The Diamond Sutra

by Red Pine

Textual note: Paramartha and Yi-ching do not include api tu (nevertheless). Among the Chinese editions, only that of Hsuan-tsang includes yonishash manasikarishyanti (contemplates thoroughly), which is also missing in the Stein and Gilgit editions. Since this is the only instance where this expression appears in this frequently repeated series, many commentators consider it a late addition. I have retained it because it seems right here. For to understand the full import of such a statement as this requires a profound understanding that transcends the ordinary view of karma as inexorable and of buddhahood as the fruit of many lifetimes of practice. Neither the Stein or Gilgit editions nor Kumarajiva or Bodhiruci includes parebhyas vistarena sanprakashayishyanti (explain in detail to others), while neither Paramartha nor Yi-ching includes vistarena (in detail). The Stein and Gilgit editions also omit tat kasya hetoh (and how could this be). In addition to “contempt,” paribhuta means “disregard,” “disrespect,” “humiliation,” “abuse,” even “injury.”

  But now, by suffering such contempt, they put an

  end to the bad karma of their past lives and attain

  the enlightenment of buddhas.

  One of the most important teachings of Buddhism’s Mahayana revolution is the instantaneous elimination of lifetimes of karma and the equally sudden attainment of enlightenment. Most of the early followers of Shakyamuni felt that buddhahood was beyond their reach and aimed instead for liberation from suffering, which they held could only be achieved by progressing through a series of stages (such as those mentioned in Chapter Nine) whereby desires and attachments were gradually eliminated in the course of many lifetimes of practice. The Mahayana, however, approached liberation from the other side of the river, where perceptions of time and space do not apply. But this begs the question as to how one reaches such an understanding. Here, the Buddha supplies an answer. By suffering on behalf of this teaching, we speed up the process whereby our karmic obstructions are eliminated and enlightenment comes into view. For suffering on behalf of this teaching necessarily involves seeing such suffering in the light of the teaching on whose behalf we suffer. Thus, our suffering becomes the source of our liberation.

  Earlier, in Chapter Fourteen, the Buddha cited his physical dismemberment by King Kali as an example of the practice of forbearance. Here, he applies the same practice to emotional trauma. Both are necessary precursors to the spiritual trauma of birthlessness that bodhisattvas must forbear at the end of their path, a trauma the Buddha himself was able to bear during his life as the ascetic Sumedha and as a result of which Dipankara prophesied his future buddhahood.

  Seng-chao says, “Misdeeds arise from delusions. Merit comes from understanding. As merit and understanding accumulate, past wrongs are eliminated. And as they continue to be eliminated, understanding grows, until one is able to reach enlightenment.”

  Tao-yuan says, “Thus are the unfortunate rebirths that you should suffer eliminated, and the reward of enlightenment obtained in their place.”

  Yin-shun says, “If you inoculate with smallpox so that you allow it to develop in a weakened state, you keep it from recurring in a more life-threatening form. Suffering contempt is also like this.”

  Meng-ts’an says, “If you actually encounter this kind of situation, you should remember that this will help you eliminate karmic obstructions more quickly. I say this from my own experience. During the decades when I was imprisoned, I relied on this for my support. I imagined I was supposed to spend countless kalpas in prison but now only had to spend a few decades. Also, since getting out of prison, I have come to realize that by suffering the contempt of others, a person’s bad karma is eliminated and the antecedents of wisdom appear.”

  Hui-neng says, “Briefly put, your past lives are simply the deluded mind of your previous thoughts, and your present life is simply the enlightened mind of your subsequent thoughts. Use the enlightened mind of your subsequent thoughts to reject the deluded mind of your previous thoughts so that delusions have nowhere to cling. Thus, it says the moment your deluded thoughts are eliminated, the bad karma of your past lives is wiped away. And when bad karma is not created, you realize enlightenment.”

  Juo-na says, “The Maha Prajnaparamita Shastra says, ‘Due to the heavy karma of past lives, you should enter one of the hells. But because of your practice of prajna, you merely suffer contempt in this life.’ It’s like someone who should die for a serious crime but who only receives a whipping because of their position.”

