The Diamond Sutra (Internal Reference)¶

I. Status and Definition: The Himalayan Peak of Wisdom¶

The Diamond Sutra states: "Subhuti, all Buddhas and the supreme, perfect enlightenment of all Buddhas arise from this sutra."

Buddhist scriptures are vast as the ocean, obscure and difficult. The dharma talks of monks grow ever more confusing — inverting root and branch, bewildering sentient beings. Thousands of gateways proliferate names and concepts, like the Yellow River: clear at its headwaters, turbid by mid-course. There is only one way to understand the Dharma: all scriptures flow from the Diamond Sutra. Set aside the vast accumulation and go straight to the source.

The Diamond Sutra is the Himalayan peak of wisdom. Once you truly understand the Diamond Sutra, you can "look down on all other mountains from the summit" — clouds lift, the Penglai realm opens, and Buddhahood becomes possible.

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · Preface: The Diamond Sutra — The Himalayan Peak of Wisdom)

II. The Supreme Vehicle: No-Self, No-Scripture¶

Reading through the Diamond Sutra, its core is the Buddha's teaching of the supreme vehicle — Non-Form Thinking and the state of no-form.

The Buddha said he would liberate measureless beings, yet in reality no beings are liberated. A bodhisattva who has the mark of self, the mark of others, the mark of sentient beings, or the mark of lifespan is not a bodhisattva. Do not abide in form when giving. Do not abide in sound, smell, taste, touch, or mental objects when giving. The Tathāgata cannot be seen through physical marks. There is no dharma-mark, nor any non-dharma-mark. Do not grasp dharma; do not grasp non-dharma. All my teachings are not to be grasped, not to be spoken — they are not dharma, and they are not non-dharma. The dharma I have taught is like a raft: once you have crossed the river, you put down the raft. What is called the Buddha-Dharma is not actually the Buddha-Dharma. Generate a pure mind by not allowing the mind to abide in form — not in sound, color, fragrance, taste, touch, or thought. Let the mind find nowhere to abide; that is how pure mind arises. Apart from all marks is what is called a Buddha. What the Tathāgata has realized is neither real nor void. All dharmas are Buddha-Dharma. All dharmas are without self, without others, without sentient beings, without lifespan. If someone says I have left some dharma to proclaim, that person slanders the Buddha and does not understand what I have said. I have attained not even the slightest dharma, and for that reason have attained supreme enlightenment. Seeking Buddha while clinging to marks is the wrong path. The dharma is not void, not real, not annihilated — therefore one must not maintain the mark of emptiness. All dharmas are without self. The Tathāgata neither comes from anywhere nor goes anywhere. If one deliberately seeks the dharma, it is like searching for the moon in water, grasping dream-shadows and bubbles.

These are the Buddha's teachings in the Diamond Sutra. From them we can know: the Buddha-Dharma has no self, and no scripture.

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · The Supreme Vehicle: No-Self, No-Scripture)

III. The Logic of "Saying, Negating, Naming"¶

The Diamond Sutra repeatedly uses the pattern: "A — not-A — therefore called A":

The physical form called [the body] is not [really] a physical form — it is merely called a physical form.

To call something the supreme transcendent wisdom is not [really] the supreme transcendent wisdom — it is merely called the supreme transcendent wisdom.

He who speaks the dharma has no dharma to speak — this is called speaking the dharma.

Sentient beings are, the Tathāgata says, not sentient beings — they are merely called sentient beings.

What is called the good dharma — the Tathāgata says — is not the good dharma. It is merely called the good dharma.

At first reading, the Diamond Sutra feels like being lost in clouds, unable to understand what the old Śākyamuni is trying to express. Tangled threads, saying yes, then no, then "this is it" — especially this pattern of "saying, negating, naming." It is hard to grasp. But without understanding this pattern, it is absolutely impossible to understand the Diamond Sutra.

"What is called the good dharma is not the good dharma, it is merely called the good dharma." What is the good dharma? There is no such thing as a fixed "good dharma" in the cosmos, and no fixed "bad dharma" either. We simply need some verbal handle, and so we borrow the name "good dharma." If we become attached to that name — insisting that a real, fixed "good dharma" truly exists — we fall into an extreme and create confusion and suffering.

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · Saying, Negating, Naming)

IV. No-Form — Clinging to Form Prevents Buddhahood¶

The Diamond Sutra says: "All marks are illusory. He who sees all marks as non-marks sees the Tathāgata."

