Buddha nature
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Note: This article needs some fine tuning by a specialist, providing a bit more information on the historical development of the doctrine.
The Tathagatagarbha doctrine says that each sentient being contains the potential to become a Buddha. Tathagata is one of the ten epithets for a Buddha. The Tathagatagarbha doctrine arose mainly within Mahayanists who were associated to some degree or another with Yogacara studies, in order to clearly account for the possibility of the attainment of Buddhahood by ignorant sentient beings. Two of the most important early texts for the introduction of this doctrine are the Śrīmālā-sūtra and the Awakening of Faith. The Tathagatagarbha doctrine is closely related to that of the notion of Buddha-nature.
Tathagatagarbha in Zen
In modern-Western manifestations of the Zen Buddhist tradition, it is considered insufficient simply to understand Buddha-nature intellectually. Rather it must be experienced and felt directly, in one's entire mind and body together. Enlightenment in a certain sense consists of a direct experience of one's authentic identity, which is traditionally described as śūnyata (emptiness), the ultimate reality of Buddha-nature.
The Zen tradition often uses parables to try to explain the Buddha-nature: according to one story, a monk once approached the Zen master Chao-chou and asked him, "Does a dog possess Buddha-nature or not?" Chao-chou replied with the one-word answer "mu". His response, which among other things constitutes a negative term and the sound of a dog barking, indicated that the question could not answered with a straitforward assertion or negation. Rather, through the contemplation of the question, or the absurdity of it, one may perhaps gain an experience of Buddha-nature directly.
Buddha-bots
Buddha-nature has been connected in recent decades with the developments of robotics and the possible eventual creation of artificial intelligence. In the 1970s, the Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori popularized the idea that robots, under certain conditions, may possess Buddha-nature. Mori has since founded an institute to study the metaphysical implications of such technology.
Texts
Key texts associated with this doctrine are the Tathagatagarbha Sutra which contains a series of images for what the Tathagatagarbha is, and The Lion's Roar Discourse of Queen śrimala.
