Research Paper: Critical analysis of the Diamond Sūtra and commentaries

Alex Amies, May 2013

IntroductionThe Diamond Sūtra1 is a short, popular and important sūtra in the

Prajñāpāramitā genre of Mahāyāna literature. Along with the Heart Sūtra and

the Platform Sūtra it is considered one of the core texts of Chan Buddhism.2

The Diamond Sūtra contains a number of difficult and paradoxical statements

on the nature of reality that have been the subject of a great deal of

commentary throughout the history of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The

commentaries themselves are a large body of literature. I believe that one of

the reasons that this sūtra is popular is that readers can identify with the

compassionate bodhisattva ideal to liberate sentient beings from suffering and

with the explanation in a dialog between the Buddha as teacher and Subhūti as

his protege. I believe that another reason for the sūtra's popularity is its

profound ideas and their elegant explanations in the commentaries.

This essay will provide a critical analysis of the Diamond Sūtra and

commentaries. This will include examining the content, origin, translations,

and literary style of the sūtra from linguistic, textual, and literary perspectives

and the interpretations in the commentaries. In addition, I will qualify what I

mean by profound by making a parallel between the sūtra and modern

philosophical ideas in the Poststructural and Deconstruction traditions and their

overturning of some ideas that have been important in the basis for European

thinking for millennia.

Content of the Diamond SūtraThe full title of the sūtra is The Prajñāpāramitā Diamond Sūtra.3 The meaning

of the Sanskrit compound prajñāpāramitā is perfection of wisdom. Williams

defines prajñāpāramitā as wisdom that comprehends the emptiness of

phenomenon and that transcends ordinary wisdom of the world.4 The Sanskrit

title includes Vajracchedikā, which means diamond cutter. One interpretation

of the reference to a diamond is prajñā that “like a sharp, diamond blade cuts

away at the distracting, delusional thoughts that bind our minds.”5 In his

commentary Hsing Yun describes the four key points of the Diamond Sūtra as

giving without attachment, liberating without a notion of self, living without

attachment, and cultivation without attainment.6

The sūtra begins with a description of the assembly and the Buddha doing an

alms round with house-to-house begging. This is an ascetic practice described

by Buddhaghosa.7 The main part of the Diamond Sūtra is opened by a question

from Subhūti,

How then, O Lord, should a son or daughter of good family, who have set

out in the Bodhisattva-vehicle, stand, how progress, how control their

thoughts?8

The usual meaning of bodhisattva-mahasattva or someone who has set out in

the Bodhisattva-vehicle is a being that has taken the vow, many times if

necessary, to attain Complete and Perfect Buddhahood.9 The Buddha answers,

Subhūti, someone who has set out in the vehicle of a Bodhisattva should

produce a thought in this manner: 'As many beings as there are in the

universe of beings, ... I must lead to Nirvana which leaves nothing behind.

And yet, although innumerable beings have thus been led to Nirvana, no

being at all has been led to Nirvana.10

This statement means that a bodhisattva should lead all sentient beings to

Nirvana and do this without attachment.11 The bodhisattva acts as a role

model for 'a son or daughter of good family.'12

The Buddha elaborates on non-attachment in the text that immediately follows,

And why? If in a Bodhisattva the notion of a 'being' should take place, he

could not be called a 'Bodhi-being'. 'And why? He is not to be called a

Bodhi-being, in whom the notion of a self or of a being should take place, or

the notion of a living soul or of a person.'13

In other words, a bodhisattva does not dwell on the act of helping sentient

beings. Later in the text the Buddha says,

“... If a bodhisattva gives without abiding in any notion whatsoever, then

his merit will be immeasurable. Subhūti, what do you think, can the

vastness of space to the east be measured”? … “Subhūti, when a

bodhisattva gives without abiding in any notion, his merit is just as

immeasurable...”14

Hsing Yun explains that 'giving without notions' means giving without any

expectation of honor, wealth, or other benefit.15

The sūtra concludes with the gāthā:

All conditioned phenomena

Are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows,

Like dew and lightening.

