Chapter Fourteen   The Thirteenth Section on Proper Reception and Upholding

Original text: At that time, Subhuti addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One, by what name should this sutra be known? How should we receive and uphold it?" The Buddha told Subhuti: "This sutra is named 'Vajra Prajna Paramita' (Diamond Sutra of Perfection of Wisdom). By this name, you should receive and uphold it."

Explanation: At this time, Subhuti said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, how should this sutra be named? How should we, these people, practice, receive, and uphold it?" The Buddha told Subhuti: "This sutra is called the 'Vajra Prajna Paramita.' Because this name encapsulates the entire Vajra Sutra, you should thoroughly comprehend its meaning and then penetrate it to receive and uphold it."

Subhuti requested the World-Honored One to name this sutra and asked how to practice, receive, and uphold it. The World-Honored One said: "This sutra is called Vajra Prajna Paramita. Only after understanding and realizing the meaning of this name can you receive and uphold it. The meaning of the sutra's title was explained at the beginning. Vajra (diamond) is the hardest treasure in the world; nothing can destroy it, and conversely, it can destroy everything. It is used to metaphorically represent our true mind, the Tathagatagarbha. This mind can never be destroyed by anyone using any force. All other dharmas in the world, apart from this, are produced by it; they all have the nature of arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing; they are all unreliable dharmas.

Why is Prajna Paramita also an empty appearance?

Original text: "Why is this so? Subhuti, the Buddha speaks of Prajna Paramita, which is not Prajna Paramita, therefore it is called Prajna Paramita."

Explanation: Why is it said this way? Subhuti, the Mahayana Dharma of Prajna Paramita taught by the Buddha to guide sentient beings is not a real and substantial Prajna Paramita. There is no truly existing Prajna Paramita; it is provisionally named Prajna Paramita, and its dharmic appearance is also empty.

Prajna Paramita is an Indian term, translated into Chinese as "great wisdom reaching the other shore," metaphorically representing the state of the Vajra mind-body or the Prajna mind-body, which is the nirvana state beyond the shore of birth and death. Both "this shore" and "the other shore" are states, provisional names, not real entities or true appearances. There is no substantial appearance of "this shore" or "the other shore." Therefore, Prajna Paramita is an empty appearance, provisionally named Prajna Paramita. Similarly, the Six Paramitas (perfections) are also empty appearances, without real substance; they are not true appearances. Paramita is a provisional name; the Six Paramitas also lack substantial essence or appearance; they are empty appearances of arising, ceasing, and transformation magically produced by the Vajra mind. Upon reaching the shore, the raft is discarded. After attaining Buddhahood and perfecting the practice, there is no further need to practice the Paramita dharmas.

All dharmas that can only be established and exist based on the Vajra mind-body are illusory empty appearances and provisional appearances, without substantial essence or independent nature. The Vajra mind-body evolves into the Prajna Paramita Sutra. Sentient beings rely on Prajna Paramita to cultivate and attain Buddhahood. After becoming a Buddha, they discard the Prajna Paramita Sutra; there is no further need to study or rely on it. The appearance of the Prajna Paramita Sutra is expounded by the Buddhas based on the ripened causes and conditions of sentient beings' practice and learning. If the causes and conditions are not complete, the Buddhas do not speak the Prajna Paramita Sutra, and this sutra has no reason to appear before sentient beings. Therefore, the Prajna Paramita Sutra is an interpretation and annotation of the nature of the Vajra mind-body; it is not the Vajra mind-body itself. Thus, it is not the true appearance; it is a provisional appearance. The principles explained in the sutra are named Prajna Paramita, but they do not represent the Vajra mind-body itself. Therefore, they are also not the true appearance; they are empty appearances, and this empty appearance is provisionally named Prajna Paramita.