  Yen-ping says, “Anyone who can uphold and recite this sutra will see that their own nature is like the sky, and they will at once realize that the nature of their karma is also empty.”

  Sheng-yi says, “Karma has no nature. As long as we don’t encounter prajna and remain unaware that karma is basically empty and without any nature of its own, we have to repay our past debts. Only prajna can wipe out karma. Karma is created by our deluded mind. But if our deluded mind is empty, it can’t continue creating karma.”

  Bodhidharma says, “You should realize that all karma, painful or otherwise, comes from your own mind. If you can just concentrate your mind and transcend its falsehood and evil, the suffering of the Three Realms and Six States of Existence will automatically disappear. And once free from suffering, you’re truly free.” (The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma: p. 85)

  Tao-ch’uan says, “It isn’t caused by any act. It doesn’t create any knowledge. My song goes: ‘Beyond all praise / beyond all blame once you know this one / everything is done / not short or long; it’s like the sky / for you I call it “the way across [paramita].’” Textual note: Dharmagupta does not include the line tani paurva-janmikani ashubhani karmani kshapayishyanti (they put an end to the bad karma of past lives). The Gilgit edition has only the last word. Before the same phrase, Yi-ching inserts tzu-wei-shan-shih (and as this is a good deed). In place of buddha-bodhi (the enlightenment of buddhas), Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, Paramartha, and Hsuan-tsang have (in transliterated or translated form) anuttara-samyak-sanbodhi (unexcelled, perfect enlightenment), while Yi-ching has su-chih-p’u-t’i (quickly lead to enlightenment).

  “Subhuti, I recall in the past, during the countless,

  infinite kalpas before Dipankara Tathagata, the

  Arhan, the Fully-Enlightened One, I served eighty-four

  hundred, thousand, million, trillion other

  buddhas and served them without fail.

  In its simplest form, worship consists of four material offerings: food, clothing, bedding, and medicine. In its more expanded form, it includes various forms of bodily assistance and service. And in its widest form, it includes practicing and teaching others to practice the teaching that liberates all beings from suffering. In recalling the fruit of his practice over countless aeons, the Buddha provides yet another example of selflessness for the merit of this teaching to surpass. But surely the Buddha’s use of the example of his own practice must have startled his audience with its audacity. How could any course of practice surpass the Buddha’s own career?

  The Sanskrit for “infinite” is asankhyeya. Every maha (great) kalpa—the greatest imaginable unit of time—is said to be made up of four asankhyeya kalpas: one of creation, one of duration, one of annihilation, and one of non-existence. Each of these in turn is made up of twenty minor (antara) kalpas. And each of these consists of two phases, one of increase and one of decrease. During one of these minor kalpas, the lifespan of beings increases one year every hundred years until a lifespan of 84,000 years is reached, and then it decreases one year every hundred years until a lifespan of ten years is reached—when beings, at least human beings, can no longer reproduce. Thus, a minor kalpa lasts slightly less than 16,800,000 years, an asankhyeya kalpa lasts twenty times as long, or 236,000,000 years, and a great kalpa lasts four times as long, or 1,344,000,000 years. According to the standard account of Shakyamuni Buddha’s career as a bodhisattva, he began practicing at the beginning of the first asankhyeya kalpa of the present great kalpa, and it was not until the end of the second asankhy
eya kalpa that he met Dipankara. Thus, the text should read “during the two asankhyeya (infinite) kalpas before I met Dipankara.” But here the Buddha is not using asankhyeya in its formal sense.