One should contemplate them in this way.16

Hsing Yun explains that this means that we should interpret all phenomena as

transitory: everything will come to an end, just like a dream and that life is

fleeting and passes in an instant, like lightening.17

Translations and Textual BackgroundThe oldest printed book in the world is a copy of the Diamond Sūtra.18 Sanskrit

versions have been found in Pakistan, China (including Tibet), Eastern

Turkestan, Afghanistan and Japan.19 The history of transmission of the Diamond

Sūtra is illustrative of the transmission of Buddhist sūtras from Indic languages

to Chinese and how recensions vary over time since multiple complete versions

of it have been found in Sanskrit and Chinese including one version with

Sanskrit and Chinese side-by-side.20 There are seven Chinese translations of

the Diamond Sūtra in the Taisho Tripitaka. These are listed in Table 1.

Table 1: Chinese Translations of the Diamond Sūtra21,22

Author Year Reference

Kumārajīva 403 T 235

Bodhiruci 509 T 236

Paramārtha 562 T 237

Dharmagupta 590 and 605-161 T 238, T 1510 (with

commentary)

Xuanzang 648 T 220

Yijing 703 T 239

Harrison finds that analysis of the Sanskrit and Chinese versions of the

Diamond Sūtra show that the Sanskrit versions developed over time due to

enlargement and addition, some of which may be possibly due to differences in

insertion or stock formulas in oral recitation or by elaboration.23 Although we

cannot objectively determine which translation is the “best,” Harrison states

that the Chinese translation that is likely to be the most reliable, “to reflect its

Sanskrit exemplar with minimal interference from other sources, is likely to be

the oldest,” which is Kumārajīva's.24 In fact, the most popular translation in

Chinese practice today is the version by Kumārajīva,25 which is also considered

especially elegantly written.26

English TranslationsSeveral English translations are listed in Table 2.

Table 2 Selected English Translations27

Translator Year Translated from

Müller 1881 Sanskrit

Conze 1959 Sanskrit

Red Pine 2009 Chinese and Sanskrit

Hsing Yun / Smitheram 2012 Chinese / Kumārajīva

According to Harrison, Conze's translation, produced in 1957 and largely

reproducing the Müller's translation from 1881, has become the 'standard point

of reference' for scholarly work.28 However, today its language has become

archaic. There was initially some concern among Western academics of

Kumārajīva's translation29 but recent linguistic study is showing that

Kumārajīva's translation is congruent with earlier and shorter Sanskrit

recensions which have been newly discovered but were not available to Muller

or Conze.30

It is difficult to precisely compare the different English translations because

some are based on Sanskrit, some Chinese, some on both Sanskrit and

Chinese, and there are different versions of each. However, I will compare one

key sentence in the sūtra from Section 4 to illustrate typical differences. Here

is Conze's translation,

Even so the heap of merit of that Bodhibeing who unsupported gives a gift

is not easy to measure.31

Here is Smitheram's translation of the phrase above with the corresponding

fragments of Chinese and Sanskrit below,

Subhūti, when a bodhisattva gives without abiding in any notion, his merit

is just as immeasurable.32

「須菩提！ 菩薩無住相布施，福德亦復如是不可思量。33

yaḥ subhūte bodhisattvo'pratiṣṭhito dānaṁ dadāti, tasya subhūte

puṇyaskandhasya na sukaraṁ pramāṇāmudgrahītum|34

The Chinese is not strictly a translation of this Sanskrit fragment. We do not

have the Sanskrit version that Kumārajīva translated from but we can see the

correlation.35

Conze's language is mostly consistent with Red Pine, which is a hybrid factoring

both Chinese and Sanskrit. Comparing Conze's, Hsing Yun's, and Red Pine's

translations is not trivial because all are based in different recensions. Conze

writes 'heap of merit' instead of just 'merit',36 which seems like a strange

measure for merit. Red Pine writes 'body of merit' and explains the use of this

term based on the Sanskrit 'puṇyaskandha,' which is a compound combining

puṇya (merit) and skandha (an aggregate).37 Both Conze and Red Pine write

'not easy to measure' instead of 'immeasurable,'38 the latter being a more

fluent reading. However, the Sanskrit above does negate 'easy to measure'

