The Profound Meaning of Vijñaptimātratā in the Diamond Sutra (82)

Original text: Why is this so? Subhuti! For example, when I was dismembered by King Kaliraja in the past, at that time I had no notion of a self, no notion of a person, no notion of a sentient being, and no notion of a lifespan. Why? When I was dismembered limb by limb in the past, if I had held the notion of a self, the notion of a person, the notion of a sentient being, or the notion of a lifespan, I would have generated resentment. Subhuti, recall that in the past, for five hundred lifetimes, I was a Ksanti Rsi (Patient Ascetic). Throughout those lifetimes, I had no notion of a self, no notion of a person, no notion of a sentient being, and no notion of a lifespan.

Explanation: The World-Honored One said: Why is this? Subhuti, for example, when I was dismembered by King Kaliraja in the past, at that time I had no notion of a self, no notion of a person, no notion of a sentient being, and no notion of a lifespan. If, when King Kaliraja dismembered my body limb by limb in the past, I had held the notion of a self, the notion of a person, the notion of a sentient being, or the notion of a lifespan, I would have generated resentment toward King Kaliraja. Yet at that time, I indeed generated no resentment toward King Kaliraja.

Had the World-Honored One held the notion of a self at that time, He would have thought: "My body is being destroyed, I am being humiliated," and thus would have felt physical pain, mental resentment, and suffering, generating hatred toward King Kaliraja. However, the World-Honored One at that time felt no physical pain, no mental resentment, and no sense of humiliation. Due to His realization through wisdom and meditative attainments, having exhausted the aggregate of sensations, His body was free from sensory perception. Thus, when dismembered, He felt no pain and was able to endure the dismemberment of His limbs without losing consciousness.

Had the World-Honored One held the notion of a person and the notion of a sentient being at that time, He would have been furious with King Kaliraja, thinking: "This person is humiliating me, treating me cruelly and tyrannically," and thus would have generated hatred toward King Kaliraja, cursing him and seeking revenge against him and his men. Had the World-Honored One held the notion of a lifespan at that time, He would have resisted fiercely to prevent King Kaliraja and his executioners from dismembering and destroying His body, for dismemberment signified impending death, the disappearance of life, and the end of that lifespan. Yet the World-Honored One at that time neither resisted nor generated hatred, thereby proving He was free from the four notions.

Subhuti, I also recall that in past lifetimes, for five hundred lifetimes, I practiced as a Ksanti Rsi, cultivating forbearance. Throughout each lifetime in those five hundred lifetimes of practice, I had no notion of a self, no notion of a person, no notion of a sentient being, and no notion of a lifespan. At that time, the World-Honored One was a Bodhisattva free from the four notions, a Bodhisattva practicing the six paramitas. Manifesting as a Ksanti Rsi cultivating forbearance, He had already practiced free from the four notions for five hundred lifetimes.