Commentary on the Diamond Sutra: No Arising of Views, Thirty-One

Original text:须菩提。若人言。佛说我见人见众生见寿者见。须菩提。于意云何。是人解我所说义不。不也。世尊。是人不解如来所说义。

Explanation: Subhūti, if someone says that the Buddha also speaks of the view of self, the view of a person, the view of sentient beings, and the view of a life span, then the view of self, the view of a person, the view of sentient beings, and the view of a life span would truly exist. Subhūti, what do you think? Does this person understand the meaning of what I have said? Subhūti replied: This person does not truly understand the meaning of what the Tathāgata has said.

When the World-Honored One expounds the sutras and teaches the Dharma, He must accord with the psychological cognition of sentient beings and use the terms and concepts that sentient beings employ; only in this way can His teaching communicate with sentient beings, so that they can understand, and the Buddha can guide sentient beings across into the true meaning of the Buddha's Dharma, ultimately reaching the same realm as the Buddha. Because sentient beings have the knowledge and view of a five-aggregate self, as well as the concept and view of a person, the concept and view of sentient beings, and the concept and view of a life span, and because sentient beings' cognition and notions of these concepts are all mistaken and inverted, the World-Honored One must accord with sentient beings and use terms and concepts that match their cognition in order to break their mistaken cognition and correct their erroneous views.

Therefore, when the World-Honored One teaches the Dharma, He too must use such terms as the view of self, the view of a person, the view of sentient beings, and the view of a life span, and He must explain in detail why the view of self is a wrong view, why the view of a person is a wrong view, why the view of sentient beings is a wrong view, and why the view of a life span is a wrong view. Only in this way can He break sentient beings' four kinds of inverted wrong views, thereby enabling them to sever the knots and bonds of birth and death within their minds, cut the shackles that bind them, and ultimately attain liberation. If it were not so, how could the World-Honored One widely deliver sentient beings, enabling them to understand the true Buddha-Dharma and thereby benefit themselves and benefit others? Therefore, although the Buddha uses such terms as the view of self and the view of a person, this does not mean that sentient beings' view of self, view of a person, view of sentient beings, and view of a life span are actually existent views; these views are also illusory, falsely existent, and perishable, and must not be grasped as real.

Original text:何以故。世尊说我见人见众生见寿者见。即非我见人见众生见寿者见。是名我见人见众生见寿者见。

Explanation: Why is this said? Because the view of self, view of a person, view of sentient beings, and view of a life span that the World-Honored One speaks of are not truly existent views of self, person, sentient beings, and life span. The so-called view of self, view of a person, view of sentient beings, and view of a life span do not really exist; they have no real dharma-mark, and are merely provisionally named the view of self, view of a person, view of sentient beings, and view of a life span—they are just names.

These words spoken by Subhūti negate the real existence of the view of self, view of a person, view of sentient beings, and view of a life span, which also accords precisely with the prajñā meaning earlier in the sutra. Because these views are not real dharmas, only through cultivation can they be removed and the four marks be broken. Applying that formula—"so-called ... is not ... is named ..."—the meaning of this formula is to negate the real existence of all worldly dharmas: there is no true, substantive world of dharmas; all are illusory. Because all are generated and manifested by the tathāgatagarbha, all are the seed-functions of the tathāgatagarbha, and in essence all are the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore all the myriad dharmas of the world are provisional names without real meaning.

The view of self, view of a person, view of sentient beings, and view of a life span—these four wrong views—are also among the dharmas of principle within the myriad dharmas of the world; they are dharmas that arise later and can be extinguished, dharmas that do not exist before and exist afterward, and after existing return to nonexistence. In fact, while they exist, they arise and cease moment by moment; because the speed of arising and ceasing is too fast, sentient beings are unaware of it and mistakenly take them to be truly existent, thus forming various mistaken and wrong views. These wrong views are all illusory false appearances and are not real; if they were real, sentient beings could not, through cultivation, sever these wrong views and thereby perfect correct views and insight. These wrong views have no self-nature of their own and no autonomy; they all depend on external conditions to exist and are generated by the tathāgatagarbha.

