The Diamond Sutra: The Profound Meaning of Consciousness-Only (71)

Receiving and Holding the Dharma According to the Teachings, Thirteen

Original text: 尔时。须菩提白佛言。世尊。当何名此经。我等云何奉持。佛告须菩提。是经名为金刚般若波罗蜜。以是名字。汝当奉持。所以者何。须菩提。佛说般若波罗蜜。即非般若波罗蜜。是名般若波罗蜜。须菩提。于意云何。如来有所说法不。须菩提白佛言。世尊。如来无所说。

须菩提。于意云何。三千大千世界所有微尘。是为多不。须菩提言。甚多。世尊。须菩提。诸微尘。如来说非微尘。是名微尘。如来说世界。即非世界。是名世界。须菩提。于意云何。可以三十二相见如来不。不也。世尊。不可以三十二相得见如来。何以故。如来说三十二相。即是非相。是名三十二相。须菩提。若有善男子。善女人。以恒河沙等身命布施。若复有人。于此经中。乃至受持四句偈等。为他人说。其福甚多。

Explanation: At this time, Subhūti said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, how should this sūtra be named? How should we uphold and hold to it?" The Buddha told Subhūti that this sūtra is called the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā. Because this name encapsulates the entire Diamond Sutra, you should properly understand the principles within it, and then comprehend and uphold them in their entirety. Why should this name be upheld? Subhūti, when the Buddha speaks of prajñāpāramitā, there is not truly a dharma called prajñāpāramitā; it is merely a provisional name, a concept, alluding to the vajra mind (vajra-citta) that is free of birth and death and abides in the state of nirvāṇa.

Subhūti, what do you think? Has the Tathāgata spoken any dharma? Subhūti said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, the Tathāgata has spoken no dharma; the Tathāgata has never spoken any dharma." The Buddha said: "Subhūti, what do you think—are all the motes of dust in the trichiliocosm numerous?" Subhūti said: "Extremely numerous, World-Honored One." The Buddha said: "Subhūti, all these motes of dust—as the Tathāgata says, they are not motes of dust; they are merely called motes of dust. When the Tathāgata speaks of worlds, there is not truly a world; it is merely a provisional name."

The Buddha said: "Subhūti, what do you think—can the Tathāgata be seen by means of the thirty-two marks?" Subhūti said: "No, World-Honored One, the Tathāgata cannot be seen by means of the thirty-two marks. Why? When the Tathāgata speaks of the thirty-two marks, they are not true marks; these marks are illusory transformations, not truly existent, and are merely provisionally called the thirty-two marks." The Buddha said: "Subhūti, if there are good men and good women who give away bodies and lives as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, and if there is another person who, from within this Diamond Sutra, even upholds a four-line verse and expounds it for others, the merit thus obtained would be far greater than that obtained by the former."

Subhūti asked the World-Honored One to name this sūtra, and further inquired how to practice and uphold it. The World-Honored One said: "This sūtra is called the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā." Only after clearly comprehending the meaning of this name can one practice and uphold it. The meaning of the sūtra's title has already been explained at the beginning of the text: the diamond is the hardest treasure in the world—nothing can destroy it, and conversely, it can destroy everything. It is used as a metaphor for our true mind, the tathāgatagarbha. No matter what power anyone uses, this mind can never be destroyed; apart from it, all worldly dharmas are transformed and generated by Him, all possess the nature of arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing, and all are unreliable dharmas.