Diamond Sutra Explanation: All Dharmas Are Buddha-Dharma

Original text of Chapter Seventeen, Ultimately There Is No Self: 须菩提。如来所得。阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。于是中无实无虚。是故如来说。一切法皆是佛法。须菩提。所言一切法者。即非一切法。是故名一切法。

Explanation: Subhūti, the anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi dharma attained by the Tathāgata is in fact neither truly existent nor false; it is the combination of the real and the unreal that together constitutes the great path of bodhi. Therefore, the Tathāgata says that all dharmas are buddha-dharmas; among all these dharmas there are the real and the unreal, and the true and the false together constitute all dharmas. Subhūti, the "all dharmas" that I speak of are not called all dharmas because there is truly something there; all dharmas are not truly existent dharmas, and thus they are provisionally named "all dharmas."

Why does the Buddha say that the anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi dharma attained by the Tathāgata is neither real nor unreal, that it cannot be said to be real, nor can it be said to be unreal? Because the dharma of attaining buddhahood is a combination of the real and the unreal: if there were only unreal dharmas, the unreal dharmas could not be established; if there were only real dharmas, the real dharmas would have no conditions and no driving force, could accomplish nothing, and would achieve nothing at all. This real dharma is the source from which the five aggregates and the myriad dharmas of the world are born — the tathāgatagarbha, the undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna), the Dharmakāya Buddha. The unreal dharmas are the dharmas of the five aggregates and the world manifested by the undefiled consciousness. Thus we know that the dharma of attaining buddhahood is jointly formed by the tathāgatagarbha and the body of the five aggregates working in harmony. If one says that the dharma of attaining buddhahood is unreal, yet it is all done by the tathāgatagarbha and is all of the nature of the tathāgatagarbha; if one says that the dharma of attaining buddhahood is real, yet it involves the participation and functioning of the Buddha's unreal five aggregates — apart from the five aggregates, the figure of a Buddha cannot be found, and apart from the five aggregates, it would no longer be called a Buddha. Therefore, the anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi dharma attained by the Tathāgata is neither real nor unreal.

Why is it that "all dharmas are not dharmas, therefore they are called all dharmas"? Because all dharmas in their outward appearance have no self-nature of their own existence; they are all manifested by the tathāgatagarbha in accordance with various conditions, empty and illusory, like flowers in the sky or phantom shadows. Therefore one must not regard all dharmas as dharmas with real self-nature. Since all dharmas appear to exist phenomenally, there is no harm in giving these dharmas provisional names, to facilitate verbal communication among sentient beings and to meet the needs of living in the world.

For example: cultivating the dharmas of precepts, meditation (samādhi), and wisdom is a surface activity of the body and mind of the five aggregates; the body and mind of the five aggregates have no self-nature, and are all functional attributes operated behind the scenes by the tathāgatagarbha, so it is provisionally named "cultivating precepts, samādhi, and wisdom." Reciting and reading sūtras is also a surface activity of the body and mind of the five aggregates, without self-nature, and is provisionally named "reciting sūtras." Harsh speech and verbal abuse are actions and creations of the body and mind of the five aggregates, a surface phenomenon that merely deceives people's eyes, and is provisionally named "harsh speech." Seeing the mind and seeing the nature is a state of wisdom of the body and mind of the five aggregates, without self-nature, provisionally named "seeing the mind and seeing the nature." Contemplative deliberation and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) are activities of the body and mind of the five aggregates, unreal arising-and-ceasing dharmas, insubstantial like a mirage, provisionally named "contemplative deliberation and practice." Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down are actions and creations of the body of the five aggregates, without self-nature, existing through illusion, provisionally named "walking, standing, sitting, and lying down." In short, all dharmas are merely provisional names.

Original text: 须菩提。譬如人身长大。须菩提言。世尊。如来说人身长大。即为非大身。是名大身。

Explanation: Subhūti, for example, the largeness of the human body is one dharma among all dharmas. Subhūti replied: World-Honored One, the largeness of the human body of which the Tathāgata speaks is not truly a great body; it merely takes on the name of "great body."

Why is the great body of which the Tathāgata speaks "not a great body"? Because the size and appearance of the human body is only a false appearance conjured up by the tathāgatagarbha, without any substantial mark of size. The so-called great body is an illusion piled up by the tathāgatagarbha from the seeds of the four great elements; its size and length are all spoken of relatively — there must be some object for reference, something to compare against, before it can be named large or small, long or short. And the object of comparison is itself not real, having no reliability or comparability. Therefore, the largeness of the human body is "not a great body"; it is a great body in name only, with no substantive talk of size.

Original text: 须菩提。菩萨亦如是。若作是言。我当灭度。无量众生。即不名菩萨。何以故。须菩提。实无有法。名为菩萨。是故佛说。一切法无我无人。无众生无寿者。

Explanation: Subhūti, it is the same with bodhisattvas: only when the mind does not cling to any dharma-mark while practicing the bodhisattva practice is one a true bodhisattva. If a bodhisattva makes a vow to save sentient beings, saying, "I shall liberate immeasurable sentient beings," then such a bodhisattva is not yet a true bodhisattva, not yet having realized ultimate reality and entered into it. Why is this said? Subhūti, because in the ground of ultimate reality there is no dharma that can be called a bodhisattva or called "I." Therefore, the Buddha says that among all dharmas there is no self, no person, no sentient being, and no life span — these four marks.

