The Vajrachchedika Prajña Paramita Sutra (pt1)

The Diamond Sutra – Part 1

(The Vajrachchedika Prajña Paramita Sutra)

(underlined words are spoken by the service leader)

(1) Thus have I heard at one time, the Buddha was in the state of Sravasti at the Jeta Grove with a gathering of monks numbering 1,250. At mealtime, the World-honoured One put on his robe, picked up his bowl, and went into the city of Sravasti to beg for food. After he had gone from house to house, he returned to the grove. When he had finished eating, he put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, straightened his mat, and sat down.

(2) At that time the elder monk Subhuti was among the gathering of monks. He arose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, kneeled on his right knee, and with his palms pressed together before him, respectfully spoke to the Buddha saying, “Rare One, World-honoured One, the Tathagata protects and is concerned about all bodhisattvas, and he instructs all bodhisattvas. World-honoured One, when good men and good women commit themselves to anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, on what should they base themselves, and how should they subdue their minds?” The Buddha said, “Wonderful! Wonderful! Subhuti, you said that the Tathagata protects and is concerned about all bodhisattvas, and that he instructs all bodhisattvas. Now listen carefully while I tell you, when good men and good women commit themselves to anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, what should they base themselves, and how they should subdue their minds.”

“Excellent, World-honoured One, I eagerly await your answer.”  

(3) The Buddha said to Subhuti, “All great bodhisattvas should subdue their minds in the following manner: they should realize as they vow to save all sentient beings that in truth there are no sentient beings to be saved. And they should realize as they vow to save all of the infinite, innumerable, illimitable sentient beings that in reality there are no sentient beings to be saved. When they vow to lead them all to nirvana without remainder – be they born of eggs, wombs, moisture, or transformation, or whether they have form, of no form, or whether they are able to perceive, or do not perceive, or cannot perceive, or will not perceive – they should realize that in truth there are no sentient beings to be led to nirvana. And why is this? Subhuti, if a bodhisattva has lakshana of self, lakshana of human beings, lakshana of sentient beings, or lakshana of a soul, then he is not a bodhisattva.

(4) “Moreover, Subhuti, within this phenomenal world, a bodhisattva ought to practice generosity without basing it on anything. This means that he should not base his generosity on form, and he should not base his generosity on sound, smell, taste, touch, or thought. Subhuti, the generosity of a bodhisattva should be like this and it should not be based on lakshana whatsoever. And why is this? If the generosity is not based on any lakshana whatsoever, then his goodness will be immeasurable. Subhuti, what so you say, can vast space to the east of us be measured?”

“No, it cannot World-honoured One.”

“Subhuti, can the vastness of space in any direction be measured? Can the vastness of space to the south, west, north, up or down be measured?”

“No, it cannot, World-honoured One.”

“Subhuti, when the generosity of a bodhisattva is not based on lakshana, his goodness is just as immeasurable as that. Subhuti, a bodhisattva should base himself on this teaching and this teaching alone.

(5) Subhuti, what do you say, can you see the Tathagata in his bodily lakshana?”

“No, World-honoured One, no one can see the Tathagata in his bodily lakshana. And why is this? The bodily lakshana that the Tathagata is talking about is not bodily lakshana.”

The Buddha said to Subhuti, “All lakshana are delusive. If you can see that all lakshana are not lakshana, then you will see the Tathagata.”

(6) Subhuti said to the Buddha, “World-honoured One, can sentient beings, upon hearing these words, really be expected to believe them?”

The Buddha told Subhuti, “Don’t talk like that! Even after I have gone for five hundred years there will still be people who are moral and who cultivate goodness. If they can believe this teaching and accept it as truth, you can be sure that they will plant good roots not just with one Buddha, or two Buddhas, or three or four or five Buddhas, but that they will plant good roots with infinite tens of millions of Buddhas. And if someone has so much as a single pure moment of belief concerning this teaching, Subhuti, they will be intimately known and seen by the Tathagata. And what is the reason that these sentient beings will attain so much infinite goodness? These sentient beings will not return to the lakshana of self, the lakshana of human beings, the lakshana of sentient beings, the lakshana of souls, the lakshana of laws, or the lakshana of non-laws. And why is this? If a sentient being clings to lakshana in his mind, then he will cling to self, human beings, sentient beings, or souls. If he clings to the lakshana of a law, then he will also cling to self, human beings, sentient beings, or souls. And why is this? If he clings to even so little as the lakshana of a non-law, then he will also cling to self, human beings, sentient beings, or souls. Thus he must not cling to laws or non-laws, and this is why I have often said to you monks that even my teachings should be understood to be like a raft; if even the Dharma must be let go of, then how much ore must everything else be let go of?

