Segment 8 / The Birth According to Dharma
The Buddha asked Subhūti, “What do you think? If a person were to fill the three thousand great thousand worlds with the seven treasures and offer them for almsgiving, would that good fortune be great?” Subhūti replied, “Extremely great, World-Honored One! Why? It is because the good fortune is not the nature of good fortunes itself, and therefore the Tathāgata says that this good fortune is great.”
The Buddha continued, “if someone accepts and practices this Sutra, even if only a four-line verse, and explains it to others, their benefits will surpass that of the previous example. Why? Subhūti, all Buddhas and the Dharma of anuttara-samyak-sambodhi (unsurpassed, complete equal and complete awareness) arise from this Sutra. Subbūti, what is called Buddhadharmas are not in fact the Buddhadharmas.”
In essence, this Segment conveys the following: The Buddha inquires of Subhūti, “If a person were to offer alms using treasures that sufficient to fill the three thousand great-thousand worlds, would the good fortunes and rewards attained be great” Subhūti responds, “World-Honoured One, the good fortunes and rewards would indeed be very great. Why do I think so? It is because I understand that such good fortune is worldly, characterized by form, which brings about rewards. This is why the Tathāgata declares that the good fortune is great. However, if this person were to give alms while realizing the emptiness of the giver, the gift, and the recipient, the good fortune accrued would be inconceivable, boundless as emptiness itself. This is what is called the ‘nature of food fortune.’”
Here, Subhūti perceives that only the merit resulting from almsgiving with attachment to form that can be measured in terms of “how much.” Nevertheless, when almsgiving is performed without attachment to form, the good fortune is likewise empty in nature. As the practitioner is free from attachment and expectation, all such good fortune leads to the realization of self-nature of reality, returning to emptiness. Since the intrinsic nature of good fortune is empty, it is thus called the “nature of good fortune,” and cannot be measured in terms of “how much.”
In the fourth Segment of the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha expounds on the right view of almsgiving without attachment to form and Subhūti’s explanation here reflects his understanding of that teaching. However, in the subsequent dialogue, the Tathāgata offers no explicit commentary on Subhūti’s notions of “the nature of good fortune” and “the form of good fortune,” for in the Buddha’s realm seeing form is seeing the true nature; form and emptiness are non-dual.
Because sentient beings cling to forms, the Buddha teaches that almsgiving should be performed without attachment to form. However, both the giver and the gift are empty in natue. Even sentient beings have attachment and clinging, in the Buddha’s realm, there is no attachment, no one to attach, and nothing to be attached to. All phenomena are inherently pure. Nonetheless, Subhūti’s explanation is not mistaken within conventional context.
The Buddha continues: “If someone can understand the meaning of this Sutra and practice it accordingly, or even simply explain a four-line verse from it to others, the good fortune they attain will exceed that of the previous person. Why do I say this? Subhūti, all Buddhas of the ten directions and the three times, as well as the method that leads to the unsurpassed, complete equal, and complete awareness of all Buddhas, all originate from this Sutra.”
Here, the Buddha underscores the significance of the perspectives contained in this Sutra for practitioners. To study and practice this Sutra not only brings immense worldly good fortune, it is also through all the perspectives and methods taught in this Sutra that all Buddhas have practiced and cultivated, thereby realizing unsurpassed, complete equal, and compete awareness.
Following this emphasis on the importance of this Sutra, the Buddha immediately reiterates the perspective previously introduced, reminding Subhūti, and indeed all the disciples who might still oscillate between clarity and confusion. The original text reads: “What is called Buddhadharma is not in fact Buddhadharma.” The meaning is: “Though I have just spoken of the great significance of this Sutra, you must not become attached simply to the word, or regard the text as the definitive Buddhadharma.”
The Buddha’s teachings are almost always carefully attuned to the capacities of his disciples. He perceives the doubts and blind spots in their minds and addresses them methodically, clearing obstacles from all directions. Following the Buddha’s gradual teachings, the disciples peel away the veils of mistaken views and attachments. As all attachments are dismantled, like layers of filters being removed from the disciples’ minds, they gradually begin to perceive the reality.
Moreover, the Buddha’s teachings in the Diamond Sutra resemble someone sweeping the dust of the disciples’ minds while walking backwards, clearing them layer by layer, while erasing each footprint as they go. In the end, what remains in the hearts of sentient beings is the state of true emptiness.
Thus, after speaking of the merit and importance of this Sutra, the Buddha immediately sweeps away any attachment that may have formed in the disciples’ minds as a result of his earlier teachings. He reiterates that they should not cling to the forms of the Dharma, guiding them back again to abiding in the state of true emptiness, free from attachment to any form. Clearly, the disciples’ attachments have not yet been fully uprooted, so the Buddha continues his teachings, further clearing the ground of their minds.