(sukaraṁ pramāṇā). Both Conze and Red Pine write 'give gifts' instead of

simply 'gives,'39 which seems clumsy. In fact, the Sanskrit does literally read

'give a gift' (dānaṁ dadāti) but the Chinese text simply says giving or dāna (布施 bushi), which seems more compact and less restrictive on what the practice

of giving actually includes.

A key word in the text fragment above and in the whole sutra is 'notion.' In this

example it translates the Sanskrit compound nimittasaṁjñāyāmapi (from the

previous sentence). Both the Sanskrit words nimitta and saṃjñā are translated

by the Chinese word 相 xiāng.40 The English word 'notion' is used by both

Conze and Hsing Yun but Red Pine uses 'perception.'41 Wang explains saṃjñā

as, “assigning a meaning to what is perceived in conceptualization.”42 The

Sanskrit word nimitta means either “butt , mark , target”, “sign , omen” or

“cause , motive , ground , reason.”43 Many but not all occurrences of 相 (xiang)

translate saṃjñā but many instances translate lakṣaṇa, literally sign or mark,

as in the thirty two marks of excellence (三十二相) of the Buddha, and some

instances translate nimitta. It does seem that Kumārajīva has done some

simplification in overloading the meaning of 相 (xiang) as notions in some cases

and appearances or marks in other cases but the overall meaning does not

change.

The lack of retention of Sanskrit for specialised terms in all of the English

translations obscures the meaning of the text considerably and makes

commentaries essential. For example, in Section 6 the Buddha warns against

'perceptions' (saṃjñā) of the four manifestations of self (self, person, beings,

and life; ātma, pudgala, sattva, jīva) and in Section 31 the Buddha warns

against the views (dṛṣṭi) of these same four manifestations. The Sanskrit word

dṛṣṭi has a particular meaning that includes perception and mental

interpretation of the perception, so Section 31 acts as both a reinforcement and

deepening of the teaching.44 However, in English the difference between a

perception ('notion' in some translations) and a view is lost on the average

reader making it seem that Section 31 simply repeats Section 6. This kind of

repetition, with a subtle variation and deepening of concepts on subsequent

repetitions, occurs throughout the sūtra and is hard to discover without a close

reading.

In summary, each of the three English translations is consistent but each has

problems. Conze's language is archaic. Red Pine's is not based on a single

recension but factors in multiple. Smitheram's translation of Kumārajīva's

version does not have the extensive notes needed for academic use or the

depth of discussion that Red Pine's has. Additionally, Conze's and Red Pine's

versions seem to have some additions, like the mention of bodhisattva path in

the example above, which is not present in Kumārajīva's and alters the

meaning.

Literary Style and Analysis of ConceptsWilliams states that the sūtra is a part of a genre of Prajñāpāramitā literature.45

It is included in the Mahā Prajñāpāramita Sūtra.46 Williams also states that the

Diamond Sūtra was created sometime between 100 BCE and 600 CE.47 Red

Pine, citing analysis from Conze and others believes that it is possible that this

sūtra was not included in the recitation at the First Council but, rather, became

part of the collection of teachings of the Mahāsāṃghika school.48

As mentioned above, one understanding of the title of the sūtra is diamond

cutting wisdom49 destroying any delusions that the listener has of the world.

This can be qualified by making parallels between the Diamond Sūtra and

certain modern lines of philosophical thought, notably Poststructuralism and

Deconstruction. Each contains ideas that are profound in the sense that they

overturn a fundamental understanding of the world, based on either of the

false understandings of the self at the center of the world or fixed ideas

absolutely describing the world. Bennett and Royle write, “Poststructuralism

demonstrates that the 'I' or human subject is necessarily decentred,”50 which is

closely related to the central idea of non-self in the sūtra.

