The Diamond Sutra: I to III

Translation by E.B. Cowell, F. Max Mulller, and J. Takakusu

 At that time again the venerable Subhûti came to that assembly and sat down. Then rising from his seat and putting his robe over one shoulder, kneeling on the earth with his right knee, he stretched out his folded hands towards Bhagavat and said to him:

'It is wonderful, O Bhagavat, it is exceedingly wonderful, O Sugata, how much the noble-minded Bodhisattvas have been favoured with the highest favour by the Tathâgata, the holy and fully enlightened!

It is wonderful how much the noble-minded Bodhisattvas have been instructed[1] with the highest instruction by the Tathâgata, the holy and fully enlightened! How then, O Bhagavat, should the son or the daughter of a good family, after having entered on the path of the Bodhisattvas, behave, how should he advance, and how should he restrain his thoughts?'

 After the venerable Subhûti had thus spoken, Bhagavat said to him: 'Well said, well said, Subhûti! So it is, Subhûti, so it is, as you say. The noble-minded Bodhisattvas have been favoured with the highest favour by the Tathâgata, the noble-minded Bodhisattvas have been instructed with the highest instruction by the Tathâgata. Therefore, O Subhûti, listen and take it to heart, well and rightly. I shall tell you, how any one who has entered on the path of Bodhisanvas should behave, how he should advance, and how he should restrain his thoughts.'

Then the venerable Subhûti answered the Bhagavat and said: 'So be it, O Bhagavat.' 

Translation by Lobsang Chunzin & Michael Roach

Then a great number of monks advanced towards the Conqueror and, when they had reached his side, bowed and touched their heads to his feet. They circled him in respect three times, and seated themselves to one side. At this point the junior monk Subhuti was with this same group of disciples, and he took his seat with them.

Then the junior monk Subhuti rose from his cushion, dropped the corner of his upper robe from one shoulder in a gesture of respect, and knelt with hisright knee to the ground. He faced the Conqueror, joined his palms at his heart, and bowed. Then he beseeched the Conqueror, in the following words:

O Conqueror, the Buddha, the One Gone Thus, the Destroyer

of the Foe, the Totally Enlightened One, has given much

beneficial instruction to the bodhisattvas who are great beings.

All the instruction he has ever given has been of benefit.

And the One Gone Thus, the Destroyer of the Foe, the Totally

Enlightened One, has as well instructed these bodhisattvas

who are great beings by granting them clear direction. All the

clear direction he has ever granted, o Conqueror, has been a

wondrous thing. It is, o Conqueror, a wondrous thing.

And now, o Conquering One, what of those who have entered well into the way of the bodhisattva? How shall they live? How shall they practice?

How should they keep their thoughts?

This did Subhuti ask, and then the Conqueror spoke the following words, in reply to Subhuti's question:

O Subhuti, it is good, it is good. O Subhuti, thus it is, and

thus is it: the One Thus Gone has indeed done benefit to the

bodhisattvas who are great beings, by granting them beneficial instruction. The One Thus Gone has indeed given clear direction to the bodhisattvas who are great beings, by granting them the clearest of instruction.

And since it is so, o Subhuti, listen now to what I speak, and

be sure that it stays firmly in your heart, for I shall reveal to

you how it is that those who have entered well into the way of

the bodhisattva should live, and how they should practice, and

how they should keep their thoughts

"Thus shall I do," replied the junior monk Subhuti, and he sat to listen as instructed by the Conqueror.

Translation by Shan jian

(At that) opportune time  the elder venerable person, Subhuti (須菩提), being the eldest honorable within, promptly complying (with the custom), rose from his seat, inclining to one side, bared his right shoulder (and) knelt on his right knee.

(He) put his palms together deferentially and asked the Buddha saying,

"It is infrequent that there are, World Enlightened One (世尊), Tathagatas (如来) well disposed to protect (and) think about all Bodhisattvas

(菩薩) benevolently conjoining and instructing all Bodhisattvas. World Honored One, (when) virtuous men and virtuous women, develop the "an-uttara  sam-ya sam-bodhi" mind, answer, tell how (they) are to dwell and how to subdue their minds"

Buddha said, "excellent, excellent. Subhuti, it is such as you actually say.The Tathagata is well disposed to protect and think about all Bodhisattvas. He benevolently conjoins and instruct all Bodhisattvas.

