Explanation of the Diamond Sutra: Response and Transformation Are Not Real, Chapter 32

Original text: 须菩提。若有人以满无量阿僧祗世界七宝。持用布施。若有善男子善女人。发菩提心者。持于此经。乃至四句偈等。受持读诵。为人演说。其福胜彼。

Explanation: Subhūti, if someone were to use the seven treasures filling immeasurable asamkhyeya worlds and give them all in almsgiving, the merit and virtue thus obtained would be quite vast. But if there are good men and good women who have aroused the Mahāyāna bodhi mind and cultivate and uphold this sūtra, or even a four-line gāthā within it — not only personally receiving, upholding, reciting, and reading it, but also explaining it for the sake of sentient beings — then the merit and virtue obtained by these good men and good women would far surpass that of the one who gave alms with the seven treasures of immeasurable asamkhyeya worlds.

Asaṃkhyeya is an Indian term meaning extremely many, beyond counting. An asamkhyeya world means countless trichiliocosms — three-thousand great thousand worlds. If someone were to give away the seven treasures of one small world, the merit and virtue would already be inconceivable, let alone giving away the seven treasures of one three-thousand great thousand world — that merit and virtue is even more inconceivable. Then what of giving away the seven treasures of countless three-thousand great thousand worlds — can that merit and virtue still be imagined or conceived? It is utterly inconceivable. Yet there is another good man or good woman who has aroused the great bodhi mind, wishing to perfectly accomplish the Buddha path and broadly benefit countless sentient beings. Such a good man or good woman, receiving, upholding, reciting, and reading the Diamond Sūtra, cultivating the tathāgatagarbha method of attaining buddhahood, being able to completely receive, uphold, and realize the tathāgatagarbha of this sūtra, and also able to teach and explain it for other sentient beings with affinities — the merit and virtue they obtain is far more sublime than that of the person who gave alms with the seven treasures of immeasurable asamkhyeya worlds.

Why is this said? Because those good men and good women who can truly receive, uphold, recite, and read the Diamond Sūtra are already great bodhisattvas who have realized the prajñā ultimate reality. These are people who truly possess merit, virtue, and wisdom. Not only do they themselves broadly possess merit, virtue, and wisdom, but they also teach other sentient beings to obtain the great merit, virtue, and great wisdom of receiving, upholding, reciting, and reading the Diamond Sūtra. Therefore, their own merit, virtue, and wisdom will continue to grow. When their wisdom and merit both grow to the ultimate limit and reach perfection, they become the Honored One fully endowed with both merit and wisdom, become the teacher of gods and humans, become the Buddha, the World-Honored One.

Since this is so, then what does the merit and virtue obtained from giving alms with the seven treasures of asamkhyeya worlds amount to? These worlds and the seven treasures are all conditioned, marked dharmas of arising and ceasing; they are all things within the vajra mind, all a small part of the self-nature maṇi pearl. The good men and good women who receive, uphold, recite, and read the Diamond Sūtra have realized this maṇi pearl, and thus possess this maṇi pearl, which is equivalent to possessing the seven treasures of asamkhyeya worlds, and at the same time possessing immeasurable asamkhyeya worlds in the future. This merit and virtue is naturally far superior to that of the person who gave alms with the seven treasures of asamkhyeya worlds.

Original text: 云何为人演说。不取于相。如如不动。

Explanation: For the good men and good women who explain the Diamond Sūtra, its four-line gāthās, and proclaim the wonderful tathāgatagarbha dharma for others — how should they explain it for others? They should be free of the four marks, and explain without grasping any dharma-mark in their minds. Moreover, toward all dharma-marks, they should be thus, thus, unmoving — not seeing dharma-marks as truly existing, their minds not moving or turning along with external realms and dharma-marks, being pure and undefiled like the tathāgatagarbha, not grasping marks, not arousing thoughts, having no mind toward objects, thus, thus, unmoving.

After bodhisattvas realize the tathāgatagarbha, they will observe more and more the pure, unconditioned nature of the tathāgatagarbha, and at the same time perceive more and more the illusory, impermanent nature of all conditioned dharmas. The bodhisattvas' minds will gradually no longer take delight in conditioned dharmas, but will incline toward the pure, unconditioned nature of the tathāgatagarbha. Bodhisattvas gradually observe that all conditioned dharma-marks in the three-realm world are born from and conjured by the tathāgatagarbha, and therefore gradually cease grasping all dharma-marks of the world. Toward all dharmas, their minds gradually no longer turn along with them, and finally they can reach thus, thus, unmoving, similar to the unconditioned nature of the tathāgatagarbha.

