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The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra
STILL EXTINCTION APART FROM MARKS
CHAPTER 14
Sutra:
Then Subhuti, upon hearing the sutra spoken, and deeply understanding its purport, wept and said to the Buddha, “How rare, World Honored One, is this sutra so profoundly spoken by the Buddha. From the time I obtained the wisdom eye until the present I have never before heard such a sutra. World Honored One, if someone hears the sutra with a pure mind of faith then he produces real mark. That person should be known to have accomplished the foremost and most rare merit and virtue.
Commentary:
Shakyamuni Buddha had just said, “If someone gives as many of the seven precious gems as would fill three thousand great thousand worlds, and as many bodies and lives as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River, his blessings and virtue do not equal those of a person who receives, holds, and explains for others even as few as four lines of verse from the Prajna Sutra.” Why did he say that? Because giving body and life can at best save another’s life and body, but does not thereby cause another to return to the origin – to turn back to his original face, his originally existent dharma body. However, speaking dharma for another can cause him to turn his back on the dust, unite with enlightenment, and realize Buddhahood. A living being’s dharma body has thereby been saved, and consequently the merit and virtue is incomparable.
Then Subhuti, upon hearing the sutra spoken, and deeply understanding its purport. Subhuti, completely understanding the meaning and implications of the doctrine of no mark expressed in the Vajra Sutra, wept. Tears flowed from his eyes and his nose ran. Usually people cry when they are sad or worried or when something unfortunate happens, but occasionally they also cry from joy, just as Subhuti then did. “Extreme happiness brings sorrow.” The Buddha expressed the depths of prajna so thoroughly that Subhuti was overjoyed at being able to hear the specific teaching, the wonderful dharma door of prajna. Subhuti realized that his former contentment with the Small Vehicle teachings had been misguided. His awakening may be thus expressed:
“Upon realization, I do not reproach myself for the past;
I know that in the future I can rectify mistakes.
Aware that I am not too far down the muddled path,
I have now awakened to today’s rights
and yesterday’s wrongs.”
The Small Vehicle was Subhuti’s “muddled path,” and his further awakening indicates that his former attachment to Small Vehicle dharmas had not been very great, he had “not gone too far down the muddled path.” “Awakened to today’s rights and yesterday’s wrongs” means he had realized it was right for him to seek the Great Vehicle dharma, and that his former fondness for the Sound- Hearer fruit of the Small Vehicle had been a mistake. He greeted those realizations with great emotion, however, so he wept for joy and exclaimed, “How rare!”
In the first section of the text Subhuti also said, “How rare!” by way of praise for the real mark prajna he found expressed in every moment of Shakyamuni Buddha’s walking, standing, sitting, and lying down in the performance of his daily affairs. This second exclamation of “how rare” regards the sutra. Subhuti means to say, “There has never before been such a sutra, World Honored One. It is very rare. The sutra which our Original Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha now speaks is so profound that it is difficult for those of the Small Vehicle to comprehend.”
From the time I obtained the wisdom eye. Disciple Subhuti followed Shakyamuni Buddha to study the Buddhadharma and obtained the wisdom eye. The wisdom eye may refer to one of the Five Eyes, and may also refer to using wisdom as one’s eyes, rather than blindly following along with the crowd. If the blind leads the blind, then none can find the Way. Those who lack wisdom are led about blindly. Those with the wisdom eye distinguish right from wrong, black from white, and dharma from what is not dharma. Subhuti said, “All the wisdom I have obtained since I first began to cultivate the Way does not measure up to the prajna which Shakyamuni Buddha now speaks.”
Subhuti further said, “I believe what I hear. World Honored One, if someone hears the sutra with a pure mind of faith.” Is there such a thing as impure faith? Pure means perfect faith devoid of doubt. All second thoughts have been renounced and only one clear, pure thought of faith remains. A person with such faith gives rise to real mark prajna – the wisdom of no marks. His realization is ultimate and his merit and virtue incomparable. Why? Because he has unified his mind of faith and relinquished all doubts. It is by his total belief that he obtains the principle and substance of real mark, and he thus is very rare, foremost.
Sutra:
“World Honored One, the real mark is no mark, therefore the Tathagata calls it the real mark.
