Lectures on the Diamond Sutra: Freedom from Marks and Quiescent Cessation, Fourteen

"Mark" (相) refers to all the myriad dharmas of the three realms of the world, all worldly marks. In the Diamond Sutra, this "mark" first refers to the four marks: the mark of self, the mark of person, the mark of sentient beings, and the mark of a life span; second, it refers to the Buddha's thirty-two marks; third, it refers to the marks of the six sense objects—form, sound, scent, taste, touch, and dharmas—as well as all marks in the three realms of the world. "Leaving" (离) means to depart from, to not correspond to, to not possess, to be without. Then who is able to leave these marks, not correspond to these marks, and be without these marks? Clearly, only the vajra prajñā mind-substance and the Buddhas can.

Because the vajra mind is able to leave these marks and not correspond to these marks, it is quiescent and extinguished. If it did not leave these marks, there would be the duality of subject and object, there would be the knower and the known, and toward the realms of the six sense objects there would be feeling and perception; it would then be like the seven consciousnesses, situated in clamorous realms, the mind unable to become still—it would not be a quiescent and extinguished mind, and it could not be called a nirvāṇa mind-substance.

Quiescent extinction (寂灭) means that it itself has no form and does not see form, so the mind is quiescent and extinguished; it itself does not emit sounds and does not listen to sounds, so the mind is quiescent and extinguished; it itself does not give off scents and does not smell scents, so it is quiescent and extinguished; it itself has no taste objects and does not taste flavors, so the mind is quiescent and extinguished; it itself has no touch objects and does not receive touch objects, so the mind is quiescent and extinguished; it itself has no dharma objects and does not discriminate or receive dharma objects, so the mind is quiescent and extinguished. No matter how clamorous the six sense objects are, the vajra mind itself abides in a state of quiescent extinction, the same as the state of quiescent extinction of an arhat abiding in nirvāṇa without remainder. So this topic is precisely to reveal the intrinsic nature of the vajra mind.

Original text: 尔时须菩提。闻说是经。深解义趣。涕泪悲泣。而白佛言。希有世尊。佛说如是。甚深经典。我从昔来。所得慧眼。未曾得闻。如是之经。

Explanation: At this time, Subhūti, having heard the Buddha expound this Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sutra, deeply comprehended all the dharma principles and purports of this Diamond Sutra. Because Subhūti had already deeply realized the principles of this sutra, overwhelmed with mingled sorrow and joy and moved to tears, he said to the World-Honored One: Rare and precious World-Honored One, that You could expound such a sutra of profoundly deep purport—since the distant past, the wisdom-eye I have attained has never heard such a sutra.

Since it says "deeply comprehended the purport," this shows that Subhūti did not merely understand the principles of the Diamond Sutra, but had deeply realized them. Realization and awakening have many levels, some shallow and some deep. The shallow one is the content of realization at the stage of the ten abodes, attaining the general-characteristic wisdom of the tathāgatagarbha; somewhat deeper is attaining the specific-characteristic wisdom of the tathāgatagarbha, when a bodhisattva is at the stages of the ten practices and the ten dedications; and those who awaken even more deeply possess the wisdom of the varieties of paths. Here it is not indicated whether Subhūti realized the specific-characteristic wisdom of the stage of the ten practices or of the ten dedications, but it has been made clear that Subhūti deeply realized the purport of the tathāgatagarbha in the Diamond Sutra, so it was not a shallow awakening.