Original text: 何以故。一切有为法。如梦幻泡影。如露亦如电。应作如是观。佛说是经已。长老须菩提。及诸比丘。比丘尼。优婆塞。优婆夷。一切世间天人阿修罗。闻佛所说。皆大欢喜。信受奉行。

Explanation: Why, when explaining the Diamond Sūtra for others, should one not grasp marks and be thus, thus, unmoving? Because all conditioned, fabricated dharmas are like dreams, like illusions, like bubbles, like shadows, like dew, like lightning in the sky. Every bodhisattva, when facing all conditioned dharmas in the world, should make such contemplation and view all conditioned dharmas in this way. After the World-Honored One had taught this Diamond Sūtra, the elder Subhūti, who was the intended recipient, along with all bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās — the fourfold assembly of disciples — as well as all devas and asuras in the world, heard what the Buddha taught, all rejoiced greatly, faithfully accepted, and practiced accordingly.

At the end of the assembly, the World-Honored One taught a sublime four-line gāthā to illustrate the illusory, unreal nature of all conditioned dharmas. Because they are all illusory and unreal, bodhisattvas have no need to be attached to or grasp any conditioned dharma, or to move and turn along with conditioned dharmas. It is like in a dream — no matter how we grasp at all the people, affairs, things, and principles in the dream, no matter how we move, turn, and waver along with it, creating karmic deeds — in the end, there is ultimately nothing at all, and nothing whatsoever is grasped. No one has ever obtained anything from a dream. So what benefit is there in toiling one's mind in vain!

All conditioned dharmas are conjured by the tathāgatagarbha according to conditions, just like an illusionist — all people, affairs, and things formed by thought suddenly appear in empty space, but when the illusionist withdraws his thought, all people, affairs, and things ultimately return to emptiness. Why bother grasping at them, vainly driving one's mind — what benefit is there! All conditioned dharmas are bubbles born from the great ocean of the tathāgatagarbha, arising and ceasing as bubbles in the tathāgatagarbha ocean. All people, affairs, things, and principles in the three-realm world are like bubbles in seawater — arising, ceasing, ceasing, then arising again; all arising and ceasing return to the great ocean. Why vainly toil at grasping bubbles while not seeing the great ocean?

All conditioned dharmas are like the reflection of the moon falling into countless rivers and seas — seemingly existent yet non-existent; seemingly there, yet cannot be scooped up. Only ordinary beings are like foolish monkeys, reaching out to scoop it up, obtaining nothing but emptiness. Bodhisattvas with wisdom use the eye of wisdom to contemplate that it is but a reflection — what is there to grasp? All conditioned dharmas are like morning dew — when the rising sun appears, they vanish in an instant, swiftly arising and swiftly ceasing — what is there to hold? All conditioned dharmas are also like lightning and thunder in the rain — in a flash they streak across empty space, and in an instant there is no trace. No matter how startled you are, no matter how terrified, it has already disappeared without a trace.

The World-Honored One taught that after enlightenment, bodhisattvas should constantly make such contemplation. Then their own minds become pure, without grasping, without attachment, not defiled by a single dust, not attached to a single dharma. In this way they correspond with the original mind, true suchness; following along with true suchness, they can accomplish supreme bodhi. With this mind of no grasping and no attachment, they explain the Diamond Sūtra for sentient beings, ferrying sentient beings across, together emerging from the illusory dust, together extinguishing the illusory shadows, together entering the great ocean of wisdom of all Buddhas, together perfecting the Buddha's wisdom of all aspects.

Thus receiving, upholding, reciting, and reading the Diamond Sūtra, and explaining the tathāgatagarbha dharma — among sentient beings in the world, who can compare with their merit and wisdom? Who can surpass them! Thus benefiting oneself and benefiting others — is this not wonderful! Is this not joyful! Finally, after the World-Honored One had taught this sūtra, the fourfold assembly of disciples and the great assembly of gods and humans — there was none who did not believe, none who did not accept, none who did not revere, none who did not practice. This is called faithfully accepting and practicing the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra taught by the Tathāgata.