Diamond Sutra, Heart Sutra, Altar Sutra

Chapter 3 Diamond Sutra (2)
The Buddha said approvingly: "Very good! Very good! Subhuti, just as you said, the Buddha is good at protecting and caring for Bodhisattvas, and good at instructing and instructing Bodhisattvas. Now listen carefully and I will explain it to you. Good men and good women, if you wish to achieve the bodhicitta of supreme enlightenment, you should keep your bodhicitta in this way, and you should subdue your false thoughts in this way."

Bodhi replied, "Yes, Buddha. We are all happy to listen to your teachings."

Original
The Buddha told Subhuti: "All bodhisattvas and mahasattvas should subdue their hearts in this way: all living beings, if they are born from eggs, if they are born from wombs, if they are born from dampness, if they are born by transformation; if they have form, if they are colorless; if they have thoughts ④, if there is no thought ⑤, if there is no thought, and whether there is no thought ⑥, I will cause you to enter nirvana without residue and be saved ⑦. In this way, there are countless and boundless sentient beings who will be saved. In fact, no sentient beings will be saved. Why? Subhuti, if Bodhisattvas have the appearance of self, person, sentient beings, and longevity, so they are not Bodhisattvas."

注释
①Mahasattva: That is, the abbreviation of Mahasattva, which is a general term for Bodhisattva or Dashi.Maha, free translation is big; Satu, is the meaning of sentient beings and sentient beings.Mahasattva is a big heart, or a great sentient being, all living beings, referring to all living beings who make a big wish to achieve Buddhahood, that is, a great Bodhisattva. There are three kinds of "big": great wish, great action, and great salvation of sentient beings. That is to say, the great people are the highest among all living beings in the world, and they will not retreat from their great minds, so they are called Mahasattva.Mahasattva has seven conditions: [-]. to have great roots; [-]. to have great wisdom; [-]. to believe in the great law; [-]. to understand the great principles;

②Egg birth, viviparous birth, wet birth, transformation birth: the four births, referring to the four types of sentient beings in the three realms and six realms.Oviparous is when it leaves the mother's body, it is not a completed body shape, it is only an egg.It must be protected and hatched before it can emerge from the egg shell, like a bird; viviparous, and abdominally born.Its original self must be preserved in the mother's womb, and it can only be born away from the mother's body after the body is completed, just like human beings; dampness is also called karma, cold and heat, and joint birth.That is, those produced by the moisture that moistens the ground, such as dung, gutters, carrion, and grass, such as mosquitoes and extremely fine insects in the water; metaplasia means that such beings do not need the external relationship of parents, and rely on their own survival Desires and karma will suddenly arise, like beings in the heavens and hells.

③ Colored and Colorless: From the point of view of the matter of all living beings themselves, there are two types, that is, colored, such as the sentient beings in the desire realm and the form realm. They are sentient beings with physical bodies, including the sentient beings of the six realms of the desire realm and the four dhyana heavens of the form realm.What is colorless is the sentient beings in the colorless world.It is without the desires of men and women and the physical body, but there is still consciousness, like the four empty heavens of the formless realm.

④Thinking: From the perspective of whether sentient beings have emotional consciousness, there are three kinds of sentient beings: "Thinking", "Thinking" and "Neither thinking nor no thinking".Having thoughts refers to the conscious functions of feeling, cognition, will, thinking, etc.; or refers to sentient beings with such functions.Youxiang also refers to Youxiang Heaven, which is the place where Youxiang living beings live.Among all the heavens, except for the formless realm and the formless realm of neither perception nor non-perception, the others are all perception heavens.

⑤ No thinking: refers to the state of no thoughts.Or it refers to those who have entered into extinction and have attained the fruit of no thought.Or short for Wuxiangtian.The No-Thinking Heaven is in the Form Realm, and those who are born in this Heaven will have their thoughts and thoughts extinguished, leaving only the physical body and non-corresponding aggregates, so it is called the No-Thinking Heaven.

⑥ Non-existence and non-absence of thought: Refers to all living beings who live in the non-thought and non-non-thinking place of the formless realm.That is to say, there is no affliction of rough thinking of sentient beings in the lower realms, so there are thoughts of right and wrong or non-thinking, but there are troubles of careful thinking, so it is also called non-non-thinking or non-non-thinking.

