The Profound Meaning of the Diamond Sutra from the Yogācāra Perspective (136)

Original text: 何以故。须菩提。以诸菩萨不受福德故。须菩提白佛言。世尊。云何菩萨不受福德。须菩提。菩萨所作福德。不应贪著。是故说不受福德。

Explanation: The World-Honored One further taught: Why is this so? Subhūti, it is because all bodhisattvas do not receive merit. Subhūti said to the World-Honored One: World-Honored One, why do bodhisattvas not receive merit? The World-Honored One replied: The merit that bodhisattvas create should not be craved or attached to; therefore it is said that bodhisattvas do not receive merit.

The bodhisattvas here refer, as the World-Honored One subtly implies, to the true bodhisattva at the level of ultimate reality. That true bodhisattva does not receive any feeling; toward all dharmas, it abides in neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā). This true bodhisattva perfectly possesses all dharmas and does not crave any of them; precisely because there is no craving, there is nothing attained. When the bodhisattva's five aggregates give away worlds and the seven treasures, the karmic retribution of merit thus generated is obtained by the bodhisattva's five aggregates and the seven consciousnesses—the seven consciousnesses come to enjoy and use it—while the true bodhisattva, the tathāgatagarbha, does not gain even the slightest fraction of it, nor does it enjoy even the slightest fraction. And when the bodhisattva's five aggregates practice the perfection of generosity, the seven consciousnesses must also rely on the tathāgatagarbha and not crave merit.

When the bodhisattva practices generosity, its mind contemplates the perfection of giving through the emptiness of the three wheels. The so-called emptiness of the three wheels means: there is no true giver—I; there is no true recipient—he; and in between, there is no true object given—the seven treasures. Why is there no giver? Because the giver—the five aggregates—is transformed and produced by the tathāgatagarbha. The physical body is formed by the tathāgatagarbha moment-by-moment outputting the seeds of the four great elements; it is as if a portion of the gold that is the tathāgatagarbha had been fashioned into a gold ring—the physical body. The seven consciousnesses are formed by the tathāgatagarbha moment-by-moment outputting the seeds of consciousness; it is as if a portion of the gold that is the tathāgatagarbha had been fashioned into a gold necklace—the seven consciousnesses. The physical body and the seven consciousnesses together constitute the five aggregates, and the five aggregates as a whole, this gold artifact, is the gold of the tathāgatagarbha.

From this we can see: do the five aggregates really exist at all? What are the five aggregates? The five aggregates in their entirety are of course the tathāgatagarbha, and nothing else. Therefore, when the bodhisattva practices generosity, there is no bodhisattva's five aggregates as the giver—I; likewise, there is no recipient's five aggregates—he. And what of the seven treasures given in between? The seven treasures are also material form (rūpa) constituted by the four great elements, formed by the tathāgatagarbha moment-by-moment outputting the seeds of the four great elements. They are a portion of the gold that is the tathāgatagarbha, fashioned into gold earrings and the like—these seven treasures. So what are the seven treasures really? The seven treasures are the gold of the tathāgatagarbha; there are no real seven treasures—everything is the tathāgatagarbha. And the essence of the tathāgatagarbha is also empty by nature (svabhāva-śūnyatā); there is no substantial mark existing, without a single mark, utterly empty. Thus the entire perfection of generosity is the emptiness of the three wheels, utterly unobtainable; the bodhisattva need not be attached to it at all.

Likewise, the merit obtained by the bodhisattva is also empty. First, the bodhisattva's act of giving is stored as karmic seeds in the tathāgatagarbha; when conditions ripen, the tathāgatagarbha outputs those karmic seeds and actualizes the bodhisattva's merit. The form in which this merit is actualized takes the shape of material form (rūpa) and the mental factors (caittas) of the seven consciousnesses. Material form manifests simply as money, property, power, status, family, and so forth; and these material forms are all formed by the tathāgatagarbha outputting the seeds of the four great elements. In essence they are all the tathāgatagarbha; there are no real material forms—material form and the tathāgatagarbha are neither one nor different. Thus there is no real blessing to be obtained; it is all the tathāgatagarbha's own mind taking its own mind—"what is not illusion becomes illusory dharmas."

When enjoying the blessings of these material forms, it is the knowing mind of the seven consciousnesses that partakes of them; it is the feeling mental factor (vedanā-caitta) of the seven consciousnesses that receives, feels, and enjoys them. The feeling mental factor will feel comfort, happiness, pride, arrogance, and self-delight. And the feeling mental factor exists in accordance with the seven consciousnesses, as their companion: as soon as the seven consciousnesses arise and engage the objects of the six dusts, the feeling mental factor operates. The seven consciousnesses are formed by the tathāgatagarbha outputting the seeds of consciousness; they are originally the tathāgatagarbha, neither one nor different from it. The mind-body of the seven consciousnesses is utterly unobtainable, so the feelings and experiences of the seven consciousnesses are likewise utterly unobtainable. Therefore, when the bodhisattva's merit is actualized, neither the merit nor the enjoyment of it has any substance; in essence, both are the tathāgatagarbha.

When bodhisattvas realize this kind of wisdom-realm, they will no longer crave merit, and will no longer have the mind to enjoy it. Moreover, they dedicate all the merit they cultivate toward anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. The bodhisattva's practice is for the sake of attaining buddhahood as soon as possible, not for the enjoyment of worldly merit that they practice the perfection of generosity. Only with such practice can the bodhisattva attain an inner purity and emptiness, attached to not a single dharma—when the mind is empty, one returns with the prize—and thereby realize the supreme buddha-fruit, perfecting the great way of bodhi.