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Depends on who is defining it

Ajahn Sumedho has made use of the term as a way of teaching present moment awareness, Buddha-nature or Buddha-wisdom being the "one who knows".


The word Buddha is a lovely word, it means 'the one who knows', and the first refuge is in Buddha as the personification of wisdom. Unpersonified wisdom remains too abstract for us, we can't conceive a bodiless, soulless wisdom, and so as wisdom always seems to have a personal quality to it, using Buddha as its symbol is very useful.

We can use the word Buddha to refer to Gotama, the founder of what is now known as Buddhism, the historical sage who attained Parinibbana[*] in India 2500 years ago, the teacher of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, teachings from which we today still benefit. But when we take refuge in the Buddha it doesn't mean that we take refuge in some historical prophet but in that which is wise in the universe, in our minds, that which is not separate from us but is more real than anything we can conceive with the mind or experience through the senses. Without any Buddha-wisdom in the universe life for any length of time would be totally impossible, it is the Buddha-wisdom that protects. We call it Buddha-wisdom, other people can call it other things if they want, these are just words.We happen to use the words of our tradition. We're not going to argue about Pali words, Sanskrit words, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, English or any other, we're just using the term Buddha-wisdom as a conventional symbol to help remind us to be wise, to be alert, to be awake.
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma2/bds.html




Ajahn Chah also made references to "original mind"

The human mind, the mind which the Buddha exhorted us to know and investigate, is something we can only know by its activity. The true 'original mind' has nothing to measure it by, there's nothing you can know it by. In its natural state it is unshaken, unmoving. When happiness arises all that happens is that this mind is getting lost in a mental impression, there is movement. When the mind moves like this, clinging and attachment to those things come into being. http://www.amaravati.org/abmnew/inde...rticle/385/P1/


However both are quite clear that this is not some innate "thing" or some kind of "Self"



This makes sense to me, as I understand it Buddha is always here. "Siddharta" died a long time ago but whenever there is pure mindfulness and clear comprehension then Buddha manifests

What is the "nature" of the Buddha? Wisdom and freedom from greed and hatred, clear knowing, awakened attention