  Bodhidharma says, “What we call asankhyeya, you call ‘infinite. ’ Within these three poisoned states of mind are infinite evil thoughts. And every thought lasts a kalpa. Such an infinity is what the Buddha meant by ‘asankhyeya kalpa.’ ” (The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma, p. 85)

  Sheng-yi says, “After Shakyamuni met Dipankara Buddha, he was able to bear the truth that all things are birthless and that there is no self, being, life, or soul. Before he met Dipankara, before he was able to bear the truth that all things are birthless, that there is no self, being, life, or soul, he worshipped buddhas with a mind concerned with attainment, with a self who worshipped, with a buddha who was worshipped, and he was only able to reap merit that was sansaric, merit that kept him tied to life and death. Thus, though he met countless buddhas, none of them prophesied his enlightenment.”

  Ch’en Hsiung says, “The Fifth Patriarch says, ‘If you worship all day in search of blessings, and you don’t try to escape from this bitter sea of life and death, and you remain confused about your own nature, what help are blessings? Thus, the merit from worshipping buddhas, however great it might be, cannot equal even one part of the merit from upholding this sutra. In the final age, people only know how to serve buddhas and don’t know that the place where buddhas are found is in this sutra.’”

  Textual note: Regarding the time frame, Paramartha has hou (after) instead of “before” Dipankara, which is also how Müller reads the Sanskrit text. Oddly enough, both are possible translations of parena. However, Paramartha and Müller’s interpretation is at odds with the traditional account of the Buddha’s career.

  Nevertheless, Subhuti, although I served those

  buddhas and bhagavans and served them without

  fail, in the future, in the final epoch, in the final

  period, in the final five hundred years of the

  dharma-ending age, the body of merit of the person

  who grasps, memorizes, recites, and masters such a

  sutra as this and explains it in detail to others will

  exceed my former body of merit not by a

  hundredfold or a thousandfold or a hundred

  thousandfold or a millionfold or a hundred

  millionfold or a thousand millionfold or a hundredthousand

  millionfold, but by an amount that cannot

  be measured, calculated, illustrated, characterized,

  or even imagined.

  While the body of merit produced and obtained from upholding this teaching exceeds that acquired by Shakyamuni over the course of countless lifetimes prior to his encounter with Dipankara, it does not exceed the body of merit acquired during his meeting with Dipankara. For it was at this meeting that Shakyamuni, as the ascetic Sumedha, realized the forbearance of birthlessness and reached the final stage of his career as a bodhisattva, a stage from which he could never again regress. This is why on that occasion Dipankara prophesied Sumedha’s future buddhahood. And likewise, Shakyamuni now prophesies the future buddhahood of all those who uphold this teaching which leads to the same realization. This is why the Buddha uses this example. Those who uphold this teaching wear the same robe Shakyamuni wore, which carries with it the same responsibility to share this teaching with others and to be willing to suffer on its behalf. Also, since such practice is performed under conditions more difficult than those encountered by Sumedha (at the end of the current great kalpa rather than at its mid-point), the body of merit that results from such practice is bound to be greater than that of Sumedha prior to his meeting with Dipankara.

  In other sutras, it is said that during the final dharma-ending age the Diamond Sutra will be the first to disappear, while the Amita Sutra will be the last. However, the Amita Sutra puts forth the same radical teaching as this, that acceptance of the truth puts an end to the karmic result of evil deeds.

  Seng-chao says, “If your mind is limited, your merit will be slight. If your thoughts are boundless, your merit will be great.”

  Bodhidharma says, “People of this final age are the densest of fools. They don’t understand what the Tathagata really meant by asankhyeya kalpas. They say enlightenment is only achieved after endless kalpas and thereby mislead disciples to retreat on the path to buddhahood.” (The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma, p. 85)

  Hui-neng says, “All the merit from worshipping as many buddhas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, from offering enough jewels to fill the billion worlds of the universe, and from renouncing as many bodies as there are specks of dust does not equal that from upholding this sutra. In the space of one thought, one realizes the truth of birthlessness, puts an end to expectations, gets free of the upside-down views of other beings, reaches the other shore of the paramitas, leaves forever the Three Evil Paths, and realizes complete and final nirvana.”

