The teaching of "nature origination"(hsing-ch'i 性起) is generally regarded as an important component of Hua-yen thought, and this paper examines its origin and early history. The term "nature origination" is derived from the title of chapter 30 of the 60 chuan version of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, where it is used to refer to the manifestation of the characteristics of the Buddha. On depicting the Buddha's characteristics of wisdom and enlightenment, the Sūtra speaks about their presence in every sentient being; and this thought of the omnipresence of the Buddha's nature of enlightenment underlies the teaching of nature-origination of Chih-yen 智儼 (602-668) and Fa-tsang 法藏 (643-713), the founders of the Hua-yen School 華嚴宗. Both Chih-yen and Fa-tsang use ideas denoting man's inherent essence of enlightenment, such as "Buddha-nature" and "tathāgatagarbha", to explain the meaning of "nature origination". Both contrast the teaching of "nature origination" with the teachings of "dependent origination" (yuan-ch'i 緣起) and "conditioned practice" (yuan-hsiu 緣修), with an eye to highlighting the notion of inherent enlightenment. Different from Chih-yen's exposition of "nature origination" which focuses on the aspect of cause, Fa-tsang's interpretation of "nature origination" emphasizes the aspect of fruit. Fa-tsang further eonneets the teaching of "Nature origination"with the Hua-yen teaching of universal harmony, presenting the former as the theoretical basis of the latter.