(7)”Subhuti, what do you say? Has the Tathagata really attained anuttara-samyak-sambodhi? Has the Tathagata really spoken a Dharma?”

Subhuti said, “As far as I understand what the Buddha has said, there is no definite Dharma that can be called anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, and there is no definite Dharma that could be spoken about by the Tathagata. And why is this? The Dharma of which the Tathagata speaks cannot be held onto, it cannot be spoken, it is not a law, and it is not a non-law. And that is why all bodhisattvas understand the unconditioned Dharmas differently.”

(8)”Subhuti, what do you say? If a person, in an act of generosity, were to give away enough precious jewels to fill and entire great chiliocosm, would the goodness he achieved be great or not?”

Subhuti said, “It would be very great, World-honoured One! And why is this? This goodness is devoid of a ‘goodness nature’ and therefore the Tathagata would say that it is great.”

“If someone else were to receive and uphold as few as four verses of this sutra, and if he were to teach them to others, his goodness would be even greater than that. And why is this? Subhuti, all Buddhas and all anuttara-samyak-sambodhi are born of this sutra. Subhuti, that which is called the ‘Buddhadharma’ is not the Buddhadharma.

(9)”Subhuti, what do you say? Would it be right for a srotapana to think like this: ‘I have attained the fruits of a srotapana’?”

Subhuti said, “No, World-honoured One. And why is this? Srotapana means ‘stream-enterer,’ and yet there is nothing to be entered. Indeed, to not enter into form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or thought is what is called srotapana.”

“Subhuti, what do you say? Would it be right for a sakradagami to think like this: ‘I have attained the fruit of a sakradagami’?”

Subhuti said, “No, World-honoured One. And why is this? Sakradagami means ‘once-returned’, and yet there is no such thing as ‘returning’. This is what is called sakradagami.”

“Subhuti, what do you say? Would it be right for an anagami to think like this: ‘I have attained the fruit of an anagami’?”

Subhuti said, “No, World-honoured One. And why is this? Anagami means ‘never-returning’, and yet in truth there is no such thing as ‘never returning’. This is why it is called ‘anagami’”.

“Subhuti, what do you say? Would it be right for an Arhat to think like this: ‘I have attained the path of an Arhat’?”

Subhuti said, “No, World-honoured One. And why is this? There is no Dharma called ‘Arhat’. World-honoured One, if an Arhat were to think ‘I have attained the path of an Arhat’, then he would be clinging to self, human being, sentient being, and soul. World-honoured One, the Buddha has said that I have attained non-disputational samadhi, and that among all people, I am the best in this; and that among all Arhats, I am also the best at going beyond desire. And yet, I do not have the thought that I am an Arhat that has gone beyond desire. World-honoured One, if I were to have the thought that I had attained the path of an Arhat, the World-honoured One would not have said that Subhuti takes delight in the practice of aranya. Since Subhuti is wholly without any practice, Subhuti has been said to take delight in the practice of aranya.”

(10)The Buddha said to Subhuti, “What do you say? When the Tathagata was in the realm of Dip Ankara Buddha, did he gain anything by hid practice of the Dharma?”

“No, World-honoured One, when the Tathagata was in the realm of Dip Ankara Buddha, he did not gain anything from his practice of the Dharma.”

“Subhuti, what do you say? Does a bodhisattva make a Buddha-realm magnificent?”

“No, World-honoured One. And why is this? That which makes a Buddha-realm magnificent is not ‘magnificent’, and this is what is called ‘magnificent’.”

“For this reason Subhuti, all great bodhisattvas should give rise to purity of mind in this way: they should give rise to a mind that is not based on form, and they should give rise to a mind that is not based on form, and they should give rise to a mind that is not based on sound, smell, taste, or thought. They should give rise to a mind that is not based on anything. Subhuti, what do you say? If a man’s body were as large as Mount Sumeru, would that body be large?”

