Explanation of the Diamond Sutra: Why Is the Dharma Attained by the Tathagata Neither Real nor Unreal?

Chapter Fourteen: Extinguishing Appearances and Entering Serenity
Subhūti, the Dharma attained by the Tathāgata is neither real nor unreal.

Explanation: Subhūti, the Dharma cultivated and realized by the Tathāgata is neither truly existent nor false.

What Dharma, then, can the Tathāgata ultimately attain? Why is it neither real nor unreal? To summarize simply, the Dharma accomplished by the Tathāgata involves the Tathāgata with an aggregate body (the five skandhas) eliminating all defilements and ignorance, ultimately realizing the unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment (anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi), perfecting the unsurpassed bodhi, fully possessing the supremely majestic thirty-two marks, and establishing a pure and majestic Buddha-land to receive and guide sentient beings with affinities, enabling them to together accomplish the Buddha Way. As for the Dharma-body Buddha without an aggregate body—the immaculate consciousness—it ultimately transforms consciousness into wisdom, becoming the Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom (Mahāpratisaravidyā) that illuminates the great chiliocosm. Its meritorious functions perfectly illuminate all dharmas, knowing all dharmas, awakening to all dharmas, and illuminating all dharmas without exception.

Whether it is the Reward Body Buddha, the Response Body Buddha, or the Transformation Body Buddha with thirty-two marks, or the Formless Dharma Body Buddha, the Dharma they attain is neither real nor unreal, neither existent nor non-existent. If one says these dharmas are unreal, yet the Buddhas after all possess the thirty-two marks, after all transform consciousness into wisdom, after all realize the Buddha fruit, after all extensively deliver immeasurable sentient beings, after all can manifest countless billions of transformation bodies, after all can establish countless Buddha-lands, after all perfect all-knowing wisdom (sarvajñā-jñāna), after all know all dharmas without exception, are perfectly clear about all matters, possess pure and flawless wisdom, and after all increase immeasurable, boundless wisdom, functions, and virtuous powers, reaching perfection and becoming the Supreme Honored One. These dharmas truly exist for the Tathāgata; they are not fabrications, not imaginations. The Buddhas and Tathāgatas, through three great immeasurable eons of arduous cultivation of the path, enduring the unendurable, practicing the unpracticable, for the sake of sentient beings and for the sake of the Buddha Dharma, have expended boundless effort and toil. Their merit and virtue cannot be fully recounted or praised even through countless eons.

If one says the Dharma attained by the Tathāgata is real, yet these dharmas are after all subject to birth, cessation, and change, manifested by the immaculate consciousness and revealed by it. For example, the Tathāgata's aggregate body is also produced by causes and conditions; when conditions cease, it disperses. The thirty-two marks associated with the aggregate body will also disperse with the conditions. When conditions gather, the Tathāgata will again manifest countless and immeasurable aggregate bodies and thirty-two marks along with the eighty minor characteristics. The Buddha-lands manifested by the Tathāgata to deliver sentient beings appear when conditions arise and disperse when conditions cease. When conditions gather, countless Buddha-lands will again be manifested to receive and embrace immeasurable, boundless multitudes of sentient beings. Only the Tathāgata's immaculate consciousness, the Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom, is the true Dharma that eternally and forever never changes—real and existent, not false or illusory.

Original Text: Subhūti, if a bodhisattva’s mind abides in dharmas while practicing giving, it is like a person entering darkness, who sees nothing. If a bodhisattva’s mind does not abide in dharmas while practicing giving, it is like a person with eyes, under the bright sunlight, who sees all kinds of forms.

Explanation: Subhūti, if a bodhisattva, while practicing giving (dāna), abides mentally in the appearances of the six dusts (objects of the senses) while performing the act, it is like a person entering a dark place who can only see darkness and nothing else. If a bodhisattva practices giving without the mind abiding in the appearances of the six dusts, without abiding in any dharma while performing the act, it is like a person whose eyes are intact, and the sunlight is shining brightly; he can see all kinds of forms and is not obscured by darkness.

