(Sanskrit buddhata; Japanese bussho). In Mahayana Buddhism, the true nature of all appearances and all beings. To truly realize one's participation in the buddha-nature is to attain enlightenment.

The nature innate in every sentient being. The potential for attaining Buddhahood.

that which all sentient beings share and manifest through their particular form; according to Zen, the Buddha said that all things have Buddha-nature and therefore have the innate potential to become Buddha.

potential of all SENTIENT BEINGS to become a BUDDHA.

( Skt. tathagatagarbha): The essence of buddhahood; the primordially awake essential nature of every being. Obscured by ignorance and kleshas, this nature can be actualized by the various practices of Buddhism.

Buddha-nature (originally in Sanskrit, Buddha-dhatu - "Buddha Element", "Buddha-Principle", Chinese: 佛性 pinyin fó xìng) is a doctrine important for many schools of Mahayana Buddhism. The Buddha Nature or Buddha Principle (Buddha-dhatu) is taught to be a truly real, but internally hidden, eternal potency or immortal element within the purest depths of the mind, present in all sentient beings, for awakening and becoming a Buddha. In some Mahayana sutras it is equated with the eternal Buddhic Self, Essence or Soul (atman).