Subhuti said “Very large, World-honoured One. And why is this? The Buddha has said that no body is what is called the large body.”

(11)”Subhuti, if each grain of sand in the Ganges River were to become a Ganges River, and if the sand in all of those rivers were added up, what would you say? Would that be a lot of sand?”

Subhuti said, “It would be very much, World-honoured One. The number of Ganges Rivers alone would be enormous; the amount of sand would be even greater than that.”

“Subhuti, I am going to speak the truth to you now: if a good man or good woman were to give away as many great chiliocosms of precious jewels as all of those grains of sand, would his goodness be great?”

Subhuti said, “It would be very great World-honoured One.”

The Buddha said to Subhuti, “If a good man or a good woman receives and upholds as few as four verses of this sutra, and if he teaches it to others, then his goodness will be greater than that.”

(12)”Furthermore, Subhuti, anyone who speaks about this sutra, even as little as only four verses of it, should be honoured by people in this world, by those in heaven, and by asuras as if he were a Buddhist shrine. And anyone who practices the teachings of this sutra with all of his strength, or who reads it or chants it, should be honoured that much more. Subhuti, you should know that such a person already has become accomplished in the highest and rarest of Dharmas. Wherever this sutra can be found, there is the Buddha; and it should be honoured as if it were one of his disciples.”

(13)At that point, Subhuti asked the Buddha, “World-honoured One, what should this sutra be called, and how should we receive it and uphold it?”

The Buddha said to Subhuti, “This sutra is called the Vajrachchedika Prajñaparamita, and by this name you should receive it and uphold it. And why is this? Subhuti, the Buddha has said that Prajñaparamita is not ‘Prajñaparamita’ and that that is what is called Prajñaparamita. Subhuti, what do you say? Does the Tathagata really have some Dharma to speak about?”

Subhuti said to the Buddha, “World-honoured One, the Tathagata has nothing to speak about.”

“Subhuti, what do you say? Is the fine dust of an entire great chiliocosm a lot of dust or not?”

Subhuti said, “It is a lot, World-honoured One.”

“Subhuti, the Tathagata says that all of that fine dust is not fine dust, and that that is what is called ‘fine dust’. The Tathagata says that the world is not the ‘world’, and that that is what is called the ‘world’. Subhuti, what do you say? Can the Tathagata be seen by his thirty-two marks?”

“No, World-honoured One. And why is this? The Tathagata has said that the thirty-two marks are not the ‘thirty-two marks’ and that that is what is called the thirty-two marks.”

“Subhuti, if a good man of a good woman were to practice generosity with as many lives as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River, their goodness would still not be as great as that of someone who upheld as few as four verses of this sutra and who spoke of them to others.”

(14)Then after hearing this sutra and comprehending its deep meaning, Subhuti wept out loud and said to the Buddha, “Rare One, World-honoured One, of all of the wise things that I ever heard, I have never heard anything as profound as the sutra that the Buddha has just spoken. World-honoured One, if anyone should hear this sutra and believe it with a pure mind, then he will give rise to the true lakshana, and he will attain supreme goodness of the rarest kind. World-honoured One, the true lakshana is not a ‘lakshana’, and that is why the Tathagata has called it a true lakshana. World-honoured One, today I have heard this sutra, believed it, understood it, received it, and upheld it, and this was not difficult. If five hundred years from now, someone should hear this sutra, believe it, understand it, receive it and uphold it, then that person will be a rare person indeed. And why is this? That person will be without lakshana of self, lakshana of people, lakshana of sentient beings, or lakshana of soul. And why is this? That which is separate from all lakshana is called ‘all Buddhas’”.