"Sentient beings who no longer have the mark of self, the mark of others, the mark of sentient beings, the mark of lifespan, the dharma-mark, or the non-dharma-mark."

"Departing from all marks is called all Buddhas."

"If you seek me in form, if you seek me in sound, you are on the wrong path and cannot see the Tathāgata."

What is a "mark"? Everything perceived by sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch is a mark. So too are morality, concepts, religious rules, constitutional laws, and taboos that constrain thinking, confine freedom, obstruct the liberation of the heart-mind, and suppress the expression of human nature — these are "dharma-marks."

The state of no-form: heaven is not heaven, earth is not earth; no distinction between the two. No above, no below; no left, no right. No edge, no corner — no fixed form. No large, no small — form following form. No past, no future — no beginning, no end. No coming, no going, no birth, no death — only eternity. No good, no evil, no true, no false, no beautiful, no ugly — no polarities, no yin and yang, no division into two; everything merged into one. No love, no hate, no seeking, no rejecting — utterly unmoving. No gods, no Buddhas, no immortals, no humans, no plants or animals, no insects or microbes — only structure. No heaven, no hell, no human realm, no space, no time, no existence, no non-existence — only the living movement of the Tao. No regulations, no systems, no constitution, no law, no religious doctrine, no ritual, no barriers, no taboos — only living spirituality. No sound, no noise, no inhale, no exhale — only resonance...

Seeking Buddha through marks is the wrong path. It cannot reveal the Tathāgata; it cannot achieve Buddhahood.

No-form is not empty-form. Maintaining a state of emptiness is also attachment to a mark — also an extreme, also falling short of true no-form.

No fixed dharma is the dharma; no fixed form is the form.

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · Clinging to Form Prevents Buddhahood)

V. No-Self — Having Self Prevents Buddhahood¶

The Diamond Sutra says: "Subhuti, if a bodhisattva has the mark of self, the mark of others, the mark of sentient beings, or the mark of lifespan, he is not a bodhisattva."

"If a bodhisattva penetrates the dharma of no-self, the Tathāgata says he is truly a bodhisattva."

"Through no-self, no-others, no-sentient-beings, no-lifespan, cultivating all good dharmas — one attains supreme enlightenment."

Buddha is not I; I am not Buddha. Where there is self, there is no Buddha; where there is Buddha, there is no self. Having self, one cannot become a Buddha; becoming a Buddha requires relinquishing self. The greatest obstacle to Buddhahood is the self. While the self remains, Buddhahood is forever out of reach.

Whenever self arises in the mind, one moves farther from Buddha.

Non-action and yet nothing left undone: only by reaching the state of non-action can one act freely with perfect responsiveness.

No-self yet self everywhere: only by reaching the state of no-self can one find the true self — the Tathāgata — within no-self.

Surrender the self, and you will have a self. Cling to the self, and ultimately you lose it.

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · Having Self Prevents Buddhahood)

VI. The Four Vehicle Tiers¶

Those of the Small Vehicle have self, have form, have scripture.

Those of the Middle Vehicle interpret self, interpret form, interpret scripture.

Those of the Upper Vehicle have no self, no form, no scripture.

Those of the Supreme Vehicle stand on the far shore and smash Buddha and scripture.

Thus: those who burn incense, kowtow, and chant sutras belong to the Small Vehicle. Those who explain scriptures to others belong to the Middle Vehicle. Those who speak of Chan and the Tao belong to the Upper Vehicle. Those who denounce Buddha and scripture belong to the Supreme Vehicle.

Important note: those who "denounce Buddha and scripture" must be realized persons who have mastered the Dharma. Ordinary people must absolutely never imitate this — to do so brings grave karmic consequences without end.

The Diamond Sutra is the dharma gateway of the Supreme Vehicle, intended specifically for those with deep Buddhist cultivation and the aspiration to practice the supreme path. It is not for beginners. Teaching quantum mechanics to primary school students is futile; teaching the Diamond Sutra to Small or Middle Vehicle practitioners is essentially futile.

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · The Supreme Vehicle: No-Self, No-Scripture; Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · All Dharmas Are Buddha-Dharma)

VII. The Three Marks of Buddhahood¶

The three marks of a person who has become a Buddha:

One: they have seen the Tathāgata. Two: they have reached the state of non-action. Three: their mind dwells nowhere.

That is to say, anyone who meets these three conditions has become a Buddha — they are a Buddha.

How to see the Tathāgata:

The Tathāgata is one's self-nature. The Diamond Sutra says: "All marks are illusory. He who sees all marks as non-marks sees the Tathāgata."

