Part one，an exegesis of the chinese buddhist treatise "fo hsing lun" ("buddha nature treatise") attributed to vasubandhu and translated by paramartha, explains the buddhist jargon associated with the buddha nature concept. buddha nature is active，hence nonentitative，and represents buddhist practice. part two，a cross-cultural essay，examines the implications of the buddha nature concept for the ontological and existential status of the human person. persons are not entities, but consist of actions, and are ontologically inseparable from their world. existentially，unenlightened persons lack freedom and real individuality，while enlightened persons possess both.