A true bodhisattva is one who has already realized ultimate reality, and a bodhisattva who has realized ultimate reality should no longer grasp at worldly marks. What are worldly marks? They are the four marks. First, the bodhisattva should not have a mark of self, and then there should be no mark of bodhisattva, and no mark of sentient beings to be saved. These marks are the marks of the five aggregates, all false appearances conjured up by the tathāgatagarbha, not really existent dharmas — just like the images of cats and dogs conjured up by the white clouds in the sky: there are no real cats or dogs to be grasped; they are all just cloud forms. A true bodhisattva should not grasp at a mark of bodhisattva, should not grasp at a mark of self, should not grasp at a mark of sentient beings, yet still there must be an "I" to save immeasurable sentient beings — only by practicing these bodhisattva practices without mind [of attachment] is one a true bodhisattva.

Original text: 须菩提。若菩萨作是言。我当庄严佛土。是不名菩萨。何以故。如来说庄严佛土者。即非庄严。是名庄严。须菩提。若菩萨通达。无我法者。如来说名。真是菩萨。

Explanation: Subhūti, if a bodhisattva speaks thus: "I shall adorn the buddha-land," then that is not a true bodhisattva. Why is this said? The act of adorning the buddha-land of which the Tathāgata speaks is not that there is truly a buddha-land to be adorned, not that there is truly such a thing as adornment; it is merely provisionally named "adorning the buddha-land." Subhūti, if a bodhisattva has already thoroughly comprehended the dharma of no-self and realized the non-arising of all dharmas, only then does the Tathāgata say that this bodhisattva is a true bodhisattva.

How, precisely, does a bodhisattva adorn the buddha-land through cultivation over three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas? Every bodhisattva's cultivation is carried out through the creations of bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Every bit of the bodhisattva's cultivation of wholesome dharmas and accumulation of wholesome karma adorns the buddha-land; thus the adornment of the buddha-land is accomplished through the bodhisattva's bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Why do all bodhisattva practices adorn the buddha-land? We should know where the buddha-land comes from, how it appears, and why buddha-lands differ from one another.

Through cultivation over three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas, the bodhisattva accomplishes the buddha-way, and only then can immeasurable buddha-lands manifest. These buddha-lands are all manifested from the Buddha's undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna), manifested by the undefiled consciousness in accordance with the Buddha's seeds of wholesome karma. Where, then, do the seeds of wholesome karma come from? Of course, from the time the Buddha began practicing as a bodhisattva learning the buddha-dharma, the seeds cultivated were stored away bit by bit in the tathāgatagarbha, and then the tathāgatagarbha manifested the buddha-land in accordance with those seeds.

A bodhisattva's cultivation includes making great pure vows, diligently cultivating precepts, samādhi, and wisdom, extinguishing greed, hatred, and delusion, reciting and upholding all buddha-dharmas, practicing the bodhisattva's six perfections, removing afflictions, eliminating ignorance, eradicating defiled seeds, storing pure seeds, and finally transforming consciousness into wisdom, accomplishing the great mirror-like wisdom (ādarśa-jñāna), manifesting immeasurable buddha-lands, and vastly benefiting boundless sentient beings. Moreover, in the course of the bodhisattva's cultivation, because of differences in the power of vows and differences in specific practices, their karmic seeds also differ, and thus the buddha-lands manifested upon attaining buddhahood also differ. Therefore, all the wholesome karmic actions of the bodhisattva's cultivation adorn the buddha-land, and they are all actions and creations of the body and mind of the five aggregates; since the body and mind of the five aggregates are illusory and unreal, therefore "adorning the buddha-land is not adorning the buddha-land," and it is provisionally named "adorning the buddha-land."

Finally, the World-Honored One concludes: if a bodhisattva can thoroughly comprehend the dharma of no-self, that one is a true bodhisattva. Why is this said? Because a bodhisattva who has comprehended the dharma of no-self will gradually comprehend all dharmas. All dharmas unfold with the self of the five aggregates at their center; when the self of the five aggregates is gone, there are no dharmas at all. If the self of the five aggregates is unreal, all dharmas are unreal; if the self of the five aggregates has no substance, all dharmas have no substance. Thus, when a bodhisattva has comprehended the no-self of all dharmas, he realizes ever-deeper wisdom of the patience with the non-arising of dharmas, and his bodhisattva fruit advances from bhūmi to bhūmi; after his wisdom of the varieties of paths is perfected, it becomes omniscience (sarvākārajñatā), and the buddha-way is thereby perfected.

Because the Buddha possesses the five eyes and six superknowledges, He can thoroughly see all dharmas and thoroughly see all sentient beings; the minds of all sentient beings, the Tathāgata fully knows and fully sees. The Tathāgata can see sentient beings and can also see the tathāgatagarbha mind of sentient beings, and thereby knows the minds of sentient beings. Yet the sentient beings' present mind, past mind, and future mind are all unattainable, because they are arising-and-ceasing, illusory, and cannot last long.