The Buddha said to Subhuti, “Just so, just so. Moreover, if a person hears this sutra and does not become alarmed, or frightened, or scared, then this person is indeed a rare person. And why is this? Subhuti, the Tathagata has said that the supreme paramita is not the ‘supreme paramita’ and that this is what is called the supreme paramita. Subhuti, the Tathagata has said that patience under insult is not the ‘paramita of patience under insult’. And why is this? Subhuti, long ago when the flesh of the Tathagata was cut away by Kalingaraja, I had no lakshana of a self, no lakshana of a person, no lakshana of sentient beings, and no lakshana of a soul. And why is this? If at that distant time, as my flesh was being cut away piece by piece, if I had a lakshana of self, lakshana of people, lakshana of sentient beings, or lakshana of a soul, I would have become angry. Subhuti, think about this some more; five hundred generations ago when I was patient under insult, I was without lakshana of self, lakshana of people, lakshana of sentient beings, or lakshana of a soul. For this reason, Subhuti, a bodhisattva should disentangle himself from all lakshana and commit himself to anuttara-samyak-sambodhi; and he should not give rise to a mind based on form, and he should not give rise to a mind based on sound, smell, taste, touch, or thought. He should give rise to a mind that is not based on anything. Even if the mind is based on something, it is not really based on anything, and for this reason the Buddha says that the generosity of a bodhisattva should not be based on form. Subhuti, a bodhisattva should be generous in this way for the purpose of aiding all sentient beings. The Tathagata says that all lakshana are not ‘lakshana’ and therefore he also says that all sentient beings are not ‘sentient beings’. Subhuti, the Dharma that the Tathagata has attained is not true and it is not false. Subhuti, when a bodhisattva bases his mind on some dharma and then acts generously, he is like a person who has entered into darkness, and he sees nothing at all. But when a bodhisattva does not base his mind on any dharma and then acts generously, he is like someone who has eyes in the full light of the sun and he sees all forms very clearly. Subhuti, if in the future generations there are good men and good women who can practice this sutra, and read it, and chant it, then the Tathagata in his Buddha-wisdom intimately will know and intimately will see those people, and they will attain complete limitless and boundless goodness.

(15)Subhuti, even if a good man or a good woman were generous in the morning with as many bodies as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River, and even if this generosity were repeated at night with as many bodies as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River, and even if all of this generosity were continued for an infinite and immense number of eons, still his of her goodness would not be as great as that of another person who heard this sutra, who believed it, and who did not go against it. And if this is so, imagine how much greater is the goodness of one who copies this sutra, practices it, reads it, chants it, and explains it to others. Subhuti, the most important thing that can be said about this sutra is that its goodness is inconceivable, immeasurable, and borderless. The Tathagata speaks this sutra to those who have committed themselves to the supreme vehicle. Those who uphold this sutra, and read it, and chant it, and explain it to others, will be intimately known and intimately seen by the Tathagata. And all such people will attain to a goodness that is immeasurable, unlimited, borderless, and inconceivable. And all such people will share in the anuttara-samyak-sambodhi of the Tathagata. And why is this? Subhuti, those who delight in the lower dharmas cling to a view of self, a view of people, a view of sentient beings, and a view of a soul and thus they are not able to listen to this sutra, to receive it, to read it, to chant it, or to explain it to others. Subhuti, in whatever place this sutra can be found, it should be honoured by all who are in this world, and all in heaven, and all asuras, and they should treat this place as if it were a shrine, and should surround it and bow to it and pay their deepest respects to it. And they should scatter incense and flowers all around this place.

(16)Furthermore, Subhuti, if a good man or a good woman is slighted or ridiculed by others for upholding, reading, or chanting this sutra, it is due to bad karma incurred in a former life. That bad karma should be the cause of the person falling into a lower realm, but in this life he is just being slighted and ridiculed. Eventually his bad karma from previous lives will be eradicated and he will attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Subhuti, I remember countless eons ago, before Dip Ankara Buddha, when I met, honoured, and made offerings to all of the countless Buddhas in the universe without excluding a single one of them. If someone in the Dharma-declining age can practice, read, and chant this sutra, the goodness he will attain will be 100 times, nay, a billion-billion times, nay, an incalculable number of times that cannot even be suggested by metaphors, greater than the goodness I attained for honouring all Buddhas. Subhuti, if I were to say completely how great is the goodness attained by a good man or a good woman who practices, reads, and chants this sutra in the Dharma-declining age, there would be those whose minds would become crazy upon hear this, and they would form deep doubts and not believe it. Subhuti, it is enough to know that this sutra is inconceivably great, and that the rewards it offers are also inconceivably great”.