What obscures our buddha nature
123 Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Volume 3 Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature 
Oct 13, 2023 Part of an ongoing series of teachings (retreat and Friday) based on the book Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature, the third volume in The Library of Wisdom and Compassion series by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron.
- Fifth simile: treasure under the earth
- Latencies of afflictions
- Sixth simile: tiny sprout hidden within the peel of a fruit
- Acquired afflictions
- Seventh simile: buddha statue covered by a tattered rag
- Innate afflictions and their seeds
- Eight simile: baby, who will become a great leader, in the womb of a poor, miserable, forlorn woman
- Afflictive obscurations
- Ninth simile: golden buddha statue covered by fine layer of dust
- Cognitive obscurations
- Importance of reflecting on the obscuring factor, simile for the obscured, obscured phenomenon, person specifically obscured by this obscuring factor for each simile
- Meditating on the similes to develop compassion and bodhicitta
Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature 123: What Obscures Our Buddha Nature (download)
Contemplation points
- Contemplate each of the following similes from this weeks’s reading (as well as the previous four, if you like)
- Buddha essence is like a treasure under the earth
- Buddha essence resembles tiny sprout hidden within the peel of a fruit
- Buddha essence is like a buddha statue covered by a tattered rag
- Buddha essence resembles a baby who will become a great leader, in the womb of a poor, miserable, forlorn woman
- Buddha essence is like a golden buddha statue covered by dust
- Consider how each applies to you, the people you know, and all beings around you
- Seeing that each sentient being is impeded by obscurations that limit happiness and cause misery, let compassion arise for each and every sentient being
- With strong compassion, cultivate bodhicitta and determine to become a buddha in order to lead all sentient beings to actualise their Buddha Nature
- Spend some time with the chart in the text, reviewing all nine similes, to enhance your view of the buddha essence in your meditation time:
- What is the simile?
- What is the obscuring factor?
- What is the simile for the obscured?
- What is the actual obscured phenomena?
- At whom the particular simile is directed?
Venerable Thubten Chodron
Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.
