Commentary on the Diamond Sutra: Why Are the Marks of Self, of Person, of Sentient Beings, and of Life Span No-Marks?

Original text of Section Fourteen, "Leaving Marks and Extinction": 所以者何。我相即是非相。人相众生相寿者相。即是非相。何以故。离一切诸相。则名诸佛。

Explanation: Subhūti said: Why is it said that this person can be without the four marks? Because the mark of self is not a real mark, the mark of person is not a real mark, the mark of sentient beings is not a real mark, and the mark of a life span is also not a real mark. Since they are not real marks, the four marks can be eliminated. Why is this said? Because every Buddha is free from all marks, and only one who is free from all marks is named a Buddha.

Why is it that after realizing the prajñā mind of true reality, one's mind no longer has the four marks and departs from the four marks? Because the mark of self is not a real mark; on the surface it seems to exist, but in fact it is not real. One who has realized true reality will observe the functioning of the tathāgatagarbha, observing how the tathāgatagarbha gives birth to the five-aggregate self, and why it is that the five aggregates are illusorily manifested by the tathāgatagarbha. When one's wisdom deepens further, one will observe that all activities of the five aggregates are the functions of the tathāgatagarbha; the five aggregates themselves have never truly done anything. The dharmas of the five aggregates are illusory and unreal; in essence they are all the tathāgatagarbha.

For example, a magician conjures up a five-aggregate body, and this five-aggregate body will have certain functions and uses, but this five-aggregate body has no reality, and its functions and uses are not truly existent; they are all the doing of the magician. Or again, like a puppet that goes on stage to perform a play: no matter how the puppet performs on stage, none of it is its own doing. Therefore all the activities of the puppet are illusory; there is no such thing; in essence they are all the doing of the manipulator behind the scenes. The activities of my five aggregates are just like this. Therefore the mark of self of the five aggregates is a non-mark, not a real mark. By the same token, the mark of person, which is like the self and belongs to the common nature of human beings, is also like this: there is no real five-aggregate mark of the common nature of persons. No matter how humans live and act in the world, undertaking all kinds of endeavors, there are no real five-aggregate activities; in essence they are all the nature of the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore the mark of person is a non-mark.

By the same reasoning, the mark of sentient beings, which is similar to the mark of person, is also false and unreal; on the surface it seems to exist, but in essence it does not; in essence it is all the tathāgatagarbha nature of sentient beings. The five-aggregate activities of sentient beings are like a robot doing work: the robot itself is not autonomous and has no self-determination; it still requires human assembly and manipulation, so the robot cannot truly do any work itself—all is the doing of the designer, manufacturer, and operator. The robot merely presents a false appearance to deceive people's eyes. Therefore the boss would absolutely never pay wages to a robot, nor reward or punish a robot. Because the boss clearly knows that the robot is not a person, lacking human wisdom and ability; it is merely a tool used by people, and the work is not done by it. The five aggregates of sentient beings are just like this: all endeavors are not done by the five aggregates; the five aggregates are merely a tool. Therefore the mark of sentient beings is a non-mark, not real and not truly existent.

Then, the mark of life and the mark of a life span, which manifest depending on the five aggregates of sentient beings, are also non-marks and not truly existent. The life activities of sentient beings within a period of time—such as breathing, metabolism, eating, drinking, and elimination—on the surface seem to be truly existent and seem to have real meaning, but in fact they are also false appearances manifested by the tathāgatagarbha, bestowed by the tathāgatagarbha, and their essence is also the tathāgatagarbha. No matter how long this period of life lasts, the essence of that life is the tathāgatagarbha; sentient beings have no real mark of life. Therefore the mark of a life span is a non-mark.