The Tathāgata has no specific form. Nothing with a definite visible shape is the Tathāgata. Only one's self-nature is the Tathāgata. Only by recognizing one's self-nature can one see the Tathāgata. The instant one sees the Tathāgata, one has become a Buddha.

How to reach the state of non-action:

The Diamond Sutra says: "All sages differ by virtue of non-conditioned dharma." "Do not entertain the thought: I shall liberate sentient beings." "All conditioned dharmas are like a dream, a phantom, a bubble, a shadow, like dew or like lightning. Contemplate them thus."

Any action inevitably produces error. Any action impairs the perfect structure of self-nature. The more one acts, the further one moves from one's nature; the more one acts, the harder it is to return to the original. In a word: action makes Buddhahood difficult.

How to make the mind dwell nowhere:

The Diamond Sutra says: "Thus one should generate a pure mind — not letting the mind abide in form, not letting it abide in sound, smell, taste, touch, or thought. The mind should dwell nowhere and thereby come into being."

Without a pure mind, it is difficult to attain supreme, perfect enlightenment. To achieve pure mind, the heart-mind must be free of all attachment — nothing left to cling to, the mind resting nowhere, utterly unmoving.

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · Clear Nature Surpasses Dust: Become a Buddha Right Now)

VIII. Anuttarā-Samyak-Saṃbodhi (Supreme Perfect Enlightenment)¶

"Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi" appears in the Diamond Sutra and means "the awareness that penetrates all cosmic mysteries with perfect, unobstructed, all-encompassing, all-pervading, supremely lucid clarity."

The answer is hung high in the Heart Sutra: "All Buddhas of past, present, and future, depending on Prajñāpāramitā, attain anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi."

Following Prajñāpāramitā achieves supreme enlightenment. A more accurate rendering of "Prajñāpāramitā" is: the spiritual awareness that, by following nature, arrives at the ideal state.

The gateway to supreme enlightenment: open spiritual awareness, act in accordance with one's nature, follow the natural way.

Yet the Diamond Sutra, in Chapter 17 ("究竟无我分"), states directly: "Subhuti, in reality there is no dharma by which the Tathāgata attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi." That is, in reality there is no gateway by which this awakening is obtained. This "awareness" can only be experienced — it cannot be acquired or possessed.

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · How to Attain Supreme Perfect Enlightenment)

IX. Inconceivable Merit¶

The Diamond Sutra says: "Subhuti, know that this sutra is inconceivable, and its merit is also inconceivable."

"If in a later age someone can receive, uphold, and recite this sutra, the merit they achieve cannot be compared with the merit of making offerings to all the Buddhas I have served — not even a thousandth, ten-thousandth, ten-millionth part, nor any computable fraction thereof."

"If a good man or good woman receives, upholds, and recites this sutra... they shall attain anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi."

To truly understand the Diamond Sutra, it is not enough to approach it through its literal text alone — one must begin with one's aspiration, resolving to generate the Great Vehicle mind-wish, the Supreme Vehicle mind-wish. That is the only way.

What is the Great Vehicle mind-wish? To abandon oneself and devote fully to the work of liberating sentient beings — as with the vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva and Guanyin Bodhisattva. "Until the hells are empty, I will not attain Buddhahood."

What is the Supreme Vehicle mind-wish? To walk the path of the Greatest Creator–Tathāgata–Buddha-Patriarch, bringing all beings to the state of Non-Form Thinking and into the Hundun state of mind.

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · Inconceivable Merit)

X. The Greatest Gift: Formless Giving¶

The Diamond Sutra says: "A bodhisattva should give in this way: without abiding in any mark. If a bodhisattva gives without abiding in marks, their merit is incalculable."

How incalculable? If someone uses the seven treasures of three thousand great chiliocosms in giving, that is great merit — but if someone upholds, recites, and explains even four lines of the Diamond Sutra to others, the merit they gain surpasses the first.

The Diamond Sutra further says: "Subhuti, if a good man or good woman in the morning makes offerings equal to the Ganges' sands with their own body, at midday does the same, in the evening does the same, and thus continues for innumerable hundreds of thousands of millions of eons — and if another person hears this sutra and does not reject it with doubt — their merit surpasses the first. How much more if they write, uphold, read, recite, and explain it to others."

Give a thousand coins to a person, but better to give them a scripture. Give them a scripture, but better to explain to them one deep truth.

The day of complete merit is the day of becoming an immortal or a Buddha.

