Episode 22 – Sun and Clouds

The assumptions we make about human nature are an essential part of the Buddhist path • the view of Buddhism is the opposite of the view of “original sin”; it is the view of original purity, of original goodness • the Buddhist approach is that despite all the problems we face, we’re starting from a point that is not troubled, that is close to hand, intimate, and pure • while it has different names, the nature at the core of every living being is fundamentally known as “buddhanature” • the most common metaphors for buddhanature are: the sun and the clouds; a person who doesn’t realize that their hut sits atop a pot of gold; a gem covered with clay; silt settling in water; and space • what is it that separates you or me from enlightenment? exploring that question is our task as students and as practitioners of the Buddhadharma