Why is it said that the four marks of self, person, sentient being, and life span are non-marks, unreal marks? Because the true reality of the dharmadhātu is free from all marks. Having the four marks means being false marks, illusory marks, marks of arising and ceasing (utpāda-nirodha-lakṣaṇa); then it is not the true reality of the dharmadhātu, nor is it true reality. The true reality, the vajra prajñā mind that cannot be destroyed—that is, the Dharmakāya of all Buddhas—is free from all marks, without the four marks and without any marks at all. Therefore the true Buddha is without marks, and the true Buddha also does not preach the Dharma. The Buddha who is free from all marks is the Dharmakāya Buddha (dharma-kāya-buddha) of all Buddhas, the Buddha in the true sense. A Buddha with the marks of the five aggregates is the Sambhogakāya Buddha (saṃbhoga-kāya-buddha), the Nirmāṇakāya (nirmāṇakāya), a Buddha illusorily manifested by the Dharmakāya Buddha, and not the true Buddha.

Why can the four marks disappear? Because the four marks are not truly existent marks in the first place; they are false marks illusorily manifested by the vajra mind, and therefore they are of a nature of arising and ceasing, empty and unattainable. If they were truly existent marks, they could not be emptied away, and no matter how hard one strives, one could not make these marks disappear. After realizing and understanding the vajra mind, when encountering conditions and facing objects, one observes directly that the mark of self arises from the vajra mind, the mark of person arises from the vajra mind, the mark of sentient beings arises from the vajra mind, and the mark of a life span also arises from the vajra mind. In this way the four marks are gradually extinguished completely, and the wisdom of the mark of emptiness becomes ever deeper. Then one gradually empties the other dharma-marks as well; when all dharma-marks are completely emptied, Buddhahood is accomplished.

Therefore the Buddha said: "Free from all marks is named all Buddhas." Here "all Buddhas" has two meanings: one refers to the Nirmāṇakāya Buddhas who have bodies of the five aggregates, and the other refers to the Dharmakāya Buddha. The Dharmakāya Buddha itself has been free from all marks since beginningless kalpas, empty without a single mark, formless and markless, without the marks of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharmas; with the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind one cannot behold His true countenance. At this time the Nirmāṇakāya Buddha is also free from all marks, empties all marks, and does not abide in any mark. When the mind-nature of the Nirmāṇakāya Buddha is identical to that of the Dharmakāya Buddha, equally pure and non-active, then it is the all Buddhas whose merit is perfect and complete.

Original text: 佛告须菩提。如是如是。若复有人。得闻是经。不惊不怖不畏。当知是人。甚为希有。

Explanation: The World-Honored One told Subhūti: It is so, it is indeed so. If there is a person who hears this sutra and is not startled, not terrified, and not afraid, you should know that this person is indeed very rare and exceptional—he is a person whose good roots and merit are extremely deep and abundant.

Why did the World-Honored One say this? Because the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra entirely expounds the emptiness principle of the Mahāyāna, teaching sentient beings to depart from the four marks, depart from all marks, and not grasp at any mark. But sentient beings, from beginningless kalpas until now, have always been attached to the four marks, grasping at all marks and unwilling to let go. Within the minds of sentient beings, the grasping at self is deep and heavy, the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) is deep and heavy; they see all marks as existent and do not see all marks as empty.

Because sentient beings have, from beginningless kalpas, always deeply relied upon existence, when they hear the Diamond Sutra speak of emptiness and nonexistence, their minds will certainly be very fearful and alarmed, afraid that they will fall into emptiness and become nothing, unwilling to throw away the crutch they have relied upon since beginningless kalpas, unwilling to become without support or reliance. Thus they fear becoming utterly empty and fear that they will cease to exist. Therefore fear and terror arise in their minds. Such are people whose good roots and merit are insufficient, whose kalpas of cultivation in past lives were short—that is why they are like this. Conversely, one who hears this sutra speak of the absence of the four marks and departure from the four marks, yet whose mind is not terrified, is a person who has already cultivated for a very long time, a person whose planted good roots are already very deep. Such a person, upon hearing the Diamond Sutra, not only is not startled or terrified, but can also give rise to pure faith and can realize the vajra prajñā mind that is free from the four marks. It is evident that such a person is indeed rare and exceptional.