This article is transferred from: Kashin translation
The Diamond Sutra to be talked about today, in Chinese culture, the Diamond Sutra is a very influential Buddhist sutra. For more than a thousand years, I don't know how many people have studied the Diamond Sutra, recited the Diamond Sutra, been induced by the Diamond Sutra, and become enlightened because of the Diamond Sutra. The Diamond Sutra is a very special part of the Buddhist scriptures, and its greatest thing is that it transcends all religious nature, but also contains all religious nature. When we study the Diamond Sutra, we cannot limit it to the scope of Buddhism, and the Buddha said in the Diamond Sutra: 'All the sages and saints are differentiated by non-action', that is to say, the Buddha believes that all the sages throughout the ages, all the masters of religious achievements, have attained enlightenment; only because of the different degrees of individuals, because of the different times and places, the way they are transmitted is different.
This emphasis of the Diamond Sutra completely breaks the boundaries of all religions, and it is the same as the purpose of the Huayan Sutra, a great sutra of Buddhism, which recognizes one truth and one supreme path, and does not think that the indoctrination of all religions is limited to persuading others to be good. All the gentlemen and ladies here probably have different religious beliefs, and when we study the Diamond Sutra today, we will first put aside the boundaries and forms of religion in our own conceptual consciousness, and then study the main points and spirit of the Diamond Sutra, so that we can benefit.
In all the Buddhist scriptures, as well as the writings of later generations of bodhisattva monks and masters, the Diamond Sutra is classified in the academic classification of Prajnaparamita, so it is called the Vajrapani Prajnaparamita Sutra. What is Prajnaparamita? Basically, great wisdom is called Prajnaparamita. Because the principle of translating Buddhist scriptures in the past was that words that were not identical in concepts should not be translated, preferring to translate and then annotate them. Just like the current cultural exchange between China and the West, when you encounter the translation of qi characters (qigong qi, monastic qi), you can't translate them, because you can't translate them into gas, nor can you translate them into air, or other qi. Since each qi in a foreign language has a unique word, while the Chinese character is different, the meaning of adding one more word to the qi word is different. Air, gas, electricity, that is, people lose their temper, all of which are different and different in the words added to the gas word, so a single gas word has to be transliterated, and then added annotations. This was also the reason why Prajnaparamita was not translated into great wisdom at that time.
The so-called Prajnaparamita wisdom is not ordinary wisdom, but refers to the wisdom that can understand the Tao, enlighten the Tao, cultivate, free from birth and death, and transcendent into holiness. This is not ordinary wisdom, this is the fundamental wisdom that belongs to the Tao body. The so-called fundamental wisdom is also a name, and in the current concept, it is to go beyond ordinary wisdom and ordinary wisdom and understand the origin and nature of metaphysical life. This is not obtained by thought, but by the wisdom of the whole body and mind. This wisdom is Prajnaparamita. Therefore, the word 'wisdom' does not represent the whole meaning of Prajnaparamita.
This wisdom of Prajnaparamita contains five kinds, the so-called five pranayamas, the first is the reality of the pranayama, the second is the realm of pranayama, the third is the literal pranayama, the fourth is the convenient pranayama, and the fifth is the dependent pranayama. The five connotations are Vajrapani.
Reality is like that
Reality is the metaphysical Dao body, the source of all things in the universe, that is, the Dao body that is enlightened and enlightened by the enlightened path and the clear mind. In Buddhist texts, enlightenment is the emptiness of seeing that Body of The Tao, called reality, which is the part of wisdom. Our intelligence is only the conscious part, limited to the existing scope of knowledge, and the existing scope of experience and sensory imagination. The true Tao body is incredible, and it cannot be thought, discussed, or studied with our ordinary intellectual consciousness. Everyone pay attention! He didn't say it was inconceivable!
'Not' is to cover the Fa, to cover, to block, not to see, not to use ordinary knowledge and consciousness to speculate and think about what the Tao is. If the reality of the Tao body can be obtained with thought, it still belongs to the scope of delusional consciousness. So to say inconceivable is not to say that it is inconceivable; because this is the realm of practicing and seeking verification, not the realm of contemplation.
