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Diamond Sutra
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The Buddhist text known around the world as the Diamond Sutra (although a more accurate translation of the Sanskrit title might be, for instance, the Vajra Cutter Sutra) is a short Mahayana sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom genre, which teaches the practice of the avoidance of abiding in extremes of mental attachment. A copy of the Diamond Sutra, found among the Dunhuang manuscripts in the early 20th century, is, in the words of the British Library, "the earliest complete survival of a dated printed book."
The first translation of the Diamond Sutra into Chinese was done sometime around the beginning of the fifth century by the venerated and prolific translator Kumarajiva.
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The Buddhist text known around the world as the Diamond Sutra (although a more accurate translation of the Sanskrit title might be, for instance, the Vajra Cutter Sutra) is a short Mahayana sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom genre, which teaches the practice of the avoidance of abiding in extremes of mental attachment. A copy of the Diamond Sutra, found among the Dunhuang manuscripts in the early 20th century, is, in the words of the British Library, "the earliest complete survival of a dated printed book."
The first translation of the Diamond Sutra into Chinese was done sometime around the beginning of the fifth century by the venerated and prolific translator Kumarajiva. The Kumarajiva translation has been particularly highly regarded over the centuries, and it is this version that appears on the 868 CE Dunhuang scroll.
The original Sanskrit title of the Diamond Sutra is ???????????? ??????????????????? Vajracchedika-prajñaparamita-sutra. Some common translations of this title into major Asian languages include:
- Chinese ?????????, shortened to ???, pinyin: jingang bore boluómìduo jing or jingang jing
- , shortened to kongou kyou
- , shortened to ???
- Vietnamese Kim cuong bát-nhã-ba-la-m?t-da kinh, shortened to Kim cuong kinh
- Tibetan (Wylie): ’Phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa rdo rje gcod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
Contents
The Diamond Sutra, like many sutras, begins with the famous phrase "Thus have I heard" (??? ??? ???????, , ????). In the sutra the Buddha has finished his daily walk with the monks to gather offerings of food and sits down to rest. One of the more senior monks, Subhuti, comes forth and asks the Buddha a question.
What follows is an often repetitive dialogue regarding the nature of perception. The Buddha often uses paradoxical phrases like "What is called the highest teaching is not the highest teaching".
The Buddha is trying to help Subhuti unlearn his preconceived, limited notions of the nature of reality, enlightenment, and compassion. At one notable point the Buddha teaches Subhuti that what makes a Bodhisattva so great is that the Bodhisattva does not take pride in his work to save others, nor is his compassion calculated or contrived. The Bodhisattva practices sincere compassion that comes from deep within, without any sense of ego or gain.
In another section, Subhuti expresses concern that the Diamond Sutra will be forgotten 500 years after it is taught (or, alternatively, during the last 500 years of this era). The Buddha assures Subhuti that well after he is gone there will be some who can grasp the meaning of the Diamond Sutra and put it into practice. This section seems to reflect a concern found in other Buddhist texts that the teachings of the Buddha would eventually fade and become corrupted. A popular Buddhist concept, known as mappo in Japanese, also reflects this anxiety.
In section 18 it is stated that the Tathagata does have the human eye as well as the divine eye, the eye of insight, the eye of transcendent wisdom and the Buddha eye.
A famous four-line verse appears at the end of the sutra, a list of vivid metaphors for impermanence:
In Practice
Since it can be read in approximately forty minutes, the Diamond Sutra is often memorized and chanted in Buddhist monasteries. This sutra has retained significant popularity in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition for over a millennium, especially in East Asia, and most importantly within the East Asian meditation tradition (Zen and related disciplines), where it is extensively recited, taught, and commented upon even today. The text resonates with a core aspect of Zen, the theme of non-abiding.
It is repeatedly stated in the Diamond Sutra that if a person embodies even four lines of the sutra within their sadhana (spiritual practice), they will be blessed.
As the earliest printed book
There is a wood block printed copy in the British Library which, although not the earliest example of block printing, is the earliest example which bears an actual date. The copy is a scroll, about 16 feet long, purchased 1907 by the archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein in the walled-up Mogao Caves near Dunhuang, in northwest China from a monk who was guarding the caves known as the "Caves of the Thousand Buddhas." The colophon, at the inner end, reads: "Reverently made [caused to be] for universal free distribution by Wang Jie on behalf of his two parents on the 13th of the 4th moon of the 9th year of Xiantong [11 May 868]". This is about 587 years before the Gutenberg Bible.
See also
Bibliography
- Thich Nhat Hanh: The Diamond that Cuts Through Illusion: Commentaries on the Prajñaparamita Diamond Sutra. Berkeley, CA, USA: Parallax Press, 1992 ISBN 0-938077-51-1
- Mu Soeng: The Diamond Sutra: Transforming the Way We Perceive the World. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000 ISBN 0-86171-160-2
External links
- by the International Dunhuang Project
- in sanskrit in the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon.
- of the British Library's copy of the Diamond Sutra.
- by Charles Muller
- by A. F. Price and Wong Mou-Lam
- English audio
- available in multiple languages from the FPMT
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