The Profound Yogācāra Meaning of the Diamond Sutra (126)

Original text:须菩提。如来说有我者。即非有我。而凡夫之人以为有我。须菩提。凡夫者。如来说即非凡夫。

Explanation: The World-Honored One then said to Subhūti: When the Tathāgata speaks of the existence of a self, there is not truly a self; yet ordinary beings all believe there is a self, believing that the activities of this self's five aggregates are so very real. Subhūti, as for so-called ordinary beings, the Tathāgata says they are not truly ordinary beings either—it is merely a provisional name, "ordinary beings."

When each Buddha teaches the Dharma for sentient beings, sometimes He also says "I" did this or that in narrating events; in fact, this is the expedient teaching of the Buddhas. If the word "I" were not used, sentient beings would not know what the World-Honored One was speaking of, nor could they correctly understand the content He taught. Therefore, when the Buddhas say "I," it is for the convenience of communicating with sentient beings and for the convenience of teaching and transforming them, so that sentient beings can well understand what they are teaching. Although the Buddhas say "I" with their mouths, their minds are completely and utterly selfless; they never regard their own five aggregates as a self, nor do they cling to their own undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna) or Buddha-nature. Therefore, all Tathāgatas are thoroughly without self.

Ordinary sentient beings all believe in their minds that there is a self, believing the self to be real. They generally believe that the material body as a self is real—that the body's five sense organs, bones, muscles, skin, internal organs, and every component of the body have real functions and uses; this is "me," or "mine," and so greed, attachment, and craving arise, brooking no violation by others. Ordinary sentient beings believe that the functions of the six consciousnesses arising upon the material body—seeing forms, hearing sounds, smelling scents, tasting flavors, feeling tangibles, and discerning dharmas—are real, that this is "me," or "mine," and so greed, attachment, and craving arise, brooking no neglect.

Ordinary beings believe that the various feelings of the six consciousnesses arising upon the material body are real, that this is "me," or "mine." Thus they grasp firmly, pursuing all kinds of sensory stimulation and feelings; once they encounter adverse conditions, their minds become filled with intense suffering and hatred. Ordinary beings believe that the various capacities of knowing arising upon the material body—the functions of thinking, analyzing, judging, and reasoning—are "me," and "mine." Thus greed, attachment, and craving also arise, and they are never willing to give their mental activities a moment's rest, always wanting to perceive all dharmas.

Ordinary beings believe that the various tactile sensations arising upon the material body are real, that this is "me," or "mine," and so they crave and cling to all kinds of tangible objects, insisting on living comfortably and at ease, insisting on enjoyment, sparing no price whatsoever. Ordinary beings believe that the various actions and activities arising upon the material body are real, that this is "me," or "mine." Thus they constantly rush about and toil, establishing all manner of enterprises, ceaselessly performing bodily, verbal, and mental actions, unwilling to rest.

Since beginningless kalpas, ordinary sentient beings have misunderstood and mistaken things in this way, grasping ceaselessly like this, toiling laboriously through the six realms of existence without knowing fatigue—truly pitiable ones. Out of compassion for the ignorance and suffering of sentient beings, the Tathāgata appeared in the world to proclaim to them that all dharmas of the five aggregates are fundamentally not a self, nor are they possessed of a self; the five aggregates arise in dependence on conditions, arising, ceasing, and mutating; though their functions exist, they are illusory and unreal. It is like sand and earth combined with water to form clay, and the clay molded into a five-aggregate material body; when the power of a mantra acts upon the clay body, the clay figure then has all kinds of actions and activities. Ignorant ordinary beings, not knowing this principle, grasp at the false appearance of the clay figure, not knowing that the clay figure is not a person. The wise know this: they do not take up the false appearance of the clay figure, but only recognize the clay and the use of the clay.

The World-Honored One further said that ordinary beings who grasp at the five aggregates as a self are also not truly existent ordinary beings; they are illusory appearances of the five aggregates, empty in essence. It is only for the sake of verbal communication that a provisional name is taken, provisionally called "ordinary being"; their essence is also the tathāgatagarbha of that person. When gold is made into vessels, every vessel is gold; when clay is molded into people, every person is clay; the tathāgatagarbha illusorily manifests all dharmas, and all dharmas are the tathāgatagarbha—this is called the One True Dharma Realm, with nothing else beside it. If a person sees all dharmas as truly existent, this is called diseased eyes; if a person sees that all is true suchness, this is called the wisdom eye, the Dharma eye, and the Buddha eye—all are eyes of great wisdom.

Ordinary sentient beings believe the five aggregates are a self, and are possessed of a self. Who does this "self" refer to? This self refers to the seventh consciousness, the manas. The seventh consciousness takes everything as self and belonging to self, insatiably greedy. In actuality, the seventh consciousness has misunderstood and mistaken things; He does not know that these are not Himself, not His own functions. Among them, the most fundamental are the functions of the eighth consciousness, and there are also the functions of the six consciousnesses; and the functions of the six consciousnesses are, in essence, also the functions of the eighth consciousness. After seeing one's true mind and awakening, the seventh consciousness, the manas, will awaken to the realization that these were never a self; after attaining the bhūmis, He will begin to let go of certain dharmas, no longer grasping at and seizing the world of the five aggregates.

All samādhi is a combination of meditative states and wisdom; lacking either one, it is not samādhi in the true sense. However, some meditative states contain no wisdom and can only be called meditative states; some meditative states contain and harbor wisdom, and these are called samādhi. The scope and content of meditative states are relatively shallow and narrow, while the content of samādhi is relatively deep and broad. That is to say, samādhi necessarily includes a meditative state; without a meditative state, it is not called samādhi; without wisdom, it is called neither samādhi nor a meditative state.