Within the Buddha‑nature teaching, Tathāgatagarbha is presented as both a concept and a reality, and the tension between these two aspects is intentional rather than accidental. On the one hand, it is spoken of as the inherent Buddha‑nature present in all beings, the pure, luminous nature of mind that is not produced and does not perish. This is described as the ultimate nature of mind itself: empty yet radiant, beyond conceptual fabrication, and not reducible to a mere psychological construct. In this sense, it is treated as a genuine reality, the ever‑present potential for awakening that is obscured rather than created.

At the same time, the very language of “Tathāgatagarbha” belongs to the realm of concept and skillful means. The scriptures employ images such as a jewel wrapped in cloth or a treasure hidden in filth precisely to guide beings toward an ineffable truth that cannot be captured by words. As a teaching, Buddha‑nature functions as a conceptual framework that reassures practitioners of their capacity for enlightenment and counters tendencies toward nihilism or despair. Different schools highlight this aspect to varying degrees, some stressing that any description of Buddha‑nature is ultimately a conventional pointer to emptiness.

Across these interpretations, Tathāgatagarbha is neither a substantial, permanent self nor a mere metaphor devoid of referent. Rather, it designates the fundamental capacity for awakening that is said to be always present, yet only recognized when adventitious defilements are removed. Some traditions emphasize it as the union of emptiness and clarity, a way of speaking that deliberately transcends a simple opposition between concept and reality. Thus, Tathāgatagarbha can be understood as a conceptual doorway that opens onto a non‑conceptual dimension: the true nature of mind and phenomena, which is empty, luminous, and ever available to be realized.