“World Honored One, now as I hear this sutra I believe, understand, receive, and hold it without difficulty. If in the future, in the last five hundred years, there are living beings who when they hear this sutra believe, understand, receive, and hold it, such people will be foremost and most rare. And why? Such people will have no mark of self, no mark of others, no mark of living beings, and no mark of a life. And why? The mark of self is no mark. The mark of others, the mark of living beings, and the mark of a life are no marks. And why? Those who have relinquished all marks are called Buddhas.”
Commentary:
Subhuti said that one who has a single thought of pure faith produces real mark. Real mark is no mark, yet there is nothing which does not have marks. It neither possesses marks nor is devoid of marks.
“World Honored One, at present, I, Subhuti, hear the Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra and with pure faith I understand the wonderful dharma of prajna, can receive it with my mind, hold it with my body, and not forget it. I do so without difficulty.” Why was it so easy for Subhuti? Because he had planted good roots for many kalpas. If he had lacked good roots, then upon hearing the wonderful dharma of prajna his faith would have been defiled by doubts and skepticism. However, in the past he had made offerings to limitless Buddhas and had planted all good roots of which there are eleven kinds:
1. faith;
2. shame;
3. remorse.
You would do well to produce a mind of shame and remorse, recognizing your own wrongdoings and changing the bad to good. In that way you plant good roots. Lack of shame and remorse indicates a lack of good roots;
4. absence of greed;
5. absence of hostility;
6. absence of stupidity;
7. vigor;
8. tranquility, which refers to the light ease of sitting in Dhyana;
9. non-laxity, which means not being careless or lazy, not running wild and being too casual. It also means not disobeying rules. If you are not lax then you follow rules;
10. non-harming, which means not hurting other creatures; and
11. renunciation, which means practicing giving without attachment to the mark of
giving.
These are the eleven good phenomena of the fifty-one that belong to the mind.
Because Subhuti had cultivated good roots for limitless kalpas, it was not difficult for him to believe. He realized, however, that anyone in the Dharma Ending Age, at the time when people are Strong in Fighting, who could believe, understand, receive, and hold the sutra, would be a foremost individual and very rare. And why? Such people will have no mark of self, meaning they have no greed. No mark of others, meaning they have no anger. No mark of living beings, meaning they are not stupid. No mark of a life, meaning they have no desire. They have no greed, anger, stupidity, or desire – these four kinds of attachments. The four marks are without a mark. No mark is real mark. Real mark is no mark. And why? Because real mark is also distinct from all which has no marks. If you can obtain real mark, that is obtaining the principle substance of the self-nature of all Buddhas. Those who have relinquished all marks are called Buddhas. Therefore you too can certainly become a Buddha.
Sutra:
The Buddha told Subhuti, “So it is, so it is. If someone hears this sutra and is not frightened, or alarmed, or terrified, you should know that person is most rare. And why? Subhuti, the foremost paramita is spoken of by the Tathagata as no foremost paramita, therefore it is called the foremost paramita.
“Subhuti, the paramita of patience is spoken of by the Tathagata as no paramita of patience. Therefore it is called the paramita of patience. And why? Subhuti, it is as in the past when the King of Kalinga dismembered my body, at that time I had no mark of self, no mark of others, no mark of living beings, and no mark of a life.”
Commentary:
After the Buddha had heard Subhuti’s explanation he said, “So it is, so it is.” You think that way, and I think that way, too. The doctrine you speak is correct.
“If someone hears the Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra and is not frightened, or alarmed, or terrified.” Why would it frighten people? Ordinary people have always been attached to the mark of self, so if they are told there is no self they are very frightened. “What!” they exclaim, “Where did I go? How can there be no me? I am always here. How can I, myself, not exist?”
Those of the Two Vehicles have realized the emptiness of self, but have not yet realized the emptiness the dharma. When they hear that “Even the dharma should be relinquished” they become terrified. “How can I give up the dharma? If I cast aside the dharma, what will I use in cultivation? I will not have anything.”
Although fully accomplished Bodhisattvas have certified to the emptiness of self and the emptiness of the dharma they have not obtained the emptiness of emptiness. They have not realized that emptiness also must be emptied. With emptiness still remaining, there is an attachment to it. The Buddhadharma teaches not to be attached to self and not to be attached to phenomena. However, when there is no self and no phenomena, emptiness arises. Involvement with that emptiness can cause one to be waylaid by it. Loitering in emptiness, stopped in stillness, one simply guards the emptiness within which one dwells. That is also a mistake. So when Bodhisattvas who have not realized the emptiness of emptiness hear of real mark, the principle substance of prajna which does not even admit of emptiness, they also become alarmed and terrified.