Deconstruction challenges the idea that a person or object has to be either a

something or not that something. Wang compares Prajñāpāramitā literature to

the Deconstruction philosophy of Derrida.51 Bennett and Royle write, “...

deconstruction involves the desedimentation of those conceptual oppositions

through which essentialism operates.”52 This is profound idea because it

removes our understanding of fixed ideas describing the world. The Diamond

Sūtra does this too but there is an intuitive understanding that replaces the old

fixed ideas ('essentialism'). The Diamond Sūtra reads,

Nor, Subhūti, these fearless bodhisattvas do not create the perception of a

dharma, much less the perception of a no dharma.53

Red Pine gives an intuitive explanation, “Here, the Buddha urges bodhisattvas

to take the Middle Path between idealism (belief in dharmas) and nihilism

(belief in no dharmas).” The profound nature of these statements and the

possibility of explaining them in intuitive terms is an essential part of the sūtra

and, I believe, an important reason for the popularity of the sūtra.

Wang proposes that the Prajñāpāramitā treatises translated and written by

Kumārajīva, Xuan Zang, and Paramārtha were intended to deconstruct aspects

of Theravāda analytic discourse.54 These treatises contain extensive

discussions of emptiness, including the eighteen points of emptiness described

in the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom attributed to Nāgārjuna.55

However, I believe that the Diamond Sūtra uses a repetitive, negating style

including double negatives to deconstruct the duality of self and other and

fixed ideas using performative language without an attempt to establish a

philosophy. This can be seen in the large number of occurrences of negation of

self in the text.56

Bennett and Royle describe the founding claim of Western philosophy by

Aristotle as that, “it is impossible for anything at the same time to be and not

to be.”57 According to the Diamond Sūtra it is possible because the words used

to describe things in the world do not truly describe them. Subhūti says,

This dharma which the Tathagata has fully known or demonstrated it

cannot be grasped, it cannot be talked about, it is neither a dharma nor a

no-dharma.58

So, the Diamond Sūtra can be considered profound. However, rather than

proposing a theory the sūtra uses performative language, like the repetitive

negation discussed above, and analogies to huge quantities directed at shaking

off the readers' attachment to self and fixed ideas.

The principle of emptiness is an extension of the Buddha's original teaching of

non-self to all phenomena and is considered fundamental to Mahāyāna

Buddhism.59 However, emptiness is not mentioned in the Diamond Sūtra. This

apparent inconsistency, combined with the fact that no great bodhisattvas

conversing with the Buddha in the sūtra and no great event takes place at the

beginning of the sūtra, as happens in many other Prajñāpāramitā sūtras,

indicates that this sūtra may be either in a different category or older than

generally thought by scholars such as Williams.60

Historic CommentariesThe Diamond Sūtra has given rise to many commentaries, artwork and a whole

culture of sūtra veneration has evolved around it in Chinese Buddhism.61 The

forth, fifth, and sixth patriarchs of the Chan School advocated the sūtra and the

Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng was enlightened when hearing it.62 Classical

commentaries on the Diamond Sūtra provide a foundation for modern

practitioners to understand the meaning of the sūtra. The first commentary

was written by Kumārajīva's disciple Seng Zhao.63 Yong states that were over

800 commentaries on the Diamond Sūtra by the end of the Tang (907).64

Attachment 1 lists some of the more prominent commentaries that are

included in the Taisho Tripitaka and the Manji collection.

