如來藏=tathagatagarbha; 阿賴耶識=ālaya-vijñāna warehouse consciousness; 真如=tathata the Buddha nature; 空性=Nature of the Void; 涅槃=Nirvāna; 第一義諦=paramārtha-satya the ultimate truth; 無為
During the circulation of Buddhism, there are merely the differences among Buddhist preachers in their understandings and emphases about dharma but never the so-called "changes in the thought" of Buddha-dharma, for it should not be called "Buddha-dharma" as soon as any changes occur to the "nature of dharma" or the "content of dharma" because this is no longer the ultimate dharma. In consequence, the "history of Buddhism" is indeed a history of the circulation process as well as the rise and decline of Buddha-dharma; there is never a so-called "history of the evolution of Buddhist thought." The "reality of dharma" is "universal, consistent, one and only;" there isn't any of the so-called evolution in the nature of Buddhist thought but simply different preachers' right or wrong and broad or narrow understandings about dharma instead. As a result, to define it correctly, the "history of Buddhism” is confined to the manmade “phenomenal aspect of things" rather than the "essential aspect of dharma;" the "phenomenal aspect of things" refers largely to the manmade "handing-down and constitution of dharma, records of documents, and right/wrong explications about the meanings of dharma" by all the different doctrines. Thus, the claims made by these different doctrines about the history of Buddhism might have implicated many mistakes that are unavoidable due to the limits of time and place. As the teachings developed by Sakyamuni after he reached buddha-mãrga, "Buddha-dharma" is the explication about the origin of all creatures in the universe and the truth of life as well as the explanation about the holy knowledge of how to achieve such a goal. Hence, the true Buddha-dharma is unchanged "over the entire dharma, throughout the past, present and future, and in all living creatures," even though Buddhist preachers formed various sects and cults during the spread of Buddhism due to the different emphases in their interpretations about the texts of dharma (as a result of the differences in their preferences, experiences and understandings), and both the meanings of Tathagatagarbha and the Buddhist communities that had been originally united gradually split up and caused the pluralistic development of the Buddhist organizations and dogma presentments. The birth and founding of Buddhism is Buddha's teachings after he comprehended the truth about the universe and life, As early as it was born and founded, the meanings of Buddhism were already well rounded, its thoughts already established, its theories completed, and its rights or wrongs decided, so the history of Buddhism is neither a record of Buddha's growth, nor a chronicle of the evolution of Sakyamuni's thought, let alone any part of the development of the thought and theory of a religion. Looking at the big picture of the spiritual development of mankind, it is fair to say that the thought of Buddhism is the ultimate content of the their spiritual capacities. The sambodha (enlightenment) of Buddha is the mellowest in terms of the spiritual development of Indian religions and also the most perfect