A person who hears the sutra and is not frightened, or alarmed, or terrified understands the true proper dharma of prajna paramita. Therefore Shakyamuni Buddha said, “You should know that person is most rare.”
Someone with a little merit and virtue who displays it and advertises himself like Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty is stupid and has not understood the dharma door of prajna in which everything past is gone. If you cling to even one tiny portion, you have obstructions. The Heart Sutra says, “Because there are no obstructions there is no fear.” If you harbor merit and virtue in your heart, there is an obstruction. If “inverted dream-like thoughts are left far behind” you have no obstructions. “Because there are no obstructions there is no fear.” “Fear” refers to being frightened, alarmed, or terrified. When “inverted dream-like thoughts are left far behind…ultimately nirvana” is obtained. That is the extremely wonderful doctrine of the Heart Sutra.
Shakyamuni Buddha asked Subhuti, “Why is the person who hears the sutra and has no fear most rare?” Then he explained that it was because the foremost paramita is spoken of by the Tathagata as no foremost paramita, therefore it is called the foremost paramita. The foremost paramita refers to the perfect principle of the Middle Way, which if viewed in light of common truth is the foremost paramita. If spoken of from the point of view of actual truth, it is no foremost paramita, because actually there is absolutely nothing, not even a foremost paramita. Therefore it is called the foremost paramita. If regarded from the point of view of perfect truth, the Middle Way, it is given the name “foremost paramita,” and that is all.
The paramita of patience. Your patience should not bear the mark of patience. If it does you still have an attachment to patience. If you still have not relinquished patience, you cannot be truly patient. True patience is devoid of a mark of self, a mark of others, a mark of living beings, and a mark of a life. When the four marks are non-existent, what do you still have which can be patient?
From the point of view of common truth, the paramita of patience is said to be the paramita of patience, yet it is no paramita of patience. If you realize the emptiness of people, the emptiness of the dharma, and the emptiness of emptiness, what patience is there to perfect? There is none. Therefore it is called the paramita of patience. From the point of view of the Middle Way the paramita of patience is a name and nothing more.
Why is the paramita of patience said to be devoid of patience? “Subhuti, it is just as when I, on the causal ground, had my body dismembered by the King of Kalinga.” Long before in a former life, Shakyamuni Buddha had been a young cultivator practicing in the mountains about thirty miles from the capital city where the King of Kalinga held court. One day the king decided to go hunting and called together a party of soldiers, ministers, and officials to accompany him. To complete the party he summoned the most beautiful concubines in the palace. Actually he could not bear to part with his women for even the duration of a hunting trip. He found them a most pleasant pastime.
The hunting grounds on the mountain were very large, and the King of Kalinga immediately set out in pursuit of big game, leaving the timid women behind to entertain themselves. As the women strolled around on the mountain, they happened upon the young bhiksu who was only eighteen or nineteen years old and quite handsome, despite the fact that his hair had grown long and his clothes were tattered. When they first spied him they thought he was a kind of weird creature or a man-eating beast, and they panicked. “Look,” they gasped, clutching one another, “there’s a wild animal that looks like a man!”
“I am not a wild animal, I am a cultivator of the Way,” the young man assured them.
When the concubines heard that the creature could talk their curiosity was aroused, and they edged closer to speak with him. “What does it mean to ‘cultivate the Way’?” they asked, for they had never been outside the confines of the palace, and so had never heard of such a thing. The young cultivator spoke dharma for them. Seeing what they had never seen before, and hearing what they had never heard before, soon they were enthralled and forgot everything – even who and where they were.
Meanwhile the King of Kalinga returned from his expedition to discover that his palace concubines had wandered away. He set out to find them. Eventually he caught sight of them gathered around the strange-looking man. The king, bent on discovering who the man was and what he was doing with the concubines, crept silently towards them like a spy on a secret mission. When he got close he paused, listened to the young cultivator speaking dharma, and realized that the concubines were so enraptured they had not noticed the arrival of their king. Whereupon the King of Kalinga cleared his throat and challenged the young man, “What are you doing here?”
“I am cultivating the Way,” replied the bhiksu.
“Have you attained the fruit of Arhatship in your cultivation?” asked the king.
“No,” said the young cultivator, “I have not certified to Arhatship.”
“Have you attained the third stage?” continued the king.