The approaches of commentators have varied with some having practical

explanations, some finding symbolism, and some praising the sutra's spiritual

power. Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch of the Chan School, has practical

interpretations for apparently unfathomable paradoxical statements in the

sūtra and uses little embellishment, which adds credibility to his comments. In

the Exegesis on the Diamond Sūtra, Hui Neng writes,

When giving one should have a pure, undefiled mind. First, do not seek to

dignify your own appearance. Second, do not seek the pleasures of the

five desires. Giving eliminates miserliness internally and benefits all living

beings externally.65

The division into 32 sections followed in most translations was introduced later

by Prince Zhao Ming (501 – 531) for Kumārajīva's translation.66 These divisions,

which may possibly be able to be traced back to Indian commentaries, were

applied by Müller when he edited the Sanskrit version.67 Zhao Ming was the

eldest son of Emperor Wu of Liang (464–549), a major patron of Buddhism.68

The division into 32 sections is also symbolic of the Buddha's body, which has

32 marks of excellence, which is a major point of discussion in the

commentaries.69

The popular appeal of the Diamond Sūtra can be partly understood through the

reaction of commentators to the characters in the sūtra. The two main

characters in the sūtra are the Buddha and Subhūti. Although he does have

some powers,70 in this sūtra the Buddha behaves as a teacher rather than a

divine being. Subhūti is presented as a keen and respectful student, first in his

understanding of emptiness.71 The Bodhisattva Path is also appealing to

commentators because of emphasis on selflessness. Asaṅga writes,

[Bodhisattvas'] thoughts are vast and noble, deep and not mistaken.

Standing on good works there path is filled with virtue.72

Modern CommentariesModern commentaries continue the tradition of the historic commentaries

explaining the background of the sūtra based on a close reading, especially the

symbolism used, the paradoxes in the sūtra text, and the essential points to be

drawn from it. Compared with historic commentaries, modern commentaries

are a lot more accessible to modern readers.

Hsing Yun is a Chan Buddhist practitioner and founder of the Fo Guang Shan

order.73 Hsing Yun's approach in his commentary is to use the principles as a

guide for living life. He points out the symbolism and gives explanations of the

concepts in the sūtra that are easy to understand. For example, he points out

the Six Conditions needed for the teaching to take place.74 The Six Conditions

are, “Thus [Faith] have I heard [Listening]. At one time [Time], the Buddha

[Teacher] was in the city of Sravasti at the Jeta Grove Monastery [Location] with

a gathering of monks numbering 1,250 [Audience].”75 The Six Conditions are

also explained by Jiang Wei Nong, who gives considerably more detail on the

structure and symbolism of the sūtra.76 Hsing Yun gives simple and elegant

examples explaining the paradoxical statements in Diamond Sūtra in the style

of Hui Neng. For example, to explain the statement emptiness of phenomena

(dhármas) an analogy of a fist is given: the fist ceases to exist when the hand is

opened.77

Red Pine is a monastic in the Chan tradition. He quotes extensively from the

historic Chinese commentaries providing his own translations to these texts,

which are not otherwise available in English. Many of Red Pines own

explanations are helpful in illuminating difficult statements in the sūtra, such as

the explanation on Materialism and Nihilism above.

I believe that a major gap in our collective understanding is the nature of

bodhisattva path in relation to the Arhat path. The definition of bodhisattva

may not be the same in this sūtra as the Mahāyāna doctrine, possibly

developed later. The answer to Subhuti's question in section 2, described

above, of how good men and women should control their minds is answered by

the Buddha with a description of how bodhisattvas should conduct themselves.

This suggests to me a simpler definition of what a bodhisattva is than

Mahāyāna doctrine implies. In Section 9 of the sūtra Subhuti is described as an

Arhat and an Arhat will not return in another life. However, in both Pali and

Mahāyāna sources the Buddha became an Arhat himself in the lifetime that he

met Dīpaṁkara78 but that did not prevent him following the bodhisattva path.

Inserting an interpretation that the Arhat path and bodhisattva path are in

conflict does not help explain the bodhisattva path in the context of this sūtra.

Actually, mentioned in Conze's translation and the later Sanskrit, the

bodhisattva path is not mentioned in the Chinese text, which is an earlier

translation.79 I believe that this may have been an area of contention and

modification or exclusion by the early schools.