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · The Greatest Gift)

XI. The Sacred Stupa¶

The World-Honored One told us: "Subhuti, wherever this sutra exists, all in the world — humans, gods, and asuras — should make offerings. Know that this place is a stupa; all should revere it, circumambulate it, and scatter flowers and incense there."

First: The Diamond Sutra itself is a stupa. Wherever the Diamond Sutra is present, that place is a stupa — whether for the people of heaven or the people of earth, all should bow with profound reverence.

Second: Anyone who can memorize, uphold, and explain the Diamond Sutra to others is a stupa. All living beings should revere that person with sincere respect.

Lifechanyuan holds that a person who sincerely seeks Buddha must build a stupa within their own heart. The inner stupa matters more than any outer stupa. "All marks are illusory" — therefore visible stupas are illusory. The true stupa is the formless stupa within the heart.

"If you seek me in form, if you seek me in sound, you are on the wrong path and cannot see the Tathāgata." An outer stupa of clay, plastic, porcelain, or metal — surrounded by kowtowing, incense, drums, and chanting — is in fact "the wrong path."

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · The Sacred Stupa)

XII. Breaking Free from Dharma-Marks (2023 Teaching)¶

"Departing from all marks is called all Buddhas." — Diamond Sutra

"All marks are illusory. He who sees all marks as non-marks sees the Tathāgata." — Diamond Sutra

What are dharma-marks? Three tiers: - Highest: cosmic natural laws and principles (arising-abiding-decaying-ceasing; birth-aging-sickness-death) - Middle: human-made laws and regulations (constitutions, legal codes, contracts) - Lowest: the present-moment realities one perceives (political systems, marriage, cultural customs, wealth, power)

Humans are slaves to marks; marks are the prison of humanity. Every decision we make — planning the future, making choices, taking action — rests on marks as its foundation. Once thinking is trapped by marks, one cannot see the Tathāgata, cannot become a Buddha, cannot reach the Pure Land.

"Without breaking through marks, Buddhahood is forever out of reach; the Pure Land forever unreachable."

(Chanyuan Anthology · Becoming a Buddha · Breaking Free from Dharma-Marks, 2023-03-05)

XIII. Lifechanyuan as the Continuation of the Diamond Sutra¶

"Lifechanyuan is the continuation of the Diamond Sutra. If you don't believe it, go on drilling into corners."

The vast ocean of Buddhist scriptures — what are they? They are rafts for crossing the river, boats ferrying people from this shore to the far shore. But what is on the far shore? The Amitabha Sutra gives a glimpse, yet the more you read it the more bewildered you become. The Diamond Sutra is the highest wisdom of Buddhism. Can the far shore be seen through the Diamond Sutra? I can say with certainty: no one can see it. If you could see it, you'd already be there — it would be very hard to return.

It is precisely because the far shore cannot be seen that countless people study Buddhism their whole lives and remain on the near shore, bewildered. In response to this, the Buddha-Patriarch in compassion dispatched a guide. Lifechanyuan presents both the scenery of the near shore and the landscape of the far shore. Now those who study Buddhism should understand.

(Other Writings of the Guide · 2006 · Miscellaneous Notes (2))

The Dharma now has an heir — a ray of Buddha-light illuminates the cosmos.

The Buddha Śākyamuni, when discussing no-form in the Diamond Sutra, spoke only of relinquishing the four marks: self, others, sentient beings, lifespan. This alone felt insufficient in scope. Now, a messenger of Śākyamuni has brought new wisdom: we must also relinquish the mark of mind (心相) and the mark of dharma (法相).

Relinquishing the four marks is relatively manageable. But to truly become a Buddha, one must pass through two additional towering obstacles — the mark of mind and the mark of dharma. These are the two most formidable barriers.

(Xuefeng Anthology · Heart-Mind chapter · Buddha-Dharma Flourishes in Lifechanyuan)

We need to read the classics: first, the Gospel accounts of Jesus; second, the Diamond Sutra; third, the Tao Te Ching; fourth, the latest findings of science. Everything else can be read for leisure. Everyone should ascend to the peak of wisdom as quickly as possible — to enjoy the view from "above all other mountains" — and not linger too long in the valleys and plains.

(Other Writings of the Guide · 2005 · Casual Conversation (4))

Buddha-Dharma · Buddha, the Buddha-Patriarch, Tathāgata · Becoming a Buddha · Self-Nature · Buddha-Nature · Tathāgata-Nature · No-Self No-Form · No-Abiding Mind · Formless Giving · Illuminating the Mind, Seeing One's Nature · Non-Action (Wu Wei) · Awakening