Diamond Sutra – Buddha

Diamond Sutra

Adoration of the Venerable and Sacred Perfection of Wisdom!


1) So I heard.


On one occasion the Master was in the Garden of Anathapindaka, in the Jeta Grove, in the kingdom of Svrasti, in company with 1250 monks.


In the morning, the Master girded on his undergarments, took his bowl and robe, walked through the great city of Svrasti, asking for food, and ate his meal. After this, he returned from his begging journey, put away his bowl and mantle, washed his feet, sat cross-legged on the seat assigned to him and, with his body very erect, entered a state of Meditation. Then many monks approached the place where the Master was. They prostrated themselves at his feet, walked around him three times, from left to right, and sat down beside him.


two)


Then the Venerable Subhuti, who was in the Assembly, rose from his seat, threw his robe over one shoulder, placed himself with his right knee on the ground, and, with folded hands, turning to the Master, said:


-O Master, how wonderful! O Blessed One, what a wonderful thing! Thanks to the Tathagata1, the Venerable One, the Awakened One, the seekers of the Way, the great men are enveloped by the Supreme Boon! How wonderful, O Master! Thanks to the Tathagata, the Venerable One, the Awakened One, the Supreme Quest has been given to seekers of the Way, to great men.


– However, O Master, how should respectable young men and women who follow the Path of Bodhisattvas live, how should they act, how should they maintain their minds?

Questioned in this way, the Master replied as follows to Venerable Subhuti:


“Well said, Subhuti! The Tathagata surrounds seekers of the Way, great men in the Supreme Gift. The Tathagata gives you the Supreme Mission. Therefore listen to me, O Subhuti! Reflect well! I will tell you how respectable young men and women who follow the Path of Bodhisattvas should live, how they should act, how they should keep their minds.


“It is my wish to hear from you,” replied Subhuti to the Master.


3)


Thus said the Master:


– O Subhuti! All those who wish to seek the Way must realize the following:

“I shall guide all living beings, those born from eggs, those born from the mother’s womb, those born spontaneously, those with form and those without form, those with the ability to abstract and those without. the capacity to abstract, those who neither have the capacity to abstract, those who neither have nor fail to have the capacity to abstract, and all imaginable living beings, finally, to the state of eternal tranquility and without suffering. However, even if I guide an infinite number of living beings to Eternal Peace, in reality none of them will have been guided to Eternal Peace.”

This is because, Subhuti, if one who seeks the Way thinks that something has substance of its own, he can no longer be considered a Seeker of the Way. This is because, Subhuti, anyone who has the thoughts of “I”, “existing with self-substance”, “self-substance”, “individual”, etc., can no longer be considered a Seeker of the Way.

4)

Furthermore, Subhuti, he who seeks the Way cannot make boons to others while his mind is attached to something. One should not give anything with the mind attached to something. One should not give anything while the mind is attached to form. Nothing should be given away when the mind is attached to the voice, the smell, the taste, the things perceived by touch and the things perceived by the mind.

Thus, O Subhuti, Seekers of the Way, great men, shall make gifts to others without being attached to the desire to leave traces.

This is because, Subhuti, should the Seeker of the Way make gifts without clinging to anything, his merits will increase to the point where they can hardly be counted. What do you think, Subhuti? Can the space that extends to the East be easily measured?

Subhuti replied:

– He is immeasurable, Master.

The Master asked:

– And the space that extends to the South, to the West, to the North, below, above and in all directions, can it be measured easily?

“He is immeasurable, Master,” replied Subhuti.

The Master then said:

– O Subhuti! In the same way, the merit accumulated by the Seeker of the Path who makes gifts to others without having his mind attached to anything will be immeasurable.

O Subhuti! Anyone who aspires to become a Seeker of the Way should make gifts to others in this way, without being attached to the desire to leave traces.

5)

– O Subhuti! What do you think? Can one consider the Tathagata as someone endowed with special characteristics?

Subhuti replied:

– No, we cannot consider the Tathagata as someone endowed with special characteristics. This is because, O Master, the Tathagata taught that to be endowed with special characteristics is not to be endowed with special characteristics.

Upon hearing this reply, the Master said the following to Venerable Subhuti:

– O Subhuti! It is a lie to say that he is endowed with special characteristics, but it is not a lie to say that he is not endowed with special characteristics. Therefore, we should see the Tathagata in both ways: as being and as not being endowed with special characteristics.

6)

Hearing this, Venerable Subhuti asked the Master the following:

– The master! In the future, when at the end of the second period of five hundred years2 the correct teaching disappears, will there be anyone who considers the words of Sutras like this to be true?

The Master replied:

– Subhuti! You must not speak in this way. In the future, when at the end of the second period of five hundred years, the correct teaching disappears, surely there will be someone who considers the words of Sutras like this one to be true.