There are other promising modern commentaries that I do not have time to

research or space to discuss. Notable among those that I do not include are

commentaries by Hsuan Hua80, Thich Nhat Hanh81, and Mu Soeng.82 There are

also many modern eminent Chinese practitioners that have written or spoken

commentaries on the Diamond Sūtra in Chinese but the English translations are

not available. A prominent example in this category is Yin Shun (1906 –

2005).83

SummaryI have investigated textual, linguistic and literary aspects of the Diamond Sūtra

and commentaries on it. From a textual perspective I examined the main

points in the content of the sūtra, including, giving without attachment, urging

good men and women to follow the bodhisattva path to liberating sentient

beings without attachment to self, and the unlimited merit obtained from

unconditional giving. From a linguistic perspective I examined the translations

of the sūtra, especially, the difficulties faced by translators in translating

numerous paradoxical statements contained in the sūtra and terms with no

exact English equivalent. I examined this through the writing of historic and

modern commentators on the sūtra. I examined the literary style, including the

style of Poststructuralism in negating belief in self, Deconstruction in the lack of

an absolute understanding of the world, and also the popular appeal of the

sūtra.

AcknowledgmentsThanks to Venerable Juewei for encouraging me to get restarted in my study of

the Diamond Sūtra and for her Dharma classes on the Diamond Sūtra. Her

presentation and mind maps linked from the web page

http://chinesenotes.com/diamond_sutra_toc.html.

AbbreviationsDiamond Sūtra: Prajñāpāramitā Diamond Sūtra or Diamond Prajñāpāramitā

Sūtra (Sanskrit: Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra)

Manji: Manji Shinsan Dainihon Zokuzokyo 卍新纂大日本續藏經

T: Taisho Tripitaka

Vism.: Visuddhimagga

W: Taisho Buddhist Texts not contained in the Tripitaka 藏外佛教文獻

UWest: University of the West Sanskrit Buddhist Canon

Notes1. The titles of all sūtras and other texts are italicized, except for the

Diamond Sūtra because its name is used so frequently in this paper.

2. Hsing Yun 2012, Preface page I; Yong 2010, p 1.

3. The Sanskrit title is Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (Williams 2008, p

206).

4. Williams 2009, p 51.

5. Hsing Yun 2012, p 72.

6. Hsing Yun 2012, p 87.

7. Vism. II 31-34.

8. Conze 1988, section 2. There is no mention of bodhisattva vehicle in

Kumārajīva's translation. The archaic language is discussed later.

9. Williams 2009, p 55. Note: this fragment of the Sanskrit does not use the

term bodhisattva-mahasattva but it is used elsewhere in the sūtra.

10. Conze 1988, Section 3.

11. Hsing Yun 2012, p 92

uses the phrase 'giving without notions.'

12. Williams 2009, p 58.

13. Conze 1988, section 3.

14. Hsing Yun 2013, p 91-92.

15. Hsing Yun 2013, p 92, 102; 'giving without notions' translates the

Chinese 無相布什; Conze translates this as 'without being supported by

the notion of a sign.'

16. Hsing Yun 2012, p 93.

17. Hsing Yun 2012, p 93-95.

18. British Library; Yong 2010, p 57.

19. Yong 2010, p 6-7.

20. Harrison 2008, p 206-207.

21. Harrison 2008, p 206-215; Yong 2010, p 8.

22. In addition to Chinese, translations were also made to Tibetan,

Mongolian, Khotanese, Sogdian, Manchu, and other languages. Yong

2010, p 5.

23. Harrison 2008, p240-242.

24. Harrison 2008, p 244

25. Hsing Yun 2012, Preface, page i.

26. Hsing Yun 2008, translators preface by Tom Graham; Yong 2012, p 12.

27. The version in Hsing Yun (2012) is translated to English by Robert

Smitheram.

