Commentary on the Diamond Sutra: Wondrous Practice and Non-Abiding, Four

This chapter explains how bodhisattvas practice generosity, and how the merit thus obtained is the greatest and most supreme. A bodhisattva's generosity toward sentient beings is a wondrous practice, yielding immeasurable merit, yet the mind does not abide within it. The fundamental hallmark of a bodhisattva is generosity that benefits and brings joy to sentient beings; the practice of the Mahāyāna bodhisattva path is centered primarily on generosity. Bodhisattvas have the four means of attraction: generosity, kind speech, benefiting and bringing joy, and working together—using these four methods to attract and gather in sentient beings, and thereby to liberate them. If one cares only about ending one's own birth and death to attain liberation, that is a self-liberator, not a bodhisattva. Being a bodhisattva cannot be only for oneself; it is also for sentient beings to leave suffering and attain happiness, and for the Buddhadharma to be transmitted forever. The practice of generosity serves two purposes: first, to personally accumulate merit as provisions for the Path for further progress in cultivation; second, to attract and gather in sentient beings—by being generous to sentient beings one forms karmic connections with them, so that they are willing to heed the bodhisattva's teaching and follow along to learn.

The first of the bodhisattva's six pāramitās is generosity, which is divided into three kinds: generosity of wealth, generosity of fearlessness, and generosity of Dharma. As taught in the Bodhisattva Upāsaka Precepts Sūtra, giving to animals yields a hundredfold retribution; giving to ordinary people, including evil people and precept-breakers, yields a thousandfold retribution; giving to precept-holders yields a ten-thousandfold retribution; giving to those free of desire, including non-Buddhists who have attained the first dhyāna, yields a millionfold retribution—because attaining the first dhyāna severs the desire-mind, and at the end of life one will be reborn in the form realm; this is virtue, and one who has virtue is worthy of offerings. Giving to those at or above the stage of stream-entry orientation and stream-entry—śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas—yields immeasurable retribution, and there is a great difference between one immeasurable and another.

The causes, conditions, and karmic retribution of generosity are realized through the tathāgatagarbha. The entire process of the act of generosity is held and recorded by the tathāgatagarbha; when causes and conditions ripen, the tathāgatagarbha outputs this karmic seed, and the sentient being receives the blessed retribution. Generally, this retribution is received in later lives, called vipāka karma; but if the karma is very great, it can ripen within present-life conditions, and then the flowering retribution is received in this life. The karma created by sentient beings—its retribution never vanishes without cause; wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral karma are all collected and output by the tathāgatagarbha, never confused and never lost. Generally, once the retribution of wholesome and unwholesome karma has been received, the karmic seed disappears; evil karma that has been created can also be eliminated through repentance of sins; after attaining realization of the fruits or awakening to the true mind and seeing its nature, one can eliminate the karma of the three evil destinies, and in later lives one will not fall into the three evil destinies. Whichever karma is stronger, its retribution is received first. A practitioner should always ensure that wholesome karma outweighs unwholesome karma, so that unwholesome karma temporarily receives no retribution; after a very long time, the karmic seed withers. For example, for beings who have committed the five rebellious sins but are reborn in the lowest grade of the lowest class in the land of bliss, for twelve great kalpas within the lotus flower there is no opportunity to create karma; the karmic seeds slowly wither, and once the mind is purified, they emerge from the lotus flower.

Generosity of fearlessness includes saving the lives of sentient beings, relieving their hardships and perils, and removing their psychological obstacles; it can yield the retributions of health and longevity, peace and happiness, smooth success in all matters, and wealth and honor. Sometimes generosity of wealth contains generosity of fearlessness, and generosity of fearlessness contains generosity of wealth. Generosity of Dharma yields retribution in both merit and wisdom, and also the retribution of generosity of fearlessness. Expounding the sūtras and speaking the Dharma on behalf of the Buddha is direct generosity of Dharma; printing sūtra books and protecting the Saṅgha jewel in propagating the Dharma are indirect generosity of Dharma. But it is best to have first undergone cultivation and realization, acquired the eye of the Path, and opened the wisdom of both the Great and Small Vehicles, so that one will not speak the fundamental Buddhadharma incorrectly, will not mislead sentient beings in the wrong direction of practice, and still less will sever sentient beings' Dharma-body and wisdom-life; only then should one personally expound the sūtras and speak the Dharma to attract sentient beings—this is best. When sentient beings support a Dharma master in propagating the Dharma, they must also possess the eye of Dharma-selection, which is one of the seven factors of enlightenment—the ability to discern right from wrong in the Dharma. Otherwise, if the fundamental Buddhadharma is propagated or assisted in propagation incorrectly, the retribution is also very heavy.

