A Commentary on the Diamond Sutra: No Dharma Can Be Obtained, Twenty-Two

Original text of the sūtra: 须菩提白佛言。世尊。佛得阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。为无所得耶。佛言。如是。如是。须菩提。我于阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。乃至无有少法可得。是名阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。

Explanation: Subhūti said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, You have attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, yet is it that nothing was attained?" The Buddha said: "So it is, so it is. Subhūti, with respect to anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, there is not even the slightest dharma that can be attained; that is what is called anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi."

Subhūti said to the Buddha: "World-Honored One, You have attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi and become the unsurpassed, right and equal enlightenment, but even so, nothing was attained—is that so?" The World-Honored One said: "It is so, it is indeed so. Subhūti, just as you have said, although I have already accomplished anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, I truly did not obtain even the slightest dharma—not a single dharma was obtained; I merely exhausted all ignorance. Only when there is no dharma to be attained can one become the unsurpassed, right and equal enlightenment, and even that is only attaining anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi in name; this fruit of attainment is merely a name."

If such a conclusion had not been spoken by the Buddha's own mouth, sentient beings would be full of doubt and disbelief, and might even slander it. This is because sentient beings all believe that since the Buddha has already become a Buddha, He must have obtained dharmas that are immeasurable, boundless, and countless in order to become a Buddha; only by obtaining all dharmas of the world and beyond the world could He become a Buddha—otherwise He could not become a Buddha. Even to become a bodhisattva, one must have obtained many dharmas in order to become a bodhisattva; otherwise one would remain an ordinary being. Even ordinary beings are constantly swaying between gain and loss, rather than obtaining not even a single dharma.

In what aspects do sentient beings understand that the Buddha has gained, that bodhisattvas have gained, and that they themselves have gained? Of course, sentient beings understand at the level of marks that the Buddha has gained, that bodhisattvas have gained, and they understand the gains and losses of ordinary sentient beings. So what dharmas do sentient beings know have been gained, in terms of marks, upon becoming a Buddha? First, looking at the Buddha's physical body: at the time of buddhahood, the Buddha obtained the perfectly complete Sambhogakāya, the Nirmāṇakāya, and immeasurable, countless transformation bodies; He obtained the adorned and wondrous form-body with the thirty-two marks and eighty excellent characteristics, and thus the Buddha can manifest whatever body is needed to save beings, appearing in that form to expound the Dharma for sentient beings.

With regard to lands, the Buddha obtained countless pure and adorned, supremely wondrous Buddha-lands, and has immeasurably and boundlessly many disciples following Him in study and practice. Through the arduous cultivation of three great immeasurable kalpas, the Buddha attained immeasurable meditative concentrations (samādhi) and acquired immeasurable spiritual powers and abilities, capable of subduing all the māras of the heavens and non-Buddhist paths. Most importantly, the Buddha obtained the wisdom of all aspects (sarvākārajñatā) and acquired the most supreme and wondrous great wisdom; there is not a single dharma of the world or beyond the world that He does not thoroughly know, and therefore He can, at will and at any time, expound the Tripiṭaka and the twelve divisions of scriptures for sentient beings, setting forth the entirety of the Buddha's teachings.

These dharmas and merits that the Buddha obtained are only spoken of in the coarsest outline; if detailed, even a hundred great kalpas could not exhaust them. However, these merits and these dharmas were not possessed by the Buddha when He was an ordinary being; they were gradually acquired bit by bit, beginning cultivation from the stage of an ordinary being. That is to say, these dharmas and merits that the Buddha obtained went from nonexistence to existence, from few to many, from incompleteness to perfect fullness. What does this show? It shows that these dharmas, going from nonexistence to existence, are subject to arising; what arises does not exist from the beginning, and what does not exist from the beginning is illusory and transformed, and what is illusory is not real. Since they are illusory and unreal, they cannot be truly obtained. It is like a stove obtaining ice—utterly unobtainable; like flowers in empty space—utterly unobtainable; like a mirage in summer—utterly unobtainable; like things in a dream—utterly unobtainable; like the son of a barren woman—utterly unobtainable; like bubbles on water—utterly unobtainable...