28. Harrison 2008, p 213.

29. Conze was skeptical of Chinese translation, especially Kumārajīva's,

claiming that it was not made directly from a Sanskrit original. Harrison

states that Conze “provides no evidence for this blunt claim.” (Harrison

2008, p 218)

30. Harrison 2008, p 218, 241.

31. Conze 1988, section 4.

32. Hsing Yun 2012, p 92.

33. Kumārajīva, T 235.

34. University of the West. Vajracchedikā nāma triśatikā prajñāpāramitā,

(Sanskrit version of the Diamond Sutra), The Sanskrit Buddhist Canon,

http://www.dsbcproject.org./node/6348.

35. To see the correlation, the Sanskrit word apratiṣṭha meaning without

attachment or without support matches the Chinese term 無住 wuzhu.

Merit, Sanskrit puṇya, is translated written in Chinese as 福德 fude. See a

full comparison of Kumārajīva and University of the West Sanksrit by

Amies 2013.

36. Hsing Yun 2012, section 4, p 225.

37. Red Pine 2009, p 94.

38. Hsing Yun 2012, section 4, p 225.

39. Hsing Yun 2012, section 4, p 225.

40. Hsing Yun 2012, p 92.

41. Red Pine 2009, p 13.

42. Wang 2001, p 46.

43. Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary 2008 revision.

44. Red Pine 2009, p 421.

45. Williams 2009, p 47.

46. Red Pine 2009, p 433.

47. Williams 2009, p 49.

48. Red Pine, citing analysis from Conze and others believes that it is

possible that the Buddha did speak this sūtra but that it was not included

in the recitation at the First Council and, rather, became part of the

collection of teachings of the Mahāsāṃghika school. Red Pine 2009, p

41.

49. Red Pine 2009, p 36.

50. Bennett and Royle 2009, p 136.

51. Wang 2001, p 6.

52. Bennett and Royle 2009, p 184.

53. Red Pine 2009, p 112, translation of a fragment of Section 6 of the

Diamond Sūtra.

54. Wang 2001, p 11-14.

55. Wang 2001, p 63-68; Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom 大智度論 T 1509.

56. The University of the West Sanskrit Cannon version of the sūtra

contains the Sanskrit word for person or soul pudgala (translated as 人 or

person in Chinese by Kumārajīva) 16 times and the word for self ātma 31

times, each time in a negative context. The Chinese version by

Kumārajīva is 5164 characters long. It contains 46 occurrences of the

negating adverb 非 fei, 78 occurrences of the negating adverb 無 wu.

57. Bennett and Royle 2009, p 184.

58. Conze 1988, section 7.

59. Williams 2009, p 52. Neither the English word emptiness, the Sanksrit

word śūnyatā, nor the Chinese word 空 in the sense of emptiness occurs

in the sūtra.

60. In fact, Williams says, “... it is not always absurd to suggest that a

Mahāyāna sūtra or teaching may contain elements of a tradition that

goes back to the Buddha himself, which was played down or just possibly

excluded from the canonical formulations of the early schools.” (Williams

2009, p 39)

61. Yong 2010, p 2.

62. Yong 2010, p 22.

63. Red Pine 2009, p 238.

64. Yong 2012, p 14.

65. Hsing Yun 2012, p 104 quoting Hui Neng T. Vol 24, No. 0459.

66. Hsing Yun 2008, p 1-2; Prince Zhao Ming 昭明太子 was also known as

Xiao Tong 蕭統.

67. Yong 2012, p 12-13, and they also appear in the UWest Sanskrit

version, Vaidya 1961.

68. Red Pine 2009, p 40.

69. Red Pine 2009, p 40.

70. Such as the Buddha eye, mentioned in Section 18 of the sūtra.

71. Red Pine 2009, p 229.

72. Red Pine 2009, p 77, quoting Asaṅga's work Neng Duan Jingang Bore

Boluome Lunsong.

73. Fu Zhiying 2008, p 76.

74. Hsing Yun 2013, p 58, Chinese for Six Conditions or Six

Accomplishments is 六成就.

75. Hsing Yun 2013, p 223.

76. Jiang Wei Nong. Lectures on the Diamond Sutra. In Chinese, 金剛般若波羅蜜經講義. Published 1941. http://book.bfnn.org/books2/1108.htm.

