The Nine Examples of Buddha Potential
Loden, Geshe Acharya Thubten. "The Nine Examples of Buddha Potential: Meaning of the Examples of the Obscured Objects and Their Obscurations." In Fundamental Potential for Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism, 118–31. Melbourne: Tushita Publications, 1996.
1 Brief explanation
2 Extensive explanation
That existing within the enclosure of the delusions
Is known by these examples
Though the nature of the mind of sentient beings is pure, it nonetheless exists within the enclosure of the delusions.
However, these delusions, which are merely adventitious stains, do not permeate the nature of the mind. This can be
seen by examining the following nine examples.
Like a Buddha in a decaying lotus, honey amidst bees,
Grain within its husk, gold inside filth,
Treasure in the ground, and sprouts and so on arising from
the seeds (within fruits),
A Buddha's form in tattered cloth, and
Like a king in an ugly woman's womb,
A precious form existing within a clay (mould): similarly,
Obscured by the stains of the adventitious delusions,
This Buddha potential exists in all sentient beings.
What then are the nine examples? The first is the presence of a Buddha's form, complete with the major and minor marks, enclosed within a decaying lotus flower. The second is the presence of honey amid a swarm of bees. The third is a grain existing within its husk. The fourth is the presence of gold covered by filth. The fifth is the existence of a precious treasure under the ground. The sixth is the potential within the seed of a fruit to sprout into a tree. The seventh is a Buddha statue made from precious jewels covered by tattered rags. The eighth is the presence of a baby, who will become a great king, within the womb of an ugly woman. The ninth is the presence of a golden Buddha statue encased in a clay mould.
As illustrated by these examples, Buddha potential exists within the continuum of sentient beings, obscured by the stains of nine types of adventitious defilements.
Suppose abiding within an ugly-coloured lotus
Were a Tathagata shining with thousands of marks.
When perceived by a human with the pure divine eye,
It would be extracted from those 'water-born' petals.
Similarly, the Tathagata sees with his Buddha eye
The true nature of even those abiding in the lowest hells.
Unobstructed, and remaining through compassion till the
limit of the future,
He makes us free of obscurations.
Just as the Tathagata within the closed decaying lotus
Is seen inside by the divine eye and then the petals cut
away,
Likewise the completely enlightened essence is perceived
enclosed by the obscuring impurities of desire, hatred and
so forth,
And through compassion the Victor destroys such
obscurations.
The natural Buddha potential within the continuum of all sentient beings, when separated from all obscurations, transforms into a Buddha's nature body. The Buddha has seen that this Buddha potential exists even in the case of
beings in the lowest realms, there in the manner of being enclosed by various impurities. Through his great compassion the Buddha has shown the methods to remove these impurities. When his disciples practise these methods in accordance with his instructions, they will remove all the obscurations to the natural potential and will thus attain the nature body.
The example speaks of a beautiful statue, a form body of a Buddha, complete with all major and minor marks, hidden within the closed petals of a withered, discoloured lotus flower. When this Buddha statue is perceived by a person who has the attainment of the clairvoyant divine eye he is able to remove the petals which obscure the form body of the Buddha so that it becomes completely and clearly manifest.
Were we to become aware of a beautiful Buddha statue hidden amongst the petals of a lotus, we would remove the obscuring petals and reveal the statue fully. Similarly, the Buddha is aware of the Buddha nature within all living beings, specifically here their natural potential. By removing the obscuring delusions of desire, hatred and so on, the natural potential is fully revealed in the attainment of the Buddha's nature body.
Just as when a swarm of bees surrounds the honey,
The skilful person endeavouring to get it,
Having seen this, makes sure with skilful means,
That it is completely separated from the swarm of bees.
Similarly, with the great sages and their omniscient eye;
By seeing this honey-like element of potential,
They bring about the complete and perfect
Abandonment of the bee-like obscurations.
When the natural potential for buddhahood within the continuum of living beings is separated from all obscurations, it transforms into a Buddha's nature body. The great sages, all the Buddhas, perceive with their omniscient vision the Tathagata essence abiding within the minds of living beings but enclosed by the delusions. They show the methods for separating the Buddha potential from all the delusions so that, when it is completely freed of all obscurations, the natural potential transforms into the nature body of the state of buddhahood.
This is illustrated by the person who is seeking honey. The honey is completely surrounded by a swarm of bees and so the person must be clever in going about obtaining the honey. He must use a skilful method to first completely remove the swarm of bees, and then once the honey is separated from the bees, his desire for the honey
can be realised.
Like that, the person seeking the sweet taste of enlightenment must be skilful in separating his honey-like natural potential from the bee-like obscurations of the delusions.
As the essential grain is covered by a husk,
And cannot be consumed by any person,
Those seeking food and so on
Must themselves extract it from the husk.
Similarly, sentient beings have delusions,
And their Buddha (potential) is mixed with these stains,
As long as it is not freed from the stains of the delusions
That long the Buddha's activities will not extend
throughout the three realms.
The Buddha sees that the natural potential for buddhahood within the continuum of living beings is polluted by the stains of the adventitious delusions. He therefore presents the methods of Dharma through which the Buddha potential is separated from the stains of all the adventitious obscurations and transforms into a Buddha's nature body.
The example speaks of those who would eat the food from grains. They must first extract the grain from its husk and once the grain itself is manifest they can use it for nourishment.
One cannot gain the delightful taste of grain foods without removing the husk. Similarly, without removing
the husk-like obscurations, the essential grain of the natural potential cannot be fully revealed as the nature body and thus cannot extend the bliss of Buddha-activity throughout the three realms.
Suppose, while walking hurriedly, a person's gold
Fell into a place of rotting filth.
Being of indestructible nature, this gold
Would remain there as it was for many centuries.
A god possessing the pure divine eye, seeing it there,
Would say to a person, 'As there is gold here,
Cleanse this supreme precious metal,
And fashion it into valuable creations!'
Like that, the Capable One, seeing the
Qualities of sentient beings sunk in filth-like delusions,
Brings the rain of precious Dharma to all beings
In order to purify that mire of delusions.
The way the natural potential transforms into a Buddha's nature body is illustrated by this example as follows. The
Buddha potential of ordinary beings, sunk in filth-like delusions, is seen by the Buddhas. To clean away the obscuring filth of the adventitious defilements, the Conqueror Buddhas bring forth a rain of Dharma to overcome the defilements. When the adventitious defilements are completely purified, the natural potential transforms into a nature body.
A person walking hurriedly along a path may accidentally drop some gold that he is carrying and this gold could fall into a filthy swampy pit beside the path. The gold could remain undiscovered and unchanged for hundreds of years hidden by filth though its purity would be unaffected by that filth. In that way gold's nature is said to be indestructible. Now imagine that a god who possessed the pure divine eye noticed the gold there and told some body, 'There is gold here! Clean it and then you can fashion it into whatever Buddha statues or ornaments that you
wish.'
A god sees the gold, which itself is pure and unchanged, fallen into filth. With great insistence he points this out to someone so that she can recover it, clean it and then make use of this precious substance. Like that, the Buddha sees the natural potential of ordinary beings, itself pure and unchanged over time, fallen into the filth of the
adventitious delusions. With insistence he points out the existence of the gold-like natural potential. He gives a rain
of Dharma teachings to all living beings in order to purify that natural potential so that they can make full use of it.
