Chapter 13

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Upon that occasion, Subhuti enquired of the Lord Buddha, saying: “Honoured of the Worlds! by what name shall this Scripture be known, that we may regard it with reverence?” The Lord Buddha replied, saying: “Subhuti, this Scripture shall be known as _The Diamond Sutra_,[1] ‘The Transcendent Wisdom,’ by means of which we reach ‘The Other Shore.’ By this name you shall reverently regard it! And why? Subhuti, what the Lord Buddha declared as ‘transcendent wisdom’ by means of which we reach ‘the other shore,’ is not essentially ‘transcendent wisdom’—in its essence it transcends all wisdom.”

The Lord Buddha addressed Subhuti, saying:[2] “What think you? Did the Lord Buddha formulate a precise system of Law or doctrine?” Subhuti replied, saying: “Honoured of the Worlds! The Lord Buddha did not formulate a precise system of Law or doctrine.”

The Lord Buddha addressed Subhuti, saying: “What think you? within the myriad worlds which comprise this universe, are the atoms of dust numerous?”[3] Subhuti replied, saying: “Very numerous, Honoured of the Worlds!”

The Lord Buddha continuing his discourse, said: “Subhuti, the Lord Buddha declares that all these ‘atoms of dust’ are not essentially ‘atoms of dust,’ they are merely termed ‘atoms of dust.’ The Lord Buddha also declares that those ‘myriad worlds’ are not really ‘myriad worlds,’ they are merely designated ‘myriad worlds.’”

The Lord Buddha addressed Subhuti, saying: “What think you? Can the Lord Buddha be perceived by means of his thirty-two bodily distinctions?”[4] Subhuti replied, saying: “No! Honoured of the Worlds! the Lord Buddha cannot be perceived by means of his thirty-two bodily distinctions. And why? Because, what the Lord Buddha referred to as his ‘thirty-two bodily distinctions,’ are not in reality ‘bodily distinctions,’ they are merely defined as ‘bodily distinctions.’”

The Lord Buddha addressed Subhuti, saying: “If a good disciple, whether man or woman, day by day sacrificed lives innumerable as the sands of the Ganges;[5] and if another disciple adhered with implicit faith to a stanza of this Scripture, and diligently explained it to others, the intrinsic merit of such a disciple would be relatively greater than the other.”[6]

[1] A Chinese annotator observes, that as the “diamond” excels all other precious gems in brilliance and indestructibility, so also the “wisdom” of this Sutra transcends and shall outlive all other knowledge known to philosophy.

[2] “Then what do you think, O Subhuti, is there anything that was preached by the Tathagata? Subhuti said: Not indeed, O Bhagavat, there is nothing that was preached by the Tathagata.”—_The Vagrakkhedika_. Max Müller.

It appears to be one of the distinctive features of primitive Buddhism, that its founder made provision for the utmost development of the human intellect, within the spheres of religion and philosophy. According to the text of _The Diamond Sutra_, the Lord Buddha evidently disclaims any suggestion on his part to formulate a “precise system of Law or doctrine” corresponding to the idea of a _creed_.

[3] “Matter is infinitely divisible.”—_The World as Idea and Will_. Schopenhauer.

“After me repeat Your numeration.... By Pundarikas unto Padumas, Which last is how you count the utmost grains Of Hastagiri ground to finest dust.”—_The Light of Asia_. Sir Edwin Arnold.

“If the Buddha was not a materialist, in the sense of believing in the eternal existence of material atoms, neither could he in any sense be called a ‘spiritualist,’ or believer in the external existence of abstract spirit. With him creation did not proceed from an omnipotent spirit or mind evolving phenomena out of itself by the exercise of will, nor from an eternal self-existing, self-evolving germ of any kind. As to the existence in the universe of any spiritual substance which was not matter and was imperceptible to the senses, it could not be proved.”—_Buddhism_. Sir Monier Williams.

“Subhuti, all these countless particles of dust Tathagata declares are no real particles; it is but an empty name by which they are known. Tathagata declares that all these systems of worlds composing the great chiliocosm are no real worlds; they are but empty names.”—_Kin-Kong-King_. Beal.

[4] “Characteristic physiological marks by which every Buddha may be recognised.”—_Handbook of Chinese Buddhism_. Eitel.

“Can Tathagata be known by the thirty-two signs (of a hero)?”—_The Vagrakkhedika_. Max Müller.

“The King saluted, and Queen Maya made To lay her babe before such holy feet; But when he saw the prince the old man cried ‘Ah, Queen not so!’ and thereupon he touched Eight times the dust, laid his waste visage there, Saying, ‘O Babe! I worship! Thou art He! I see the rosy light, the foot-sole marks, The soft curled tendrils of the Swastika, The sacred primal signs thirty-and-two, The eighty lesser tokens. Thou art Buddh, And thou wilt preach the Law and save all flesh Who learn the Law.’”—_The Light of Asia_. Sir Edwin Arnold.

“Bright were the divine lineaments of his face, and as the Master (of the Law) gazed in awe and holy reverence, he knew not how to compare the spectacle; the body of Buddha and his Kashaya robe were of a yellowish red colour, and from his knees upward the distinguishing marks of his person were exceedingly glorious.”—_The Life of Hiuen-Tsang_. Beal.

[5] The Chinese expression _Shen-Ming_—life, invariably refers to life in an ordinary material sense, and which may be offered in sacrifice. But in Buddhist philosophy there is a spiritual _Atman_, which can be disposed of only by knowledge.

[6] “Were any one to fill the bowl of Buddha with the choicest food, or to present oil, sugar, honey, medicaments in the greatest abundance, or to build thousands of _Wiharas_ (monasteries or temples) splendid as those of Anuradhapura (an ancient city in Ceylon, the Anurogrammum of Ptolemy), or to present an offering to Buddha like that of Anepidu (a rich merchant of Sewet), the hearing or reading of one stanza of the _Bana_ (Law) would be more meritorious than all.”—_Eastern Monachism_. Spence Hardy.

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