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Introduction, Explanations and Commentaries by Ming Qi, Buddhist nun, Zen Master
and Professor of Dharma.
The following is the text originally given as four lectures at Buddhist
monasteries in China in 2549 B.E. (2005) as follows:
At Bai-Lin Ch’an Si; on Monday, 25 July, (and again on Sunday, 7 August).
At Zhu-lin Si; Wutai Shan, on Tuesday, 2 August.
At The
Monastery of the Fourth Patriarch, on Wednesday, 10 August; during retreats
organized for Chinese and foreign students.
Dedication:
To the 5th and 6th (Hui Neng) Patriarchs who did so much
to give this Sutra its rightful place among the teachings of our Ch’an school.
General
Introduction
Place
all your confidence in the teaching of the Lord Buddha. Venerable Masters,
Master and Abbot Ming Hai, Master Ming Zhuang and other Venerable Masters,
Brothers and Sisters of the Sangha, Professor Li, Volunteers, Students, brothers
and sisters:
Thank you for the honor of inviting me and the privilege of expounding this most
sacred and profound teaching, and thanks to Ming Jie for her translation into
Chinese.
Although I have studied this Sutra for more than 20 years, please forgive any
mistakes I may make in its interpretation.
I will be pleased to answer any questions after the lecture.
Introduction to the Ch’an School
The
traditional definition of Ch’an is: A direct teaching, outside the scriptures,
not using words and phrases pointing directly to your Buddha nature and leading
to enlightenment.
In
ancient times, ch’an monastery libraries were next to the bad-smelling toilets
to discourage text reading.
If
ch’an is outside the scriptures, not using words and phrases; and text reading
is discouraged, why am I teaching you, using words and phrases to talk about a
text: the famous and difficult Diamond Sutra?
In
ch’an, we answer that question by saying that we use words to point away
from words!
Is this
non-sense?
No.
Example: we are walking together and you don’t notice a hole that you will fall
into, and I exclaim: “Look-out for the hole!” I am not asking you to make notes
of my words, neither to study them, nor to contemplate them, and even less to
meditate on them. No, I want you to look-out for the hole.
The
Lord Buddha, pointing to the moon, said, “Look at the moon, not at my finger!”
In
teaching you the Diamond Sutra, I am asking you to look beyond my words, to
their significance!
In
ch’an, we say that the Lord Buddha taught for 50 years without uttering a single
word! We also say the meaning of his teaching is not found in the words!
Introduction to Sutras
The
Lord Buddha taught orally throughout his life, this oral tradition continued
after his death until the geographic expansion of Buddhism led to deviation from
the correct understanding. Therefore the 1st Council was called and
the monks chanted the teachings so that errors could be corrected with the help
of the Venerable Ananda, and then the correct version was written to avoid
future errors. It was thus that the Sutras were born.
The
best known and frequently studied and commented upon sutra is the Lotus Sutra.
It is the expedient means the Lord Buddha used to prepare his disciples. It
invites us to work hard to obtain samadhi through meditation, which will also
produce prajna (wisdom).
When
Bodhidharme, the 28th Indian Patriarch and 1st Chinese
Patriarch, came to China, he brought the Lankavatara Sutra and his followers
became known as the “sons of the Lanka”. It teaches: forms, names and
distinctions are samsara and wisdom and suchness are nirvana.
The
oldest sutras in the Mahayana tradition are the so-called “wisdom sutras”, all
of which teach detachment. The most important is the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra,
which means: great perfection of wisdom sutra. The oldest manuscripts date from
the 5th century of the western calendar. The Diamond Sutra is the 9th
section of that Sutra.
The
oldest known printed book is (of course Chinese) the Diamond Sutra. It was
stolen from Dunhuang and you can now see it in London in the British Museum.
Diamond
Sutra is short for the Diamond-Cutter Sutra, which is, in turn short for:
Vajracchedikaprajnparamita Sutra, which means: “The Perfection of Wisdom (text)
that cuts (through ignorance) like a thunder bolt (lightning).
It is
called diamond because Vajra means both lightning and diamond.
If it
seems too long for you to learn by heart, then learn the “Heart” Sutra, which is
a condensation of it.
The
Diamond Sutra became central to our Ch’an School through the 6th
Patriarch Hui Neng who immediately understood its profound meaning, and his mind
opened to prajna on hearing it by accident when he was younger than you
students. You should read his life story!