In later generations of Zen Buddhism, it is difficult to express a Tao word, which is everywhere and everywhere. If you talk about a Buddha word, you bring with you the idea of a Buddha. Although sometimes in buddhism, the Buddha character represents this Taoist body, but as soon as the average person hears the Buddha, his mind immediately thinks of the shiny Buddha statue on the main hall, and he can't help but look at it again. Therefore, after the Tang and Song dynasties, Zen Buddhism simply did not use the Tao, nor did it use the Buddha, it was this, this is that, that is this, anyway, it is just a synonym. The Huayan Sutra says: It is okay to call it the Tao, heaven and earth can be used, God can also be, God can also be, The Lord can also be, Buddha can also be, True Ru can also be, Nirvana can also be, said a lot, more than a hundred famous words, anyway, these are code names, representing the reality of the Tao. Many people in the world pursue this thing, and only when they find this thing do they realize the source of their own lives, so if reality is the most fundamental of Prajnaparamita.
Realm like a
Over the years, there have been many foreign students who have studied how to translate the two words of the realm, and I said that if they were translated into foreign languages, they could barely translate them into phenomena, but that still belongs to the concept of nature. A realm is a realm, which can only be annotated and difficult to translate. For example, in the realm of cultivating the Tao, the Zen master of Yaoshan said: 'The clouds are in the blue sky and the water is in the bottle', which is very natural, the clouds in the sky are floating, the water is in the bottle, on the table, one is so high, one is so shallow, this is a realm. For example, a Tang dynasty poem said: 'A thousand rivers have water and a thousand rivers and moons, and there are no clouds in the sky'.
We often quote these two sentences when we preach enlightenment, or the Prajnaparamita part. There is only one moon in the sky, and there are thousands of rivers shining on the ground, and each river has a shadow of the moon, that is, a thousand rivers have water and a thousand rivers and a thousand moons. If there is no cloud, the whole sky is endlessly sunny everywhere, so there is no cloud in the sky. This is a very good state, and many Zen masters have realized the Tao because of these realms.
When a monk lived in Maopong, he wrote a very good pair: "The sky is full of laughter, and the three white houses are fisted.".
Like Maitreya Bodhisattva, haha laughs, it is a grinning, big-bellied monk who likes to mold, enlightened, empty everything, like everything. The three white houses are the three empty white houses, where they are in the sea and the sky. Words like this describe a realm, but they are not enough to represent that realm of enlightenment. Our life has a realm at any time, and when we think of those pains when we are in pain, when the pain has not yet come, the threat of pain appears in our minds at any time. When I was happy, the more I thought about it, the more proud I became. Especially older people, do not like to think about the future, because the road ahead is too far, do not have the strength to go, specifically look back to think about the things of youth. Sometimes I sat there and remembered, and I shook my head and smiled, recalling that realm. These all belong to the realm, so the realm can be understood, not expressed.
In addition, a person who cultivates, or reads, has different realms step by step. Like a person who studies art, today has a new inspiration, or paints a picture, especially has a kind of experience, that is, there is its realm. A cement worker, today suddenly a brick down, with cement a wipe, especially flat, the heart is very comfortable, the original way of building is good, this is the realm of his cement work. Therefore, the realm contains all realms, and if a cultivator has one point of achievement, the realm has a difference of one point, and if there is two points of achievement, there is a difference of two points. In other words, when a person cultivates to a certain realm, the realm of life is enlightened to a certain extent.
As for those of us who are not cultivators, what is the state? There is also a realm, which is the realm of all suffering of all sentient beings. As the ancients said in the poem: 'Thirty-six thousand days in a hundred years, not in sorrow is in illness'.
This is the realm of ordinary life, either trouble, or illness, or aging, eyes glazed, hair white, this is the realm of life suffering. That's why the ancients said, 'Learning Buddhism is a matter for the great husband, and not the emperor will be able to do it.' Because his realm, his style, his mind are different. Where does this different realm come from? What comes from reality is produced on the Tao body and comes naturally. Therefore, for those who are truly enlightened, the development of wisdom is endless, and the buddhist term is called teacherless wisdom, also known as natural wisdom. The storehouse of your own wisdom has opened, not taught to you by the teacher, but your own inherent wisdom has exploded, in heaven and the world, omniscient. This is the realm of Prajnaparamita.
