Commentary on the Diamond Sutra: Why Tathagata Has No Definite Doctrines to Expound

When the Buddha came to the world to expound the Dharma, he always did so based on causes and conditions. He observed the karmic affinities of sentient beings, teaching whatever Dharma corresponded to their specific affinities, thus tailoring his teachings to their capacities. Immediately after attaining enlightenment, the Buddha first taught the Avatamsaka Sutra in various heavenly realms, liberating the great bodhisattva disciples who had followed him across countless kalpas. However, the śrāvaka disciples in the Saha World were like the deaf and mute, unable to comprehend. Therefore, the Buddha returned to the human realm to teach the śrāvaka disciples seeking liberation the Hinayana Agama Sutras, enabling them to attain some fruition in practice before redirecting them to study the Mahayana path. Because sentient beings in the Saha World have shallow roots and all seek liberation, desiring to leave suffering and attain happiness, the Buddha taught the Three Vehicles here.

In other Buddha lands, however, the Buddha taught only the One Vehicle, the Buddha Vehicle, guiding beings with bodhisattva dispositions to achieve Buddhahood. When the Buddha taught the Dharma, he always relied on a specific condition; when a situation arose, he would teach a corresponding Dharma. Sometimes, a disciple would ask a question, providing the premise for the teaching. It was extremely rare for him to teach without a specific cause; such instances involved particularly crucial teachings, yet they still corresponded to the capacities of the beings. Therefore, the Buddha's teachings were not fixed; the Dharma arises from causes and conditions; it is not immutable. All Dharmas, regardless of which Buddha land they were taught in, are meant to cure sentient beings' illnesses of ignorance and delusion. When a particular type of ignorance exists, the Buddha teaches the Dharma to counteract it. When ignorance is extinguished, the Dharma becomes useless. Thus, the Buddha Dharma is like a raft used to cross a river; it is abandoned upon reaching the shore.

The Dharma exists based on causes and conditions; therefore, it is illusory and empty, to be used for a time and then discarded. Thus, one should not cling to it as real. Yet, while ignorance still exists, one must grasp it and use it as a tool. For example, the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths becomes useless to an Arhat after they attain the fruit and achieve liberation; they then cultivate the path of the Pratyekabuddha, which is the Dharma of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. After attaining the fruit of a Pratyekabuddha, the Dharma of Dependent Origination also becomes useless, and they need to cultivate the Bodhisattva's Six Paramitas. After realizing the mind and seeing one's true nature, the external practice of the Six Paramitas becomes useless, and one cultivates the internal Six Paramitas, entering the First Bhumi. After entering the Bhumis, the internal Six Paramitas become useless, and one cultivates the Ten Paramitas. After becoming a Tenth Bhumi Bodhisattva, even the Ten Paramitas must be relinquished. After perfecting the Dharma of the Equal Enlightenment and Wonderful Enlightenment and attaining complete Buddhahood, all Dharmas become unnecessary and are entirely discarded, leaving the mind empty and devoid of any Dharma.

Because all Dharmas have been perfectly cultivated, only after becoming a Buddha can one expound them for sentient beings. Therefore, all Dharmas spoken by the Tathagata are not inherently fixed, immutable Dharmas; they are all empty, not ultimate truths. Yet, they are also not *not* ultimate truths, because sentient beings rely on these Dharmas to realize the true, unconditioned Dharma. Moreover, when the Buddha expounded these Dharmas, he never departed from the true Dharma of Suchness; it was precisely the Dharma of Suchness functioning here that enabled the Buddha to expound them. These Dharmas all originate from the Buddha's own mind of Suchness, flowing forth from Suchness; they are part of Suchness, having a relationship with Suchness that is neither identical nor different.