Tao's Culture Monthly No. 45 October 1, 2002

By Master Henry Chang
Translated and edited by P.C. Chen and Ken Howell

"Buddha Nature and Human Nature" is a very complicated topic. Some people say that everyone has the Buddha nature, and some say that only some people has the Buddha nature. As for the human nature, some say that human nature is malicious, and some say that human nature is benevolent. It is hard to reach a general conclusion. What I am trying to do here is to give an overview and summary on this issue based on various religious literatures.

In the Buddhist dictionary, the “Buddha Nature” refers to the potential or capability of being enlightened, and all human beings possess the “Buddha Nature? It is this very nature that leads a human being into Buddhahood. Figuratively speaking, in Buddhism, the difference between a human and a Buddha is that a human is in a sleeping state and a Buddha in a completely aware state. For a human, the awakening from its trance is the moment of enlightenment. Therefore, an awakened human is no different from a Buddha. (To be continued)