Literally
We know that the written word itself has wisdom, and the word is the word; because by recording our words, it becomes the word. The verbal thought symbols Chinese are called Chinese, the verbal thought symbols of the English system are English, and other French, German, and Russian are all marks that represent their thoughts and words. Words have its realm, and we have all read books and recognized words, but few have become true writers; because beautiful sentences cannot come out, there is no such thing as words. Some people come out of the language into chapters, and as soon as they say it, they are articles, and every sentence is beautiful and beautiful, because he has a literary realm and a literal likeness.
The Diamond Sutra is in China, why is it so open to eat? It was caused by the writing of Kumarosh. He translated many classics, including the Diamond Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, which had a great influence on Chinese culture. In particular, the style of its writing has formed a special and beautiful and touching Buddhist literature in the history of Chinese literature. In addition, there are the texts of the Vimal Sutra, which are also very special, and are another type of text. Later, the translation of Master Xuanzang and others could never surpass Kumarosh in the literary realm, which is why the text was different.
Therefore, the same reading and learning words does not necessarily make it possible to become a literary artist. In the same way, some of them can only become practitioners, but not Buddhas, which is absolutely related to literal pranayama. There was a historian of the Qing Dynasty, Zhao Yi, who was also a great poet and a great literary hero, who wrote three famous poems in his later years, one of which said:
When I was young, I learned the language and suffered a round way, and only half of the Kung Fu was not complete.
To the old party to know that it is not a force to take, three points of personnel and seven points of heaven.
He said that when he was young, he learned to speak, but he could not speak satisfactorily, and he thought that he had not yet arrived at home to learn kung fu. When you are old, you know that it is useless to learn to die, because the effort is only three points, and the genius will be seven points. But this refers to ordinary people, as far as I know and see, there are several great monks who have not read books, have not gone to school for a day, do not know a word, and after enlightenment, poetry, writing, and everything is good, it is really unimaginable.
Eighty years ago, my teacher met a monk who was originally a shaving master, picking a burden to walk around in the countryside, and in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, children with shaved heads were not allowed to take the exam, and the restrictions were extremely strict. But the great Zen master who shaved his head realized the Tao, knew everything, knew everything. He also had a temple, which was given to him by the abbot when he was dead. Some people called him Yang Monk, and some people called him Yang Shaved Head. Ordinary readers go to test him: Yang monk I have forgotten a sentence, you see it in that book? He said, "This is the book on the first few pages!" When my teacher was young, he was very naughty, and deliberately asked him a sentence on the dream of the Red Chamber, and he could answer it well, which was very strange. There was a very rich man who smoked opium and couldn't quit if he wanted to quit, so he had to ask this Yang monk, Master Yang, to shave my head for me. When he shaved his head, opium smoking addiction was hairy, snot, tears were direct, very painful, this Yang shaved his head on his back and said: 'Take off!' It was liberation, and his head was shaved for him. From then on, this man never smoked opium again.
These are literal rabs, which occur naturally after enlightenment, and are not based on our wisdom. Cleverness is what is thought out, and it is useless to think of it. The enlightened person also has a particularly high memory, not only when he is young, but also in the books he read in his previous life. When you all hear this, you probably think it is very strange, and there is indeed such a thing. Therefore, Su Dongpo has a poem that says: 'It is too late to read books in this life'. To read, you must read early, and the books of this life are for the next life. At the time of enlightenment, the books that millions of students had read in the past would be moved out, because pranayama wisdom had come out. People with good learning have a strong memory and ten lines at a glance; those who cannot read, one word at a time. Some people read books, eyes glanced, this page passed, a glance at ten lines, a diary of a thousand words, to old and not fading, and even old memory is stronger. Of course, this requires concentration, the wisdom of Prajnaparamita, and this is the literal Prajnaparamita.