The meaning of Prajna is great wisdom, primarily referring to the innate wisdom of the true mind, the Tathagatagarbha. For example, its wisdom capable of producing all dharmas; its wisdom of not entering birth and death yet manifesting appearances of arising and ceasing; its wisdom of producing all dharmas yet not mixing with any dharma; and its various kinds of wisdom abiding in the Middle Way, not clinging to extremes. These wisdoms are completely different from the wisdom of the seven consciousnesses. The wisdom of the seven consciousnesses corresponds to worldly dharmas. Even the wisdom realizing the emptiness of self, the wisdom realizing the Tathagatagarbha, the wisdom understanding the seed functions of the Tathagatagarbha, and the Buddha's wisdom of All-Knowledge (Sarvajñā) are all produced later through cultivation; they are not innate, inherent wisdom and differ greatly from the inherent wisdom of the Tathagatagarbha. Therefore, the wisdom of Prajna still refers to the wisdom of the true mind, the Tathagatagarbha. The five aggregates body has birth and death; the ten thousand dharmas, the trillion dharmas, all have arising and ceasing and are unreliable. Only the true mind, the Tathagatagarbha, has no arising or ceasing; it is not on the shore of birth and death; it is provisionally said to be the other shore. The entire title of the Vajra Sutra contains these principles. Only after realizing them can one truly penetrate them and thus be able to practice, receive, and uphold it.

The Buddha said Prajna Paramita is not Prajna Paramita; it is called Prajna Paramita. Using the name Prajna Paramita, "great wisdom reaching the other shore," to encapsulate the nature of the true mind, the Tathagatagarbha, the Tathagatagarbha is truly real, but that name is not truly real; it is a provisional name given to it by the World-Honored One. It has immeasurable provisional names, all used to express the nature of the Tathagatagarbha. The Sixth Patriarch said: "I have one thing, without head or tail, without name or character, without back or front. Do you all recognize it?" Shenhui said: "It is the source of all Buddhas." The Sixth Patriarch said: "I told you it has no name or character, yet you still call it the source, the Buddha-nature." At this point, one should use a pointer to hint at the source of all Buddhas; one should not speak a name, for the name is not it. All dharmas are just names, not truly real. The Tathagatagarbha does not belong to the arising-and-ceasing dharmas; therefore, it is a truly real dharma.

Original text: "Subhuti, what do you think? Has the Tathagata spoken any dharma?" Subhuti said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, the Tathagata has spoken no dharma."

Explanation: Subhuti, what do you think? Has the Tathagata spoken any dharma? Subhuti said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, the Tathagata has spoken no dharma; the Tathagata has not spoken any dharma."

The World-Honored One clearly taught the Dharma for forty-nine years; why then did he say he had not spoken any dharma? The Buddha has three bodies: the Dharma Body (Dharmakaya), the Reward Body (Sambhogakaya), and the Manifestation Body (Nirmanakaya). The Dharma Body Buddha is the Buddha's Vajra mind. It is formless and markless, without eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind, without the five aggregates or the eighteen elements. Since it has no five-aggregates body, it cannot speak the Dharma. However, the Reward Body Buddha and the Manifestation Body Buddha have five-aggregates bodies and the eighteen elements; thus, they can use mind and mouth to speak the Dharma. The Reward Body Buddha resides in the heavenly palace of the eighteenth heaven in the form realm, teaching the content of the cultivation of the Wisdom of the Path (Path-Knowledge) to great bodhisattvas on the earth.

The Manifestation Body Buddha, to fulfill sentient beings' wish for the Dharma, manifests a Buddha body according to the capacities of sentient beings to deliver them, expounding the Buddha Dharma. The Transformation Body Buddha divides into countless manifestations to worlds in the ten directions to transform and deliver sentient beings, preaching the Buddha Dharma. However, the Reward Body Buddha and the Manifestation Body Buddha are manifested by the Dharma Body Buddha. Apart from the Dharma Body Buddha, there is no Reward Body Buddha or Manifestation Body Buddha. The latter two Buddhas cannot speak the Dharma apart from the Dharma Body Buddha. Therefore, whenever a Buddha speaks the Dharma, there is the Buddha who speaks the Dharma and the Buddha who does not speak the Dharma. The Buddha who speaks the Dharma cannot be separated from the Buddha who does not speak the Dharma. Thus, Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Dharma for forty-nine years yet said he had not spoken a single word. The "Tathagata" here refers to the Dharma Body Buddha; the Dharma Body Buddha does not speak the Dharma. Understanding the concepts and meanings of the three Buddha bodies, one will know whether the Buddha has spoken the Dharma. Therefore, saying the Buddha has spoken the Dharma is slandering the Buddha, and saying the Buddha has not spoken the Dharma is also slandering the Buddha.

The Tathagata Dispels the Appearances of Dust Particles and Worlds

Original text: "Subhuti, what do you think? Are the dust particles of all the thousand million worlds in the trichiliocosm many?" Subhuti said: "Very many, World-Honored One." "Subhuti, all dust particles, the Tathagata says, are not dust particles, therefore they are called dust particles. The Tathagata says the world is not the world, therefore it is called the world."

