Our Buddha Nature

Our buddha nature, then, has an active aspect, which is our "inner teacher". From the very moment we became obscured, this inner teacher has been working tirelessly for us, tirelessly trying to bring us back to the radiance and spaciousness of our true being.

When we have prayed and aspired and hungered for the truth for a long time, for many, many lives, and when our karma has become sufficiently purified, a kind of miracle takes place. And this miracle, if we can understand and use it, can lead to the end of ignorance forever.The inner teacher, who has been with us always, manifests in the form of the "outer teacher," whom, almost as if by magic, we actually encounter.

He or she is nothing less than the human face of the absolute. . . , the crystallization of the wisdom of all the buddhas, and the embodiment of their compassion directed always towards you.

For me, my masters have been the embodiment of living truth, undeniable signs that enlightenment is possible in a body, in this life, in this world, even here and even now, the supreme inspirations in my practice, in my work, in my life, and in my journey towards liberation.

by Sogyal Rinpoche