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Interpretation of the Diamond Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtra · Chapters 1-8

Category: Buddhist Scriptures
Tag: Diamond Sutra

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第一品 法會因由分

如是我聞，一時，佛在舍衛國祇樹給孤獨園，與大比丘眾千二百五十人俱。爾時，世尊食時，著衣持缽，入舍衛大城乞食。於其城中，次第乞已，還至本處。飯食訖，收衣缽，洗足已，敷座而坐。

Interpretation: This section describes the origin and setting for the Buddha's discourse on the Diamond Sutra. "Thus have I heard" is the standard opening phrase of a sutra, meaning, "I, Ananda, personally heard the Buddha speak thus." The Buddha was in the Jeta Grove of Anathapindika's park in Shravasti, together with 1,250 great bhikshus. The text details the Buddha's daily routine: putting on his robe, holding his bowl, entering the great city of Shravasti to beg for food, begging sequentially, returning to his dwelling, eating, putting away his robe and bowl, washing his feet, and then sitting silently on his prepared seat. This is not just a depiction of a daily scene; it suggests that the supreme Dharma flows from the most ordinary and disciplined daily life, implying that spiritual practice and life are not separate. The Buddha's personal example demonstrates the dignity and simplicity of the monastic community.

第二品 善現啟請分

時，長老須菩提在大眾中即從座起，偏袒右肩，右膝著地，合掌恭敬而白佛言：「希有！世尊！如來善護念諸菩薩，善付囑諸菩薩。世尊！善男子、善女人，發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，應云何住，云何降伏其心？」「佛言：「善哉，善哉。須菩提！如汝所說，如來善護念諸菩薩，善付囑諸菩薩。汝今諦聽！當為汝說：善男子、善女人，發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心，應如是住，如是降伏其心。」「唯然，世尊！願樂欲聞。」

Interpretation: After the Buddha entered a state of meditation, the elder Subhuti rose from his seat and, in a gesture of reverence, asked the Buddha a question. He first praised the Buddha for skillfully protecting and instructing the bodhisattvas, then posed two core questions: "For those who have developed the mind of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi (the supreme, perfect enlightenment), how should they abide, and how should they subdue their wandering minds?" These two questions directly address the essentials of spiritual practice. Upon hearing this, the Buddha praised Subhuti twice with "Excellent, excellent," affirming the importance of his questions and promising to elaborate. Subhuti expressed his eagerness to listen. This section reveals the core problem the Diamond Sutra aims to solve: how to arouse and abide in the ultimate Bodhi mind, and how to subdue all afflictions and deluded thoughts with wisdom.

第三品 大乘正宗分

佛告須菩提：「諸菩薩摩訶薩應如是降伏其心！所有一切眾生之類：若卵生、若胎生、若濕生、若化生；若有色、若無色；若有想、若無想、若非有想非無想，我皆令入無餘涅槃而滅度之。如是滅度無量無數無邊眾生，實無眾生得滅度者。何以故？須菩提！若菩薩有我相、人相、眾生相、壽者相，即非菩薩。」

Interpretation: The Buddha begins by clearly teaching the bodhisattvas how to subdue their minds, and the method is to "liberate all sentient beings." Nine categories of sentient beings are listed here, covering all living things. The Buddha says one should vow to guide all these immeasurable, countless, and boundless beings into Nirvāṇa without remainder, extinguishing all their afflictions. However, the key point follows: "in reality, no sentient being is liberated." This sentence reveals the core idea of the Diamond Sutra—emptiness (śūnyatā). Liberating sentient beings does not mean there are actual beings to be liberated, because the true nature of all beings is empty; they only cycle through rebirth due to deluded attachments. If a bodhisattva, in the process of liberating beings, still clings to the "mark of a self, a person, a sentient being, or a life-span" (concepts of self, other, the collective of beings, and the duration of life), they are not a true bodhisattva, because this still involves the opposition of "self" and "other," failing to reach the ultimate liberation of non-self.

第四品 妙行無住分

「復次，須菩提！菩薩於法，應無所住，行於布施，所謂不住色布施，不住聲香味觸法布施。須菩提！菩薩應如是布施，不住於相。何以故？若菩薩不住相布施，其福德不可思量。須菩提！於意云何？東方虛空可思量不？」「不也，世尊！」「須菩提！南西北方四維上下虛空可思量不？」「不也，世尊！」「須菩提！菩薩無住相布施，福德亦復如是不可思量。須菩提！菩薩但應如所教住。」

Interpretation: This chapter further clarifies that a bodhisattva's practice should be "without abiding." Using "giving" (dāna) as an example, it points out that when a bodhisattva practices giving, they should not be attached to any object, including the six sense objects (form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects). "Giving without abiding in marks" means that during the act of giving, one is not attached to the giver, the receiver, the gift, or the merit of giving; no discriminating attachments arise in the mind. The Buddha uses the vastness of space to illustrate that the merit produced by giving without abiding in marks is immeasurable and incalculable. The emphasis here is not on the quantity of the gift, but on the purity and non-attachment of the mind during the act. Finally, the Buddha concludes that a bodhisattva should abide in this wisdom of non-abiding and non-attachment in their practice.

