Diamond Sūtra
Introduction
The Diamond Sūtra (Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, "The Sūtra of Transcendent Wisdom that Cuts Like a Diamond") is one of the most important sūtras of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Composed in India, likely in the 4th century, it was translated into Chinese multiple times, the most famous version being that of Kumārajīva (401).
This sūtra is the foundational text that awakened Huineng, the sixth Patriarch of Chan, when he was still a humble wood seller. Reading it led him to sudden realization, and he recited a verse from it in his famous response to the monk Shenxiu.
The text consists of 32 very brief sections, in which the Buddha dialogues with his disciple Subhūti on emptiness, detachment, and the illusory nature of phenomena. It teaches that liberation does not consist of grasping anything — not even wisdom or merits — but of seeing the empty nature of all things.
The title "Diamond" evokes both the hardness of the wisdom that cuts through all illusions, and the unbreakable purity of the nature of mind. Recited and studied throughout the Buddhist world, it is a pillar of the Zen tradition.
Full text in preparation — 32 sections.
The sūtra begins as follows:
如是我聞。一時佛在舍衛國祇樹給孤獨園。與大比丘眾千二百五十人俱。爾時世尊食時。著衣持缽。入舍衛大城乞食。於其城中。次第乞已。還至本處。飯食訖。收衣缽。洗足已。敷座而坐。
Thus have I heard: one day, the Buddha was staying in the garden of Anāthapiṇḍada, in the Jeta grove, near Śrāvastī, with an assembly of one thousand two hundred and fifty great monks. At mealtime, the Blessed One put on his robe, took his bowl, and entered the great city of Śrāvastī to beg for food. Having begged from door to door, he returned to his place, took his meal, put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, and sat on the prepared seat.
時長老須菩提。在大眾中。即從座起。偏袒右肩。右膝著地。合掌恭敬。而白佛言。希有世尊。如來善護念諸菩薩。善付囑諸菩薩。世尊。善男子。善女人。發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心。應云何住。云何降伏其心。
Then the Elder Subhūti, rising from his seat in the midst of the assembly, bared his right shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, joined his hands respectfully, and said to the Buddha: "Wonderful, O Blessed One! The Tathāgata protects and guards the Bodhisattvas well, he entrusts his teaching to them well. O Blessed One, how should a good man or woman who has given rise to the thought of supreme and perfect Enlightenment abide? How should they tame their mind?"
佛言。善哉善哉。須菩提。如汝所說。如來善護念諸菩薩。善付囑諸菩薩。汝今諦聽。當為汝說。善男子。善女人。發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心。應如是住。如是降伏其心。唯然世尊。願樂欲聞。
The Buddha replied: "Good, good, Subhūti! As you have said, the Tathāgata protects and guards the Bodhisattvas well, he entrusts his teaching to them well. Listen now with attention, and I will speak to you. A good man or woman who has given rise to the thought of supreme and perfect Enlightenment should abide thus and tame their mind thus." "So be it, O Blessed One, I listen with joy."