The Profound Meaning of the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra from the Consciousness-Only Perspective (Second Edition)
Chapter Sixteen: The Merit of Holding the Sutra, Fifteen
The content of this chapter expounds that the merit of holding the sutra is extremely vast, immeasurable and boundless. Why is there so much merit? That depends on what "holding the sutra" means. "Holding," as mentioned earlier, means receiving and upholding, and mainly also carries the meaning of relying upon and practicing. Through reciting the Diamond Sutra, the practitioner realizes the vajra prajñā mind of ultimate reality in accordance with the dharma meanings within the Diamond Sutra, and is thereby able to truly receive, observe, and personally realize the conditioned and unconditioned pure nature of the mind of ultimate reality, the tathāgatagarbha; being able to rely upon the pure nature of the tathāgatagarbha, one cultivates and transforms one's bodily, verbal, and mental actions, so as to remove defilement and return to purity, eliminating ignorance. On this foundation, one then extensively proclaims it to sentient beings with affinities, delivering those with affinities so that together they enter the great path of bodhi, together entering the ocean of Vairocana's nature. From then on one walks the path to buddhahood that benefits both self and others; when the two accumulations of merit and wisdom are fully complete, one will perfectly accomplish supreme great bodhi and become the "Twice-Honored One" (fulfilling both merit and wisdom) whom humans and gods look up to.
Therefore, the merit of holding the sutra is truly immeasurable and boundlessly vast, and what the sutra being held is also becomes very clear. "Sutra" superficially refers to the Diamond Sutra, but in fact refers to the profound meaning and purport that the Diamond Sutra points to—the mind of ultimate reality, the tathāgatagarbha. This tathāgatagarbha threads through the entire sutra, becoming the warp and weft, the main axis of the whole sutra, running through the entirety of the practice. Because this sutra—the tathāgatagarbha—is the true body for attaining buddhahood, reciting and realizing this sutra is the foundation and entry point for one's future study of the buddha path; and after entering, cultivating in accordance with this sutra is the actual practice after entry. After gradually achieving successful transformation of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti) as tathāgatagarbha, the deluded mind of the seven consciousnesses and the true body of the tathāgatagarbha both possess immeasurable merit; when merit is perfected, the Mahāyāna cultivation and all the study of the buddha path is complete, supreme bodhi has been attained, and the conduct of benefiting self and others is fulfilled. It can be seen that the merit of holding the sutra is truly immeasurable and boundlessly vast, inconceivable.
Original text: 须菩提。若有善男子。善女人。初日分。以恒河沙等身布施。中日分。复以恒河沙等身布施。后日分。亦以恒河沙等身布施。如是无量百千万亿劫。以身布施。
Explanation: Subhūti, if there are good men and good women who, in the morning period of the day, when the sun has just risen, give away as generosity (dāna) their own physical bodies as numerous as the sands of the Ganges; at the midday period, when the sun reaches its zenith, again give away their own physical bodies as numerous as the sands of the Ganges; and in the afternoon period, when the sun is about to set, likewise give away their own physical bodies as numerous as the sands of the Ganges—like this, throughout their lifetimes of hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭi kalpas, every day they give away this many physical bodies to sentient beings.
Here the Buddha is supposing that sentient beings could have so many physical bodies; in fact, only bodhisattvas of the stage of equanimity (sattva-sabhāga... i.e., equal enlightenment), bodhisattvas of wondrous enlightenment, and the various buddhas could have physical bodies as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Ordinary sentient beings, who have not realized the tathāgatagarbha and have not cultivated the four dhyānas and eight samādhis, would not have mind-made bodies, nor would they have emanated bodies. So giving away one's own physical body is extremely difficult; even giving away possessions other than the body, one is reluctant. Generosity is divided into external wealth giving and internal wealth giving. External wealth giving means giving away money, property, and other things belonging to the body other than the physical body itself; internal wealth giving means specifically giving away the physical body itself, to feed hungry sentient beings and relieve them from the suffering of hunger.
