The Profound Consciousness-Only Meaning of the Diamond Sutra (95)

Original text: 须菩提。若善男子。善女人。于后末世。有受持读诵此经。所得功德。我若具说者。或有人闻。心则狂乱。狐疑不信。须菩提。当知是经义不可思议。果报亦不可思议。

Explanation: The World-Honored One said: Subhūti, if there are good men and good women who, in the final age of the Dharma when the Buddha's teaching is about to perish, can receive, uphold, and recite this Diamond Sutra, and cultivate their own mind in reliance upon the tathāgatagarbha, the Dharma of ultimate reality, the merit they attain will be exceedingly, exceedingly great. If I were to describe in detail what this merit is like, how much there is, and specifically what it consists of, then there would be people who, upon hearing me say this, would have their minds thrown into frenzy and confusion, full of doubt and unable to believe. This shows that the merit of upholding the Diamond Sutra is so supremely extraordinary that ordinary people cannot imagine or believe it.

Subhūti, from this we should know how inconceivable and how profound, wondrous, and unfathomable the deep Dharma meaning of this Diamond Sutra is. And the retribution for upholding this Diamond Sutra is likewise inconceivable. Because by cultivating and studying in accordance with the principles of the Diamond Sutra and realizing this prajñā mind of ultimate reality, one's merit and wisdom will gradually increase and expand, and one's wisdom will become ever more profound and wondrous beyond compare. When both merit and wisdom are perfected and complete, one will become the unsurpassed one and the most venerable in the world of the three realms. This retribution is truly inconceivable and beyond thought. This retribution and merit truly cannot be fully told or fully praised even in countless kalpas.