Explanation: The Buddha said: "Subhuti, what do you think of this matter? Are the dust particles throughout the trichiliocosm (threefold thousand great thousand worlds) many?" Subhuti replied: "Extremely many, World-Honored One." The Buddha said: "Subhuti, all dust particles, the Tathagata says, are not dust particles; there is no real dust particle appearance; they are all provisional appearances. These provisional appearances are named dust particles. The trichiliocosm formed by the combination of dust particles, the Tathagata says, is also not the world; there is no real world appearance; it is all magically produced. These illusory, provisional appearances are provisionally named the world."

The dust particles in the trichiliocosm are manifested by the four great elements (earth, water, fire, wind) seeds contained within the Tathagatagarbha; they are not real. These arising-and-ceasing particulate substances are named dust particles; thus, "dust particle" is a provisional term, a concept. The world is the same. The Tathagatagarbhas of sentient beings with shared karma, based on the karmic conditions of the sentient beings, project the seeds of the four great elements, manifesting the world where sentient beings live. When the conditions are exhausted, the world disperses, decays, and perishes. Therefore, the world is not real or truly existent; it is merely given the name "world" for the vessel world where sentient beings live. Dharmas produced by causes and conditions are all non-real; they are empty dharmas and provisional dharmas, merely provisional terms and concepts.

The great thousand worlds formed by the combination of numerous dust particles are the external space where the five aggregates of sentient beings exist; they are the material part of the mundane realm. Here, the Tathagata dispels the dharmic appearances of this material aspect. Then, does the five-aggregates world of the mundane realm have a real appearance? It has no real appearance; it is entirely illusory, provisional appearances, provisionally named "world," provisionally named "samsara," provisionally named "mundane realm," provisionally named "five aggregates." Since the five aggregates are a provisional name, then all activities performed by the five aggregates—generating the Bodhi mind, practicing the Bodhisattva path for self-benefit and benefiting others, teaching the Dharma to deliver sentient beings, realizing dharmas and attaining dharmas, accomplishing the Bodhisattva fruits and the Buddha fruit, establishing Buddha lands—all these are illusory and empty, without real appearances. Then, what is there for you, me, her, and him to cling to in this illusory world? What is there to grasp and refuse to relinquish?

Why do all these provisional appearances and names exist? Because of that indestructible Vajra mind. It accomplishes all these dharmas through conditions; what arises must decay; only what is originally existent does not decay or perish. Sentient beings, since beginningless kalpas, have not recognized the true appearance; thus, they grasp the provisional appearance as the true appearance, leading to the suffering of birth, death, and rebirth. Now, having studied the Vajra Dharma, they should quickly realize the true appearance, return to the true nature, reach the other shore of nirvana, and no longer revolve in birth and death.

The Tathagata's Thirty-Two Marks are Also Non-Marks

Original text: "Subhuti, what do you think? Can the Tathagata be seen by means of the thirty-two marks?" "No, World-Honored One, the Tathagata cannot be seen by means of the thirty-two marks. Why? The thirty-two marks spoken of by the Tathagata are not marks, therefore they are called the thirty-two marks."

Explanation: Subhuti, what do you think of this question? Can the Tathagata be seen by means of the thirty-two marks? Subhuti replied: "No, World-Honored One, the Tathagata cannot be seen by means of the thirty-two marks." Why is it said this way? Because according to the Tathagata's intention, the thirty-two marks spoken of by the Tathagata are not real marks; they are provisionally named the thirty-two marks.

Since the thirty-two marks are not real, then they are also not the Tathagata. Therefore, there must be another true Tathagata. We should not regard the thirty-two marks as the Tathagata, nor should we seek the Tathagata within the thirty-two marks. The true Tathagata is hidden behind the thirty-two marks. To see the true visage, one must possess immense wisdom and merit. The thirty-two marks are not the Tathagata; the five aggregates are also not the self, not the person, not sentient beings, not the life span. We should not grasp any one or all of the five aggregates as the self and refuse to relinquish them. We must dispel the appearance of the five aggregates, thereby dispelling the notions of self, person, sentient being, and life span.

