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The Tathagatagarbha doctrine says that each sentient being contains the potential to become a Buddha. "Tathagata-garbha" means "Buddha Womb" or "Buddha Embryo", and this notion is explicated by the Buddha in the "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra" as the "True Self" within all sentient beings - the unconditioned, boundless, sustaining and deathless Self of Buddha, which is indiscernible to worldly, unawakened vision as a result of the masses of negative mental states and general emotional taints which envelop it. 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 "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra" is a further vital text for a fuller understanding of "Tathagatagarbha" teaching. The Tathagatagarbha doctrine is closely related to that of the notion of Buddha-nature; indeed, in the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, which is the lengthiest sutra dealing with the immanent and transcendent presence of the Tathagatagarbha within all beings, the terms "Buddha-nature" ("Buddha-dhatu") and "Tathagatagarbha" are presented as essentially synonymous.
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 (Japanese: Jōshū) and asked him, "Does a dog possess Buddha-nature or not?" Chao-chou replied with the one-word answer "Wú" (pronounced "mu" in Japanese). His response, which among other things constitutes a negative term and the sound of a dog barking, indicated that the question could not be answered with a straightforward 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 (Awakened-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.
The implication or the question is, can a perfect simulation of intelligent outward behaviour really light the inner spark of a self-aware consciousness principle in an artificial entity? Given the doctrine of anatman, is there any difference between the subjective experiences of a robot that acts intelligent and an animal that is intelligent?
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 Srimala, and the "Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra".
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