The Profound Meaning of the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra from the Consciousness-Only Perspective (Second Edition)
Chapter Thirteen Receiving and Holding the Dharma According to the Teachings, Twelve
Original text:复次。须菩提。随说是经。乃至四句偈等。当知此处。一切世间天人阿修罗。皆应供养。如佛塔庙。何况有人。尽能受持读诵。须菩提。当知是人。成就最上第一希有之法。若是经典所在之处。即为有佛。若尊重弟子。
Explanation: Furthermore, Subhūti, wherever this Diamond Sutra is expounded, even down to a four-line verse from the Diamond Sutra and so forth, you should know that in all such places, all the devas, humans, and asuras of the world should come to make offerings, just as they would make offerings to a Buddha's stūpa or temple—how much more so for someone who can completely receive, hold, read, and recite the Diamond Sutra. Subhūti, you should know that such a person has already accomplished the most supreme, foremost, and rare dharma. Wherever this sutra is present, there is a Buddha, and this sutra should be revered just as one reveres the Buddha's disciples.
Why did the Buddha say that wherever the Diamond Sutra is expounded, along with any four-line verse from the sutra, offerings should be made, and that such places should be treated like a Buddha's stūpa? This statement contains a great secret of the Buddha-dharma, a profoundly esoteric meaning. If it were answered fully and clearly, the secret would be broken, and the consequences would be serious. Here it can only be described briefly and lightly; it cannot be explained in depth. There is a saying in the Buddha-dharma: "All dharmas are manifested by the mind, and transformed by consciousness." Without mind, nothing can be accomplished. The minds that accomplish things are not just one; the true and the false are in union, and all participate. Among them, the first transformative agency (parināma) is the eighth consciousness, this vajra mind (vajra-citta). He is the principal consciousness that gives rise to all dharmas; the dharma-seeds are output directly from Him. He possesses the five universal mental factors of contact (sparśa), attention (manaskāra), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā); He makes contact with the seeds, focuses the mind on the seeds, receives the seeds, discerns the seeds, and then outputs the seeds, manifesting the dharmas that correspond to those seeds.
The second transformative agency is the manas. He first attends to the seeds and gives rise to the intention to create karmic actions, but He cannot concretely do anything Himself; He needs the third transformative agency, the mind consciousness, to concretely execute things according to His intentions and plans. When the eighth consciousness knows this, He cooperates with the manas and the mind consciousness to accomplish what they wish to do. Therefore, in places where the Diamond Sutra and its four-line verses are expounded and recited, the vajra mind is present—the appearance of this Buddha—and thus offerings should be made there. The offering is made to the vajra mind, while the five-aggregate body is like a Buddha's stūpa, within which the vajra mind—the Buddha—is dwelling and upholding. Therefore, making offerings to a place where the Diamond Sutra is expounded is like making offerings to a Buddha's stūpa; and if someone can completely receive, hold, read, and recite the Diamond Sutra, offerings should be made to them all the more.
What does it mean to completely receive and hold the Diamond Sutra? It means being a person who has already realized the vajra mind. Such a person has already fully known the complete overall picture of the vajra mind, has already known how the vajra mind produces the five aggregates, the eighteen realms, and the great trichiliocosm, and has also known the various functional seeds contained within the vajra mind. At that point, one is already a bodhisattva who has attained the bhūmis, and of course offerings should be made to such a person all the more. A person who has not realized the vajra mind cannot completely receive, hold, read, and recite the vajra mind; their understanding of the nature of the vajra mind is vague and unclear—how could they completely receive and hold it!
The Buddha told Subhūti that this person who has realized the vajra mind, and who also possesses the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only, has already accomplished the most supreme, foremost, and rare dharma. A person whose cultivation has reached this level is of course extremely rare; even in a great trichiliocosm there are not many. A trichiliocosm is like a pyramid: at the apex is the Buddha, only one, with no second or third; flanking the Buddha are the bodhisattvas of equal enlightenment (saṃmaya-prāpta), below them are the bodhisattvas of the tenth bhūmi down to the first bhūmi, and further down to the bodhisattvas of the seventh abode who have just attained enlightenment. The further down, the more numerous; the further up, the fewer. Those who have just come into contact with the Buddha-dharma are the vast majority. Those who have never encountered the Buddha-dharma are even more numerous, and the sentient beings in the three evil realms are beyond calculation. Among the countless people who study Buddhism and resolve to cultivate, those who cultivate to the point of enlightenment are extremely few, and bodhisattvas who have attained the bhūmis are exceedingly rare. Therefore, offerings should be made all the more to those who can completely receive, hold, read, and recite the Diamond Sutra; the merit from that is immense.
The Buddha said that wherever the Diamond Sutra is present, there is a Buddha present. The Diamond Sutra is the vajra mind, and the vajra mind is the Buddha. Moreover, both the formation and the proclamation of this Diamond Sutra are inseparable from the vajra mind—there is still a Buddha present, for it is all formed and manifested by the vajra mind. Therefore, this Diamond Sutra should be revered just as one reveres the Buddha's disciples.
