The Diamond Sutra
金剛般若波羅蜜多經
The Diamond Timely Prajna Paramita Sutra
Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra
Devanagari: वज्रच्छेदिका प्रज्ञापारमितासूत्र).
Also called the Diamond Cutter Perfection of Wisdom Sutra.
The Diamond Sūtra appears to to begin from a very early date in the development of Prajñāpāramitā literature.
The first translation of the Diamond Sūtra into Chinese was done in 401 CE by Kumārajīva. The Kumārajīva translation has been highly esteemed over the centuries, and it is this version that appears on the 868 CE Dunhuang scroll and is translated here.
One of the questions that arises with respect to the text that one is translating is, what was its source. We have here the Diamond Sutra and though we can be sure that such a sutra was not generated by Buddha, it was written by an individual or a group of persons that put together a magnificent text.
When academic specialists in philology play with these texts they are not the slightest bit interested if they reflect any tuth at all. Their interest unfortunately is only historical and this position leads readers to grasp the mistaken impression that the first text is the best... What folly!
Personally I do not give a damn if a text was earlier or later if what it does is reflect the truth regarding the direct experiences. That is why persons who translate for easier understanding and those wo do so without having captured the true experiences in contemplation are doing no favours to anyone, let alone themselves.
The other problem which is most difficult to solve is that of dictionary usage. It was pointed out to me correctly that dictionaries do not contain all the possible subtleties in translation, and frankly such a Chinese dictionary of perfection is not available. Yet that does not matter, for there is no dictionary at all that translates the experiences related to the early characters. A modern Chinese reader really has little idea of the actual content of these early texts, and without the capacity to work with experiences not the word translation, the result is always inferior.
The dictionaries then at best provide only a clue to the possible meaning that can help unlock the experience, so the perfect dictionary will often be of little utility.
What is important and has been a masterful academic contribution to the understanding of these texts in Chinese are the etymological dictionaries. Here is where the secret lies in understanding the threads which run through a long chain of alternatives. The trap here is always in choosing the words that suit your own particular fancy and this can only be limited once more by understanding the direct experiences.
This sets up "direct experience" as the translator and not the "Identity of the translator" in a valid translation.
Particularly in the Diamond Sutra this is important, for since the sutra teaches that words are ideas and all ideas are dual, translation in any way that does not go beyond those words using those experiences is useless.
This means that any translator that has directly experienced Dharma essentials beyond the words must set his apparent self up as the authority and of course that leaves him or her open to the accusation of arrogance and more. Well that is precisely what I have done and at least for the first (more or less fifteen sections) I have taken the "arrogant" liberty to assume that my own experiences match that of the unknown original person or persons who generated this magnificent sutra.
I await dispensation from those that are helped by these translations and if there is no clamour of distrust after a certain respectable time I will take the liberty once more of translating as best as I can.
Introduction
Before we begin the Diamond sutra it will be an advantage if the reader can experience really what was going on behind the words used to describe the Dharma situation and the teaching which took place at Shravasti.
In the Buddha's day, there were fifty seven thousand families living in in Sravasti, one of the largest cities in India and it was the chief city in the country of Kosala.
Two monasteries, Jetavana and the Pubbarama, in Buddha's time were close to Savatthi.
The Jetavana monastery stood within Anathapindika's Park.
The park was purchased from Prince Jeta as a residence for the Buddha by the wealthy banker Anathapindika, who was a lay disciple, for the price of covering its surface with gold coins. Prince Jeta in turn spent the same sum in the construction of a Gate for the Park, and Anathapindika spent twice that amount again in the construction of residences and landscaping. The grove was presumably within the park grounds.
Note: Shrvasti Vihara (舍衛国) and Jetvana park (祇 樹 給孤 獨)
In Chinese a Vihara is a Shrine room. Vihara here in the Chinese text is to be considered as an enclosed walled area.
In Sanskrit, Jetavana means "Jeta forest." The Chinese presentation of Jetavana as (祇 樹 給孤 獨) and is a descriptive elaboration as "Forest Park of Serenity for the benefit of the fatherless and solitary."