The Profound Consciousness-only Meaning of the Diamond Sutra (55)

Chapter Eight: The Dharma Arises from This

Original text: 须菩提。于意云何。若人满三千大千世界七宝以用布施。是人所得福德。宁为多不。须菩提言。甚多。世尊。何以故。是福德即非福德性。是故如来说福德多。若复有人。于此经中受持乃至四句偈等。为他人说。其福胜彼。何以故。须菩提。一切诸佛及诸佛阿耨多罗三藐三菩提法。皆从此经出。须菩提。所谓佛法者。即非佛法。

Explanation: The Buddha said: "Subhūti, what do you think? If someone filled the trichiliocosm (three thousand great thousand worlds) with the seven treasures and used them for giving (dāna), would the merit this person obtains be great?" Subhūti said: "Very great, World-Honored One. Why is this so? Because such merit is not the nature of merit; therefore the Tathāgata says the merit is great." The Buddha said: "If again there is someone who, from within this sūtra, receives and holds even as little as a four-line verse, and expounds it for others, the merit obtained will surpass that of giving the seven treasures. Why is this so? Subhūti, all buddhas and the dharma of the buddhas' anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi all arise from this sūtra. Subhūti, the so-called buddha-dharma is not the buddha-dharma."

The Buddha said: "Subhūti, what do you think? If someone took the seven treasures of the three thousand great thousand worlds and used them for giving, would the merit this person obtains be very great?" Subhūti said: "It would be very great, World-Honored One. Why is it said this way? Because what is obtained through such giving is merit, not the nature of merit; the nature of merit admits no distinction of much or little, and that is why the Tathāgata says the merit is great." The Buddha said: "If there is someone who, in this Diamond Sutra, receives and holds at least one four-line verse and expounds it for others, the merit obtained is even more excellent than the merit of giving the seven treasures. Why is this so? Subhūti, all buddhas and the dharma by which buddhas attain buddhahood are all produced from this sūtra. Subhūti, the dharma spoken by the so-called Buddha is not the buddha-dharma in the true sense; the buddha-dharma in the true sense refers to the tathāgatagarbha, the buddha-nature."