Diamond Sutra Ch25-30

We are almost done with the Diamond Sutra! Next we'll study the "Four Foundations of Mindfulness", four meditation methods of fundamental importance in Buddhism. We'll base our studies on this translation. Meanwhile, here are summaries of the last three classes.

2009-03-05 Ch 25-27

Chapter 25 There Are No Beings to Liberate

There are in fact no sentient beings for the Tathagata to liberate. If there were sentient beings liberated by the Tathagata, it would mean that the Tathagata holds the notions of a self, a person, a sentient being, or a life span. Subhuti, when the Tathagata says ‘I’, there is actually no ‘I’. Yet ordinary beings think there is a real ‘I’. Subhuti, the Tathagata says that ordinary beings are in fact not ordinary beings.

Three significant ideas:

1. The Buddha liberates people without thinking about liberating people. We've encountered this concept before (Ch. 5, 13, 20) but now the Buddha is speaking from his own experience, not just a philosophical teaching. Try to see this teaching from the four perspectives (corresponding to the for sections of this sutra): from faith, from intellectual understanding, from cultivation, and from someone who has attained this stage.
   
2. The Buddha sometimes uses the term "I" in order to communicate with worldly beings, but even so, he has no ego.
3. Ordinary beings are not ordinary beings.

Chapter 26. Seek the Buddha Not in Form or Sound

Those who see me in form,
Or seek me through sound,
Are on a mistaken path;
They do not see the Tathagata.

A well-known verse from the Diamond Sutra. In Chapter 7, we learned that "there is no fixed teaching called unsurpassed complete enlightenment. And there is also no fixed teaching that the Tathagata can convey. " In Chapter 21, "Whoever says that the Tathagata has a Dharma to teach slanders the Buddha." And again in this chapter, Buddha is very clear that one should not even cling to the Buddha Dharma. How should we teach it then? In Chapter 32 the Buddha shows how.

Chapter 27. Avoid Nihilistic Views
So to avoid the mistaken notion that the Buddha does not possess the physical marks of perfection and powers, Buddha teaches this chapter.

2009-03-12 Ch 28-29

Chapter 28. Bodhisattvas Do Not Accumulate Merits

Bodhisattvas do not cling to the merits they generate. Therefore I say that they do not accumulate merits.

1. This chapter mentions the important stage of a bodhisattva attainment called "forbearance of the selfless nature of all phenomena", which we explained in class.
2. One common mistake people make about the Buddhist teaching of "non-attachment" or "non-clinging" is that we shouldn't talk about merits or blessings. To avoid thinking about it is also an attachment. To the Bodhidharma, they can talk about it, or not talk about it, or think or not think about it, without any clinging. Then all merits become infinite merits.

Chapter 29. The Thus-Come One Neither Comes Nor Goes

Subhuti, whoever says that the Tathagata (‘Thus-come One’) comes, goes, sits, or lies down does not understand the meaning of my teaching. Why? The Thus-come One neither comes nor goes. Therefore he is called "Thus-come One".

We explained the many meanings of the name Tatha-gata or Tatha-agata, as "thus come", "thus gone", "neither coming", or "neither going". Try to see how each case applies to the Buddha (and ourselves). Then we get closer to reality.

2009-03-19 Ch 30

Chapter 30. The Nature of the World

"If these tiny particles had real existence, the Buddha would not call them tiny particles. What does this mean? What the Buddha calls ‘tiny particles’ are not tiny particles. Therefore they are called tiny particles. World Honored One, that which the Tathagata calls 'all the worlds of a trichiliocosm' are actually not worlds. Therefore they are called worlds. Why? To the extent that these worlds really exist, they do so as a composite. The Tathagata teaches that 'composites' are not composites. Therefore they are called composites." "Subhuti, a composite is actually ineffable, but ordinary beings form attachments to such phenomena."

Again, great and profound ideas in this chapter.

1. The "trichiliocosm", or on the order of a billion worlds, is the region of sentient beings reachable by a single Buddha.
2. Particles are not particles, then what are they? Waves? Fields? Modern physics such as quantum mechanics, relativity, and field theory validate the Buddha's statement from thousands of years ago.
3. "Worlds are not worlds", if particles which comprise the world, are not what they seem, then what does that say about the universe as we perceive it?
4. The "boundary of the universe" is a flawed concept that Buddha refuses to answer, because it really doesn't make sense to talk about the boundary of anything, large or small.
5. The world is a composite of different entities, but each entity is both individual and an inseparable part of a network. E.g. the economy, is a composite of many economic entities such as U.S., China, Japan, etc. But can U.S. & China really be separated economically? Are they one or two? We need to understand how something is both a composite and how it is not a composite to get to reality.