The Profound Yogācāra Meaning of the Diamond Sutra (129)

Chapter 27: No Annihilation, No Extinction, Twenty-Seven

Original text of the Diamond Sutra: 须菩提。汝若作是念。如来不以具足相故。得阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。须菩提。莫作是念。如来不以具足相故。得阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。

Explanation: The World-Honored One again said to Subhūti: Subhūti, if you harbor this thought—that the Tathāgata attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi not by virtue of being adorned with all the marks—then quickly extinguish that thought. Subhūti, do not harbor such a thought, believing that the Tathāgata attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi without being adorned with immeasurable major and minor marks. Subhūti, it is precisely by being adorned with immeasurable major and minor marks that the Tathāgata attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi.

Because sentient beings have shallow wisdom, they cannot view and understand all dharmas in a comprehensive and harmonious way, and their views become narrow and deficient. Therefore, when sentient beings see the World-Honored One break through the four marks, break through the marks of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas, and also break through the thirty-two marks of the Tathāgata, some will think that the Tathāgata's attainment of anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi can seemingly be achieved without being adorned with all the marks, and that buddhahood can be attained that way; that those marks are optional and unimportant, and one can become a Buddha even without being adorned with the marks; that one can become a Buddha without perfecting all merits; or they think that buddhahood is not achieved in terms of marks, that marks are unimportant and optional; that becoming a Buddha does not require all marks, does not require the marks of the five aggregates, does not require the thirty-two marks; that the Buddha has no body of the five aggregates, but is only a mind. These ideas and views are also slandering the Buddha, similar to the thought of annihilatory emptiness (uccheda-śūnyatā), harming oneself and others, and one's practice will not achieve any success. The Tathāgata had to address these wrong views (mithyā-dṛṣṭi) and correct them, so that people's views and understanding could be upheld without bias, walking in what is true and correct.

Why is it the thought of annihilatory emptiness to believe that the Tathāgata can attain anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi without being adorned with all the marks? Because if one holds such an idea, one will neglect or deny the existence and functioning of the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha, and deny the real existence of the tathāgatagarbha's functions and effects—this is annihilationism. When each bodhisattva practices the bodhisattva path at the causal stage, every wholesome karma he cultivates is stored as a seed in the tathāgatagarbha. When the causes and conditions are complete, he will sequentially receive the retributions of wholesome karma, great and small, until he becomes a Buddha, and the retributions are never exhausted; moreover, the retributions become ever more excellent. These retributions include the bodhisattva's adorned physical body of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) and its major and minor marks; include the environment in which the bodhisattva lives and the buddha-land in which he dwells; include all the disciples and close relatives under the bodhisattva's seat; include all the bodhisattva's meditative concentrations (samādhi) and immeasurable superknowledges; most importantly, they include the bodhisattva's boundless wisdom and virtuous capabilities; as well as the purification and transformation of the karmic seeds in the bodhisattva's tathāgatagarbha.

Thus, when the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, the karmic seeds have already been completely transformed and purified without remainder, and ignorance has been severed without remainder; therefore the eight consciousnesses can be transformed into the four wisdoms. When the four wisdoms are perfectly luminous, the wisdom of all aspects (sarvākārajñatā) manifests. The Buddha's four wisdoms are precisely the Buddha's eight consciousnesses. Since the Buddha has eight consciousnesses, he has the five aggregates; otherwise, the eight consciousnesses would have no place of support. The Buddha's five aggregates are adorned with the thirty-two marks and eighty excellent characteristics because, through the Buddha's cultivation of wholesome dharmas over three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas, all his wholesome karmic seeds were stored in the tathāgatagarbha. When the conditions ripened and he became a Buddha, the seeds manifested, and the appearance of the five aggregates he received was supremely adorned with major and minor marks (lakṣaṇa-vyañjana), perfectly endowed with the thirty-two marks and eighty excellent characteristics, incomparable and supremely excellent.

If it were said that when the Buddha attained buddhahood, he did not attain anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi by virtue of being adorned with the complete marks, there would be enormous faults. First, it would lead sentient beings to mistakenly believe that the Buddha did not possess the wholesome karmic seeds cultivated over immeasurable kalpas. In fact, during the Buddha's practice over immeasurable kalpas, he perfectly cultivated all wholesome karma, and the seeds were all stored in the Buddha's tathāgatagarbha; upon attaining buddhahood, he would receive the most excellent adornment of major and minor marks.

It would lead sentient beings to mistakenly say that having attained buddhahood, the Buddha had not yet received the adornment of major and minor marks, perhaps because the Buddha's tathāgatagarbha had not stored wholesome karmic seeds. But the fact is that as long as the tathāgatagarbha exists, it naturally and intrinsically stores wholesome karmic seeds, without the slightest omission.

Third, it would lead sentient beings to mistakenly say that neither the Buddha nor sentient beings have a tathāgatagarbha, that the tathāgatagarbha is merely an expedient teaching, and therefore it did not store all the wholesome karmic seeds from the Buddha's practice, so that when the Buddha attained buddhahood, he was not adorned with the complete marks. Based on the above faults, we should say that the Buddha attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi by virtue of being adorned with the complete marks.

If it were said that when the Buddha attained buddhahood, he did not receive the retribution of wholesome karmic seeds, that there were no wholesome karmic seeds, then it would amount to saying that the Buddha fundamentally had no tathāgatagarbha. This would be the most fundamental and most serious wrong teaching and wrong view, a fundamentally annihilationist thought, extremely harmful to people, and such wrong views should be quickly eliminated. One should firmly believe that the tathāgatagarbha truly exists and has real functions and effects, capable of storing the wholesome karmic seeds cultivated by Buddhas and bodhisattvas over immeasurable kalpas; in the future when they attain buddhahood, these wholesome karmic seeds will all manifest, and the Buddha will receive the excellent retribution of adornment with major and minor marks, thereby attaining anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. If there were no tathāgatagarbha, the wholesome karmic seeds could not be stored, and upon attaining buddhahood the wholesome karmic seeds could not manifest; the Buddha could not be adorned with the complete marks, and then he would not yet be a Buddha, not yet having attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi.

At this point everyone should understand: if it were said that when the Buddha attained the Buddha-way, he did not attain anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi by virtue of being adorned with the thirty-two marks, that would be an annihilationist doctrine denying the real existence of the tathāgatagarbha, and it would carry immeasurable great faults. Therefore, the World-Honored One, in the manner of exhorting Subhūti, indirectly exhorted all sentient beings not to harbor annihilationist thought, and not to believe that the Buddha attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi not by virtue of being adorned with the complete marks. One should say that the Buddha attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi by virtue of being adorned with the complete marks; only this accords with the Buddha's teaching, matches the essence of the Buddha-dharma, and does not contradict the Mahāyāna definitive dharma (Mahāyāna-nītārtha-dharma) of true reality.