Segment 11 / Unconditioned Supreme fortune
The Buddha askes Subhūti: “Subhūti, do you think the number of grains of sand in the Ganges River is vast? If there were rivers as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges，would the total of grains of sand in all those rivers be vast? ”
Subhūti responded, “Indeed, it is immeasurable, World-Honored One! The rivers themselves are countless, the grains of sand are even more numerous.”
The Buddha then askes, “Subhūti, I now tell you truly, if a virtuous man or woman were to fill as many three thousand great thousand worlds with the seven treasures as there are grains of sand in all those Ganges Rivers, and offer them as alms, would the fortune and blessing be great or not?”
Subhūti replies, “It would indeed be very great, World-Honored One!” The Buddha continues, “Subhūti, if a virtuous man or woman accepts and upholds even just a four-line verse from this sutra and explains it to others, the fortune and blessing accrued are far greater than that of the previous one.”
Segment 12 / Reverence for the True Dharma
The Buddha further explained, “Moreover, Subhūti, anyone who speaks even four lines of verse from this sutra, should be respected with offering by all beings in this world—humans, gods, and asuras—just as they would show reverence for the shrine or temple of a Buddha. How much more so for one who is able to accept, uphold, read and recite the entire sutra! Subhūti，you should know that, such a person already has become accomplished the highest and rarest Dharma. Wherever this sutra is found, there resides the presence of a Buddha and should be honored by disciples.”
The essence of these two Segments lies in the Buddha’s question to Subhūti: “Subhūti, if every grain of sand in the Ganges River were to represent an additional Ganges River, and there were as many Ganges Rivers as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, would the grains of sand in all those rivers be considered many or not?”
Subhūti answers, “Very many indeed, World-Honored One. The number of those Ganges Rivers alone would be innumerable—how much more so the grains of sand within them.”
The Buddha continues, “Subhūti, if a virtuous man or woman were to fill as many three thousand great thousand worlds with the seven treasures as there are grains of sand in all those rivers, and offer them as alms, would the fortune and blessing accrued be great or not?”
Subhūti replies, “It would be exceedingly great, World-Honored One.” The Buddha then says, “I now tell you truthfully: if a virtuous man or woman has faith in, accepts, and practices this sutra, or even merely accepts and upholds a four-line verse from it and explains it to others, the fortune and blessing they obtain will far exceed that of the previous person who gave alms.”
At this point, we clarify the meaning of “accepting and upholding.” To “accept” means to understand Buddha’s teachings and put them into practice to reach a state of non-attachment. To “uphold” means to consistently maintain this state of non-attachment. Therefore, “accepting and upholding” refers not only to understanding and practicing the teachings, but also to steadfastly and continuously abiding in them.
Since the Buddhist scriptures were originally translated from Sanskrit, they often employ verses to convey the Buddha’s teachings. For instance, in the Lotus Sutra—specifically in the Segment “The Bodhisattva Never-Disparaging”—when the Bodhisattva enters Nirvana, he suddenly hears the Buddha Sound-King in the sky reciting twenty trillion verses of the Lotus Sutra. From this, we may infer that the Tathāgatas often use verses to teach the Dharma.
The Diamond Sutra we are now studying is in Chinese, and as such, it is challenging for practitioners to identify precisely which four lines the Buddha referred to as the “four-line verse.” Although there has long been debate in Buddhist history about what exactly the “four-line verse” refers to, I personally believe that it can be understood as a key point of prajñā-wisdom that the Buddha teaches in the Diamond Sutra—such as “let the self-nature arise with non-abiding” or “practice almsgiving without attachment to forms,” and the like.
The Buddha continues, “Furthermore, Subhūti, if someone explains this Sutra to others—even if they explain only a four-line verse from it—you should understand that wherever this teaching is shared, all beings—including gods, humans, and asuras—should make offerings, just as they would to a Buddha’s stūpa or shrine. If someone embodies these teachings through reading, reciting, and cultivating them, Subhūti, you should know that such a person has accomplished the highest, rarest, and most precious Dharma in the world. Wherever this Sutra is found, there the presence of a Buddha is to be found, and that place should be treated with the same reverence that a disciple shows to the Buddha.”
In many sutras, we encounter the Buddha saying: “If someone accepts, reads, recites, practices this sutra, and explains it to others, they will accrue great merit and blessing.” Some people say that they do not see those who teach the sutra receiving great virtue and good fortune in this world. This depends on whether the person teaching the sutra is merely parroting what others say and mechanically reading from the text, or whether they have truly understood the Buddha’s words and put them into practice. True merit, good fortune, and blessing manifest swiftly only when one practices the teachings oneself and then explains them to others.
