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In his commentary on his Chöying Dzö, Treasury of the Space of Dharma ("dharma" meaning things as they are, therefore Richard Barron's translation of the title as The Precious Treasury of the Basic Space of Phenomena), Longchenpa (early 14th century), the pre-eminent Tibetan Buddhist master of the Nyingma lineage, explains the meaning of the title:

The metaphor is "The Precious Treasury", while its underlying meaning is "the Basic Space of Phenomena". The basic space of phenomena -- naturally occurring timeless awareness, totally pure by nature -- is mind itself, ultimate truth. The metaphor and underlying meaning are thus connected, because all phenomena of nirvana and samsara without exception occur due to awareness or a lack of recognition of that awareness. This is analogous to all that is desired coming from a treasury of jewels that grant whatever one imagines.

This brings to mind the esse of Thomas Aquinas (mid 13th century, the Angelic Doctor of the Catholic Church), usually translated as "existence" - but note that esse is the Latin verb to be. Esse, says Jacques Maritain, can be directly experienced through the "intuition of Being". William Carlo, metaphysician extraordinaire, with whom I had the fortune to study, characterized esse as the "thesaurus of the possibilities of existence."

Which is why in my mind Longchenpa and Aquinas are always having tea.