sutra also says, “All beings have inversions [distortions of truth] in their minds” which makes thingd rather confusing for the average person.  How can a person be a Buddha and, at the same time, be inverted (viparyâsa)?  Well, the simple answer is, all beings are not Buddhas.  “Having” really means having the potential to become a Buddha, eventually.  The Buddha never says that all beings are actual Buddhas.

Misreading the intention of Sutras follows, hand in hand, with misreading the intention of Zen masters which can set us back.  If a Zen master tells us that we are Buddhas, he means that we are not actually Buddhas but, instead, as the Buddha sees it, we have the ability to realize our Buddha-ness (buddhata).

Turning back to the Mahaparinirvana Sutra we shouldn’t lose sight that there is a huge gap between having Buddha-nature and fully realizing it.  Of unrealized beings, the Buddha says:

"All beings have four poisonous arrows, which become the cause of illness. What are the four? They are greed, ill-will, ignorance and arrogance."

And, 

"The Bodhisattva-mahasattvas of the ten “bhumis” know that all beings have the Buddha-Nature, but they cannot see it clearly. This is like on a dark night, where one cannot see clearly." 

A good Zen teacher will emphasize the fact that the Buddha never meant to suggest that all beings are alrady Buddhas with thirty-two marks and don’t have to do anything further.

Comments

[Zac]

Every single thing has Buddha nature but few see the true Buddha nature within and outside of themselves. In my honest opinion seeing the Buddha nature within is much more complex than seeing it in the world around you. The point of practice is to awaken, there are micro awakenings (as i call them) and THE true awakening. Micro awakenings are these mini enlightenment's where one sees true nature in things and I believe everyone has them. The ultimate goal is to completely stay awake and in the moment which we call becoming the Buddha. So my comment is just to go in furtherance of the original post.

[n. yeti]

It is the nature of salmon to swim upstream; not all do so the same way or even succeed, but the worldly nature remains strong in habit energy. Buddha nature is not like this and is unconditioned. It is very easy to confuse the nature of mind stream with Buddha nature, which is an essence that manifests as consciousness, and is not constrained to any given form, but itself gives rise to all things.