⑦ Nirvana without remainder: Nirvana, also translated as Niri, Nihuan, Nirvana, etc., free translations are extinction, extinction, extinction, peace, inaction, non-birth, liberation, and death.The word meaning of Nirvana has the meaning of dissipating, that is, the elimination of pain and freedom.That is to eliminate the cause and effect of life and death, cross the waterfall of life and death, and reach the Bodhi state of wisdom and enlightenment. "Nirvana without surplus" is the symmetry of "Nirvana with surplus". When a practitioner attains Arhatship, the cause of karma is completely unaffected, but there is still the existence of body and mind, so it is called nirvana with surplus; The body and mind of the past karma are all ashes, and there is no place to rely on, and then Nirvana without residue is reached.

⑧ Self-image, human image, sentient being image, and longevity image: "Image" means shape or state, and refers to the image state of all dharmas, which is manifested outside and imagined in the heart.In Buddhist scriptures, "phase" has been used to describe the various phases, development process, and even the merits and virtues of the truth. "I form" refers to my appearance, and ordinary people mistakenly think that the external self is the reality and are attached to it. "Human appearance" means that all living beings falsely plan that the self in the six realms of reincarnation is the real external appearance. "The appearance of all living beings" means that all living beings regard the self that is born according to the harmony of the five aggregates as a real external appearance. "Shou Zhe Xiang" means that those who are attached to all living beings have a period of life continuity from birth to death, which can be passed on for a long time.These four phases are actually developed by a "self-phase", so Buddhism pays special attention to breaking the "self-attachment".

Translation
The Buddha told Subhuti: "All the great Bodhisattvas should practice the mind of conquering delusions in this way: Whether it is sentient beings born from eggshells or born from the mother's womb; Relying on all living beings who can appear only by their karma; whether they are beings with physical bodies in the world of desire and form, or beings without physical bodies in the colorless world; All living beings with consciousness activities, and all kinds of living beings with or without consciousness activities, I want to make them reach the Nirvana state of breaking away from the cycle of life and death, cut off their troubles, eliminate all sufferings forever, and let them obtain the ultimate liberation. However, although Countless sentient beings have been saved in this way, but in fact none of them have been saved and eliminated their afflictions. Why do you say that? Subhuti, if a bodhisattva still has in his heart the image of himself, the image of others, and the images of sentient beings, If he does not have the appearance of life, the appearance of life span, then he will not be a bodhisattva."

Original
"Furthermore, Subhuti, bodhisattvas should have no dwelling place in the Dharma, and they should act in giving. The so-called abiding in form alms, not abiding in sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma. Subhuti, a bodhisattva should do alms like this. Dwell in form. Why? If a bodhisattva does not stay in form to give, his merit is inconceivable[-]. Subhuti, what do you mean? Is the eastern void immeasurable[-]?"

"No, World Honored One."

"Subhuti, is the south, west, north, four-dimensional, up and down space conceivable?"

"No, World Honored One."

"Subhuti, bodhisattvas don't live in appearances and donate merit, so it is inconceivable. Subhuti, bodhisattvas should live as taught."

注释
① Method: transliterated as Dharma, Dharma, Tuomo, Tanmo, Tanwu, Tan, etc.All things, no matter big or small, tangible or intangible, are called dharmas, but the tangible ones are called material dharmas, and the invisible ones are called mental dharmas.There should be no place to live: It means that no matter what the situation is, this mind can be free from attachments and arise naturally.If the mind is attached to something, it is like taking root and not moving, then it cannot effectively grasp everything.

②Bushi: transliterated as Tanna, Tuo Na, Tan, etc., also known as Shi.It is the righteousness of giving welfare to others with a compassionate heart, so that he can escape suffering and find happiness.There are three kinds of giving, one is financial giving, that is, using property to help the sick and poor; the second is Dharma giving, that is, using righteous methods to persuade people to practice good and avoid evil; fear.Among them, Dharma-giving is the most important, so it is said: "Among all offerings, Dharma-giving is the most important."

③ Form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma: the "six dusts", referring to color dust, sound dust, fragrance dust, taste dust, touch dust, and dharma dust, also known as six places, six realms, and six thieves.Form refers to material phenomena, which are the object of the eye and the object of eye consciousness; sound, all sounds, sounds, and music, are the objects of knowledge of the ear; fragrance, all objects and even the breath of men and women, are felt by the nose Taste, delicious food and spicy taste, is the object of the tongue; touch, cold, hot, hard, soft, smooth, etc., is the object of the body; dharma, that is, what the consciousness thinks Mental dharma is the object that can be realized by the mind root.

