Our basic nature—our basic being—is absolutely perfect. It is identical to the basic being or basic nature of buddhas. No distinction whatsoever can be made between the Buddha nature of a sentient being and the buddha nature of a buddha. It is not the case that the buddha nature of buddhas is greater or more than the buddha nature of sentient beings, nor that the buddha nature of buddhas is somehow better or purer that the buddha nature of beings. The only distinction between buddhas and sentient beings is that in the case of a buddha this nature is unconcealed or unveiled, and in the case of sentient beings like ourselves it is temporarily veiled or obscured.
(From a teaching on Buddha Nature by Bardor Tulku Rinpoche given in Tampa Bay, Florida, in February 2009. Translated by Lama Yeshe Gyamtso, transcribed by Ann G. Shaffer, copy-edited by Basia Coulter. Copyright 2009 Bardor Tulku Rinpoche and Peter O’Hearn. All rights reserved.) We inhabit bodies that include the ten resources and eight types of freedoms, [...]