His teaching is contained in the Platform (Chinese: “Tan”) Sutra, and is based
on the Diamond Sutra. It teaches samadhi contains prajna and prajna contains
samadhi.
Because
of the key role of the 6th Patriarch, this sutra has been central to
the Ch’an School since his time.
Introduction to the Diamond Sutra
The
Diamond Sutra has a well merited reputation for being difficult to understand.
This is a real and not an imaginary difficulty. It comes from the fact that the
Lord Buddha, in his infinite compassion for all living beings, including each of
us here, has done something very difficult and wonderful. He has opened his
perfectly enlightened mind and pointed directly to the Buddha nature in each of
us.
We
should all be most grateful to him and listen carefully, and in the correct
manner to this teaching.
Because
of its’ difficulty the Lord Buddha said that you will be unsettled, bewildered
and filled with alarm or dread unless you listen with faith and understanding,
free from the ideas of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or a separate
individuality with a heart of faith, and without contention, to do so is a
remarkable achievement.
You
should listen to it not as an explanation, but as a mind opening and Buddha
nature revealing experience, which points to the path to perfect enlightenment.
The
truth it reveals is so impressive that the great disciple Subhuti broke into
tears upon hearing it! Even the late Chairman Mao Zedong carried it everywhere
with him.
Its
central theme is that the truth about human experience can only be understood by
realizing that everything is impermanent and dependent on causal factors and
therefore totally lacking in self-nature (ego). All things are just as they are
and all dualistic conceptualization is misleading.
The
Sutra teaches that enlightenment is not the result of something that is gained,
added or achieved but from the abandonment of obstructions. Therefore it must be
sudden (and not gradual) as the 6th Patriarch correctly taught!
When
the clouds of obstructions part, even for an instant, the full moon of the
perfectly enlightened Buddha nature reveals itself immediately and without fail!
We can
surmount those obstructions by developing a mind which dwells nowhere!
Commentary
on Sections of Particular Importance and/or Difficulty
(N.B. some few sections are without importance, and many are simply
repetitious)
Section III “The Real Teaching of the Great Way”
(In
which the Lord Buddha declares that His teaching liberates all beings; but that,
in reality no beings are liberated because there are no “beings” to be
liberated!)
Comment: Brilliant teacher, He immediately employs the Aristotelian “torpedo”
technique. The house of ignorance must fall before the truth can take its’
place.
The
World-Honored One here announces the Great Fundamental Truth discovered by His
Illumination, and from which all of Buddhist doctrine is derived: All things are
totally egoless!
A
complete understanding and application of this principle is by itself the Great
Emancipation.
Section VI “Rare is True Faith”
(In
which Subhuti asks if the Dharma will be transmitted always, and the Lord Buddha
answers in the affirmative. Why? Because some men (and women) will not grasp
or hold on to the idea of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or a separate
individuality, nor the idea of things having or devoid of intrinsic qualities,
because such men (or women) do not grasp or hold on to anything!
Even
the Lord Buddha’s teaching is like a raft and must be relinquished.)
Comment: That the teaching of the Buddha will be degraded is inevitable;
nevertheless their karma will lead some men (and women) into the Tao. They will
practice detachment from everything, particularly the ideas of separate
individuality and intrinsic qualities.
Finally, the stream crossed, even the teaching-raft will be left behind. Like
the best medicine, it makes itself unnecessary!
Section IX “Real Designate is Undesignate”
(In
which the Lord Buddha asks if one who has entered the stream of the Holy Life
can say: I obtain the fruit of a stream-entrant? No, because it is merely a
name. There is no stream-entering. One who pays no regard to form, sound, odour,
taste, touch, or any quality is called a stream-entrant. A holy one thus saying
would partake of the idea of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or separate
individuality.
When
the Buddha declares that Subhuti excels in the Yoga of perfect quiescence, in
dwelling in seclusion, and in freedom from passions, Subhuti does not say: I am
a holy one of Perfective Enlightenment, free from passions. If he did, Buddha
would not so declare because Subhuti abides no where; therefore he is called:
Subhuti, Joyful-Abider-in-Peace, Dweller-in-Seclusion-in-the-Forest!)
Comment: This is the quintessence of the Dharma. What accomplished people are
called depends on how they are viewed by others. For them these distinctions
have disappeared and that is precisely why they merit them!
