The Diamond Sutra

by Red Pine

  Hui-neng says, “If a person explains this sutra with a pure mind and without thinking about achieving something, those who hear will cast off their delusions and awaken to their original buddha nature and persevere in the truth. And devas, humans, and asuras will gather to venerate the person who upholds this sutra.”

  Yin-shun says, “When the Buddha was in the world, the Buddha was the chief of the Three Treasures [the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha]. After the Buddha’s Nirvana, it was the age of shravaka Buddhists, who considered the Sangha as the central member of the Three Treasures. It wasn’t until the age of Mahayana Buddhism that the Dharma became the center. And since prajna is the central teaching of the Dharma, it should be venerated as if it were the Buddha’s own stupa.”

  Textual note: Neither Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, Paramartha, Yi-ching, nor the Stein edition includes paryavapsya (master) or sanprakashaya (explain). Nor does the Stein edition include vacaya (recite). Among his usual additions, Hsuan-tsang has shu-hsieh (writes). Although Dharmagupta and Yi-ching agree that the recipient of such remarkable blessing or endowment is the person who recites or explains this sutra, Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, and Paramartha make fa (teaching) the passive subject, while Hsuan-tsang has kung-te (merit).

  For in that place, Subhuti, dwells a teacher or one who represents the guru of wisdom.”

  In the centuries between the Buddha’s Nirvana and the beginning of the Christian Era, stupa worship became the major focus of lay participation in Buddhism, and some say the basis for the development of Mahayana Buddhism. The stupa not only represented the teacher, the stupa was the teacher. The stupa was the finger pointing to the moon. But it was not separate from the moon. The fires of Nirvana notwithstanding, the stupa was the Buddha’s apparition body, transformed, and also the Buddha’s reward body and dharma body as well. Likewise, wherever this teaching is present, the Buddha’s three bodies are present. For those who practice this teaching and explain it to others produce and obtain a body of merit that appears in space and time while remaining free of the limitations of space and time. Not only do buddhas arise from this teaching, all those who teach this teaching necessarily arise from it as well. In the Maha Prajnaparamita Sutra, (28) the Buddha tells Shakra that as long as the perfection of wisdom is present in the world, the Triple Jewel of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha will continue to exist.

  It was upon hearing this sutra that Hui-neng first gained an understanding of the Dharma, and it was this sutra that the Fifth Patriarch later gave him to use in teaching others. Thus, in his commentary, Hui-neng says, “If in their mind people recite this sutra, and in their mind understand the meaning of this sutra, and in their mind comprehend its truth of detachment and emptiness and persevere in practicing buddha deeds wherever they are, and do so thought after thought without interruption, then their mind is the buddha. Hence, it is said, ‘Wherever this sutra is found, there dwells a buddha.’”

  Continuing his commentary from the preceding chapter, Vasubandhu asks, “And what is meant by ‘establishing sufficient cause’?”

  Asanga says, “Revered in two respects, great is its result, stirring no more passion, excelling lesser merit.” (23)

  Vasubandhu comments, “The ‘two respects’ include the place where this teaching appears and the person able to teach it. These two give birth to veneration that is not the merit from offering the seven jewels, for this dharma teaching is able to form the peerless cause of enlightenment realized by all buddhas. The giving of jewels, meanwhile, is the cause of affliction and creates more passion.”

  Seng-chao says, “The first part ends here.”

  Textual note: For the last sentence, Kumarajiva has juo shih-ching-tien suo-tzai-chih-ch’u tse wei yu fo juo tsun-chung-ti-tzu (wherever this sutra is found dwells a buddha or honored disciple). Yi-ching and Paramartha have essentially the same thing but do not include ching-tien (sutra). For the last phrase, Bodhiruci has juo tsun-ching szu fo (or someone who is revered as a buddha). At the end of this section, Dharmagupta and Hsuan-tsang add kung/t’ung fan-hsing-che (and those engaged in pure practices).