77. Hsing Yun 2012, p 77.

78. Gethin 1998, p 226.

79. Searching on the Chinese for bodhisattva path 菩薩道 (pusa dao) in the

Taisho text.

80. Hsuan Hua 2003.

81. Thich Nhat Hanh. The Diamond that Cuts Through Illusion:

Commentaries on the Prajñaparamita Diamond Sutra. Berkeley: Parallax

Press, 1992.

82. Mu Soeng. The Diamond Sutra: Transforming the Way We Perceive the

World. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000.

83. Yin Shun, Lectures on the Prajñāpāramitā Diamond Sūtra, 金剛般若波羅蜜經讲录/印順.

Attachment 1

Selected Historic Commentaries on the Diamond Sūtra

Author Title Date Reference

Vasubandhu Vajracchedika-

prajbaparamitopadewa

4th century T 1511

Asaṅga Neng Duan Jingang Bore Boluome Lunsong

4th century T 1514

Seng Zhao Jingang Jing Zhu 384–414

Xie Yinglun Jingang Bore Zhu 金剛般若註 385-433 Jinggang Jing Wushisan Jia Zhu

Hui Yuan Jingang Bore Boluomi Jing Shu 334 — 416 W 0029

Zhiyi Jingang Bore Jing Shu 521–596 T 1698

Jizang Jingang Bore Shu 549–623 T 1699

Zhiyan Jingang Bore Boluomi Lueshu 602–668 T 1704

Kuiji Jingang Bore Lun Huishi 632–682 T 1816

Hui Neng Exegesis on the Diamond Sūtra 638–713 Manji 0459

Hui Jing Jingang Jing Zhu Shu Tang Manji 0456

Duan Chengshi

Jingang Jing Zhu Jiu Yi Tang Manji 1630

Dao Chuan Jingang Jing Zhu Song Manji 0461

Zong Jing Xiao Shi Jingang Jing Ke Yi Hui Yao Zhujie

Song Manji 0467

Zi Xuan Jingang Jing Zuan Yao Kan Ding Ji

Song T 1702

Hong Lian Jingang Jing Zhu Jie Ming Manji 0468

Tu Gen Jingang Jing Zhu Jie Tie Cuan Xian

Ming Manji 0470

Han, Yan Supplementary Notes on the Diamond Sūtra

Ming Manji 0469

Author Title Date Reference

Yuan Gao Jingang Jing Yin Shi Zhi Jie Ming Manji 0483

Guang Shen Jingang Jing Bi Ming Manji 0475

Ru Guan Notes on the Diamond Sūtra Ming Manji 0478

Cun Wu Jingang Jing Chan Shuo Qing Manji 0508

Yu Yue Jingang Jing Zhu Qing Manji 0506

Pu Wan Mind Seal Commentary to the Diamond Sutra

Qing Manji 0505

Xing Min Jingang Jing Zhu Jiang Qing Manji 0502

Wu Shi Dao Ren

Jingang Jing Rushi Jie Qing Manji 0485

Xu Fa Jingang Jing Ying Shuo Qing Manji 0488

Xing Qi Jingang Jing Fayan Xuan Pan Shu Chao

Qing Manji 0499

Ji Shan Jiu Jingang Jing Zhi Shuo Qing Manji 0496

Fu You Di Jingang Jing Zhu Jie Qing Manji 0503

Wang Qi Long Jingang Jing Dayi Qing Manji 0484

Xu Huai Ting Jingang Jing Jie Yi Qing Manji 0509

Xie Cheng Mo Jingang Jing Yi Jie Qing Manji 0510

Zhou Ke Jingang Jing Chi Yan Ji Qing Manji 1635

Tong Li Jingang Xin Yan Shu Jing Ji He Shi

Qing Manji 0487

Sources: Yong 2012, p 14-17; Chen 2002, p 276-279; CBETA (cbeta.org). See

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