大般涅槃経
In early Theravādin texts, the term "svabhāva" did not carry the technical meaning or the soteriological weight of later writings. Much of Mahayana Buddhism (as in the "Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra") denies outright that such a "svabhāva" exists within any being; however, while in the tathāgatagarbha sūtras, notably the "Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra", the Buddha states that the immortal and infinite Buddha-nature - or "true self" of the Buddha - is the indestructible "svabhāva" of beings, this position is clarified in the "Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra", which directly states that "tathāgatagarbha is not a substantial self, nor a living being, nor ‘fate,’ nor a person."