Kasyapa
said to the Buddha: "Oh
World Honored One! Is there the Self in the 25 existences or not?"
The Buddha said: "Oh good man! 'Self’ means 'Tathagatagarbha' [Buddha-Womb, Buddha- Embryo, Buddha-Nature]. All beings possess the Buddha-Nature. This is the Self. Such Self has been, from the very beginning, undercover by innumerable defilements. That is why humans cannot see it. Oh good man! [Imagine that] here there is a poor woman. She has true gold concealed in her home. But none of the people in her household, 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 remove the weeds of the land’! The woman replies: 'I cannot do that now. If you let my son see where the gold is hidden, I shall 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 home, whether big or small, knows [of this]. How can you (know)'? The man says: 'I shall now make it clear’. The woman further says: 'I wish to see. I beg to let me'. The man digs out the gold that was hidden in a lair. The woman sees it, is satisfied and begins to respect that person. Oh good man! The case is the same with the Buddha-Nature which humans have. Nobody can see it. This is analogous to the gold which the poor woman possessed and yet could not see. Oh Good man! I shall now let people see the Buddha-Nature that they possess, which is undercover by defilements. This is analogous to the poor woman who could not see the gold, although she owned it. The Tathagata now reveals to all beings the Storehouse of Enlightenment, which is the so-called Buddha-Nature. If all beings see it, they will become satisfied and seek refuge in the Tathagata. The good expedient is the Tathagata, the poor woman is all the innumerable beings, and the Chest of True Gold is the Buddha-Nature.”
The Buddha said: "Oh good man! 'Self’ means 'Tathagatagarbha' [Buddha-Womb, Buddha- Embryo, Buddha-Nature]. All beings possess the Buddha-Nature. This is the Self. Such Self has been, from the very beginning, undercover by innumerable defilements. That is why humans cannot see it. Oh good man! [Imagine that] here there is a poor woman. She has true gold concealed in her home. But none of the people in her household, 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 remove the weeds of the land’! The woman replies: 'I cannot do that now. If you let my son see where the gold is hidden, I shall 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 home, whether big or small, knows [of this]. How can you (know)'? The man says: 'I shall now make it clear’. The woman further says: 'I wish to see. I beg to let me'. The man digs out the gold that was hidden in a lair. The woman sees it, is satisfied and begins to respect that person. Oh good man! The case is the same with the Buddha-Nature which humans have. Nobody can see it. This is analogous to the gold which the poor woman possessed and yet could not see. Oh Good man! I shall now let people see the Buddha-Nature that they possess, which is undercover by defilements. This is analogous to the poor woman who could not see the gold, although she owned it. The Tathagata now reveals to all beings the Storehouse of Enlightenment, which is the so-called Buddha-Nature. If all beings see it, they will become satisfied and seek refuge in the Tathagata. The good expedient is the Tathagata, the poor woman is all the innumerable beings, and the Chest of True Gold is the Buddha-Nature.”
Read More on the Nirvana
Sutra, Chapter 12 - On the Nature of
the Tathagata.
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