The word “shinnyo” comes from the Sanskrit word tathata. It points to the universal nature of truth, or fundamental reality, or truth as it is. Founder Shinjo Ito explained this as the unchanging, true form of a tathagata or, the truth of the awakening that the Buddha attained. This awakening is also the true nature of all of us. The Buddha awakened to wisdom, lovingkindness and compassion that fill the cosmos and at the same time, it is inherent within us; they are one and the same. In the Nirvana Sutra, this potential is referred to as our buddha nature. In other words, our true nature is essentially the nature of a buddha. So this means we all have the spark of shinnyo inside of us. Of course, it takes effort to bring this shinnyo out. But when we do make this effort, we can truly feel the “shinnyo” inside of us. You can feel the buddha nature within.