  Chapter Thirteen: This having been said, the venerable Subhuti asked, “Bhagavan, what is the name of this dharma teaching, and how should we remember it?”

  The Buddha told the venerable Subhuti, “The name of this dharma teaching, Subhuti, is the Perfection of Wisdom. Thus should you remember it. And how so? Subhuti, what the Tathagata says is the perfection of wisdom, the Tathagata says is no perfection. Thus is it called the ‘perfection of wisdom.’

  “Subhuti, what do you think? Is there any such dharma spoken by the Tathagata?”

  Subhuti said, “No, indeed, Bhagavan. There is no such dharma spoken by the Tathagata.”

  The Buddha said, “Subhuti, what do you think? Are all the specks of dust in the billion-world-system of a universe many?”

  Subhuti said, “Many, Bhagavan. The specks of dust are many, Sugata. And how so? Because, Bhagavan, what the Tathagata says is a speck of dust, Bhagavan, the Tathagata says is no speck. Thus is it called a ‘speck of dust.’ And what the Tathagata says is a world-system, the Tathagata says is no system. Thus is it called a ‘worldsystem. ’”

  The Buddha said, “Subhuti, what do you think? Can the Tathagata, the Arhan, the Fully-Enlightened One be seen by means of the thirty-two attributes of a perfect person?”

  Subhuti said, “No, indeed, Bhagavan. The Tathagata, the Arhan, the Fully-Enlightened One cannot be seen by means of the thirty-two attributes of a perfect person. And why not? Because, Bhagavan, what the Tathagata says are the thirty-two attributes of a perfect person, Bhagavan, the Tathagata says are no attributes. Thus are they called the ‘thirty-two attributes of a perfect person.’”

  The Buddha said, “Furthermore, Subhuti, if a man or woman renounced their self-existence every day as many times as there are grains of sand in the Ganges and renounced their self-existence in this manner for as many kalpas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, and someone grasped but one four-line gatha of this dharma teaching and made it known and explained it to others, the body of merit produced as a result would be immeasurably, infinitely greater.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  SUBHUTI HAS FINALLY BEGUN to understand this teaching and asks for a name by which to remember it. The Buddha not only gives us a name, he shows us how it works, as he applies this teaching first to the teaching itself, then to the world in which it is taught, and finally to those who teach it, all of which turn out to be empty of anything real. And if we would emulate such teachers, renunciation is of no help. For anything we might renounce is equally illusory. Hence, the Buddha does not suggest we renounce anything. For renunciation is also attachment. This is where arhans and bodhisattvas part company. The Buddha asks us simply to see things as they are and to share this vision with others. Buddhas do not arise from emptiness but from this teaching, which liberates us from both delusions and emptiness as well as from the renunciation of delusions and emptiness.

  Chao-ming titles this: “Holding on to the Real Teaching.”

  Hui-neng says, “The true path has no name. Out of convenience, this name is provided for practitioners to hold onto. Thus follows a chapter on holding onto the real teaching.”

  This having been said, the venerable Subhuti asked,

  “Bhagavan, what is the name of this dharma teaching,

  and how should we remember it?”

  Knowing the name establishes a closer relationship with the person or object named. It also provides a useful mnemonic device that summarizes what it represents. To hear someone’s name is to recall that person’s face. A name is a seed that contains the tree. A patriarch of China’s Tientai sect once lectured for ninety days on just the first word, miao (wonderful), in the title Miao-fa lienhua ching (Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Dharma). And a patriarch of the Huayen sect once lectured every day for six years on the title of the Maha Vaipulya Avatamsaka Sutra (Great Universal Flower Garland Sutra).

  The
name of a sutra, however, is normally not given until the final chapter. The fact that Subhuti asks this question at this point has led a number of commentators to wonder if this does not represent an earlier conclusion to which the remaining chapters were later appended. Others contend that this simply marks the end of the first half of the sutra and that Subhuti was merely expressing his awareness that the Buddha had answered the set of questions that began this discourse, namely, how a shravaka should travel the bodhisattva path. The remaining chapters, according to this view, were not added as an afterthought but expand on the Buddha’s initial answers. Conze, on the other hand, ended his commentary here rather than proceed and try to make sense of what he considered “a chance medley of stray sayings,” which was how he viewed the rest of this sutra.