“No,” said the bhiksu, “I have not certified to the third fruit.”
“I have heard there are people who live in the mountains and by eating a certain kind of fruit they attain immortality, but they still are not free of greed and desire. They still have lust in their minds. You are so young and you haven’t certified to any of the fruits of the Way. Do you give rise to thoughts of lust?” asked the king.
“I have not cut it off,” replied the bhiksu.
With that reply the King of Kalinga became enraged. “If you haven’t cut off lust, then when you see my… these women…you see them like this…how can you be patient with the lust which arises in your mind?” he challenged.
“Although I have not cut off lust, I do not give rise to lustful thoughts. In my cultivation I contemplate the nine kinds of impurities.”
“Ha!” spit back the king, “you cultivate the contemplation of impurities. You are a cheat! What proof do I have that you do not lust after my women? What proof that you can bear your thoughts of lust?”
“I bear them,” replied the bhiksu. “I can bear anything.”
“Oh you can, can you? Well, we shall see about that. First I will cut off your ear.” The king unsheathed his glistening sword, took hold of the bhiksu’s ear, and lopped it off. But that time the ministers and officials had gathered around to see what had caused such commotion. They looked at the young cultivator who appeared totally unmoved and without pain, and they pleaded with the king, “Great King, do not take your sword to him. He is a great master. He must be a Bodhisattva. You must not take your sword to him.”
“How do you know he is a Bodhisattva? How do you know?” demanded their king, bristling with jealousy.
“Look at him,” said the officials, “you cut off his ear and he did nothing. He has not even flushed. He just sits there as if nothing had happened.”
“How do you know that he feels as if nothing had happened? I wager in his mind he hates me. I shall try him out again.” He positioned his sword and neatly sliced off the bhiksu’s nose. “Are you angry?”
“I am not angry,” replied the bhiksu.
“You aren’t? It is more likely that you are a liar as well as a cheat. Perhaps you can cheat these women, but you can’t cheat me. I shall cut off your hand and see what you do. Can you bear it?” his voice shook as he brought down the sword again.
“It is all the same to me,” said the bhiksu.
“All right, if it is all the same, then I shall cut off your other hand,” which he did, saying with barely controlled rage, “still not angry? Are you enraged yet?”
“No, I am not enraged,” said the bhiksu.
“I don’t believe you. Nobody could stand to have both hands cut off and not get angry. You are certainly a freak,” he said as he cut off one of the bhiksu’s legs. “Still not angry?”
The king chopped away at the other leg. “Angry?” he nearly screamed once more.
The maimed bhiksu continued to sit as before, although now both his ears, his nose, both his hands and both legs were totally severed from his body. “I am not angry,” he said once again.
But by then the Four Great Heaven Kings were angry and cursing the king, they sent down a rain of hail stones the size of dumplings. The hail beat down so violently that a section of the mountain near the party fell away and went roaring down the slopes. The king froze with fear upon realizing his mistake. He knelt before the earless, noseless, handless, legless bhiksu and begged forgiveness. “I was wrong, I was wrong,” he cried in terror. “Heaven is punishing me. Do not be angry, please do not be angry.”
“I have not become angry,” said the bhiksu.
“That is not true,” cried the panic-stricken king. “If you are not angry, why is heaven punishing me?” He still thought the bhiksu had called down a curse on him.
“I can prove that I have not become angry,” said the bhiksu. “If I have, then the extremities of my body will not mend. But if I have not become angry, then my hands, legs, ears, and nose will grow back the way they were.” No sooner had he finished speaking then
his legs, hands, ears, and nose perfectly rejoined the trunk of his body. When he was whole again the bhiksu made a solemn dedication to the king, “Upon realizing Buddhahood I will take you across first.”
Later when the young cultivator was reborn as a young prince who realized the Way and became Shakyamuni Buddha, he first went to the Deer Park to take across the former king of Kalinga, the Venerable Ajnatakaundinya.
After hearing that account, some people may say, “I think I shall find a bhiksu who practices patience in the mountains and cut off his ears, nose, hands, and legs. Then he will make the vow to take me across when he first realizes Buddhahood.” That plan would be fine if you were assured of meeting a cultivator with a compassionate, patient mind like Shakyamuni Buddha’s. However, if the cultivator gave rise to one thought of anger while you were slicing away at him, then you would fall into the unintermittent hells. So you had better think twice before attempting that method. Besides, you are not a king. If you were a king you might manage it.