Why is it that if the mind abides in appearances while giving, it is obscured by darkness and cannot see forms? Because this bodhisattva’s mind is entirely focused on forms, recognizing only forms; thus, he cannot see the true Dharma nature behind the forms. His mind is obscured by the forms, and what he sees are all illusory appearances, not corresponding to the true reality (dharmatā). This bodhisattva is bound by illusory appearances and ultimately cannot attain liberation. For example, a bodhisattva gives in order to attain physical beauty and majesty, to receive karmic rewards of wealth and nobility, to be reborn in heaven and enjoy pleasures, to gain the admiration of others, to attain the throne of a wheel-turning sage king and rule over sentient beings, and so forth. These are all conditioned worldly dharmas; when conditions disperse, they inevitably cease. Such mental actions do not correspond to the Diamond Prajñā mind of true reality; the mind does not attain emptiness and purity and thus cannot attain the correct fruit of bodhi.

If a bodhisattva practices giving while clinging to the appearances of the six dusts, he cannot perceive the true nature of the six dusts. He cannot realize that the six dusts are all manifested and sustained by the mind of true reality, all are functions of the Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature) mind of true reality, and thus he cannot attain the patient endurance of the non-arising of dharmas (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti) and the patient endurance of non-arising. Giving while abiding in appearances, with a mind seeking worldly gains through conditioned dharmas, has a narrow mental scope and limited vision. His wisdom is neither broad nor great, and thus he cannot accomplish the Buddha Way. If a bodhisattva practices giving without the mind abiding in appearances, because his mind seeks no gain, it accords with, conforms to, and corresponds with the bodhi mind, and he will certainly realize bodhi. Because this bodhisattva does not cling to the appearances of the six dusts, he also does not cling to the appearance of self, the appearance of person, the appearance of sentient beings, or the appearance of life span. His inner mind is empty and pure, seeking nothing, and he can constantly perceive the true reality of all dharmas. His mental scope is vast, his merit and virtue are immense, and his wisdom of non-arising and patient endurance of non-arising will gradually become boundless and limitless. He will swiftly accomplish the Buddha Way and perfect bodhi.

Original Text: Subhūti, in ages to come, if there are good men or good women who can receive, uphold, read, and recite this sūtra, then the Tathāgata, by means of Buddha-wisdom, will completely know these people, completely see these people, and they will all attain the accomplishment of immeasurable and boundless merit.

Explanation: Subhūti, in the future Dharma-ending Age, if there are good men or good women who can wholeheartedly receive, uphold, read, and recite this Vajra Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, then I, with the pure and vast Buddha-wisdom possessed by the Tathāgata, will completely know all these people, completely see all these people, and they will all accomplish immeasurable and boundless merit.

Why can these good men and good women who receive, uphold, read, and recite the Vajra Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra all accomplish immeasurable and boundless merit? Because those who can hear the Diamond Sūtra already know that they and all sentient beings possess the indestructible diamond mind (Vajra citta), and their merit and virtue are already inconceivable. After hearing it, if they can practice accordingly and realize this Diamond Prajñā mind of true reality, their merit and virtue become even more inconceivable. Their wisdom will also deepen and broaden increasingly, the multitudes of humans and devas they deliver will be beyond measure, and in the future, they will swiftly accomplish the Buddha Way. To receive and uphold the Diamond Sūtra, one must have already awakened to the Diamond Prajñā mind of true reality; otherwise, one cannot truly believe and accept it, nor can one truly practice it.

Upholding (持, *dhāraṇa*) means relying on the Vajra mind of true reality to cultivate and eliminate the defilements and ignorance of the seventh consciousness (manas), thereby increasing great prajñā wisdom. Reading (读) means interpreting and understanding the prajñā meaning of the Tathāgatagarbha. Reciting (诵) means the prajñā meaning has become familiar to the mind and deeply implanted within it. Receiving (受) means to receive and accept; after realizing the Tathāgatagarbha, one can receive, observe, and contemplate the nature and functions of the Tathāgatagarbha. Upholding (持) means relying on the Tathāgatagarbha to change one's mental actions. Therefore, without awakening to the Tathāgatagarbha, one cannot truly read, recite, receive, and uphold it, cannot widely propagate the Dharma of the Tathāgatagarbha, and cannot extensively deliver immeasurable sentient beings. Thus, the good men and good women who receive, uphold, read, and recite the Vajra Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra can all accomplish immeasurable and boundless merit.