 Now you be attentive and listen when being explained to you (how)  virtuous men and virtuous women develop "an-uttara  sam-ya sam-bodhi" mind, answering, how) thus to dwell, (how) thus to subdue their minds"

"Yes, like this, World honored One,  (I am) ready, delighted and wishing to hear."

Section III

Working Translation by Shan jian

佛吿須菩提: 諸菩薩摩訶薩應如是降伏其心:

Buddha said: 'Subhuti, all Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas ought to thus subdue their minds:

所有一切衆生之類,

若卵生, 若胎生,若濕生,若化生。

若有色, 若無色, 。若有想, 若無想。若非有想非無想,

Actually having all  correspond to numerous births and such, as egg born, as fetus born, as moist born, as transformation born, as having appearance, as lacking appearance, as having thought, as having no thought, (and) as not-having thought and not not-having thought,

我皆令入無餘涅槃而滅度之。

I cause all to enter into not having "after" Nirvana (涅槃) yet they have not "extinguished worries and the sea of grief",

何以故？须菩提！若菩萨有我相、人相、众生相、寿者相，即非菩萨。

如是 滅度 無量 無數 無邊 衆生

Thus  "extinguishing worries and the sea of grief", immeasurable, innumerable, without boundry, a multitude come into existence.

實無衆生得滅度者。

Really none of the multitude (of) persons given birth obtain the necessity "to extinguish worries and the sea of grief".

何以故?

Whence is the cause?

須菩提 !

若菩薩有我相, 人相, 衆生相, 壽者相, 卽非菩薩。

Subhuti ! if a Bodhisattva, has “I” appearance, personal appearance, many birth appearances and a living person appearance (he or she) is consequently not being a Bodhisattva.

Let us look at this translation of Section III

 and that of Lobsang Chunzin and also

that by E.B. Cowell, F. Max Mulller, and J. Takakusu.

Section III

Translation by E.B. Cowell, F. Max Mulller, and J. Takakusu

Then the Bhagavat thus spoke to him: 'Any one, O Subhûti, who has entered here on the path of the Bodhisattvas must thus frame his thought: As many beings as there are in this world of beings, comprehended under the term of beings (either born of eggs, or from the womb, or from moisture, or miraculously), with form or without form, with name or without name, or neither with nor without name, as far as any known world of beings is known, all these must be delivered by me in the perfect world of Nirvâna.

And yet, after I have thus delivered immeasurable beings, not one single being has been delivered. And why? If, O Subhûti, a Bodhisattva had any idea of (belief in) a being, he could not be called a Bodhisattva (one who is fit to become a Buddha). And why? Because, O Subhûti, no one is to be called a Bodhisattva, for whom there should exist the idea of a being, the idea of a living being, or the idea of a person.'

Translation by Lobsang Chunzin & Michael Roach

The Conqueror too then began, with the

following words:

Subhuti, this is how those who have entered well into the way

of the bodhisattva must think to themselves as they feel the

Wish to achieve enlightenment:

I will bring to nirvana the total amount of living beings, every single

one numbered among the ranks ofliving kind: those who were born

from eggs, those who were bornfrom a womb, those who were born

through warmth and moisture, thosewho were born miraculously, thosewho have a physical form, thosewith none, those with conceptions,those with none, and those withneither conceptions nor noconceptions.

However many living beings there are, in whatever realms there may be, anyone at all labelled with the name of "living being," all

these will I bring to total nirvana, to the sphere beyond all grief, where none of the parts of the suffering person are left at all. Yet even if I do manage to bring this limitless number of living beings to total nirvana, there will be no living being at all who was brought to

their total nirvana.

Why is it so? Because, Subhuti, if a bodhisattva were to slip

into conceiving of someone as a living being, then we could

never call them a "bodhisattva."

Why is it so? Because, o Subhuti, if anyone were to slip into

conceiving of someone as a living being, or as something that

lives, or as a person, then we could never call them a

"bodhisattva."

Now compare the translation by Shan jian

Buddha said: 'Subhuti, all Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas ought to thus subdue their minds:

Actually having all  correspond to numerous births and such, as egg born, as fetus born, as moist born, as transformation born, as having appearance, as lacking appearance, as having thought, as having no thought, (and) as not-having thought and not not-having thought

I cause all to enter into not having "after" Nirvana (涅槃) yet they have not "extinguished worries and the sea of grief",

Thus  "extinguishing worries and the sea of grief", immeasurable, innumerable, without boundry, a multitude come into existence.

