According to some
Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, the
icchantika is the most base and spiritually deluded of all types of being. The term implies being given over to total
hedonism and greed. In the
Tathagatagarbha sutras, some of which pay particular attention to the
icchantikas, the term is frequently used of those persons who do not believe in the Buddha, his eternal Selfhood and his
Dharma (Truth) or in
karma; who seriously transgress against the Buddhist moral codes and
vinaya; and who speak disparagingly and dismissively of the reality of the immortal
Buddha-nature (
Buddha-dhatu) or
Tathagatagarbha present within all beings. The full-length
Dharmakshema version of the
Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, in contrast, insists that even the
icchantika can eventually find release into nirvana, since no phenomenon is fixed (including this type of allegedly deluded person) and that change for the better and best is always a possibility. == See also ==