The Diamond Sutra: Part Two
At this point, the Buddha continues his dialogue and teaching of his most advanced student, Subhuti. Most of the Buddha’s followers probably had a difficult time accepting and going along with these advanced teachings.
Here the Buddha told his students that suffering on behalf of these teachings can also be eliminate and rectify past actions, karma. Karma means “to do” and/or “to make”. So karma originates from past actions, consequences of previous actions, speech and thoughts. This message did not sit well with many. This is essentially the same message that Jesus gave to his inner circle, as he was preparing them for his passion, execution and death. These statements would later become known as the “sudden enlightenment” school of Buddhism.
Remembering the doctrine of emptiness from the Heart Sutra, karma exists as long as we distinguish cause and effect, pleasure and pain good and evil. These distinctions appear as delusions, empty of any self-nature. This viewpoint is difficult to comprehend, and seems contradictory. But in this chapter, the Buddha stresses that suffering on behalf of this teaching, we can speed up the process of moving aside karmic obstructions, where enlightenment can become possible.
Huineng says: “Briefly put, your past lives are simply the deluded mind of your previous thoughts, and your present life is simply the enlightened mind of your subsequent thoughts. Use the enlightened mind of your subsequent thoughts to reject the deluded mind of your previous thoughts so that delusions have no where to cling. Thus, it says the moment your deluded thoughts are eliminated, the bad karma of your past lives is wiped away.”
In the next stage of Subhuti’s path, the Buddha is concerned that his disciple might become entangled by aspects of the path, including the goal. And to be attached to the dharmas of liberation and enlightenment. The Buddha now introduces the perfection of skillful means. Here, the path and the person who travels upon the path are empty. Same for the riverbank, the river, the raft, the other shore, and the travelers.
Huineng says: “They (like Subuti at this stage) eliminate thoughts of subject and object: they eliminate the thought that there are other beings and also eliminate the thought that a self exists.”
Shengyi says: “When controlling our thoughts is discussed in the first half of this sutra, it means controlling thoughts that involve attachment to a self. When this is discussed in the second half, it means controlling thoughts that involve attachment to a teaching.”
Taoyuan says: “The Buddha’s previous answer was intended to eliminate the perception of a reality outside our minds. This answer in intended to eliminate the attachment to anything inside our minds.”
Longya says: “ Consider the tree outside the door. Although it serves as a resting place for birds, it doesn’t make an effort to call those that come. Nor does it care whether those that leave return. When a person’s mind is like the tree’s, they no longer oppose the Dao.”
Huineng again says: “The sutras say, Even is someone fills the universe with temples of silver, this cannot compare to one thought of the mind in Samadhi. Where there is subject or object, there is no Samadhi. Where subject and object do not arise, this is called Samadhi. Samadhi means a pure mind.”
We shall end this short discussion of the Diamond Sutra with the Buddha’s questions to Subhuti about the five eyes, and then some final quotes.
The first eye is the physical eye. It perceives objects in the Realm of Desire. It only sees their external aspects, the near but not the far, yet they cannot penetrate things thin or thick.
The second eye is the divine eye. This eye perceives objects in the Realm of Form. In addition to seeing their external aspects, it also perceives their internal aspects. The divine eye can see both near and far, front and back, all without obstruction. What is not seen by this eye is emptiness and formlessness.
Next, the prajna eye perceives objects in the Realm of Formlessness. It sees things with their essential emptiness. Subhuti had acquired the prajna eye due to his comprehension of the doctrine of emptiness. He was only aware of the presence of the next two eyes.
The fourth eye is the dharma eye. This eye perceives the means and methods to liberate others, and so is possessed by bodhisattvas. While the prajna eye sees the emptiness of things, the dharma eye discerns their myriad differences. It is concerned with the truth of provisional reality, the reality of appearances. Here, a bodhisattva can determine the level of attainment of other beings and thereby come to understand the means needed for liberation.
The fifth and final eye is the buddha eye. With the prajna eye, buddhas see the emptiness of all things, and with the dharma eye they perceive their underlying appearances. But with the buddha eye, they see the middle path between the two. Here the doctrines of emptiness and dharma reality merge onto the path of non-duality. The Shakyamuni Buddha acquired this eye upon his Enlightenment under the bodhi tree.
Deqing says: “Thus, in teaching the Dharma, there was nothing the Buddha could teach. All he did was protect beings from misconceptions by teaching them not to give birth to views and to get rid of their attachments. Students should realize this is all he did.”
Jifo says: “the marvelous dharma of prajna is actually something in your own home. Since you have never lost it, how can you find it? If you find something, you are not free of attachments and have not yet broken through the delusions of subject and object.”
Shengyi says: “During his seclusion until death in the Tianmu Mountains, the Song Dynasty monk, Miaofeng once composed this gatha ( sacred quatrain):
“Planting rice sprouts into the rice fields
I look down and see the sky
Purifying the senses in the Way after all
Walking backward turns out to be forward.”
[one moves backward when planting rice sprouts]
Thus, in cultivating and seeking the Way, ones moves backward, not forward. Going forward means thinking about finding something.”
Shengyi goes on to say: “The Avatamsaka Sutra says, ‘When water clears and the moon appears, the moon doesn’t actually come. When clouds arrive, and the moon disappears, the moon does not go anywhere. When the mind is pure, and we see the buddha, the buddha doesn’t actually come. When the mind is impure, and we don’t see him. The buddha doesn’t go anywhere. It’s all due to purity or impurity of our minds.
May the readers of this summary find some peace. For more details, examples, and quotes, one may access the texts as written and translated.