  Ch’en Hsiung says, “Once the military commissioner of Shaochou asked the Sixth Patriarch why Bodhidharma told Emperor Wu that all his good works would produce no merit. Hui-neng said, ‘Such things as building monasteries and making donations, worshipping buddhas and holding banquets are called cultivating blessings. But you can’t confuse blessings with merit. Merit is present in the dharma body, not in cultivating blessings. Merit is present in your own nature. It can’t be obtained through donations and worship.’ This is why blessings don’t compare with merit, and worshipping buddhas doesn’t compare with upholding this sutra.”

  Tao-ch’uan says, “Merit is not a wasted offering. My song goes: ‘Boundless is the merit from worshipping a billion buddhas / but it can’t equal reading ancient teachings / black words written on a sheet of plain white paper / open your eyes and see what lies before you / the wind is still but the waves are moving / who is that person sitting in the boat?’”

  Textual note: As they do elsewhere, Kumarajiva and Bodhiruci summarize the time as yu-hou-(mo)-shih (during the final period). Kumarajiva does not include dharaya (memorize) or paryavapya (master). He also omits parebhyas vistarena sanprakashayishyanti (explains in detail to others) as do Bodhiruci, the Tibetan edition, and the Stein and Gilgit Sanskrit editions. The description of merit varies slightly in different editions, although Yi-ching and the Tibetan edition (mis)interpret upanishad as “cause” rather than “comparison.”

  Subhuti, if I were to describe this noble son or

  daughter’s body of merit, the full extent of the body

  of merit this noble son or daughter would thereby

  produce and obtain, it would bewilder or disturb

  people’s minds.

  The four things that the Buddha says cannot be fully imagined or described are the state of meditation, the effects of karma, the origin of the universe, and a buddha’s body of merit (cf. the Ekottarika Agama).

  Yin-shun says, “It’s like talking to a frog in a well about something as vast and boundless as the sky.”

  Sheng-yi says, “The merit of prajna can create buddhas and patriarchs. And those who carry on the wisdom of the buddhas are protected by the buddhas. During its final five hundred years in this world, the teaching of the buddhas will be weak, while the teaching of the wicked will be strong. Arguments about who is right and wrong will multiply. People won’t realize that the true Dharma of the tathagatas is never destroyed, and they won’t believe that anyone can see their minds or their true natures in this sutra. And if they don’t believe it, they will think about destroying it and will descend into the hells. Hence, the Tathagata does not try to describe this sutra’s merit completely.”

  Hui-neng says, “People don’t know that the Tathagata’s true Dharma is always present and never destroyed. And if during the final five hundred years after the Buddha’s Nirvana, they hear that people can realize a thought without form and practice a practice without form and obtain unexcelled, perfect enlightenment, their minds are sure to become a
nxious and full of doubts.”

  Tao-ch’uan says, “This sutra can only be upheld or recited by someone with the capacity for the Mahayana. How can an ordinary person hear about the merit that results from upholding and reciting it and not be bewildered and disbelieve it? Thus, the Buddha doesn’t describe it in full. My song goes: ‘Good medicine tastes bitter, good advice sounds harsh / like a fish in water, only you know how it feels / why wait another day for the great dragon flower / receive your prophecy of enlightenment today.’”

  Textual note: The rest of this chapter is missing in the Khotanese, while only the first part of this section is present in the Stein edition. Kumarajiva, Bodhiruci, Paramartha, and Yi-ching have: “Subhuti, if during the final age a noble son or daughter should uphold or recite this sutra, and I completely described the merit, and someone overheard, they would be bewildered with disbelief.”

  Furthermore, Subhuti, inconceivable and incomparable

  is this dharma teaching spoken by the Tathagata, and

  inconceivable is the result you should expect.”

  The result, as stated earlier in this chapter, is the elimination of all karmic obstructions and the attainment of buddhahood. But to be capable of liberation and enlightenment, such a teaching, such a practice, and such an attainment must necessarily transcend the limitations that perceptions impose. But if you study an inconceivable teaching, you learn an inconceivable truth. The reason it is inconceivable is because it is free of all appearances and conceptions. It is, as Shakyamuni tells us in Chapter Eight, the mother of all buddhas.