The Tathagata has thirty-two marks and eighty minor marks. The thirty-two marks are not truly existing marks; the eighty minor marks are not truly existing marks. They are all appearances that arise from non-existence, exist, and are ultimately empty. They are appearances magically transformed by the Tathagata's undefiled consciousness based on the wholesome karmic seeds accumulated over three great asamkhyeya kalpas of cultivation. Their nature is empty; their appearance is empty; the thirty-two marks are provisional appearances. A Wheel-Turning Sacred King (Chakravartin) also has thirty-two marks; the Buddha's cousin, the Bhikkhu Nanda, had thirty-one marks; a demon king can also magically transform thirty-two marks. If one recognizes a person by their marks, it is easy to mistake them. If the marks perish, the person perishes, yet in reality, the Tathagata does not perish. Therefore, one must discern true appearances from false appearances; one must dispel appearances and attachments to increase wisdom and not be bound by appearances.

Original text: "Subhuti, if a virtuous man or virtuous woman gives up as many lives as the sand grains of the Ganges River in charity, and if another person receives and upholds from this sutra even a four-line gatha and expounds it to others, the latter's merit is far greater."

Explanation: Subhuti, if there is a virtuous man or virtuous woman who gives away their own bodies and lives as numerous as the sand grains of the Ganges River in charity, and if another person can understand, receive, and uphold even a four-line verse from this Vajra Sutra and explain it to others, the merit obtained by the latter is greater than that of giving away bodies and lives as numerous as the sand grains of the Ganges River.

Earlier in the text, the World-Honored One had already stated twice that receiving, upholding the Vajra Sutra, even a four-line verse, and explaining it to others yields far greater merit than giving the seven treasures of the trichiliocosm or giving the seven treasures as numerous as the sand grains of the Ganges River. Here, he emphasizes again that it yields greater merit than giving away bodies and lives as numerous as the sand grains of the Ganges River. Giving the seven treasures or wealth is external wealth charity (dana). Giving one's body is internal wealth charity. Giving internal wealth yields far greater merit than giving external wealth; the two are incomparable. Because external wealth depends on internal wealth; if external wealth is lost, it can be regained, but if internal wealth is lost, there is nothing left.

Sentient beings, since beginningless kalpas, have firmly clung to their own bodies and lives, unwilling to let their bodies or lifespans suffer the slightest harm, let alone give them away. Unless they are great bodhisattvas who have generated pure, great vows, it is extremely difficult to do so. An Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattva (Ekajati-pratibuddha), because the merit for Buddhahood is still insufficient, specifically cultivates merit for a hundred kalpas to achieve Buddhahood sooner, giving away their internal wealth. They give whatever part of the body sentient beings need; they give whatever is requested. Even in times of famine, they transform into a large body for sentient beings to consume, relieving their hunger. Only after accumulating sufficient merit for Buddhahood do they become a candidate Buddha (Pratyekabuddha?), reside in the Tushita Inner Court, await the ripening of conditions, descend to the human world, manifest the eight phases of a Buddha's life, and perfectly accomplish the Buddha fruit.

Although giving away one's body and life is so important and yields such great merit, the World-Honored One says it is still less than the merit obtained from receiving, upholding the Vajra Sutra, even a four-line verse, and expounding it to sentient beings. Because receiving and upholding the Vajra Sutra, realizing the mind and seeing the nature, is the foundation for accomplishing the Buddha path. After realizing the mind and seeing the nature, wisdom can become increasingly profound and vast, ultimately enabling one to possess the wisdom of the Buddha stage. However, the merit from giving external wealth and internal wealth should both be complete. Without the merit from giving external wealth, merit is insufficient; one cannot realize the mind and see the nature or become a Bodhisattva of the stages (Bhumi) to gradually advance in cultivation. Giving internal wealth directly abandons the small self completely, achieving thorough non-self, enabling the realization of the ultimate great self and the self of the Buddha stage's permanence, bliss, self, and purity.

The World-Honored One repeatedly emphasizes the importance of giving. Material giving (dana), fearlessness giving (abhaya-dana), and Dharma giving (dharma-dana) are all very important. Without the merit cultivated from the first two types of giving, one cannot perform Dharma giving, because giving the Dharma without having realized it oneself often misleads sentient beings, resulting not only in no merit but also karmic retribution. Therefore, practitioners should be skilled in cultivating the practice of giving; this is the foremost content to be cultivated in the Bodhisattva's Six Paramitas and the ten thousand practices.