第五品 如理實見分

「須菩提！於意云何？可以身相見如來不？」「不也，世尊！不可以身相得見如來。何以故？如來所說身相，即非身相。」佛告須菩提：「凡所有相，皆是虛妄。若見諸相非相，則見如來。」

Interpretation: This chapter explains how to "see the Buddha," that is, how to realize the ultimate reality. The Buddha asks Subhuti if one can see the Tathāgata through his physical form. Subhuti replies, "No," and explains that the physical form the Tathāgata speaks of is not, in its essence, a real, unchanging form. The Buddha then further clarifies: "All that has a mark is illusory." All phenomena and forms presented in the world are, in essence, illusory and arise from a combination of causes and conditions. To truly "see the Tathāgata" is not to see a specific physical body or image, but rather, "if one sees all marks as no-marks, then one sees the Tathāgata." This means that when we can transcend attachment to all phenomena and see their empty nature (no-mark), we can then realize the Dharma-body of the Tathāgata, which is the wisdom of ultimate reality.

第六品 正信希有分

須菩提白佛言：「世尊！頗有眾生，得聞如是言說章句，生實信不？」佛告須菩提：「莫作是說。如來滅後，後五百歲，有持戒修福者，於此章句能生信心，以此為實，當知是人不於一佛二佛三四五佛而種善根，已於無量千萬佛所種諸善根，聞是章句，乃至一念生淨信者，須菩提！如來悉知悉見，是諸眾生得如是無量福德。何以故？是諸眾生無復我相、人相、眾生相、壽者相；無法相，亦無非法相。何以故？是諸眾生若心取相，則為著我人眾生壽者。若取法相，即著我人眾生壽者。何以故？若取非法相，即著我人眾生壽者，是故不應取法，不應取非法。以是義故，如來常說：『汝等比丘，知我說法，如筏喻者；法尚應捨，何況非法。』」

Interpretation: Subhuti asks the Buddha if beings in future ages, upon hearing such profound teachings, will be able to give rise to true faith. The Buddha affirms this, saying that even in the Dharma-ending age (500 years after the Tathāgata's passing), there will be practitioners who uphold the precepts and cultivate blessings who can generate unwavering faith in these sentences. These people have not just planted good roots with one, two, three, four, or five Buddhas, but have planted good roots with countless thousands of Buddhas, which is why they can generate pure faith upon hearing these words. The Buddha praises them for attaining immeasurable merit. The reason is that these beings are already free from the attachment to the four marks (self, person, sentient being, life-span), and further, they can abandon attachment to the "mark of Dharma" (attachment to the Buddha's teachings themselves) and the "mark of non-Dharma" (attachment to non-Dharma, such as nihilistic views). The Buddha points out that as long as the mind grasps at any mark—be it a phenomenal mark, a Dharma mark, or a non-Dharma mark—it is equivalent to being attached to self, person, being, and life-span. Therefore, a practitioner should not be attached to the Dharma, nor to non-Dharma. The Buddha uses the "raft simile" to explain: the Dharma is like a raft for crossing a river, meant to help beings get from this shore to the other shore (liberation). Once the other shore is reached, the raft should be abandoned, not clung to. How much more so should one abandon things that are not the Dharma, such as wrong views.

第七品 無得無說分

「須菩提！於意云何？如來得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提耶？如來有所說法耶？」須菩提言：「如我解佛所說義，無有定法名阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，亦無有定法，如來可說。何以故？如來所說法，皆不可取、不可說、非法、非非法。所以者何？一切賢聖，皆以無為法而有差別。」

Interpretation: The Buddha again questions Subhuti, exploring the deeper levels of "attainment" and "preaching." The Buddha asks: Did the Tathāgata attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi? Has the Tathāgata ever preached any specific Dharma? Based on his understanding of the Dharma, Subhuti replies that there is no fixed Dharma called "Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi," and similarly, there is no fixed Dharma that the Tathāgata can preach. This is because all the Dharma spoken by the Tathāgata is "unobtainable" (cannot be grasped), "inexpressible" (beyond language), not "Dharma" (not a real entity), and not "non-Dharma" (not a nihilistic non-entity). In other words, the Buddha's Dharma transcends all dualistic oppositions and conceptual attachments. Finally, Subhuti points out that although the attainments and realms of all sages and saints differ, they are all fundamentally based on the "unconditioned Dharma"—the unproduced, unceasing, non-increasing, non-decreasing, pure, and quiescent ultimate reality.

第八品 依法出生分

「須菩提！於意云何？若人滿三千大千世界七寶以用布施，是人所得福德，寧為多不？」須菩提言：「甚多，世尊！何以故？是福德即非福德性，是故如來說福德多。」「若復有人，於此經中受持，乃至四句偈等，為他人說，其福勝彼。何以故？須菩提！一切諸佛，及諸佛阿耨多羅三藐三菩提法，皆從此經出。須菩提！所謂佛法者，即非佛法。」

Interpretation: This chapter compares the vast difference in merit between two types of giving, emphasizing the importance of Prajñā wisdom. The Buddha first asks Subhuti if someone who fills a three-thousand-great-thousand world system with the seven treasures for giving would gain great merit. Subhuti affirms, "Very great, World-Honored One!" but adds the explanation: "This merit is not of the nature of merit, therefore the Tathāgata says the merit is great." This statement again points out that the nature of merit is also emptiness; only merit that does not abide in marks is ultimate. The Buddha then points out that if someone can accept and uphold this sutra, even just a four-line gatha, and explain it to others, the merit they gain will far surpass the merit of giving the seven treasures. The reason is: all Buddhas and the Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi Dharma that all Buddhas realize arise from the Prajñā wisdom explained in this sutra. The final sentence, "What is called the Buddha's Dharma is not the Buddha's Dharma," once again reminds us not to be attached to the name of the Dharma, as the true meaning of the Dharma transcends all words and concepts.