Explanation of the Diamond Sutra: Why an Individual with Pure Faith Is Free from the Four Forms, Free from the Notion of Dharma, and Free from the Notion of Non-Dharma?

Those who have pure faith in the Buddha's teaching that "if one sees all marks as non-marks, then one sees the Tathāgata" possess exceptionally profound roots of faith, having planted deep roots of merit and virtue at the feet of immeasurable tens of millions of Buddhas. To attain pure faith, one must have personally realized the vajra mind, the emptiness of the four marks, and the emptiness of dharma marks; only after such realization can one be free of doubts regarding dharma marks and non-dharma marks, and only then is one's faith pure. Verified faith is pure faith; faith before realization contains varying degrees of doubt and is impure. After realizing the vajra mind, one will have no mark of self, no mark of person, no mark of sentient beings, and no mark of a lifespan within the mind, directly observing that these marks are all illusory appearances projected by the vajra mind, and therefore all are empty.

The four marks are relatively superficial, requiring observation wisdom that is not too deep or subtle. Dharma marks are more subtle than the four marks, requiring deeper and finer observation wisdom. Therefore, the wisdom of no four marks is shallower than the wisdom of no dharma marks, belonging to the prajñā wisdom of the three virtuous stages, while having neither dharma marks nor non-dharma marks belongs to the wisdom of consciousness-only attained after entering the bodhisattva grounds. The four marks fall within the scope of sentient beings' five aggregates. Although dharma marks do not exceed the scope of the five aggregates, they are extremely subtle and difficult to observe. For example, all worldly customs and traditions, all rules, regulations, and legal systems, all human behavioral norms and standards, various human ideologies, academic and technical knowledge across disciplines and fields, all natural phenomena, as well as various Buddhist cultivation methods, concepts, views, and understandings—these dharma marks are too numerous, extensive, deep, and subtle, with many being inexpressible, all belonging to the realm of consciousness-only wisdom. Yet these dharma marks are all non-dharma marks; they are merely designated as dharma marks.

Those who can generate pure faith in the profound Dharma principles spoken by the Buddha with a single thought not only have no four marks in their minds but have also eradicated dharma marks, and have even eradicated non-dharma marks. Their minds are extremely pure, not grasping or clinging to any marks, with very profound and sharp wisdom. Ordinary sentient beings who have not eradicated the four marks may also have faith in the profound Dharma principles spoken by the Buddha, but because they have not realized them, doubts remain in their minds; their faith is not verified faith and thus is not entirely pure. Bodhisattvas who have only eradicated the four marks, though having realized the Dharma and possessing verified faith, still have uneradicated dharma marks; their realization is insufficient and incomplete, and their faith is not yet pure enough. Only when they eradicate both dharma marks and non-dharma marks, and their minds become very empty and pure, free from clinging to any marks, do they become true bodhisattvas of pure faith.

If there is grasping and clinging in a person's mind, then the four marks exist, because where there is "self," there is grasping; if there is no self, who is it that grasps? Therefore, as long as a person grasps any mark, there are marks of self, person, sentient beings, and lifespan. If one grasps dharma marks, there are marks of self, person, sentient beings, and lifespan. If one grasps non-dharma marks, there are marks of self, person, sentient beings, and lifespan. Hence, a bodhisattva should not grasp at Dharma, nor should they grasp at non-Dharma. The Buddha said: The Dharma I speak can be likened to a raft. A raft must be used when crossing water, but upon reaching the shore, it must be discarded; otherwise, one cannot go ashore. The Dharma should be used when needed, but after realization, when it is no longer useful, it must be abandoned. Not only must the Dharma be abandoned, but non-Dharma must also be abandoned. If the mind holds either Dharma or non-Dharma, it is not empty and pure, and one cannot reach the shore of nirvana. Dharma is existence, non-Dharma is non-existence; existence is wrong, non-existence is also wrong. Since both are wrong, they must of course be abandoned. Once notions of right and wrong are established and grasped, the four marks are not empty. Since existence is wrong, its opposite, non-existence, is naturally also wrong. All dharmas are neither Dharma nor non-Dharma; transcending the four marks and cutting off all wrong views, one ultimately arrives home. This section eradicates dharma marks and non-dharma marks.

Diamond Sūtra: Section Six - The Rarity of True Faith. Original text: For this reason, the Tathāgata constantly says: ‘Monks, you should know that the Dharma I teach is like a raft. Even the Dharma should be relinquished, how much more so non-Dharma.’

Explanation: For this reason, the Tathāgata constantly says: You monks should know that I teach the Dharma to ferry people across, just like the raft simile. Once the river is crossed, the raft should be discarded; there is no need to keep treading on it. The same is true of the Buddhadharma; after attaining Buddhahood, it is no longer useful. At the point of attaining Buddhahood, relinquishing all dharmas enables one to become a Buddha. Even this Dharma should be relinquished, how much more so the non-Dharma of nihilistic emptiness, which must be relinquished even more.

Why does the Tathāgata use the raft simile when teaching the Dharma? A raft is used to ferry people across a river. Upon reaching the shore, one must abandon the raft to go ashore; refusing to leave the raft prevents one from going ashore. The Dharma spoken by the Buddha is the raft; sentient beings riding this Dharma raft can reach the other shore of great nirvana. If sentient beings still harbor even one dharma that exists and does not cease, their minds are impure, defiled, and ignorant, unable to perfectly accomplish the Buddha Way and realize great nirvana. One must relinquish all dharmas in the mind, clinging neither to existence nor emptiness, becoming as empty and pure as the true suchness mind, without a single dharma. However, before reaching the shore, one must never abandon the raft. What use is abandoning the raft when the ocean of birth and death remains uncrossed? The Buddhadharma is medicine, used to treat sentient beings' various afflictions and ignorance illnesses. The Dharma of the Tathāgatagarbha is like a single medicinal powder that cures all sentient beings' ignorance illnesses; those who take it will surely eradicate ignorance, cross the ocean of birth and death, and accomplish the path to nirvana. Only this medicine can rescue sentient beings, ferrying them to the other shore of nirvana. Therefore, if a child of the Buddha wishes to reach the shore of nirvana, they must relinquish all dharmas of existence and emptiness, both Dharma and non-Dharma.