  My own view is that what follows is not a hodge-podge of sayings, nor does Subhuti ask the name of this teaching simply because he feels his questions have been answered. They were answered in the first few chapters. Subhuti asks the name of this teaching because he has finally begun to understand it. Previously, he was limited by his attachment to emptiness and served, more or less, as a foil for the Buddha’s teaching of the perfection of wisdom. Although Subhuti still has much to learn about this teaching, from this point on his understanding is praised by the Buddha. Naturally, he wants to know what to call the teaching that has revealed to him that there is more to the Buddha’s teaching than emptiness.

  In addition to asking the Buddha the name of this teaching, Subhuti also asks how we should remember it. The Sanskrit here is dharaya. Like our own English word remember, dharaya not only means to retain in the mind but also to express in action, just as we remember the dead by means of memorial observances. Thus, Subhuti is not only asking the Buddha for the name of the teaching but also for a summary of the teaching itself.

  Textual note: The Sanskrit editions begin this chapter with the phrase evam-ukta (this having been said), and the translations of Paramartha, Dharmagupta, and Yi-ching include Chinese equivalents. Hsuan-tsang, however, appends this phrase to the end of the previous chapter, while Kumarajiva and Bodhiruci do not include it. For dharma-paryayah (dharma teaching), Bodhiruci and Hsuan-tsang have fa-men (dharma door), Dharmagupta has fa-pen (dharma text), and Kumarajiva, Paramartha, and Yi-ching have ching (sutra) or ching-tien (sutra text).

  The Buddha told the venerable Subhuti, “The name

  of this dharma teaching, Subhuti, is the Perfection

  of Wisdom. Thus should you remember it.

  “Perfection of Wisdom” is a translation of prajna-paramita. Depending on how the word is parsed, paramita can be read as a combination of param-ita and mean “what leads to the other shore,” or it can be derived from parama (supreme/ultimate), in which case it would mean “perfection.” Nagarjuna and most Chinese commentators prefer the former, while Asanga and most other Indian commentators prefer the latter. However, it is clear from its usage in Chapter Fourteen—parama-paramita (best of perfections)—that the latter is meant. As for prajna, it, too, has several meanings. It is usually translated by “wisdom,” but at times it comes close to being a synonym of shunyata (emptiness). However, prajna refers to the logic of emptiness. And it is the usefulness of this logic that Subhuti now realizes. For emptiness means absence or negation, while the perfection of wisdom means the absence or negation of what is false, not the absence or negation of what is real.

  Hui-neng says, “The Buddha proclaims the paramita of wisdom to enable his disciples to eliminate the births and deaths of the deluded mind. When the mind follows what the mouth proclaims, we reach the other shore.”

  In the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, Ananda asks the Buddha why he only mentions the perfection of wisdom and not the other paramitas. The Buddha tells him, “Because the perfection of wisdom controls the other five perfections. Can charity be called perfect if it is not dedicated to omniscience? The same is true for the other perfections. Thus, the perfection of wisdom gets its name from its supreme excellence. The five perfections are thus contained in the perfection of wisdom, and the term ‘perfection of wisdom’ is just a synonym for the fulfillment of all six perfections.” (3)

  Textual note: For prajnaparamita (perfection of wisdom), Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, and Paramartha have chin-kang po-juo po-lo-mi (diamond prajnaparamita), and Hsuan-tsang has neng-tuan chin-kang po-juo po-lo-mi (diamond-cutting prajnaparamita). Although this entire section is missing in Yi-ching, near the beginning of Chapter Fourteen, he adds an extra line in which he gives the name as prajnaparamita. Since the word vajra (diamond) does not appear in any of our Sanskrit editions and is not present in Chapter Twenty-four of the Chinese editions that include it here, it seems likely it was first added to distinguish this from the Buddha’s other sermons on prajna and then deleted, but not before copies of the altered text were taken to China by translators as late as Hsuan-tsang.

