The Profound Yogācāra Meaning of the Diamond Sutra (18)

The Third Chapter: The Orthodox Meaning of the Mahayana

Original Text:

The Buddha told Subhuti, "All bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should subdue their minds thus: All classes of beings—whether born from eggs, born from wombs, born from moisture, or born by transformation; whether having form, or without form; whether with perception, without perception, or neither with perception nor without perception—I shall cause them all to enter the ultimate Nirvana without residue and liberate them. Though I thus liberate immeasurable, innumerable, boundless beings, actually there are no beings who attain liberation. Why? Subhuti, if a bodhisattva holds the notion of a self, a person, a being, or a life span, that person is not a true bodhisattva."

Explanation:

This section primarily addresses how bodhisattvas transcend the four marks and eradicate the view of self and others. Bodhisattvas guide and liberate all beings within the three realms, four modes of birth, nine abodes, and twenty-five categories, leading them into the ultimate Nirvana without residue. However, they must not give rise to irrational thoughts, such as believing, "These beings were liberated by me; I have liberated so many beings." If a bodhisattva thinks this way, they are not a true bodhisattva. A true bodhisattva should rely on the wisdom of true reality (prajñā) to shatter the four marks, so that in their mind there is no mark of self, person, being, or life span.

The Buddha told Subhuti: "All bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should subdue their minds thus." "Mahā" means "great" in Chinese. In Buddhist scriptures, "mahāsattva" generally refers to bodhisattvas who have realized the mind and attained enlightenment or higher. They possess the virtues of sages. Strictly speaking, only bodhisattvas who have reached the first bhūmi (ground) or above can be called "mahāsattvas" or "dharma-body great beings." They have realized one or more aspects of the Buddha's dharma-body, attained one or more aspects of the wisdom of non-arising (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti), and possess one or more aspects of the wisdom of the path (mārga-jñāna). They embody the moral character and mind of sages and are also called "partial-realization Buddhas" (分证即佛). If one merely has the zeal and goodwill of a bodhisattva, comprehends or understands some Buddhist teachings intellectually, but has not given birth to the wisdom of non-arising, they cannot be called a "mahāsattva." When a bodhisattva first attains enlightenment and gains the patience of non-arising (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti), they realize the non-self of persons and can endure the realization that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are illusory and devoid of self—none truly arise. Moreover, the Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature) neither arises nor ceases, having existed since beginningless time. Thus, the great wisdom of Mahayana non-arising arises.