: Re: Does the use of a new concept require a prior definition? In my novel I have written this line; At your deepest core the buddha nature is waiting quietly for you. Now Buddha-nature is

@Murray165

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Here are some questions that I would consider:

Will the reader be able to enjoy the story without understanding the
concept?
Will reading the story from beginning to end make the reader understand the
concept?

If one of those is yes, you're good.
If they're both no, the reader won't have a good time.

Sometimes it's good to not explain things, if you want it to seem exotic and mysterious.

It's definitely OK to mention the concept without explaining it in the beginning, but the reader may expect and want you to explain it later, especially if not understanding it just makes the story hard to follow.

Writers often include an outsider character in a story for this reason. There can be a character who is not familiar with the same things the reader is not familiar with, and that character learns them when the reader needs to know them. They could be the main character, a side character, or a throwaway character who is only there for one scene. A foreign tourist visiting your Buddhist temple, a student attending a class, a British child suddenly finding herself lost in Narnia, a lawyer inspecting Jurassic Park on behalf of the shareholders, etc.

You also don't have to explain something in detail, if the reader can easily guess it from other things in the story.

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