  And how so? Subhuti, what the Tathagata says

  is the perfection of wisdom, the Tathagata says

  is no perfection. Thus is it called the ‘perfection

  of wisdom.’

  None of the things that fill our lives is by itself false. It is only our conceptualization and attachment that make them false. Meanwhile, the perfection of wisdom transforms these obstacles into aids to enlightenment. At the end of Chapter Six, the Buddha likened his teachings to a raft and told Subhuti to let go of all teachings, all dharmas as well as no dharmas. Just as the no dharma of emptiness must be put aside, the dharma of prajna must also be left behind, lest it become a new obstruction or attachment. Thus, such a teaching not only transcends the world of language, it also transcends itself. No other teaching is so self-effacing and yet so sure of itself. It is self-effacing because it asserts nothing. And it is sure of itself because it asserts nothing. It frees us of all assertions and opens the door to all knowledge. This is why it is called the “perfection of wisdom.”

  Fu Hsi says, “In this name, there is no meaning. For this meaning, there is no name. The wise find it in their minds. The foolish seek external sounds.”

  Sheng-yi says, “The name is a false name. Beneath this false name is the real body. The paramita of wisdom proclaimed by the Buddha is verbal wisdom. But from verbal wisdom arises insight wisdom, by means of which we see that all things are empty, including wisdom. Thus, the paramita of wisdom is not the paramita of wisdom. But when we see that wisdom is empty, we see the real form of all dharmas. This is real wisdom. Thus, the Buddha calls it the paramita of wisdom.”

  Textual note: Instead of aparamita (no perfection), Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, Paramartha, Hsuan-tsang, and Yi-ching have fei po-juo po-lo-mi (no perfection of wisdom). Neither Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, Paramartha, Yi-ching, nor the Stein edition includes the last sentence.

  Subhuti, what do you think? Is there any such

  dharma spoken by the Tathagata?”

  Subhuti said, “No, indeed, Bhagavan. There is

  no such dharma spoken by the Tathagata.”

  Just before the Great Decease, Manjushri asked the Buddha not to enter Nirvana but to continue turning the Wheel of the Dharma. The Bhagavan replied, “I have been among you for forty-nine years, and yet I have not spoken a single word. You ask me to continue turning the Wheel of the Dharma. But have I, in fact, ever turned the Wheel of the Dharma? Listen to my gatha: ‘From the time I found the Path [at Bodhgaya] / until I reached the Vati River [at Kushinagara] / between the one place and the other / I spoke not a single word.’”

  After becoming proficient in this teaching, Subhuti later instructed others in prajna, and not only humans but also gods. At one point, he instructed Shakra and then asked the King of Gods to tell him what he had heard. When Shakra replied that Subhuti had said nothing and that he had heard nothing, Subhuti praised his understanding as constituting “true prajna.” In the Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines, Subhuti tells the gods, “In the perfection of wisdom not even a single word has been spoken. Since it has not been spoken, i
t cannot be heard. And since it has not been heard, it cannot be understood. For the perfection of wisdom is not to be found in words. Thus, it cannot be realized, heard, or explained. The enlightenment of the tathagatas does not reside in words.” (22)

  Li Wen-hui says, “Since all dharmas are basically empty, what dharma can we talk about? But followers of the Two Vehicles (the shravakas and pratyeka buddhas of the Hinayana) are attached to the existence of beings and dharmas and think there is something that is proclaimed. Meanwhile, bodhisattvas understand that beings and dharmas are empty and that there is nothing proclaimed. Thus, the sutras say, ‘If someone says there is a dharma proclaimed by the Tathagata, that person maligns the Buddha.’”

  Sheng-yi says, “As long as there is a mind, there is a dharma. And then there is something said. But since the dharmas of the Tathagata are empty, his mind is also empty. So how could the Tathagata proclaim any dharma?”