Really none of the multitude (of) persons given birth obtain the necessity (which is) "to extinguish worries and the sea of grief".

Whence is the cause?

Subhuti, if a Bodhisattva, has “I” appearance, personal appearance, many birth appearances and a living person appearance (he or she) is consequently not being a Bodhisattva.

COMMENTARY UPON SECTION III

Section three is the first and perhaps the most difficult of the sections to understand, but once the comprehension is complete all that follows will fall into place.

First note that Buddha is addressing Bodhisattvas and Mahasttvas and one must understand what those terms really mean. Neither a Bodhisattva nor a Mahasattva is an Awakened nor Enlightened person. They have simply taken a pledge that is accompanied with great patience, calmness of mind, determination, perseverance and well based introspection with free critical inquiry to reserve that final personal Enlightenment until all sentient creatures reach that liberation.

The advice Buddha gives then is to subdue the mind. From the Chan and Dao perspectives this means setting aside the cognitive mind, liberating the balanced and tuned Feminine principles so that the masculine expression will eliminate the Duality and the Identity control of Cognitive stained intellect.

This section is not aimed at teaching how that can be accomplished, but to set forth an important warning about the most important error made whilst upon the path.

Buddha mentions that life exists with many variations, that which comes from the egg and the fetus, which are self evident, birth within moisture (fish for example), and the transformation into viable life by metamorphosis, which is a biological process by which a living life form physically develops really after birth or hatching (this includes some insects, frogs, toads, newts some amphibious mammals, mollusks, crustaceans, cnidarians, echinoderms and tunicates. But we cannot be too rigorous here, for Buddha was not after all a biologist.

The problem arises when the text declares " I cause all to enter into not having "after" Nirvana (涅槃).

"Aftr Nirvana" means "rebirth", taken in error to be "reincarnation", and the statement refers to the idea that all these life forms can be led by the Bodhisattva or Mahasattva to a liberation from rebirth. This idea of Nirvana is also presented with another phrase as the state of having "extinguished worries and the sea of grief".

But in Chan liberation is only possible and necessary for the sentient creature with a stained "Alaya" , eighth consciousness which is the human creature.

This doctrinal point is not important here, for the main lesson is concerning the "conceptualization" of the idea of "Nirvana and the "extinguished worries and the sea of grief".

That conceptualization is a mental event and is made up within cognition of a set of words and phrases which describe the concept. Those words and concepts require the cognition of "I" the thinker.  Behind at a deeper level than that conceptualization is the RAW EXPERIENCE of "Nirvana and the "extinguished worries and the sea of grief".

Thus on entering the Nirvana state the last problem to be encountered is a "clinging to existence" through the presence of this Identity observer. That does not mean that Nirvana cannot be experienced and that that experience cannot be observed. It only means that it is a great detriment if there is an "observer" present.

Thus it can be said correctly that if there is the “I” appearance in cognition; any conceptualization that there is a person that is liberated by Nirvana from "worries and the sea of grief", any conceptualization that there has been a rebirth of anything or anybody; or the most minimal idea that there is a living creature involved in such an apparent transition and experience, then the "Nirvana" is neither complete nor can be said to have taken place.

It is important to understand that the cognitive illusion is not destroyed, but it remains as clear illusion, for the utility of expression and internal thought, and must be understood in that way and not considered as real.

This returns us to the basic idea that there are natural experiences which can be conceptualized, but if those conceptualizations are considered as "real" then there is a staining of the cognitive mind and the result is greater conditioning of identity presence together with resultant clinging and craving.

It is clear then that not only holding Nirvana as a real concept , holding both the "extinguishing of illusory worries and the sea of grief" as real and holding the conceptualization of a Bodhisattva as real are impediments for the vital experiences.

Thus it can be declared that only when the Bodhisattva concept is seen to be illusion, at a level more profound than intellect, is there the Bodhisattva experience...only when the conceptualization of Nirvana is seen to be illusion at a level more profound than intellect is there a Nirvana experience ... only when the conceptulization of "extinguishing of illusory worries and the sea of grief" are seen as illusion at a level more profound than intellect can there be such extinguishing.

Furthermore it must be clearly understood, that when there is neither "Nirvana" nor "No Nirvana" is there an unstained experience of "Nirvana" beyond all words. Only when understood deeper than intellect that there is neither a "bodhisattva" nor  "no Bodhisattva" is the natural experience of Bodhisattvahood complete and beyond words. 

Here ends the commentary on the Section III