An additional consideration is this: what do you regard as the reward of merit and good fortune? Sentient beings are filled with all kinds of desires. They believe that gaining fame and wealth in this world and fulfilling all their desires are the manifestations of merit and good fortune. However, is the fulfilment of these desires truly the source of happiness? Do you really need all your merit and good fortune to manifest within the confines of this worldly realm?
Those who truly understand the Diamond Sutra are free from all attachments, both internal and external. They remain unmoving in suchness, unswayed by conditions and unbound by any phenomena. Through continued practice, they can eradicate all afflictions, bring an end to the cycle of birth and death, and ultimately attain Buddhahood. The states they realize and the merit they attain are far beyond the comprehension of ordinary beings. The transient, tainted worldly blessings cannot begin to compare; they are merely the trivial pursuits of eating, drinking, and amusement. This is why the Buddha states, “The realization of prajñā-wisdom is the greatest merit and blessing.” In the Lotus Sutra, for the sake of this wisdom, the young dragon girl casts aside a jewel worth three-thousand great-thousand worlds, treating it as no more than a blade of withered grass.
In Segment 12 of the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha says that wherever this sutra is taught, that place should be honored by all celestial beings, humans, and asuras, just as they would honor a Buddha’s stūpa or shrine. Wherever this sutra exists, there a Buddha himself is present, and that place should be revered by the disciples. Thus, how should we do this?
Some individuals may take a printed book with black text on white paper, place it on a table, and offer daily reverence to it, much like they would a Buddha statue. It is not necessarily wrong to do it this way. Through such sincere devotion and respect, one might eventually come to comprehend the Buddha’s wisdom of prajñā. However, some people, especially those engaged in secular learning, may view such actions as mere superstition: How could bowing to a Buddha statue or prostrating in front of a sutra possibly lead to the realization of truth? This simply shows that they really do not understand what the Buddha is teaching.
All of the Buddha’s sutras revolve around the principle of “letting go”—relinquishing all appearances and attachments. The profound path of the Dao is simple: once one lets go and relinquishes attachments, one naturally aligns with the true nature of the universe. In that moment, one can grasp the essence of the Buddha’s words. Thus, much of the Buddha’s wisdom is not acquired through mere hearing or intellectual study, but through faith, acceptance, and actual practice— through the act of “letting go.”
If, through the act of prostration, an individual is able to let go of arrogance and release greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt, their heart becomes gentle, calm, and compassionate, no longer entangled by even the slightest trivial matters of this world. In this world, the more one is able to let go, the greater the opportunity to align with the true nature taught by Buddha, and the greater chance of understanding the Diamond Sutra. However, if one merely performs the physical gesture of prostration while their greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt grow stronger—and they have never let go of anything in their mind—then this is not even superstition.
Of course, such practices of prostration are a preliminary method designed for those who cannot yet fully grasp the depth of the Buddhist scriptures. The ultimate goal of all the Buddha’s teachings is to help one understand and immediately put those teachings into practice. This is why the Buddha’s teachings are continually conveyed through metaphors and layers of analysis. His intention was never for you to merely print his words into booklets and revere them, nor to recite them like a simple jingle.
At every Dharma assembly where the Buddha delivers his teachings, there are always disciples who rigorously uphold the precepts and lay practitioners with pure minds. Upon hearing the Dharma, they experience sudden enlightenment, instantly shattering their attachments. Some disciples, upon hearing the teachings, attain enlightenment and realize the fruition of the Path right then and there. Other disciples, whose minds have not yet been fully cleansed and prepared, upon hearing the teachings, come to believe, accept, and practice them by aligning every single thought, as well as their eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, and sleeping in daily life, with the Buddha’s guidance. Such disciples will swiftly enter the state of a great Bodhisattva. Likewise, we should strive to genuinely understand the Buddha’s words and integrate them into our daily actions—this is the true offering and the true respect for the sutras.
The Buddha also states that if someone can accept, read, recite, and practice according to the principles outlined in the Diamond Sutra, then everyone should know that such a person has attained and accomplished the highest and rarest Dharma in the world. Let us reflect on this sentence: in today’s world, the methods for building nuclear submarines or atomic bombs are national secrets. Ordinary people can neither know nor obtain the means to manufacture them; you are not permitted to see such information even if you would not understand it. In contrast, the Buddha, without stint, places the highest and rarest Dharma openly before all sentient beings. We should cherish it.