The Quintessence of Diamond Sūtra: Concluding Review (Final Part)

By Wong Weng Hon

Introduction

The quintessence or enterprise of the Diamond Sūtra (Vajraccedikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra 金剛經) is the exposition of the three-fold truth of  one-mind-in-three-contemplations (一心三觀) . It is reiterated in the entire Sūtra generally thus :

Dharma#(1)  is not Dharma (2) and it is still dharma(3)
所言一切法者, 即非一切法, 是故名一切法.
#Dharma = Phenomenon

This three-fold truth of one-mind-in-three-contemplation is , in truth , the core of the authentic teaching of the Middle Path or Middle philosophy (madhyamā pratipat中觀) of ‘Sākyamuni Buddha and all Buddhas . Whoever intuits this Middle Path discerns the Dependent Co-arising (Pratītyasamutpāda緣起正法) . Whoever penetrates Dependent Co-arising apprehends the profound message of the Buddha . Whoever discerns the profound message perceives the Buddha . The Buddha, in the ultimate sense, is Ultimate Truth (Paramārtha Satya) . Whoever discerns the Buddha (Truth) becomes perfectly virtuous and wise .

Mountain is Mountain

The Chinese Chan Patriarchs elucidate and illustrate the concept of this three-fold truth metaphorically thus : Before the ordinary worldlings (puthujjanas) apprehend the true nature of all phenomena (dharmatā;諸法實相) , they perceive the mountain as a mountain (見山是山) and the water as water(見水是水) . They are deluded by the cosmic illusion of the multiplicity of the empirical world . They reify or  objectify  the four signs (四相) corresponding to four conceptualized   existents . The four signs are the sign of self (我相) , the sign of person (人相) , the sign of sentient beings (眾生相), a group of beings or organization and the sign of time-space or life-span of a being or entity(壽者相) . These four signs are mere erroneous mental constructs (戲論). They appear to be real like dreams , magics or mirages but are unreal in the ultimate analysis .  The reification of objects due to these fabrications lead to  attachment and aversion (取捨) resulting in greed , hatred and delusion (貪嗔癡) which are harmful to oneself and  others . Primarily , an uncultivated person is morally flawed or fallible  due to the superimposed self-identity or egotism(我執) . This is the first contemplation of affirmation of a phenomenon (dharmas) due to the ontological commitment or view of substantial existence or non-existence  .

Mountain is not Mountain

The Diamond Sūtra or the tenet of the Buddha  functions to re-educate the worldlings to eliminate his ontological commitment  which leads to the grasping(執著) upon of the Five Aggregates (Pañcakkhandhas五蘊) as their proprietor or owner . Ontological commitment and grasping evoke the arising of the illusive self or ego.

Having properly been instructed , the self-awakened one perceives that the mountain is no more the mountain (看山不是山) and the water is no more the water(看水不是水) . The noble one realizes that all phenomena are illusive  and unreal like the dreams , magic shows, mirages , echoes , children of a barren woman or the hairs of a tortoise . This wisdom (般若) arises as the noble or wise one deconstructs or negates the dharma to reveal its Emptiness (‘Sūnyatā;空) or Insubstantiality (anātma;無我) . Having perceived the Emptiness  of inherent existence of the dharma (無自性空) , the wise relinquishes the aforementioned four signs (nimitas)  . This results in non-grasping or non-clinging which gives rise to  the mind of equanimity (upekkkhā;舍心;平等心) owing to the non-reification of objects and appeasement of obsessions and dispositions or volitions (滅戲論) .

Mountain is Still Mountain

After self-enlightenment ,  the noble one or the wise still needs to deal with the four signs in the mundane world, though illusive they are, to carry on with the daily life transactions in social intercourses . Therefore , he or she  needs to re-affirm , re-acknowledge or re-construct the existence of the four  illusive signs while simultaneously he or she deconstructs or negates them . This measure is spiritually significant as it preserves the Middle Path or Middle Philosophy of the Buddha . The Conventional Truth (Saṃvṛti satya;世俗諦) of the four Signs are of pragmatic value which cannot be denied in our daily lives . For instance , the knowledge of conventional truth, such as concepts and language, are useful for human intercommunication or social intercourses  . This is where the spirituality and secularity interpenetrate and co-exist . The principle and phenomena are unobstructed and mutually inclusive (理事無礙) . The skill of the absolute mental  appeasement is exercised in the manner expressed in the Diamond Sūtra thus :

Do not dwell in anything and produce the (pure) mind .
應無所住而生其心

This is an important counsel of the Buddha admonishing us not to grasp upon anything in the world while we are using our minds amid the utility of the four signs to communicate and interact in our daily life transactions. The Sūtra does not advise us to renounce the external needs of materialism essential for fundamental living but to renounce internally the illusive self or ego (放下我執) superimposed by the nescience (ignorance)  of the ordinary worldlings .

Conclusion

 The renunciation of the illusive self or ego is the common goal of all esoteric religions .The annihilation of egoistic self or lower self of human species redeems oneself (回皈本性) . Consequently , the fallible worldling is dead and the wise emerges as  the maximally excellent person . Diamond Sūtra, like the scripture of any esoteric religion engenders maximally excellent person in knowledge and conduct when the highest knowledge (paramārtha-jñāna;勝義諦) is discerned  . It is therefore evident that the self-transformation and self-transcendence as the  
expedient device of Buddhist Theosophy generate a spiritual elite which can be elevated into the first class human capital if the secular knowledge is expertly mastered for the benefit of self and others and also for the altruistic compassion for the world at large .