The Profound Consciousness-only Meaning of the Diamond Sutra (33)

Original text: 何以故？若菩萨不住相布施，其福德不可思量。

Explanation: When giving with attachment to marks, the mind is limited by those marks, and thus the mind's capacity becomes small, so the merit is limited in measure. If the mind does not transcend the marks of the six sense objects, one cannot attain liberation, nor can one become a Buddha. The mind that gives is the deluded mind of the seven consciousnesses, with the six consciousnesses and the seventh consciousness playing the main role. What determines the act of giving is the seventh consciousness, the manas. It deliberates on whether to give, and what to give, how much to give, and to whom—all are decided by Him. The analysis, reasoning, judgment, and observation before giving are all done by the mind consciousness, which then reports the results to the manas and persuades Him. After the manas deliberates, He sometimes acts accordingly and sometimes does not. That is why we sometimes feel that we should do this and should not do that, yet when it comes to actually acting, we do the opposite, and we ourselves feel helpless—when seeing forms, the manas does not necessarily follow the guidance and persuasion of the mind consciousness.

After studying Buddhism, one may feel that eating meat is not good and that one should be vegetarian, yet as soon as one sees meat, one wants to eat it and cannot control oneself. This is because the manas always acts according to His own habitual tendencies and is not easily changed. One clearly agrees to donate one hundred yuan, yet when it comes time to actually hand over the money, one hesitates. When making the promise, it was the mind consciousness that, after analysis, felt this should be done; but when handing over the money, the manas is in charge. The manas has a heavy sense of self and is unwilling to give away what one has. It requires long-term cultivation and the mind consciousness's long-term guidance and persuasion before He can transform. Therefore, once the manas changes, everything changes, and our karmic retribution will be different. When a bodhisattva gives without attachment to marks, the merit is boundless and immeasurable. The merit of the tathāgatagarbha is so great it cannot be spoken of: the universe and empty space belong to Him, the trichiliocosm belongs to Him, the worlds of the lotus treasury belong to Him, the ocean of worlds belongs to Him, and the thirty-two major marks and eighty minor marks of all Buddhas belong to Him—no dharma does not belong to Him. Yet He wants nothing at all, and His merit cannot be described.