Subhuti! In the future, when at the end of the second period of five hundred years, the correct teaching disappears, those who, seeking the Way, are virtuous, observe the precepts and are endowed with profound wisdom, will certainly find the words of Sutras like this to be true.

Subhuti! Those virtuous seekers of the Way will not limit themselves to approaching a Buddha to worship him and accumulate good deeds with him. They will approach hundreds of thousands of Buddhas to worship them and accumulate good deeds with them. Therefore, upon hearing the words of Sutras like this one, they will surely gain unblemished confidence.

Subhuti! The Tathagata knows these people with the Wisdom of the Awakened One. Subhuti, the Tathagata sees them with the Eye of the Awakened One. Subhuti, the Tathagata has them in his memory. Subhuti, they will certainly accumulate for themselves immeasurable merits.

This is because, Subhuti, these Seekers of the Way, these great men have no thoughts of “I”, “existing with self-substance”, “self-substance” and “individual”. Furthermore, Subhuti, these Seekers of Truth, these great men, do not have the thoughts of “thing with its own substance” and “thing without its own substance”. Furthermore, Subhuti, they neither think nor cease to think.

This is because, Subhuti, if these Seekers of the Way, if these great men have the thought of “things of their own substance”, they will be attached to the self, to living beings, to the self-substance, to the individual.

Why?

Verily, Subhuti, the Seekers of Truth, the great men can cling neither to the Law nor to that which is not the Law.

Therefore, the Tathagata uttered the following words, with the same meaning:


🇧🇷“Whoever knows the Parable of the Raft3 needs to abandon even the Law and with much more reason also that which is not the Law”.

7)

Again the Master addressed a question to Venerable Subhuti:

– Subhuti, what do you think? Is there any Supreme Law experienced by the Tathagata? Is there any Supreme Law taught by the Tathagata?

Upon asking him this question, Subhuti turned to the Master and replied:

– Teacher! As I understand it from your teachings, there is no Supreme Law experienced and practiced by the Tathagata, because the Law experienced and taught by the Tathagata cannot be known or explained in words. It is neither the Law nor does it cease to be the Law, because the Awakened Ones manifest themselves through the Absolute itself.

8-

The Master asked:

– Subhuti, what do you think? If exemplary young men and women fill this Infinite Universe with the seven gems and offer all these to the Tathagata, the Venerable One, the Awakened One, will they accumulate much merit?

Subhuti replied:

– O Master, O Blessed One! Such exemplary young men and women will thereby gain countless merits. This is because, Master, the Tathagata taught that accumulating merit is not accumulating merit. That’s why the Tathagata speaks of accumulating merit.

The Master said:

– Subhuti, even if exemplary young men and women fill this Infinite Universe with the seven kinds of precious things and offer all these to the Tathagata, the Venerable One, the Awakened One, much greater will be the countless merits of the one who from this Law singles out a single verse and teaches it meticulously to others. This is because, Subhuti, the Supreme Enlightenment of the Tathagata, the Venerable One, the Enlightened One, is born there. This is because, Subhuti, the Tathagata taught that the Law of the Awakened One is not the Law of the Awakened One. That is why it is called the Law of the Awakened.

9-a)

– O Subhuti! One who has entered the stream of Endless Peace may think: “Have I entered the stream of Endless Peace?”

Subhuti replied:

– No, Master. He who has entered the stream of Endless Peace will never be able to think: – “I have entered the stream of Endless Peace”. That’s because, Master, he actually achieved absolutely nothing. That is why it is said that he entered the stream of Infinite Peace. He obtained neither the form, nor the sound, nor the smell, nor the taste, nor the thing perceptible by touch, nor the thing perceptible by the mind. That is why it is said that he entered the stream of Infinite Peace. Master, if he who has penetrated the stream of Endless Peace thinks: – “I have entered the stream of Endless Peace” – he will have attachment to the I, to living beings, to his own substance, to the individual.

9-b)

The Master asked:

– Subhuti, what do you think? He who only has to be reborn once to awaken, might think: – “I have already reached the point where I only need to be reborn once to awaken”?

Subhuti replied:

– No, Master. He who only needs to be reborn once to wake up will not be able to think:
– “I have reached the point where I only need to be reborn once to awaken”. This is because, although we say that you only need to be reborn once to awaken, in reality there is none of that. That’s why he is called the one who only has to be reborn once to awaken.

9-c)

– Subhuti, what do you think? He who will never be reborn might think: – “Have I already reached the condition of never having to be reborn’?

Subhuti replied:

– No, Master. He who will never be reborn will never be able to think: – “I have already reached the condition of never having to be reborn”. That’s because, Master, although we say he will never be reborn, in reality none of that happens. That’s why he is called the one who will never be born again.

9-d)

The Master asked:

– Subhuti, what do you think? He who is worthy of veneration may think: – “I have become a person worthy of…