The Profound Meaning of the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra from the Consciousness-Only Perspective (Second Edition)

The Essential Purport of the Diamond Sutra

Looking at the essential purport of the entire Diamond Sutra, it is none other than breaking through marks, breaking through marks, breaking through marks — breaking through all marks. It begins with breaking the four marks, and breaks through all dharma-marks. The scope of these dharma-marks is vast, immeasurable and boundless: whatever sentient beings can touch, see, think of, imagine, or discuss is all non-mark, including all dharmas and all marks within the mundane world and the three realms — the mark of self, the mark of others, the mark of sentient beings, the mark of a life span, the mark of the śrāvaka, the mark of the pratyekabuddha, the mark of the bodhisattva, the Buddha's thirty-two marks and His complete bodily marks, the mark of the Tathāgata, the mark of the great body; the mark of lands, the mark of dust motes, the mark of worlds, the mark of a single composite whole; the marks of sentient beings' minds, the mark of bodhisattvas' arising of bodhicitta, the mark of bodhisattvas adorning lands, the mark of bodhisattvas delivering sentient beings, the mark of all Buddhas expounding the Dharma, the mark of all Buddhas attaining the Dharma, the mark of all Buddhas attaining bodhi, the mark of the bodhisattvas' six pāramitās; and even the mark of prajñā-pāramitā, the mark of Buddha-dharma, the mark of the true reality of all dharmas, and so on and so forth. All marks are non-marks, non-non-marks; not dharma, not non-dharma.

And what is the basis for breaking through all these marks? The basis is the unborn and unceasing vajra mind. Because this indestructible vajra mind exists, all the dharma-marks it gives rise to are non-marks — and, stated more comprehensively, they are also non-non-marks. Therefore, the vajra prajñā mind is also called the great dhāraṇī gateway of one mark and no-mark, holding all marks and embracing all dharmas, causing all dharmas to be without self-nature and without self-mark; all dharmas are not dharma and not non-dharma; the world is empty, void, and illusorily empty.

The process and result of breaking through marks in the Diamond Sutra echo from afar the Guanyin Bodhisattva's Dharma gate of perfect penetration through the ear faculty, emptying everything that can be emptied, leaving only the vajra prajñā mind that can never be emptied no matter what — at the other shore, yet not the other shore, nor not the other shore — solitary and without companion, yet it is the one true dharma realm.

The Diamond Sutra also echoes from afar all the prajñā sūtras and Mahāyāna sūtras, mutually verifying one another with not the slightest discord: apart from emptiness there is only emptiness; emptiness carried to its end — not emptiness, nor not-emptiness. Can people of the world understand and awaken to this? If they awaken to it, are there still any marks left in their minds, anything they still grasp? Of course, in between there lies the path of realization spanning three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas, requiring the breaking through of one mark after another, breaking through them all and restoring the original state, returning home to sit in stability — yet by then there is no home to return to, no ground to sit on, and no body with which to sit. Is this not a stark, utterly empty Dharma gate of great liberation? It certainly is — having been liberated from the bondage of all dharmas. So may people of the world quickly break through the various marks! Quickly escape the various entanglements! Quickly cast off all burdens!