External wealth belongs to the circumstantial retribution, which exists dependent on the internal wealth of the physical body, and is inherently impermanent and ever-changing. Yet ordinary sentient beings will not even give away possessions outside the body, being very stingy; how much more so internal wealth—they would rather die than give it up. Because without the physical body, one has nothing at all; the physical body appears more precious than everything outside it. To be able to practice external wealth giving is already rare and precious, and its merit is also very vast, immeasurable, boundless, and unspeakable. If one can practice internal wealth giving, giving away the physical body, it means sacrificing one's life, holding nothing back in body and mind, seeing the four great elements as empty; its merit is even more immeasurable and boundless, inconceivable.
Original text: 若复有人。闻此经典。信心不逆。其福胜彼。何况书写受持读诵。为人解说。
Explanation: Subhūti, if furthermore there is someone who hears this sutra and gives rise to pure faith and understanding, deeply believing in the vajra prajñā mind that is without the four marks, with a mind that does not contradict the sutra's meaning—for example, when the Buddha speaks of the absence of the four marks and the breaking of the four marks, this person will not say that the four marks truly exist and are real, nor will he cling to the four marks, but in his heart is willing to empty the self, to empty his own mind. This person's merit is more excellent and surpasses that of the person who, throughout immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭi kalpas, gave away every day physical bodies as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. How much more so if this person, not only having pure faith, can also recite the Diamond Sutra, realize the vajra mind, rely upon the vajra mind of ultimate reality to cultivate himself, and moreover can extensively explain the Diamond Sutra to others, teaching sentient beings to realize the vajra mind of ultimate reality and protecting the widespread transmission of the Diamond Sutra—then this person's merit will far surpass that of one who gives away the internal wealth of the physical body.
Original text: 须菩提。以要言之。是经有不可思议。不可称量。无边功德。如来为发大乘者说。为发最上乘者说。
Explanation: Subhūti, in summary, this Diamond Sutra has inconceivable, unweighable, immeasurable and boundless merit. The Tathāgata, the World-Honored One, proclaimed it for those who have given rise to the Mahāyāna bodhi mind, and for those who have given rise to the bodhi mind of the supreme buddha vehicle.
Because only those who have given rise to the Mahāyāna bodhi mind, those with Mahāyāna faculties (indriya), with vast minds, compassion for sentient beings, and deep and broad wisdom, are willing to recite the Diamond Sutra, understand its meaning, and realize ultimate reality; only afterward do they have the ability to receive and uphold the tathāgatagarbha dharma and spread the tathāgatagarbha dharma, and in the future enter the first bhūmi, shoulder the Tathāgata's family enterprise, and deliver immeasurable sentient beings.
Original text: 若有人能受持读诵。广为人说。如来悉知是人。悉见是人。皆得成就不可量。不可称。无有边。不可思议功德。
Explanation: If there is someone who can receive, uphold, and recite the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sutra, and extensively expound the meaning of ultimate reality, the tathāgatagarbha, for sentient beings—all of this person's good roots and merit, all of his wisdom and virtue, all the enterprises he undertakes for sentient beings, the Tathāgata fully knows and fully sees, without omission or concealment. Therefore all the enterprises this person undertakes to benefit sentient beings are never in vain, and will not be buried in the least. In the future he will accomplish immeasurable, unweighable, boundless, inconceivable merit.
Why does the Tathāgata fully know and fully see this person's merit of receiving, upholding, and reciting the Diamond Sutra, and all the merit he does for sentient beings? Here "Tathāgata" refers on the one hand to the Tathāgata of the physical body, and on the other to the Tathāgata of the Dharma body. The Tathāgata of the physical body, because of immeasurable supernormal powers and virtues, with the buddha-eye observes, fully knowing and fully seeing all the merit of this person's receiving, upholding, and reciting of the Diamond Sutra, fully knowing and fully seeing all the merit and virtue of this person's delivering of immeasurable sentient beings, without a single omission. Because the Buddha has immeasurable wisdom, has omniscience (sarvākārajñatā), there is not a single dharma in the world or beyond the world that He does not know, not a single dharma He does not see; His perfect light illuminates the great trichiliocosm without omission.