Then what is the view of self? And how does it arise? The view of self is the knowledge and view regarding the mark of self: the correct view is to regard the mark of self as empty; the mistaken view is to regard the mark of self as existent. First, regarding the self: the self that sentient beings conceive of refers, first, to the physical body; second, to the consciousness of the six consciousnesses; third, to the seventh consciousness, the manas; or to the five-aggregate self and the self of the eighteen dhātus combining all three. These selves are all false selves, not real, without substance; all are born of causes and conditions, exist by illusion, scatter when conditions cease, and offer nothing to rely upon.

The aggregate of form is generated by the tathāgatagarbha's seeds of the four great elements; it arises, abides, alters, and perishes, changing and impermanent—existent in appearance, nonexistent in substance, its essence being the tathāgatagarbha. The aggregate of feeling is the feelings of the six consciousnesses, generated by the tathāgatagarbha transmitting the seeds of the six consciousnesses; it arises, abides, alters, and perishes, illusory and unreal, scattering when conditions cease, offering nothing to rely upon. The aggregate of perception is the six consciousnesses' grasping and knowing of the marks of the six sense objects, generated by the tathāgatagarbha transmitting the seeds of the six consciousnesses; it exists by illusion, scatters when conditions cease, and offers nothing to rely upon. The aggregate of volitional formations is the flowing change of the six consciousnesses' bodily, verbal, and mental actions, as well as the changes and movements of the physical body, generated by the tathāgatagarbha transmitting the seeds of the seven great elements; it arises, abides, alters, and perishes, illusory and unreal, scattering when conditions cease, offering nothing to rely upon. The aggregate of consciousness is the discerning nature of the six consciousnesses, generated by the seeds of the six consciousnesses transmitted by the tathāgatagarbha; illusory and unreal, it scatters when conditions cease and offers nothing to rely upon. These four aggregates also have no substantiality and no autonomy—existent in appearance, nonexistent in substance, their essence being the tathāgatagarbha.

The self that sentient beings conceive of also includes the eighteen dhātus—the six sense faculties, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses; these dharmas are also generated by the tathāgatagarbha transmitting the seeds of the seven great elements, arising, ceasing, and changing—existent in appearance, nonexistent in substance, their essence all being the tathāgatagarbha. Who is it that regards the five aggregates and eighteen dhātus as self and thus has the view of self? It is the sixth consciousness and the seventh consciousness. The view of self of the sixth consciousness is called the intermittent view of self; that of the seventh consciousness is called the innate view of self. Because the sixth consciousness exists in segments, it cannot go on to future lives—it vanishes when a life ends and is born when a life appears—therefore it is intermittent. The seventh consciousness has existed since beginningless kalpas and can go on to future lives; only when one attains the fourth fruit of arhatship and severs all grasping does one gain the ability to extinguish the seventh consciousness; hence it is called the innate view of self and innate self-grasping.

The two consciousnesses are the main bearers of the view of self, and these two consciousnesses can only be born and exist, and function, when the tathāgatagarbha transmits the seeds of consciousness; therefore the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have no autonomy, no substantiality, no independence; they arise, cease, and change, illusory and impermanent, and moreover arise, cease, and change moment by moment. Thus the view of self of the six consciousnesses and the view of self of the seventh consciousness "are not the view of self"—they are not truly existent views of self, not views of self with real substance; they are illusory views of self, whose essence is the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, naming the view of self of the six consciousnesses and the seventh consciousness as "the view of self," the view of self is merely a provisional name.

The view of a person, the view of sentient beings, and the view of a life span, corresponding to the view of self, follow the same principle: they are all erroneous wrong views arising from the illusory minds of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses manifested by the tathāgatagarbha; these wrong views also do not truly exist, being like a mirage, empty and unreal. On the surface they appear to exist, in substance they do not; their essence is the tathāgatagarbha, and there are no truly real such wrong understandings. Just as afflictions are bodhi, the essence of afflictions is the bodhi mind, the tathāgatagarbha; wrong views are also the functions of the bodhi mind, the tathāgatagarbha, and therefore their essence is also the tathāgatagarbha—apart from this there is nothing else.

Original text:须菩提。发阿耨多罗三藐三菩提心者。于一切法。应如是知。如是见。如是信解。不生法相。

Explanation: The World-Honored One said: One who has engendered the mind of anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi should, regarding all dharmas, know them thus, view them thus, and generate faith and understanding thus, no longer producing any dharma-mark within the mind, nor grasping any dharma-mark—empty and pure, open and at ease.