These dharma-marks can all be known at the level of marks; they all have appearances. But where do these marks come from? They all come from the Buddha's true mind, the undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna); they are all manifested and conjured forth by the undefiled consciousness. The merits of the Buddha's cultivation over three great immeasurable kalpas were stored, bit by bit, in the tathāgatagarbha, the causal-ground mind of the Buddha, without the slightest omission; immeasurable merits were all stored as seeds. When the conditions ripened, their retributive results continuously manifested; what manifests are all marks, manifested by the tathāgatagarbha, and thus these marks are all illusory, subject to arising and ceasing, conjured and transformed—not real dharmas. There is only one real dharma: the tathāgatagarbha, which does not arise and does not cease, or called the Buddha's undefiled consciousness—truly permanent, truly blissful, truly self, truly pure. Everything else is not real; all is conjured and manifested by the real.

Speaking from another angle, by whom are these illusory dharma-marks obtained? Let us look at the parts of which the Buddha is composed. The Buddha is also composed of two parts: body and mind. The Buddha's body is also a synthesis of the four great elements; although it has immeasurable major and minor marks, it is without awareness or cognition. When conditions are exhausted, the four great elements disintegrate and the form-body vanishes. Since the form-body itself lacks self-mastery (avaśatā), how could it obtain dharmas from outside? And it is not mind, so how could it obtain dharmas? The Buddha's mind has eight consciousnesses: the great perfect mirror wisdom (ādarśajñāna, the eighth consciousness), the wisdom of equality (the seventh consciousness), the wisdom of wondrous observation (the sixth consciousness), and the wisdom of accomplishing what is to be done (the first five consciousnesses). The Buddha's great perfect mirror wisdom, the eighth consciousness, is a mind that obtains nothing; it does not obtain any dharma, because it is inherently complete with all dharmas in itself, lacking nothing whatsoever; all dharmas are produced by itself and come from itself, so it would not itself obtain itself again; moreover, they have always belonged to itself—what would there be to obtain?

As for the Buddha's seven consciousnesses, although they are minds that obtain, the Buddha's seven consciousnesses have already reached pure nonaction; His mind is utterly empty and pure, and would no longer crave to obtain any dharma, nor does it feel that its own mind has obtained any dharma. Moreover, although the Buddha's seven consciousnesses have been transformed into wisdom, with seeds thoroughly purified and without a trace of ignorance, they are still generated by the flowing forth of consciousness-seeds from the Buddha's undefiled consciousness; therefore they are illusory and possess the nature of arising and ceasing. Since they arise and cease, they are dharmas lacking self-mastery (avaśatā). Since the seven consciousnesses themselves lack self-mastery and are unobtainable, how much less could they obtain other dharmas. If the Buddha's seven consciousnesses believed there were dharmas to be obtained, the mind would not be empty and pure; if the mind were not empty and pure, buddhahood could not be achieved. Therefore the Buddha's seven consciousnesses also do not obtain any dharmas.

Although the Buddha has accomplished anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi and obtained immeasurable, supreme wondrous dharmas, with respect to dharmas, He truly obtained nothing. As for the dharma of accomplishing the Buddha Way—the intermediate process and the result—it is all the Buddha's tathāgatagarbha, the undefiled consciousness, that perfectly accomplishes all dharmas; every dharma is conjured forth by the tathāgatagarbha, the undefiled consciousness, in coordination with the seven consciousnesses, all accomplished by the tathāgatagarbha, the undefiled consciousness; all are the nature of the tathāgatagarbha and are inherently not real existents. Therefore the dharma of accomplishing the Buddha Way was given the name anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. Thus anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi is merely a name; in substance, it is conjured forth by the undefiled consciousness.

In summary, the Buddha became a Buddha because of obtaining nothing; only by not obtaining a single dharma can one become a Buddha; if one believes there is a dharma to be obtained, one cannot become a Buddha. Why is this said? The Buddha became a Buddha by means of great wisdom, unsurpassed wisdom. How was the Buddha's wisdom obtained? The Buddha began cultivation as an ordinary being, and over three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas, gradually exhausted and shattered all ignorance. Each time a kind of ignorance was shattered, a kind of illumination was revealed; as part of the darkness of the mind-ground disappeared, a portion of light appeared, and this light is wisdom. When all ignorance is extinguished, the wisdom of all aspects (sarvākārajñatā) appears. Therefore the Buddha's unsurpassed wisdom, His peerless wisdom, was not acquired or obtained; it was revealed by extinguishing ignorance and removing obstructions. That is to say, becoming a Buddha is not obtaining any dharma, but obtaining not even a single dharma—by removing all obstructions, the light of the mind-ground naturally manifests. Therefore, for each of us who study the Buddha's teachings and cultivate, the purpose is to shatter ignorance, not to obtain something. A mind that seeks to gain is ignorance; it is an obstruction that blocks the manifestation of wisdom.