The "wisdom-eye" in the text refers to the eye endowed with wisdom, the wisdom-eye possessed by pre-bhūmi bodhisattvas (pūrvabhūmika bodhisattva) and by arhats and pratyekabuddhas, not yet the dharma-eye of those who have attained the bhūmis. Wisdom includes the wisdom of the Small Vehicle's teachings and the wisdom of the Mahāyāna's prajñā and Yogācāra. In the Small Vehicle, one has the wisdom-eye from the elimination of self-view (ahaṃkāra-mamakāra-parityāga) onward; in the Mahāyāna, one has the wisdom-eye from seeing one's true mind onward, up until the tenth dedication stage, after which one has the dharma-eye. That Subhūti already had the wisdom-eye in past lives shows that in previous lives he had at least attained the fruits of the Small Vehicle. In this life, while in his mother's womb, he already knew that all dharmas are empty and quiescent, without the mystery of the intervening birth (the veil between lives). He was foremost in understanding emptiness among the Buddha's disciples, so Subhūti must have cultivated the Buddha-way for at least countless kalpas, with extremely deep roots of goodness. That even with the roots of goodness from his long kalpas of cultivation Subhūti had never heard such a profoundly deep sutra as the Diamond Sutra shows that the Diamond Sutra is a rare and hard-to-encounter, profoundly deep dharma treasure. If one's roots of goodness and merit are insufficient, one will not encounter such a profound prajñā sutra. With shallow roots of goodness and meager merit (alpa-puṇya), one certainly cannot, upon hearing it, realize the vajra prajñā mind.

Original text: 世尊。若复有人。得闻是经。信心清净。则生实相。当知是人。成就第一。希有功德。

Explanation: Subhūti said: World-Honored One, if there is again someone who, after hearing this sutra, believes without doubt and gives rise to pure faith, able to accept that sentient beings have this indestructible vajra mind ever abiding in the world, then he can realize this indestructible vajra mind and give rise to the wisdom of true reality, knowing that the source of all dharmas is the indestructible vajra mind, knowing that the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha, is the true reality of the dharmadhātu—real and not false—while all other dharmas are illusory marks. Then one should know that this person has accomplished the foremost, rare merit.

Such a person's merit and wisdom are the foremost and rarest in the world. From then on, this person's merit will gradually grow ever greater, and his wisdom will become ever deeper, broader, and boundless; moreover, he will be able to vastly benefit immeasurable sentient beings and ultimately attain perfect buddhahood. Therefore, realizing the prajñā mind of true reality—its merit is inconceivable, its wisdom is inconceivable, and no dharma in the world can compare. Even possessing immeasurable worldly treasures cannot compare with this merit; even being skilled and clever in all worldly arts and crafts cannot compare with this wisdom of the prajñā true reality. These worldly, mundane merits and wisdoms are all dharmas of arising, ceasing, and change, unreliable, and even while enjoying them, afflictions are fully present. Because of these afflictions, sentient beings drift through the six realms, still living like beggars, leading a wandering life of begging, with unceasing suffering. Only by realizing the prajñā mind of true reality, which is unborn and unceasing, can one gradually extinguish all afflictions, the mind gain coolness, and the mind-ground become ever purer and ever more abundant.

Clearly, this so-called true reality is the wisdom-cognition that arises in those who hear the sutra after their faith has become pure; it is realized wisdom. The wisdom that realizes true reality is not true reality itself. The intrinsic wisdom of true reality itself is unborn and unceasing, neither increasing nor decreasing, unchanging; whereas the wisdom that cognizes true reality has arising, ceasing, increase, and decrease, and therefore is not true reality, not the originally existent true mark. It is provisionally named "true reality" and should be called the wisdom of true reality, the wisdom that arises from realizing true reality.

As for the true reality that is originally existent, it is formless and without marks, without any worldly dharma-marks, without any marks of the realms of the six sense objects; it has always revealed itself to people as markless, and therefore is also non-mark. This non-mark vajra mind is also given the name "true reality," using this name to display the genuineness and unborn, unceasing nature of the vajra mind, so that sentient beings may recognize and proclaim it.

After hearing this Diamond Sutra, to have pure faith, to purely believe in this sutra and in the vajra mind, and to be able to realize the vajra mind—this is indeed accomplishing the foremost, rare merit, and is indeed rare and hard to attain; such a person's roots of goodness are extremely deep. When even the mark of realizing the vajra mind is broken through, and the mark of giving rise to the wisdom of true reality is broken through, then one does not cling to the Buddha's teachings and realization as real, does not give rise to conceit, eliminates all marks, and with the mind inwardly empty and tranquil, one will swiftly reach the other shore of nirvāṇa.