Here the World-Honored One exhorts the bodhisattvas who have engendered the great bodhi mind to, regarding all dharmas, trace them to their roots and thoroughly see their source and substance. Deeply knowing the essence of all dharmas, one does not cling to illusory false marks, nor grasp at false names. Contemplate all dharmas again and again, deliberate over them again and again—like peeling a plantain tree, peeling away the outer skin layer by layer to thoroughly see its innermost, most fundamental core, and only then knowing that the plantain tree is in fact empty, without any substantive appearance of a plantain tree.

Observing all dharmas in this way, one will know that all are in fact empty; there are no substantive dharmas—all are the empty mark of the tathāgatagarbha. Then the mind rests; deluded thoughts are removed; one no longer hopes to seek any dharma-marks, no longer searches outward and begs; and thus one returns to the source of the mind-ground, returns to the home of self-nature. Then the mind will no longer produce any dharma-marks; one regards all dharmas as dreams, illusions, mirages, mirror images, and the moon in water, and never again takes them as truly existent dharmas to grasp and seize. Thus one is spared the causes of birth-and-death karmic activity, extinguishes the karmic retribution of birth and death; ignorance is severed completely, the vipāka fruit becomes empty, the great perfect mirror wisdom (ādarśajñāna) manifests, and one sits at the place of practice in the worlds of the ten directions, broadly benefiting the measureless, boundless sentient beings with whom one has karmic connections.

Original text:须菩提。所言法相者。如来说即非法相。是名法相。

Explanation: Subhūti, the so-called dharma-marks that sentient beings speak of, the Tathāgata says, are not truly existent dharma-marks, not really existent dharma-marks; they are merely names, and therefore are provisionally named dharma-marks.

Dharma-marks include the marks of material form (rūpa-dharma) and the marks of mental dharmas (citta-dharma) within the world of the three realms. The marks of material form are the five sense faculties, and the forms, sounds, scents, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas corresponding to the six faculties. Whether the outer representations (外相分) of forms, sounds, scents, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas, or the inner representations (内相分) of forms, sounds, scents, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas, none are truly existent dharma-marks; on the surface they seem to exist, in substance they are empty. These marks of material form are all constituted by the tathāgatagarbha outputting the seeds of the four great elements, and therefore are illusory—like flowers in empty space, like a mirage, like light and shadow, like the moon in water; their essence is all the dharma-marks of the tathāgatagarbha. And the dharma-marks of the tathāgatagarbha are also empty; thus forms, sounds, scents, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas, as well as the five faculties, are all empty marks; therefore they are not dharma-marks—only names, without substance.

The marks of mental dharmas are the dharma-marks of the minds of the seven consciousnesses, as well as the dharma-marks of the mental factors (caittas) accompanying the seven consciousnesses. The dharma-marks of the seven consciousnesses are formed by the tathāgatagarbha outputting the seeds of consciousness of the seven consciousnesses; the seeds of consciousness are born in an instant and perish in an instant, arising, ceasing, and changing, illusory and unreal. The operational marks of the seven consciousnesses when they run appear on the surface to exist but are in substance empty—like a mirage, merely dazzling the eyes. Therefore the seven consciousnesses also do not truly exist, have no real dharma-marks, and their essence is the empty mark of the tathāgatagarbha.

The operational marks of the seven consciousnesses operate in the form of mental factors, including the five universal mental factors of volition (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volitional activity (cetanā), as well as all the other mental factors. As soon as the seven consciousnesses operate, these five mental factors appear along with the seven consciousnesses; the other mental factors sometimes also manifest accompanying the seven consciousnesses—when the seven consciousnesses arise, the mental factors manifest accordingly; when the seven consciousnesses cease, the mental factors cease accordingly. The minds of the seven consciousnesses arise and cease, illusory and unreal; the mental factors are even more so, arising and ceasing, illusory and unreal. Their surface operational marks appear to exist but are in substance empty illusion, utterly unattainable; their essence is all the empty mark of the tathāgatagarbha; therefore the marks of mental dharmas are also empty, merely a name. Therefore, when the Buddha speaks of dharma-marks, they are not dharma-marks—not truly existent dharma-marks, but merely names; they must not be taken as real, nor grasped.