When sentient beings have not opened the eye of the Path, they often take the wrong as right and the right as wrong, confused and inverted; or they recognize only famous teachers, not knowing that there is a great difference between famous teachers and wise teachers—having the Path does not necessarily mean having fame, and having fame does not necessarily mean having the Path. Only by distinguishing famous teachers from wise teachers can one follow the Dharma, not the person. Propagating the true Dharma carries great merit, but if it is propagated incorrectly, the erroneous seeds are planted in sentient beings' minds, sprouting bad sprouts and bearing bad fruit life after life; even when a good teacher comes, it is hard to correct, because sentient beings are dominated by first impressions. Moreover, the true Buddhadharma is hard for sentient beings to resonate with; it differs from the habitual things and principles that sentient beings generally recognize, so they will develop rejection, and their psychology is hard to turn around. One cannot be too careful in propagating the Dharma.

Original text: 复次。须菩提。菩萨于法。应无所住行于布施。所谓不住色布施。不住声香味触法布施。须菩提。菩萨应如是布施。不住于相。

Explanation: Furthermore, Subhūti, regarding the Dharma, bodhisattvas should practice generosity without abiding anywhere—that is, giving without abiding in form, and giving without abiding in sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharmas. Subhūti, bodhisattvas should give in this way, with the mind not abiding on any mark.

This passage is the World-Honored One instructing the bodhisattvas that when practicing generosity, they should not abide on the six sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas; generosity should not be for seeking the conditioned blessed retribution of the three realms' world, not for seeking the pleasures of the five desires such as wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep, not seeking sentient beings' gratitude and repayment, and not for ascending to heaven to enjoy blessings. The bodhisattva's mind should abide nowhere, like the tathāgatagarbha. When the tathāgatagarbha gives, it abides in no dharma whatsoever; the six faculties and six sense objects are what He provides to us, and the six consciousnesses are what He manifests for us, enabling us to have the five aggregates and live in the world. Without Him, we could hardly do anything at all; it is He who gives us lifespan, vital warmth, and the conscious mind. If He left the body, we would die on the spot—lifespan gone, the body cold and stiff, breathing, heartbeat, and pulse ceasing instantly, and the blood no longer flowing.

He is our life-faculty, a great giver, yet He seeks nothing from us—not even a word of praise is needed; He does not listen to songs of praise sung to Him, let alone feel delight. Because He has no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharma; no eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, or mind consciousness, He has no joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness, no views, discriminations, or delusions. In contrast, it is our deluded mind—the seven consciousnesses—that has self-knowing, self-view, self-love, and self-conceit, deluded discriminations, the view of grasping views and the view of grasping precepts, as well as wrong views such as the sixty-two views. Having views is wrong—it is the deluded mind; having no views is right—it is the true mind. Therefore, bodhisattvas practicing generosity should learn from the tathāgatagarbha, not abiding on any mark whatsoever.

Original text: 何以故。若菩萨不住相布施。其福德不可思量。

Explanation: Why should bodhisattvas practice generosity without abiding on marks? If bodhisattvas practice generosity without abiding on marks, the merit they obtain is inconceivable and immeasurable.

When generosity abides on marks, the mind is limited by the marks, the mind's capacity is small, and the merit is finite; if the mind does not transcend the marks of the six sense objects, one cannot attain liberation, still less become a Buddha. The mind that gives is the deluded mind of the seven consciousnesses, primarily the six consciousnesses and the seventh consciousness. It is the manas, the seventh consciousness, that decides to give; He deliberates on whether to give, what to give, how much to give, and to whom, and then He makes the sovereign decision. The analysis, reasoning, judgment, and observation before giving are all done by the mind consciousness, which reports the result to the manas and persuades Him; after deliberation, the manas sometimes acts accordingly and sometimes does not. That is why we sometimes feel we should do this and should not do that, yet in actual practice we do the opposite, and even we ourselves feel helpless—it is because the manas does not necessarily follow the guidance of the mind consciousness.

After studying Buddhism, one feels that eating meat is bad and one should be vegetarian, yet upon seeing meat one wants to eat it and cannot control oneself, because the manas always acts in accordance with its own habits and is not easily changed. One clearly promises to donate one hundred yuan, yet when actually taking out the money one hesitates. At the time of promising, it was the mind consciousness that, after analysis, felt this should be done; at the time of taking out the money, the manas is in charge. The manas has a heavy mind of self and is unwilling to give outwardly; it requires long-term edification and persuasion by the mind consciousness before a change is possible. Therefore, when the manas changes, everything changes, and the retribution will be different. When bodhisattvas practice generosity without abiding on marks, their merit is immeasurable and boundless. The tathāgatagarbha's merit is beyond description: the universe and empty space belong to Him, the trichiliocosm belongs to Him, the Lotus Treasury World belongs to Him, the ocean of worlds belongs to Him, the Buddhas' thirty-two marks and eighty excellent characteristics belong to Him—no dharma does not belong to Him—yet He needs nothing at all. His merit is great beyond measure, boundless.