Buddhadharma, which concerns our deepest inner nature, is called the inner science. This is the traditional name of what in the West is called Buddhism. The Tibetan expression rendered in Western languages as “Buddhism” is nangpa sangyepai cho. The last two terms taken together, sangyepai cho, refer to Buddhadharma, or the Dharma of awakening. “Dharma” in this context means “teaching,” and the word “Buddha” refers to the origin of these teachings-the historical Buddha-as well as to the spiritual realization he attained, or buddhahood. Nangpa means “inner” and emphasizes the fact that these teachings are concerned not so much with the physical body and the outer world as with the mind abiding there, since the teachings’ main purpose is to provide mental peace, well-being, and liberation. Buddhadharma is therefore the inner science, or the science of the interior, understood as the science of mind.
Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche