Sutra Translations
The
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(1),
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 Buddha used to prepare his disciples. It
invites us to work hard to obtain samadhi (concentration), 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. One of 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.
Note: The
Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra or Mahaparinirvana Sutra - a Mahayana sutra,
(sometimes called the Nirvana Sutra), a sutra expounded by the Buddha after
the Lotus Sutra but before his Nirvana. Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra - A
Mahayana sutra, said to have been expounded by the Buddha over several
times, consisting of 600 rolls of text in 120 volumes, and considered to be
the fundamental work on Wisdom.
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 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 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!
Section III “The Real Teaching of the Great Way”
(In
which the 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 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 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 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,
odor, 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 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 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
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 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 Buddha achieved his
perfect enlightenment, that which we all equally possess: MIND!
(1) The Venerable Ananda was the son of King
Dronodana and a disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings. Sixty
days after Shakyamuni passed away, Mahakashyapa and the other disciples, a
thousand persons in all, along with Monju and the other eighty thousand
bodhisattvas, all gathered together in the Great Lecture Hall to lament the
passing of the Buddha. They conferred among themselves, saying: "Even we,
who attended upon the Buddha for so many years, lament our parting from him
after only sixty days. What, then, of all the people who live a hundred
years from now, a thousand years from now, or in the Latter Day of the Law?
What means will they have to cherish his memory?
"The six teachers of the non-Buddhist doctrines preserve the four Vedas and
the eighteen major scriptures that the two deities and the three ascetics
preached and left behind eight hundred years ago, so that the words left by
their teachers might be transmitted to later ages. Should we not likewise
write down the various teachings that we have heard the Buddha preach to the
voice-hearers and the great bodhisattvas over the course of fifty years, so
that they may serve as an eye to the people of the future?"
So concurring, they invited the Venerable Ananda to ascend to the highest
seat and looked up to him in reverence in the same way they would the
Buddha, while they themselves sat in the lower seats. Then Bodhisattva
Monjushiri recited the words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and the Venerable Ananda,
in response to this, replied nyoze gamon, "This is what I heard." The 999
other great arhats then all dipped their brushes in ink and wrote down the
words that were spoken.
The Heart Sutra
Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One was dwelling in Rajagriha at Vulture
Peak mountain, together with a great gathering of the sangha of monks and a
great gathering of the sangha of bodhisattvas. At that time the Blessed One
entered the samadhi that expresses the dharma called "profound
illumination," and at the same time noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva
mahasattva, while practicing the profound prajnaparamita, saw in this way:
he saw the five skandhas to be empty of nature.
Then, through the power of the Buddha, venerable Shariputra said to noble
Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, "How should a son or daughter
of noble family train, who wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita?"
Addressed in this way, noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva,
said to venerable Shariputra, "O Shariputra, a son or daughter of noble
family who wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita should see in this
way: seeing the five skandhas to be empty of nature. Form is emptiness;
emptiness also is form. Emptiness is no other than form; form is no other
than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, perception, formation, and
consciousness are emptiness. Thus, Shariputra, all dharmas are emptiness.
There are no characteristics. There is no birth and no cessation. There is
no impurity and no purity. There is no decrease and no increase. Therefore,
Shariputra, in emptiness, there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no
formation, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no
mind; no appearance, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no dharmas, no
eye dhatu up to no mind dhatu, no dhatu of dharmas, no mind consciousness
dhatu; no ignorance, no end of ignorance up to no old age and death, no end
of old age and death; no suffering, no origin of suffering, no cessation of
suffering, no path, no wisdom, no attainment, and no non-attainment.
Therefore, Shariputra, since the bodhisattvas have no attainment, they abide
by means of prajnaparamita.
Since there is no obscuration of mind, there is no fear. They transcend
falsity and attain complete nirvana. All the buddhas of the three times, by
means of prajnaparamita, fully awaken to unsurpassable, true, complete
enlightenment. Therefore, the great mantra of prajnaparamita, the mantra of
great insight, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequaled mantra, the mantra that
calms all suffering, should be known as truth, since there is no deception.
The prajnaparamita mantra is said in this way:
OM GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA
Thus, Shariputra, the bodhisattva mahasattva should train in the profound
prajnaparamita.
Then the Blessed One arose from that samadhi and praised noble
Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, saying, "Good, good, O son of
noble family; thus it is, O son of noble family, thus it is. One should
practice the profound prajnaparamita just as you have taught and all the
tathagatas will rejoice."
When the Blessed One had said this, venerable Shariputra and noble
Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, that whole assembly and the
world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the
words of the Blessed One.
Sutra Pitaka
The Sutra Pitaka, the second division of the
Tipitaka,
consists of over 10,000 Sutras, or discourses, delivered by the Buddha and
his close disciples during the Buddha's forty-five year teaching career, as
well as many additional verses by other members of the Sangha. Many of these
Sutras are available on-line - particularly at the
Vipassana.com and
Access to Insight web sites - but not all.
The sutras are grouped into five nikayas, or collections:
-
Digha Nikaya
- The "Long" Discourses (Pali digha = "long"), which consists of
34 Sutras, including the well-known
Mahasatipatthana
Sutra (The Greater Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness), the
Samaññaphala Sutra
(The Fruits of the Contemplative Life), the
Mahaparinibbana
Sutra (The Buddha's Last Days), and many others.
-
Majjhima Nikaya
- The "Middle-length" Discourses (Pali majjhima = "middle"),
which consists of 152 Sutras of varying length, including the
Sabbasava Sutra (All the Taints),
Culakammavibhanga Sutra (Shorter Exposition of Kamma), the
Anapanasati
Sutra (Mindfulness of Breathing),
Kayagatasati
Sutra (Mindfulness of the Body), the Angulimala Sutra (The Story of
Angulimala), and many more.
-
Samyutta Nikaya
- The "Grouped" Discourses (Pali samyutta = "group" or
"collection"), which consists of 2,889 shorter Sutras grouped together by
theme into 56 samyuttas.
-
Anguttara Nikaya
- The "Further-factored" Discourses (Pali anga = "factor" +
uttara = "beyond," "further"), which consists of 8,777 short
Sutras,
grouped together into eleven nipatas according to the number of
items of Dhamma covered in each Sutra. For example, the Eka-nipata
("Book of the Ones") contains Sutras about a single item of Dhamma; the
Duka-nipata ("Book of the Twos") contains Sutras dealing with two
items of Dhamma, and so on.
-
Khuddaka Nikaya
- The "Division of Short Books" (Pali khudda = "smaller,"
"lesser"), consisting of 15 "books" (17 in the Thai edition; 18 in the
Burmese), including the
Dhammapada,
Therigatha (Verses of the Elder Nuns),
Theragatha (Verses of the Elder Monks),
Sutra Nipata, Jataka stories, etc.