As for the Tathāgata of the Dharma body, because He follows this person at all times and places, everything this person does is surely attended and protected by the Tathāgata of the Dharma body. The Tathāgata of the Dharma body is this person's tathāgatagarbha; because the tathāgatagarbha knows this person's mental activities, cooperates with this person to complete all enterprises, and also records and stores the karmic seeds of sentient beings. Therefore everything this person does, the tathāgatagarbha fully knows and fully sees, and the karmic seeds are all stored; in the future all of this person's meritorious retributions will be realized, so that this person's efforts are never in vain, and ultimately he can perfectly attain buddhahood.
Original text: 如是人等。则为荷担如来。阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。何以故。须菩提。若乐小法者。著我见人见众生见寿者见。则于此经。不能听受读诵。为人解说。
Explanation: People such as these, who can receive, uphold, and recite the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sutra and can extensively proclaim it for sentient beings, are all able to shoulder the Tathāgata's family enterprise, and in the future will ultimately accomplish anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. Why is this sutra proclaimed for those who have given rise to the Mahāyāna bodhi mind, for those of the supreme vehicle? Subhūti, if a person delights in lesser dharmas, he will cling to the view of self, the view of person, the view of sentient being, and the view of life span, and will cultivate the lesser wholesome dharmas of humans and gods for the sake of the illusory five aggregates, letting the five aggregates enjoy the retributions of wealth and glory among humans and gods. He feels there is a self who can enjoy pleasures, that there are people who will receive his generosity, that there is merit to be gained. Then he will not believe and accept the true dharma spoken by the Tathāgata—no mark of self, no mark of person, no mark of sentient being, no mark of life span—nor believe and accept the vajra mind of ultimate reality that is free of the four marks. Then he will not recite the Diamond Sutra, will not realize the tathāgatagarbha of ultimate reality, and even less will he expound the Mahāyāna dharma of ultimate reality for other sentient beings.
As for Hīnayāna practitioners who delight in and cling to their own liberation, because their minds also cling to the four marks and they mistakenly see the existence of their own five aggregates as self, they fear that their five-aggregate self will again suffer and transmigrate, so they hurriedly enter nirvāṇa and depart from the birth-and-death of the three realms, unwilling to turn their minds toward the study and practice of the Mahāyāna bodhisattva dharma. Therefore they also will not come to listen to, receive, and recite this sutra, and of course even less can they explain this sutra for others.
Original text: 须菩提。在在处处。若有此经。一切世间天人阿修罗。所应供养。当知此处。则为是塔。皆应恭敬。作礼围绕。以诸华香而散其处。
Explanation: Subhūti, in whatever place, wherever this Diamond Sutra exists—the vajra indestructible mind, the tathāgatagarbha—all the devas and asuras of the world should make offerings to this sutra, to the Mahāyāna Tathāgata Buddha. You should know that wherever this sutra is, there is a stūpa, a solemn place of practice. All sentient beings should reverently make offerings, with whole body and mind circumambulate and pay homage to the stūpa, and scatter various flowers and incense in that place, offering flowers and incense to the Buddha's stūpa shrine.
Why should wherever this sutra exists be an object of offerings? Because this sutra is the Dharmakāya Buddha, is the Tathāgata; only by making offerings to this Buddha can one ultimately attain buddhahood; and mainly by offering through receiving, upholding, and reciting, by offering through relying upon it in practice, can one ultimately attain buddhahood. Why is the place where this sutra is a place of practice? Because all cultivation is practiced around this sutra; all cultivation is practiced within this place of practice; all dharmas come from this place of practice; all enterprises of delivering sentient beings are carried out in this place of practice; ultimately attaining buddhahood is also accomplished in this place of practice; omniscience (sarvākārajñatā) is perfected in this place of practice; and all buddha-lands are also accomplished in this place of practice. Why should one pay homage and circumambulate this sutra? Because no sentient being, no dharma, can fundamentally depart from this sutra; even without circumambulating, one is circumambulating—one cannot help but be so. Even one with infinite power cannot depart from this sutra, this stūpa.