Convenient Ban ruo
The Buddhist scriptures often talk about convenience, if I don't have paper in my hand, please give me a convenient and convenient one, this is not the convenience of Buddhism. The Great General Huo Guang of the Eastern Han Dynasty was a grand marshal and a great prime minister, and he supported the world of the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, history criticizes him for four words: 'no learning and no technique', saying that he reads too little, handles major state affairs, and has no proper method in terms of knowledge and opinions, so it is 'no learning and no technique'.
A learned and moral person, to educate others, naturally has his own method of teaching himself; when he does things, he naturally has his high degree of art. For example, when he reads the Buddhist scriptures, he can use a special method to understand the difficult things immediately, and the most difficult things to express are expressed in one way, and others will understand them as soon as they hear them.
We have all seen the Avalokiteshvara with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes, a thousand hands, one eye in each hand, and three eyes on the head. What does this bodhisattva represent? A person has a thousand hands, a thousand eyes, how many ways do you say this person can? Of course a lot. Therefore, in order to truly achieve great compassion and compassion, we must have as many convenient methods as a thousand hands and a thousand eyes. Like a person who can do magic, grabbing a thing at will can become a magic trick, which is convenient.
Dependents of Prajnaparamita
Dependents, if they came after the wisdom of enlightenment, the Buddhist term is called wishing, and in our current conception, it belongs to behavior. That is to say, nature initiates moral behavior, and a person naturally becomes the most good person. The so-called dependents are relatives, friends, family members and other relatives.
What are the dependents of Prajnaparamita? We all know that the six paramitas of Buddhism are generosity, taking vows, forbearance, perseverance, meditation, and pranayama. How a person who is practicing can give alms, how to keep the vows, how to endure humiliation, how to practice meditation, and then he can attain enlightenment and become a Buddha. Therefore, in front of Prajnaparamita, there are these five related dependents, that is, the five wishes, which are called dependent Prajnaparamita. In this regard, I will not give a detailed report for the time being, because the content of the Diamond Sutra itself mentions these five things.
Now we know that Prajnaparamita contains so much content that there are no proper words to translate, so we can only transliterate. The content of Prajnaparamita includes the wish to attain enlightenment, in other words, the path wish of this monastic path itself has so much content.
Invincible
Why did we add the word Vajrapani to the Vajrapani Sutra in our hands now? King Kong, the strongest of the metals, is like a diamond diamond, which can break all laws. It can also be said that it can build all the Dharmas, and it is indestructible, so it is called Vajrapani Prajnaparamita. There are five or six different translations of the Diamond Sutra, and this one we are accustomed to using is the one that Kumarosh translates. In some translations, the word 'can be broken' is added to it, which means that it can cut off all the sufferings and all the troubles in the world and become holy and become a Buddha. Therefore, it is called 'Capable of Breaking Vajrapani Prajnaparamita'. Perhaps Kumarosh believes that this spirit of judgment is already contained in the scriptures, so the name of the scripture does not need to be added specially.
The so-called 'paramita', the general translation is to go to the other shore, some of which add a multi-word at the end to become Prajnaparamita 'many'. This 'many' word is the ending note, and the current sound is pronounced, that is, Mahabharata Paramita, and taking the ancient Sanskrit sound, it is Mahabharata Paramita. 'Many' is the sound of 'da'. The two-hundred-and-sixty-word Mahabharata Heart Sutra that we are all accustomed to reciting is often referred to as the 'Multi-Heart Sutra', because in the Journey to the West, these two words are cut off from the above and become the Multi-Heart Sutra.
If the name of the sutra we are talking about now is to explain the name of the sutra according to the meaning, it is: the sutra that can break all the Dhamma, can break through all the troubles, can achieve the great wisdom of the Buddha's path, and can break away from the sea of suffering and ascend to the other shore. If we follow the old method of preaching in the temple, the topic of this sutra cannot be finished for two hours a day, and we cannot finish preaching for a month. In fact, that method of preaching is very good, explained in great detail, starting with literacy education, what is the scripture? This verse can be spoken for a week. What is King Kong? You can talk about it for another week, so when a topic is finished, and the month is over, where is the edge of the Diamond Sutra? That's called immeasurable infinity. Now we do not adopt that method, and my personal personality is not very suitable for that kind of explanation, so we adopt a simple and clear explanation.