Shakyamuni Buddha referred to his encounter with the King of Kalinga at that point in order to remind Subhuti that he understood the paramita of patience. “When the King of Kalinga dismembered my body, I had no mark of self, no mark of others, no mark of living beings and no mark of a life.”
Sutra:
“And why? When I was cut limb from limb, if I had a mark of self, a mark of others, a mark of living beings, or a mark of a life, I would have been outraged.
“Subhuti, further I recall that in the past, for five hundred lives, I was the Patient Immortal. During all those lives I had no mark of self, no mark of others, no mark of living beings, and no mark of a life. For that reason, Subhuti, a Bodhisattva should, relinquishing all marks, produce the mind of anuttarasamyaksambodhi. He should produce that mind without dwelling in forms. He should produce that mind without dwelling in sounds, smells, tastes, tangible objects, or mental constructs. He should produce that mind that does not dwell anywhere. Any dwelling of the mind is no dwelling. Therefore the Buddha says, ‘The mind of a Bodhisattva should not dwell in forms when he gives.’ Subhuti, a Bodhisattva, to benefit all beings, should give thus. All marks are spoken of by the Tathagata as no marks, and all living beings are spoken of as no living beings. Subhuti, the Tathagata is one who speaks the truth, who speaks the actual, who speaks what is so, who does not speak what is false, who does not speak what is not so.
Commentary:
If you harbor a view of self, you can become angry. With no self there is no anger. Because the Buddha had no anger, his four limbs grew back. Had he become angry his affirmation would not have been efficacious.
For five hundred lives I was the Patient Immortal. The Buddha points out that for five hundred lifetimes he was able to endure all kinds of suffering and face any difficult situation, all because he had no attachment to the four marks.
A Bodhisattva should, relinquishing all marks, produce the mind of anuttarasamyaksambodhi. He should give rise to the unsurpassed, proper and equal, right enlightenment. He should not attach to dwelling in the six dust-realms. Giving rise to a mind that is not attached to anything, one experiences the unobstructed perfect fusion of all things.
Any dwelling of the mind, that is, if your mind becomes involved in attachments, is no dwelling. To say it is no dwelling is not the same as the “not dwelling” referred to in the line “He should produce a thought without dwelling anywhere.” What is meant here is that anything on which the mind may rely is not true and actual. In other words, if you have an attachment, you have a mark of self, others, living beings, and a life.
For that reason a Bodhisattva’s mind should not be attached to forms when giving. Bodhisattvas cultivate the six paramitas and the ten thousand practices. Giving is the first of the six paramitas. There are three kinds of giving: giving wealth, giving dharma, and giving fearlessness.
The gift of wealth is a gift to the living which does not transcend the present life.
The gift of dharma may take place when you meet a living being who is free of animosity and has no desire to harm you. Then you may speak dharma and cause him to awaken to the unconditioned. If you can also cause such a living being to leave behind all fear and trembling, you are practicing the paramita of holding precepts within the paramita of giving. Or you may encounter a living being who wants to harm you, and by speaking dharma you enable him to conquer his anger and hatred. If you can enable someone who displays enmity or resentment towards you or who wishes you harm to abandon aggression, you have used the paramita of patience to perfect your giving.
Perhaps you tirelessly benefit people and are not the least bit lazy in teaching and transforming living beings, and enjoy speaking dharma for whomever you see. To resolve that “Whatever Buddhadharma I know I will speak for others without regard for the acceptance or rejection of my teaching” is not to fear fatigue and suffering. That is to employ the paramita of vigor in practicing giving.
Perhaps your speaking of dharma is extremely well-organized. You never confuse summations, scramble lists, or muddle principles. In listing the paramitas you are able to speak them in their proper sequence: giving, holding precepts, patience, vigor, dhyana rabla, and prajna. If in lecturing you encounter a reference to the Five Roots and Five Powers, as for example when they appear in the Amitabha Sutra, you are able to explain them correctly as:
1. faith,
2. vigor,
3. mindfulness,
4. rabla,
5. wisdom.
Rather than confusing them and explaining them as the six dusts, such orderly correct speaking of dharma is an example of the use of the paramita of dhyana rabla in giving. If someone asks you a question and you become flustered and say, “Uhhh, I don’t know…” then your skill in dhyana rabla is wanting.