④Ford: Refers to all the good deeds done in the past and present life, and the blessings obtained from all good deeds.

⑤ Emptiness: Emptiness has no form and quality, and emptiness has no obstacles, so it is called emptiness.Refers to the place and space where all dharmas exist.There are four meanings of pervasiveness, immobility, infinity, and eternity.

⑥Four dimensions: that is, "four corners", referring to the four directions of southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest.Generally, the four dimensions plus the four directions are called the eight directions; if the addition and the lower two directions are added, they are collectively called the ten directions.

Translation
The Buddha continued: "Furthermore, Subhuti, bodhisattvas should be free from all attachments to all dharmas, and perform charity with an attitude of non-attachment. That is, giving should not be attached to forms, nor should they be attached to sounds, fragrances, taste, touch, and consciousness. Subhuti, a Bodhisattva should give in this way, that is, practice giving without being attached to appearances. What is the reason for this? Because if a Bodhisattva can give in this way without being attached to appearances, then because The blessings obtained by giving are inconceivable and immeasurable. Subhuti, what do you think? Can the void in the east be imagined and measured?"

Subhuti replied, "Immeasurable, Buddha."

The Buddha asked again: "Subhuti, can the south, west, north, southeast, southwest, northeast, northwest, and the emptiness above and below be imagined and measured?"

Subhuti replied, "Immeasurable, Buddha."

The Buddha said: "Subhuti, the bodhisattva is not attached to various appearances and the merit of giving is as unimaginable and measurable as the space in the ten directions. Subhuti, Bodhisattvas should be like this. Do not let your heart down, and truly live in the pure bodhi mind."

Original
"Subhuti, what do you think? Can you see the Tathagata physically?"

"No, World Honored One. It is not possible to see the Tathagata in physical appearance. Why? The physical appearance that the Tathagata said is not physical appearance."

The Buddha told Subhuti: "All appearances are illusory. If you see that all appearances are not appearances, you will see the Tathagata."

注释
①Physical appearance: The appearance of the body, which refers to the special and wonderful appearance of the Buddha.

Translation
The Buddha asked: "Subhuti, what do you think? Can you recognize the true nature of the Tathagata based on his physical appearance?"

Subhuti replied: "No, World Honored One. You can't know the true nature of the Tathagata based on the perfect physical appearance of the Tathagata. Why? Because the physical appearance of the Tathagata is not a real physical appearance."

The Buddha told Subhuti: "All appearances are false and unreal. If you can realize that all appearances are false and unreal, you will be able to witness the Tathagata.

Original
Subhuti said to the Buddha: "World Honored One, there are quite a few living beings who have heard such words and sentences, do they really believe them?"

The Buddha told Subhuti: "Don't say that. After the death of the Tathagata, five hundred years later, there will be people who uphold the precepts and practice blessings. They can generate confidence in this chapter and sentence. This is the truth. You should know that people are different from one Buddha, two Buddhas, Three, four, five Buddhas have planted good roots ③, and they have planted all good roots in countless thousands of Buddhas. Those who hear these chapters and even one thought generate pure faith ④. Subhuti, the Tathagata knows and sees all living beings to obtain such immeasurable blessings. Why? Therefore? All sentient beings have no remembrance of self, person, sentient beings, and longevity. ;If you take the appearance of the law, it means me, people, sentient beings, and life. Why? If you take the appearance of the law, it means me, people, sentient beings, and life. Therefore, you should not take the law, and you should not take the law. For this reason , The Tathagata often said that you and other monks know that my Dharma is like a raft of metaphors⑥. The law should be discarded, let alone illegal."

注释
①Faith: It is the evidence corresponding to wisdom, not a general belief.Faith must have the three conditions of faithfulness, faith, and trustworthiness.

②后五百岁：大集经说有五个五百岁，此“后五百岁”，即指第五个500年。第一与第二个500年合起来是1000年的“正法时期”；第三与第四个500年合起来是1000年的“像法时期”；第五个500年又叫“末法初期”，末法将历时1万年。

③ Root of goodness: the root of goodness.Also known as rare books and German books.Refers to the root that can give birth to good deeds.No greed, no hatred, and no ignorance are the essence of the roots of goodness, collectively called the three roots of goodness.Greed, anger, and ignorance are the three unwholesome roots, or the three poisons.And good dharmas are the root of good fruits, so they are called good roots.

