Buddha-nature, foxing in Chinese and busshō in Japanese, is the teaching that all beings, or in some schools all things, have the nature of a buddha. Chan and Zen made seeing one’s own nature the heart of practice; Dōgen read it as impermanence itself. Debates turned on whether it is a potential or already complete.
Buddha-nature
The potential for, or presence of, awakening in all beings, central to East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism.
Also: buddhata, bussho