Buddha-nature
I have been reading a book entitled Zen Enlightenment, Origins and Meaning (Boulder, 2007). The author is Heinrich Dumoulin, a Jesuit theologian who wrote extensively about Zen. Dumoulin’s book includes chapters on Dogen, especially on Dogen’s conception of Buddha-nature. Dumoulin says that “the doctrine of universal Buddha-nature is the central dogma of Mahayana Buddhism.” (p. 103)
I think that the concept of Buddha-nature may be frequently misunderstood. When I was a member of the Houston Zen Center, a dharma talk was given in which it was said that one’s Buddha-nature was revealed to a person once he or she had cleared away all the moral and emotional rubble within himself.
This view is not correct. Dogen’s concept of Buddha-nature, as Dumoulin explains, “comprises all physical and mental reality. No kind of being is potentially more real than any other kind. All beings are Buddha-nature to the same extent.” (p. 111) Dumoulin also quotes Dogen as saying, “All being is Buddha-nature.” (p. 112)
In light of Dogen’s concept of Buddha-nature, no part of a human being lies outside of this nature. The idea that “moral and emotional rubble” needs to be cleared away within oneself before one can realize his own Buddha-nature is nonsense.
When I began my study of Buddhism, I benefitted much from the writings of Pema Chodrun. She had such a solid understanding of Buddha-nature. In Start Where You Are (Boston, 1994), she says, “We’re always not wanting to be who we are. However, we can never connect with our fundamental wealth as long as we are buying into this . . . hype that we have to be someone else.” (p. 9)
That our whole selves are Buddha-nature is our birthright.