Commentary on the Diamond Sutra: Chapter Twenty-Nine, Majestic Demeanor and Tranquil Purity

So-called deportment refers to sentient beings' bodily, verbal, and mental actions in daily life—coming and going, greeting and seeing off, and so forth. A person of cultivation must make their bodily, verbal, and mental actions dignified and principled, conforming to certain standards. Monastics have the deportment of monastics; laypeople have the deportment of laypeople. With different identities come different deportments, and each sentient being's deportment must accord with their own identity. This chapter reveals the Buddha's deportment. The Buddha's deportment is both the same as and different from that of sentient beings—after all, the Buddha has already cultivated for three great immeasurable kalpas, and His bodily, verbal, and mental actions have been purified to the utmost, perfect and flawless, without the slightest error or blemish, worthy of being a model for humans and gods.

The title of this chapter is "The Deportment of Tranquil Purity." In just four or five characters, it fully reveals the theme and central point of the Diamond Sutra—truly a finishing touch that brings the dragon to life. It echoes from afar the hidden meaning of the World-Honored One's deportment at the beginning of the Diamond Sutra—donning robes, eating, begging for food, washing His feet—complete in both principle and phenomenon, principle and phenomenon both fulfilled, pointing out to sentient beings the vajra-indestructible mind within their bodies. Thereby the essence of the Buddha-dharma is fully revealed, transforming sentient beings and leading them into the first meaning of the Mahāyāna ultimate reality of prajñā, opening the boundless treasury of wisdom within sentient beings.

So what is the hidden meaning of "the deportment of tranquil purity"? The Buddha's eighty thousand deportments and three thousand subtle actions—donning robes and begging for food, eating and washing His feet, expounding the sutras and teaching the Dharma, transforming sentient beings—all these bodily, verbal, and mental actions are clearly movement, all subsumed under the Buddha's aggregate of volitional formations, which are by nature ceaselessly turbulent, arising and ceasing, changing and mutating. Why, then, is it still called tranquil purity? Here I leave a suspense for everyone, so that you may resolve to explore and discover the secret within it yourself—I cannot reveal it here.

Let this suspense serve as the questioning doubt of Chan investigation, hanging deeply in the mind—raised in the morning, raised in the evening, raised while eating, raised while washing the feet, raised whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. Raising it again and again, one day, with a sudden plop, the mind suddenly becomes greatly illuminated, a skylight opens, the questioning doubt is shattered, and one returns home to sit in stability. From then on, each day one leisurely enjoys one's own treasure—clothes come and one stretches out one's hands, food comes and one opens one's mouth—no longer campaigning outward, no longer plundering what is not one's own. An age of great peace thus arrives, and finally one ascends the precious throne of the wheel-turning king, honored alone under heaven. Excellent! Excellent! What joy there is in this—why not do it!

Original text: 须菩提。若有人言。如来若来若去。若坐若卧。是人不解我所说义。何以故。如来者。无所从来。亦无所去。故名如来。

Explanation: Subhūti, if someone says that the Tathāgata either comes or goes, either sits or lies down—seeing the Tathāgata's coming and going in these superficial marks—this person has not truly understood the great meaning of the Buddha-dharma that I have been expounding for so long, and thus is deluded by the superficial marks of the Tathāgata, not seeing the true Tathāgata. Why is this said? Because the true Tathāgata comes from nowhere and goes nowhere—there is no place from which He comes, no place of coming, and no place to which He goes, no place of going. The one who neither comes nor goes, neither arises nor ceases, is called the true Tathāgata.

How compassionate the World-Honored One is! For the sake of sentient beings, He donned the garment of filth and defilement, humbling Himself to come to this turbid and evil world, to reveal to sentient beings the Buddha's knowledge and vision, expounding the sutras and teaching the Dharma without knowing weariness. Here the World-Honored One repeatedly applies the finishing touch, sparing no spittle, His eyebrows dragging on the ground, the corners of His kasaya soaked in mud and water—all just to drag sentient beings out of the mire of wrong views and awaken them into the Buddha's knowledge and vision, so that thereafter they may see and act as the Buddha does, never again traveling the wild byways, desolate outskirts, and perilous places.

Sentient beings' habit of grasping at marks has long since penetrated to the marrow; the poisonous thorn of wrong views is truly hard to pull out. Helplessly, He, the World-Honored One, must labor to break through marks again and again, using all manner of parables and words to reveal to sentient beings the mind of ultimate reality, which has not a single mark. Yet there are still extremely many people who do not see the true markless Tathāgata, but only see the marked Tathāgata coming and going, walking and stopping. But will the Tathāgata's marks of coming, going, sitting, and lying down not vanish and disappear? After they vanish, where would one see the Tathāgata? From where do His marks of coming, going, sitting, and lying down come, and to where do they cease? And why is there coming and going, sitting and lying down? Those with a mind must draw a great big question mark here, doubt deeply, and not let it pass.

The Tathāgata's mark of coming appears based on the five aggregates' material form, manifesting based on the five aggregates and the seven consciousnesses—it is fundamentally the aggregate of volitional formations among the five aggregates. Without the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses, there would be no mark of coming for sentient beings to behold. And where was this mark of coming before it came? On account of what did it come? Because this mark of coming is a conditioned dharma subject to arising and ceasing, and all such dharmas are born of causes and conditions—the mark of coming has the gathering of various conditions, arising from a cause; with cause and conditions, the mark of coming appears. When sentient beings behold it, they see only the mark of coming, not knowing from where it comes, not knowing the cause of the mark of coming—this is the deluded person grasping at marks, not recognizing the truth. Because sentient beings grasp at marks and are deluded about the truth, they unite with dust and turn away from awakening; hence they give rise to wearisome afflictions, worldly marks continue unbroken, and birth and death never cease. If one wishes to escape the marks of birth and death, what should one do? Of course one must seek the cause that gives rise to the marks, recognize the principle of true suchness, remove delusion and karma, and return to the original state.

