A Commentary on the Key Verses of Diamond Sūtra
(Continued from previous Issue)

By Wong Weng Hon

1. 若菩薩心住於法而行布施，如人入暗,則無所見。若菩薩心不住法而行布施，如人有目，日光明照，見種種色。

If a Wisdom being’s mind grasps upon a phenomenon or thing to perform generous giving, it is akin to entrance into darkness and nothing is seen. If a Bodhisttava’s mind does not grasp upon a phenomenon or thing, it is akin to a man with eyes and bright light around perceiving all forms.

Commentary:

When a Wisdom Being perceives the sign of a phenomenon or event, he will grasp upon the five aggregates as This is I ; This is Mine ; This belongs to me in performing generous giving. This is the darkness of ignorance and the light of wisdom is not kindled or wisdom is not developed. Conversely, if the Bodhisattva does not grasp upon the five aggregates as This is I ; This is Mine ; This belongs to me in performing generous giving, the light of wisdom is kindled or wisdom is developed. He perceives everything insubstantially or in terms of three-fold Emptiness of inherent existence namely, emptiness of giver, emptiness of gift and emptiness of receiver. When emptiness is perceived, the illusive self or ego is eliminated. Thus, one becomes excellent ethically.

2. 善男人，善女人，發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心者，當生如是心：我應滅度一切眾生，滅度一切眾生已，而無有一眾生實滅度者。何以故？須菩提，若菩薩有我相、人相、眾生相、壽者相，則非菩薩。

Gentlemen and gentlewomen, to generate the mind of unsurpassed supreme enlightenment, one ought to produce such a mind: I ought to liberate all sentient beings. Having liberated all sentient beings, one should not cherish the sign of any being who has been liberated. Why is that so? Subhūti, if a worldling reifies or objectifies the sign of self, being, sentient beings and tri-temporal existence or life span (with superimposition with self-identity, other identity or identities of others), he or she is not a Wisdom Being.

Commentary:

To attain the complete self-enlightenment, a Wisdom Being ought to purify his mind thus: Having liberated all sentient beings, he should abandon any notion of reifying or objectifying any sentient being which has been liberated by him. The reason is that if a Wisdom Being reifies or objectifies the sign of self, being, sentient beings or life span, he or she is not a Wisdom Being. A Wisdom Being is a person of ethical excellence and liberation.

3. 須菩提，所言一切法者，即非一切法，是故名一切法。

Subhūti, what is spoken as all phenomena, they are no phenomena and they are still phenomena.

Commentary:

This is again the repetition of the three-fold contemplation of the ultimate truth: Perception of Illusion of all phenomena ; perception of the Emptiness of all phenomena ; perception of Middle Path. The phenomena are first deconstructed to reveal the ultimate truth of Emptiness or Dependent Co-arising and it is immediately followed by reconstruction of all phenomena to preserve the Middle Path. This is known as one mind in three contemplations which occur simultaneously. The Chinese Chan patriarchs expounds this ‘One Mind in Three Contemplations thus:

Before comprehending the profound message of the Buddha,
one perceives a reified superimposed mountain as a
self-contained mountain. He perceives conventionally
thus:

A mountain is a mountain.
 
Having comprehended the profound message, one perceives
all phenomena empty of inherent existence, that is devoid of
intrinsic or self-nature. He intuitively discerns thus:

A mountain is not a mountain.

Having perfected the discernment or developed the Perfection
of Wisdom, he perceives the Middle Path thus

A mountain is still a mountain.  

The Middle Path preserves the interpenetration of the phenomenon (conventional truth) and the principle (ultimate truth) which co-exist. A person who has developed the intuitive apprehension of the three-fold truth of Illusion, Emptiness and Middle Path is considered to have developed the Perfection of Wisdom.

4. 若菩薩通達無我法者，如來說名真是菩薩。

If a wisdom being penetrates into the doctrine of Insubstantiality or Non-self (Emptiness), Tathāgata says that he or she is a real Wisdom Being.

Commentary:

Whoever perceives intuitively the Insubstantiality or Emptiness (of inherent existence ) of all phenomena, the Buddha affirms that he or she is a genuine Wisdom Being. Whoever intuitively apprehends Insubstantiality or Emptiness penetrates into the natural principle of Dependent Co-arising. Comprehension of Dependent Co-arising is synonymous with intuitive discernment of signlessness, marklessness or characteristicslessness of all phenomena.In short, the cosmic illusion of the multiplicity of the empirical world is intuitively realized. Thus, the enlightened one becomes a Bodhisattva who is liberated from suffering or vexation.