④ Net faith: pure confidence.

⑤ Dharma appearance, illegal appearance: Dharma appearance refers to the appearance of the essence of all dharmas (body appearance), or its meaning and content (meaning appearance); illegal appearance, that is, the appearance of the absolute extinction of all existing phenomena.Appearance of dharmas usually refers to clinging to the five aggregates, twelve places, eighteen realms and other dharmas as real existence.The appearance of illegality refers to the attachment to the emptyness of all dharmas, which is a kind of "emptiness disease".Here, the "dharma appearance" specifically refers to the persistence of Prajna Paramita as a real and unchanging active dharma, which is also a kind of "sickness"; There is nothing, and there is no nirvana, "the empty view of cessation."

⑥Raft metaphor: from the "Zhong Aghan Dapin A Li Zha Sutra", in which the Buddha in the scriptures said raft metaphors for Bhikkhu A Li Zha.Rafts are bamboo rafts, where the transportation is inconvenient or the water is shallow, the bamboo rafts can be used as a means of transportation.Using bamboo rafts, you can go from shore to shore.On the other side, of course the bamboo raft was discarded, who would take him away!It is used as a metaphor that the teachings of the Buddha are like a raft, and even when they reach the other side of Nirvana, the correct Dharma should be abandoned.Therefore, it is said in the scriptures: "The law should be discarded, let alone illegal."

Translation
Subhuti asked the Buddha: "World Honored One, can all living beings in future generations develop true faith after hearing the subtle content of what you have preached today?"

The Buddha replied to Subhuti and said: "You don't have to have such doubts. In the fifth 500 years after my death, there will be people who keep the precepts and extensively cultivate merits, and can generate true confidence from these scriptures, so that The meaning of this sutra is the basis for the truth. You should know that these people have not only planted the roots of goodness in one Buddha, two Buddhas, three Buddhas, four Buddhas, and five Buddhas, but have accumulated deep roots in countless thousands of Buddhas. Therefore, after hearing these subtle sutras and meanings, one will have pure confidence in one thought. Subhuti, the Tathagata is completely sure that these beings with good roots will receive immeasurable blessings and merits. Why do you say that Is it because these virtuous sentient beings are no longer obsessed with the appearance of self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan, and they no longer have the distinction of dharma and dharma. What is the reason for this? ?If sentient beings cling to appearances in their minds, they will also be attached to appearances of themselves, appearances of others, appearances of sentient beings, and appearances of lifespan; The attachment to the appearance of others, the appearance of sentient beings, and the appearance of life. What is the reason? If sentient beings are attached to the appearance of the impossible in their minds, they will also be attached to the appearance of self, the appearance of others, and the appearance of sentient beings. Therefore, you should neither be attached to any dharma, nor should you be attached to unlawful appearance. Because of this, the Tathagata often warns you monks that the dharma I speak is like the analogy of a boat. It should be discarded, not to mention those illegal things that are contrary to Buddhism."

Original
"Subhuti, what do you think? The Tathagata attained anuttara-samyak-sambodhi? Did the Tathagata teach something?"

Subhuti said: "As I understand what the Buddha said, there is no fixed dharma named Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi, and there is no fixed dharma Tathagata can say. Why? The teachings of the Tathagata are all inadvisable. They cannot be said. They are illegal. It is not illegal. So what is it? All the sages are differentiated by the law of inaction ②."

注释
① Acquisition: There are two meanings of grasping and persistence, which are also synonymous with "persistence", that is, the pursuit of the realm you like.To take is also a synonym for trouble.

②Sages: Saints and sages are called together.Holy, that is, it has the meaning of righteousness, to prove and see the truth, to abandon the nature of ordinary people, to develop the wisdom of no leakage, and to prove the truth and eliminate confusion.A person who sees the way.Xian, that is, the meaning of kindness, refers to people who tame their hearts and stay away from evil behaviors before seeing the Tao; Practitioner.Inaction Law: Also known as "Wuwei", which is symmetrical to "Active Law".It refers to the law that is not created by cause and condition, and is absolutely permanent from the changes of birth and death.

Translation
The Buddha asked again: "Subhuti, what do you think? Has the Tathagata attained supreme enlightenment? Has the Tathagata really taught any Dharma?"

(End of this chapter)