The Tathāgata's mark of going appears based on the five aggregates, manifesting based on the seven consciousnesses—it is fundamentally the aggregate of volitional formations among the five aggregates. On account of what cause do the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses manifest? Before going, there was coming and abiding; before coming and abiding there was a cause, and when going, the going is not apart from cause—otherwise it could not go. And after going? The mark vanishes without a trace, yet the cause of going does not cease; therefore it can go again and again, and come again and again—arising, abiding, changing, ceasing—thus cycling without end. This is vibrant vitality, conditions for arising everywhere, just like a splendid spring. As for the Tathāgata's marks of sitting and lying down, they too are fundamentally the aggregate of volitional formations among the five aggregates, appearing based on the material form body and the seven consciousnesses, and the material form body and seven consciousnesses also have their causes for manifesting. By this cause, marks arise and cease; sentient beings see only the marks and their arising and ceasing, never seeing the originating cause of the marks' arising and ceasing—deluded by superficial marks, not recognizing the truth. Hence they are born endlessly, die ceaselessly, drifting and wandering, lost on the road without returning.

Sentient beings' accumulated delusions are hard to reverse; helplessly He, the World-Honored One, has labored more than eight thousand times to come to this Sahā world, one hand pointing to heaven, one hand pointing to earth, revealing to sentient beings: "Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am honored!" Greatly displaying the Tathāgata's wisdom, virtues, and marks, He unties sentient beings' bonds and fetters, washing away the grime of wearisome afflictions. Were He not a father of great compassion, who could do this! If we are the filial children of the Tathāgata, then at the moment the World-Honored One points to heaven and earth, we should bare the right shoulder, place the right knee on the ground, press the palms together, and call out: "Our Buddha, the supreme Tathāgata—I now behold the true Tathāgata." From then on we can gradually continue the Buddha's work, proclaiming the teaching on His behalf, receiving and guiding sentient beings, removing delusion and revealing wisdom, entering the Buddha's knowledge and vision. If there can be many such filial children, the Buddha's work will have successors, the Buddha-dharma will shine forth greatly, the ship of compassion will universally ferry all, the whole world will celebrate together, and the ten directions will together enter the ocean of sarvākārajñatā.

Then how are sentient beings to recognize the truth? The World-Honored One further revealed: "The Tathāgata comes from nowhere and goes nowhere; therefore He is called the Tathāgata." "Comes from nowhere" means there is no place from which the Tathāgata can come—thus there is no place of coming. Yet although there is no place of coming, the Tathāgata nevertheless appears at all times and in all places—though without a body, He is not hidden. The Tathāgata who has no place of coming is therefore unborn—originally present, not dependent on other conditions, free and self-mastered. This Tathāgata is the true Tathāgata. "Goes nowhere"—"where" is a place; having no place to go means not ceasing. Not ceasing means existing at all times and in all places, manifesting at all times and in all places, functioning at all times and in all places—this Tathāgata is the true Tathāgata. The true Tathāgata, without marks of coming and going, yet comes and goes; though coming and going, He is limpidly unmoving, majestic and dignified, coming in suchness, going in suchness—neither coming nor going, neither arising nor ceasing.

In order to make sentient beings recognize the true Tathāgata, the World-Honored One together with Mañjuśrī performed a play to demonstrate to the bhikṣus the true meaning of the Tathāgata. Once, after the bhikṣus had all taken their seats in the lecture hall, the World-Honored One pushed open the door of the lecture hall, and the thirty-two marks of the five aggregates appeared strikingly before the assembly. The World-Honored One then, with the gait of a goose-king, slowly walked to the Dharma seat and gradually sat down cross-legged. After the World-Honored One had finished sitting cross-legged, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, holding a measuring ruler, struck it on the lecture table and announced: "The World-Honored One has finished expounding the sutra!" The bhikṣus were just preparing to listen to the World-Honored One bestow the Dharma when suddenly they heard Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva make this announcement—each one was dumbfounded, not knowing what this meant. And the World-Honored One, paying no heed to how the bhikṣus were staring blankly, slowly rose from the Dharma seat, walked unhurriedly straight to the door, then pushed it open and walked out, and the thirty-two marks of the five aggregates thereupon vanished from sight.

Friends, you have now seen the Tathāgata marks of the Nirmāṇakāya Buddha—thirty-two marks and eighty minor characteristics, majestic and dignified, resplendent and glorious—how adorned! But these marks, after all, remained in the Sahā world for only eighty years before disappearing—this certainly is not the true Tathāgata. Then where is the true Tathāgata? Which one is it? In fact, the Dharmakāya Tathāgata has never departed from the Nirmāṇakāya Tathāgata. From the instant the World-Honored One pushed open the door and entered, throughout the entire process until He pushed open the door and exited, the Dharmakāya Tathāgata was continuously manifesting with His faceless countenance. Those with sharp eyes see it directly at that very moment, with the wisdom eye recognizing that He behind the five aggregates. To recognize Him thus—how exhilarating! How light and easy! Everyone, set aside the World-Honored One's false marks of the five aggregates and try to see that which cannot be set aside, cannot be removed, that which has never arisen or ceased, neither coming nor going—that Dharmakāya true Tathāgata. A fine horse moves at the sight of the whip's shadow; a wise person, seeing the shadow of the five aggregates, can recognize the true person. Where is the true person? Hey! Right here.