However, even those with rabla need wisdom. Wisdom enhances the development of eloquence so that “left and right the source is revealed, the Way is clear and straightforward.” No matter how you speak, you reveal the essence of the principle, because your wisdom is unobstructed. That is, you use the paramita of prajna wisdom in your giving.
Thus the three aspects of giving, the giving of wealth, the giving of dharma, and the giving of fearlessness encompass the six paramitas.
The Buddha again instructed Subhuti, “In order for a Bodhisattva to benefit living beings, he should give as I have previously stated, while not dwelling anywhere. The object of the Buddhadharma is to rid people of attachments.” “Let the gentle breeze and the bright moon come as they may.” Let things come naturally, do not be attached. By attaching to marks when giving, you cultivate the rewards of the heavens. To cultivate the Buddhafruit you should not attach to marks. But you must truly and actually do it. You cannot say, “I am not attached to marks. There is really nothing at all! I don’t need to do anything.” To think like that is to fall into false emptiness.
All marks are spoken of by the Tathagata as no marks. Basically all marks are devoid of marks. And all living beings are spoken of as no living beings. Originally their self-nature is Buddha. But now, because they are confused, they are living beings. Once enlightened they become Buddhas. If you use the Buddhadharma to teach and transform living beings, in the future all of them can return to the origin and realize Buddhahood.
Lest his words cause people to become frightened, terrified, or doubtful, Shakyamuni Buddha assured Subhuti, “The Tathagata’s words are true and honest. They are frank and to the point.” The Buddha does not lie. Everything he says contains the principle of true suchness. The Tathagata does not speak false words, nor does he expound strange and weird principles designed to arouse panic and alarm in the hearts of his listeners.
Sutra:
“Subhuti, the dharma obtained by the Tathagata is
neither true nor false.
“Subhuti, a Bodhisattva whose mind dwells in
phenomena when he gives is like a man who enters
darkness, who cannot see a thing. A Bodhisattva whose
mind does not dwell in phenomena when he gives is like a
man with eyes in the bright sunlight who can see all kinds of
forms.
“Subhuti, in the future, if a good man, or good woman, can receive, hold, read, and recite this sutra, then the Tathagata by means of all Buddha-wisdom, will completely know and see that person. That person accomplishes measureless and boundless merit and virtue.
Commentary:
The real dharma which the Tathagata has obtained is true, real wisdom, neither true nor false. The dharma is true emptiness, devoid of real existent substance. Nor false means that although dharma has no substance, within true emptiness is contained the wonderful existence of real mark. As dharma is wonderful existence, it is also said not to be empty. True emptiness does not obstruct wonderful existence, wonderful existence does not obstruct true emptiness. So the dharma is neither true nor false. That means there is no attachment to marks. Abandoning the attachment to marks is the principle of true emptiness and wonderful existence.
If the Bodhisattva cultivating the Way finds it necessary to attach to conditioned phenomena, his giving will remain within the confines of the attachment to marks. Such conditioned giving can only bring birth in the heavens or birth among men as its reward.
Conditioned giving which reaps a heavenly blessing
Resembles brandishing a sword in empty space;
Just as when the arm grows tired the sword must fall,
Subsequent lives will fail to sustain such heights.
Those who only know how to cultivate blessings and do not know how to cultivate the Way, will descend among men when their heavenly reward has ended, and will be compelled to endure more suffering. Giving which has outflows reaps no ultimate reward.
Attachment to marks in giving is analogous to a man in a place so dark he cannot see a thing. Although conditioned giving with attachment to marks can secure one rebirth in the heavens, it cannot help one gain wisdom. Without true, actual wisdom there is no light, and the lack of light is comparable to the darkness experienced by the man in the analogy. Such a person will be unable to hear the Buddhadharma.
A Bodhisattva who is not attached when he practices giving is like a man in the sunlight. Cultivating unconditioned giving yields fruit which has no outflows, that is, true, actual wisdom. The sunlight represents wisdom, by which one is able to see things clearly.
If there is a person in the future who can receive the Vajra Sutra in his heart and practice it with his body, who can respectfully uphold it, who can read it from the book, or who can recite it from memory, the Tathagata will thoroughly know of such cultivation and will completely see the person.
That person accomplishes measureless and boundless merit and virtue. Where is that much merit and virtue to be found? Nowhere. Do not be attached. If you become attached, you will not find it anywhere. If you do not become attached, it is right there.
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