The Profound Meaning of the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra from the Consciousness-Only Perspective (Second Edition)
Chapter 12 The Surpassing Merit of the Unconditioned: Eleventh Division
Original Text: Subhuti, as numerous as the sands in the Ganges River—if there were as many Ganges Rivers as those sands, what do you think? Would the sands in all those Ganges Rivers be many? Subhuti said: Very many, World-Honored One. The Ganges Rivers alone are already countless, how much more so the sands within them.
Explanation: Subhuti, as numerous as the sands in the Ganges River—imagine as many Ganges Rivers as the number of those sands. What do you think, are the sands in all those Ganges Rivers very many? Subhuti said: Immeasurably many, World-Honored One. The Ganges Rivers alone are already beyond count, how much more so the sands within so many Ganges Rivers.
Original Text: Subhuti, I now tell you truthfully: If a virtuous man or virtuous woman filled as many three-thousand-great-thousand worlds as the number of sands in all those Ganges Rivers with the seven treasures and used them for almsgiving, would the merit attained be great? Subhuti said: Very great, World-Honored One. The Buddha told Subhuti: If a virtuous man or virtuous woman, with regard to this sutra, receives and upholds even a four-line verse, expounds it to others, then this merit surpasses the former merit.
Explanation: Subhuti, I now speak truthfully to you: If a virtuous man or virtuous woman filled as many three-thousand-great-thousand worlds as the number of sands in all those Ganges Rivers with the seven treasures and used them all for almsgiving, would the merit attained be great? Subhuti said: Immeasurably great, World-Honored One. The Buddha told Subhuti: If a virtuous man or virtuous woman, within this Diamond Sutra, receives and upholds the entire sutra or even a four-line verse, and expounds it to others, the merit thus attained far surpasses the merit of giving the seven treasures.
The first part of this division is easily understood. The latter part—that the merit of receiving, upholding, and expounding the Diamond Sutra surpasses the merit of giving the seven treasures—is harder to comprehend. Let us examine why this is so. The merit from giving the seven treasures is conditioned merit. This kind of merit can be exhausted, consumed, and enjoyed. Moreover, the vast majority of it is enjoyed within the mundane dharmas. Without the mind for the Path and without wisdom, great merit can easily lead to the creation of great evil karma, which will result in the retribution of great suffering.
Just like the demon king Papiyas: In his human life, he cultivated immense merit. After death, he was reborn in the highest heaven of the desire realm—the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven—as its ruler, governing the beings of the desire realm. He always desires to control more and more beings, unwilling for their numbers to decrease. If a cultivator attains the first dhyāna, he obstructs them. Even when the Buddha was teaching the Dharma, he went to create obstacles, aiming to prevent beings from leaving the desire realm and escaping his control. In the Dharma Ending Age, to destroy the Dharma, he often takes various forms, infiltrating Buddhism to break the Dharma: proclaiming right as wrong and wrong as right. Beings cannot discern this and, practicing accordingly, fail to attain liberation, remaining under the demon king's control. When Papiyas exhausts his demonic merit, he will fall into hell to suffer the retribution of evil deeds. Therefore, having merit without wisdom or the Path is not a good thing.
On the other hand, reciting the Diamond Sutra and realizing the Diamond Mind (Tathagatagarbha) brings merit that is immeasurable, boundless, and vast, bestowing immeasurable majesty and utility. First, it severs the view of self and severs the three fetters, ensuring one never falls into the three evil paths to suffer, and one attains the merit and benefit of liberation. Second, wisdom grows increasingly profound and sharp; with wisdom comes greater and more extensive merit. Third, one attains the precepts of concentration and the precepts of the Path, ceasing to create evil karma of body, speech, and mind. Suffering diminishes, wholesome dharmas increase, and joyful experiences grow ever greater, bringing endless bliss in the heavens and among humans.
Fourth, lifespan becomes increasingly long. If one becomes a bodhisattva in the heavens, practicing the bodhisattva path, the lifespan varies from thousands to tens of thousands of years. In other Buddha lands, the lifespan is also extremely long. Upon attaining the eighth ground bodhisattva stage, one severs the cycle of segmental birth and death; lifespan is no longer segmented or finite but can be infinitely long. Fifth, one can freely alter the structure of the four great elements, manifesting any material at will: the necessities for beings' lives, the seven treasures and hundred treasures, mountains, rivers, lands, and even great thousand-world systems. Sixth, one attains profound meditative concentrations, giving rise to immeasurable spiritual powers and samadhis, manifesting countless emanations to liberate boundless beings. Seventh, one can transform into supremely sublime material wealth, greatly benefiting the multitude, even transforming the three-thousand-great-thousand world system to practice the bodhisattva path and bring benefit and bliss to beings. Eighth, one ultimately accomplishes Buddhahood, perfecting bodhi, becoming the honored one of the three realms, with inexhaustible merit and wisdom.
After receiving, upholding, and realizing the Diamond Sutra, wisdom becomes increasingly vast, enabling one to expound the Dharma to others, allowing them to attain realization as well. The merit of Dharma-giving itself is immense; when beings benefit, the merit becomes even greater. Throughout the three asamkhyeyas (immeasurable eons) of accomplishing the Buddha Path, by liberating beings from the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and forming affinities with immeasurable beings, one will have numerous disciples following and learning in the future, enabling the establishment of one's own Buddha land. The construction of a Buddha land requires disciples of various levels; without disciples, a land cannot be established, much less the Buddha Path accomplished. Only by guiding disciples in practice, and upon their attainment, can one's own cultivation advance to a higher stage, attaining a superior fruition. Therefore, the merit of receiving, upholding, reciting the Diamond Sutra, and realizing the Diamond Mind is immeasurably vast.
The Diamond Mind is also the unconditioned mind, devoid of the mental activities of the three realms, non-acting. Precisely because it is non-acting, it can accomplish everything and perfect all dharmas. The merit contained within the unconditioned mind is immense, eternally indestructible, impervious to harm or theft by anyone. How supremely excellent, then, is this unconditioned merit! It is beyond description, far surpassing the conditioned merit of giving the seven treasures—incomparable and ineffable.
