Segment 19 / the Transformation of the Dharma RealmThe Buddha inquires of Subhūti: “What do you think, Subhūti? If a person were to fill the three thousand great thousand worlds with the seven treasures and use them for almsgiving, would that good fortune be great?”
Subhūti responds, “Yes, World-Honored One, such a person would indeed accumulate great amount of good fortune.” The Buddha remarks, “Subhūti, if virtue and fortune were an inherently real substance, the Tathāgata would not state that one gains great amount of virtue and fortune. It is because virtue and fortune lacks inherent existence that the Tathāgata can speak of it of great amount of virtue and fortune.”
The general idea of this Segment is that the Buddha asks Subhūti, “Subhūti, what do you think? If someone holds various treasures filling the three thousand great thousand worlds, and makes almsgiving with them, due to this reason, is the virtue and fortunes obtained by this person great or not?”
Subhūti replies to the Buddha, “Yes, World-Honored One, this person will obtain great amount of virtue and fortune by practicing extensive almsgiving.”
The Buddha says, “Subhūti, if the virtue and fortune were a real thing, the Tathāgata would not say that the virtue and fortune is abundant. Precisely because the virtue and fortune has no inherent self-nature, the Tathāgata then say that the virtue and fortune is as boundless as the void.”
In previous Segment eight, the Buddha asks Subhūti the same question: “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?” The way of asking questions is the same as in this Segment, Subhūti’s answer is different. In the eighth Segment, Subhūti replies，“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.”
But in the eighth Segment, the Buddha emphasizes that someone who accept, practice, read and recites even just a four-line verse of the Sutra for the benefit of others will accumulate far greater fortune. The Buddha does not directly comment on Subhūti’s response. Subhūti’s answer in the eighth Segment serves as an additional explanation, aimed at alleviating potential doubts among the disciples. Given that they have just heard the doctrine of emptiness and the illusory nature of all phenomena, some might question the concept of great virtue and fortune when they hear the Buddha speak of it. Subhūti clarifies that while the Buddha speaks of virtue and fortune as vast, this vastness does not imply that virtue and fortune itself possesses an inherent substance. The true nature of virtue and fortune is empty. For those disciples who still have doubts about the teaching of emptiness, there is a distinction between the nature and the appearance in their mind. That is the appearance may appear to be vast, while its intrinsic nature is empty and cannot be quantified.
But in the nineteenth Segment, the Buddha says: “Subhūti, if virtue and fortune truly existed, the Tathāgata would not say that virtue and fortune is vast. Because virtue and fortune lacks inherent existence, that is why the Tathāgata says that virtue and fortune is vast.” On the surface, this seems to contradict Subhūti’s earlier explanation in Segment eight. However, there is no contradiction between these two statements. The nature and the appearance are not dual. Seeing appearance is also seeing the true nature. If disciples differentiate between the nature and appearance, it indicates that the true emptiness of the Tathāgata they rely on is still established within the mental state.
As the teachings progress, the Buddha gradually remove these conceptual distinctions layer by layer in the disciples’ mind. At this stage, the disciples no longer see the appearance as separate from the nature. Thus, when Subhūti responds, “World-Honoured One, by such a cause, this person gains vast fortune,” he no longer talks abut the distinction between nature and appearance.
The “emptiness” of virtue and fortune is not somehow nothingness, if it is nothing, Tathāgata would not say virtue and fortune is empty. Rather, by realizing the emptiness of virtue and fortune, in the state of emptiness, the virtue and fortune become vast, filling the entire space and permeating the entire Dharma realm.
It is crucial to note that the Buddha emphasizes the emptiness of virtue and fortune. The Tathāgata does not tell the disciples that everything is empty and that there is no virtue and fortune. Instead, the Tathāgata says that there is abundant virtue and fortune, and this is the manifestation of that emptiness is identical to form. When a practitioner realizes that virtue and fortune is inherently empty then practices almsgiving, the virtue and fortune they accumulate becomes vast and boundless, filling the entire space and the entire Dharma realm. Thus, while the Buddha abides in the state of true emptiness, he also affirms the vastness of virtue and fortune.
This brings to mind a story from the history of Buddhism regarding the arrival of Patriarch Bodhidharma in China. At the time, Emperor Liang Wu, a great supporter of Buddhism with the dignity and authority of an emperor, received Bodhidharma, the future patriarch of Chan Buddhism. The emperor, eager for validation, proudly states, “since my ascension to the throne, I have built temples, transcribed scriptures, and ordained countless monks. What merit does I have?” He has expected to hear nothing but reverent praise from this holy monk who had come from the Buddha’s homeland. To his surprise, Bodhidharma replied, “There is no merit”, which is a firm answer directly from the state of emptiness.
The emperor, perplexes, asked, “Why is there no merit?” Bodhidharma responds, “These actions are merely deeds for small fruit of human and celestial realms, the cause of samsara, it is like a shadow following the body. Although it appears as existing, it is not real.” The emperor, asks, “What constitutes true merit?” Bodhidharma answers, “True merit is pure wisdom—perfect, complete, inherently empty, and tranquil. This kind of merit cannot be sought by the conventional means.” Emperor Liang Wu, then inquires, “What is the first truth of the Holy Dharma?” Bodhidharma replies, “Utterly empty, there is no such thing as sage.” Finally, the emperor asks, “Who is the one facing me?” Bodhidharma responds, “I do not know.”
Clearly, the emperor did not realize the true nature of emptiness as taught by the Buddha and is unable to grasp Bodhidharma’s compassionate teachings. Instead, due to the blow to his excessive self-esteem, he orders Bodhidharma to leave.
I have presented the entire conversation between Emperor Liang Wu and Bodhidharma without further commentary. For those who have engaged with the earlier Segments of the Diamond Sutra, it will not be difficult to discern the different perspectives in this conversation embodied by each speaker, despite the classical Chinese.
Why does Bodhidharma assert that there is no merit in this situation? It is because Bodhidharma dwelled in the state of the Tathāgata’s realm. He is fully aware that Emperor Liang Wu does not understand the emptiness of virtue and fortune and clings to the notion that virtue and fortune is real and substantial. Bodhidharma seeks to dismantle this attachment by declaring that there is no merit, and further explains out of compassion, that without the realization of emptiness, even noble acts such as building temples or transcribing scriptures are simply worldly good deeds that yield worldly rewards. They are subject to birth and destruction. Therefore, although there seems to have virtue and fortune, it is not truly real.
Had Emperor Liang Wu realized the wisdom of emptiness of the Diamond Sutra, Bodhidharma would certainly praise that he has great merits. However, had the emperor truly understood the Prajñā Pāramitā wisdom of the Diamond Sutra, he would not have posed such a question to Bodhidharma. We come back to this Segment from the story of Bodhidharma. We have to know that the Buddha is not asserting that virtue and fortune is inherently empty in order to break our attachment in the same way Bodhidharma did to Emperor Liang Wu. Rather, the Buddha teaches that when one fully realizes the emptiness of virtue and fortune, then virtue and fortune can indeed be vast and immeasurable. If you fail to understand this, then, as Bodhidharma pointed out, virtue and fortune is merely a worldly good deed—though it exists on the surface, it is not real. The Buddha’s teaching is that, “The Tathāgata would not say that virtue and fortune is vast. It is precisely because virtue and fortune is empty, that is why the Tathāgata say virtue and fortune is vast.”