Such
people merely see the world as it is, they consider to do so is perfectly
normal. In doing so, they abide-in-peace.
Section XIV “Perfect Peace Lies in Freedom from Characteristic Distinctions”
(The
idea of Fundamental Reality establishes remarkable benefits, however it is
merely a name. Those who understand this are of remarkable achievement, free of
the idea of an ego-entity, etc. Those who have renounced phenomenal
distinctions are Buddhas. Perfection of Charity and Patience are merely names.
Even
bodily mutilation will not arouse anger in absence of the idea of an ego-entity,
etc.
Therefore one leaves aside all phenomenal distinctions by not depending upon
notions looked at by the sensible world; the mind must not dwell on thoughts,
otherwise it has no haven.
A mind
detached from formal notions alone sees clearly!)
Comment: Experiencing the mind as independent of all which arises within it, is
the Consummation of Incomparable Enlightenment!
Section
XVII “No One Attains Transcendental Wisdom”
(In
which we are advised to create the attitude of mind that when all living beings
have been liberated, no being is liberated, because there is no ego-entity,
etc. Manifestations merely arise from the chain of cause and effect.
The
realm of formulations is not really such, it is only so-called.
A
Bodhisattva who will “liberate all living creatures” is not a Bodhisattva, …only
those who are wholly devoid of any conception of separate selfhood are
Bodhisattvas.)
Comment: This section reiterates the fundamental doctrine of supreme
importance: that all things are ego-less!
Section XVIII “All Modes of Mind are Really Only Transient Mind”
(In
which we are taught that the Lord Buddha possesses each of the many forms of
“eyes”, and that He understands all modes of mind because these are only called
“Mind”.
It is
impossible to: retain past mind; hold on to present mind, or grasp future
mind!)
Comment: Mental functions are not subject to will. This is the important
scientific observation occasioned by Buddhist meditation. It is at the base of
the doctrine of the non-existence of a separate, permanent, willing self.
Mental
phenomena are simply the manifestation of the biochemical processes which pass
in the brain due to the chain of cause and effect, in accordance with the
laws of physics!
Section XXXI “Conventional Truth Should Be Cut Off”
(The
Lord Buddha does not declare any conception of egoity because He declares that
notions of selfhood etc. are erroneous, merely figures of speech. Followers of
the Way should recognize and understand all things as the same, and suppress
mere aspects, which are in reality only called “aspects”!)
Comment: To emphasize the importance of the doctrine of egolessness it is here
once again underscored. All enunciations contradicting this doctrine are mere
figures of speech.
By
recognizing and understanding all things as the same, one stops the arising of
views. These concern only aspects which are themselves only names!
Section XXXII “The Delusion of Appearances”
(In
which we are invited to demonstrate this discourse by detachment from
appearances, by abiding in real truth*. In doing so:
Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash
of lightning in a summer cloud;
A
flickering candle, a phantom, and a dream)
*
Answer to Subhuti’s question: “How shall they abide?”
Comment: This closing gata is a hymn to detachment!
To
express your understanding by detachment brings the greatest merit!
Summary
The
Diamond Sutra teaches six practices: charity; unselfishness; patience;
resolution; meditation; and wisdom. Each one is related to freedom from
separate selfhood.
It also
teaches freedom from words and attention to direct experience of the
impermanence and interdependence of all things.
They
all result from the chain of causation and therefore lack a self-nature. This
is the ultimate meaning of the Diamond Sutra.
Nevertheless this freedom from ego is not the emptiness of nihilism(!); but
rather a basis of practice. That practice takes a mind abiding nowhere as its’
objective; freedom from objects as its’ means; and non-attachment as its’
fundamental principle. All understanding comes into being from non-attachment!
The
Lord Buddha has no fixed doctrine to teach. We must simply detach from our
thoughts and thereby permit our Buddha-nature to manifest itself!
Mind is
the essence of the Lord Buddha’s teaching! (This is also emphasized in the
Lankavatara Sutra.)
Conclusion
The
Diamond Sutra points directly to our Buddha-nature and the way to
Enlightenment. It is the most important among the recorded sutras.
Nevertheless the greatest sutra is that by which the Lord Buddha achieved his
perfect enlightenment, that which we all equally possess: MIND!
Thank
you for your attention, I await your questions with interest! | 