Segment 32 / The Transformation Bodies Are Not RealSubhūti, if someone were to offer alms with seven treasures in quantities sufficient to fill all the worlds in uncountable aeons, whereas another good man or good woman who, having generated the Bodhi mind, upholds even a verse of only four-lines of this sutra, accept, practice, read, recites it, and explains it to others. The fortunes and virtues of such a person surpass that of the former. How should they explain this sutra? By not clinging to forms, abiding in the true nature, and remaining unmoved. Why is this?
“All conditioned dharmas are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, like dew or lightning. One should contemplate them in this way.”
Upon hearing these words, Elder Subhūti, along with all the bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, laymen, laywomen, and beings from all realms—gods, humans, and asuras—were filled with great joy hearing the Buddha’s teaching, and will have faith in, accept, and practice it.
The main point of this Segment is that the Buddha tells Subhūti: “Subhūti, If someone were to give alms with seven treasures in amount to fill countless worlds, and another good man or good woman generates the Bodhi mind and practices according to this sutra—even if it is only a single verse of four-lines, accepting, practicing, reading, reciting it and explaining it to others—such a person’s fortunes and virtues surpasses the former.”
“How should one explain the sutra to others? One must dwell calmly from the perspective that the self-nature is all Dharmas, and it is originally in Nirvana of tranquility, and unborn. One should not give rise to the conceptual knowledge and perceptions, nor cling to any forms, nor be affected by all the internal or external conditions of body and mind. One abide in unmovable of suchness. Why say so? Because all phenomena, which arise and pass away, change and destruction, are all impermanent existences, they are as dream-like illusions—fleeting like a flash of lightning, as transient as morning dew. We should see them in this way. ”
After the Buddha speaks these words, Elder Subhūti, along with all the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen, as well as beings from all realms—gods, humans, and asuras—upon hearing the Buddha’s teachings, were filled with great joy. They expressed their faith and willingness to practice the teachings in their lives.
This Segment is the final one of the Diamond Sutra. The Buddha mentioned six times in this sutra that the merit of believe in, accepting, reading, reciting, and explaining even a short verse of four-lines from the sutra surpasses the merit of giving alms with countless seven treasures. The focus of this Segment is on how to explain these teachings to others. The Buddha says: “Do not grasp at appearances; remain unmoved as they are.”
What does “do not grasp at appearances; remain unmoved as they are” mean? The Tathāgata resides in the state of true emptiness without generating conceptualizations of phenomena. Yet, within time and space, the Buddha skill-fully teaches immeasurable sentient beings according to conditions. However, in the state of the Tathāgata’s true emptiness, there is no arising of the appearances of beings ’bodies, minds, nor even the act of saving sentient beings or expounding the Dharma. This is what is meant by “not grasping at appearances, remaining unmoved as they are.”
The speech, silence, movement, and stillness of the Tathāgata all represent the Dharma. For instance, in meditation, one comes to recognize the illusory nature of both the body and the mind. Physical sensations,such as aching, numbness, chill, swelling, and pain, are illusory; the fluctuating thoughts of the mind are illusory; the visions seen with closed eyes are illusory; all external sounds and noises are illusory. When one realizes that all of these are empty without inherent substance, abides calmly then, this is abiding of “non-abiding.” This is the meaning of “do not grasp at appearances, remain unmoved as they are.”
If a practitioner remains unmoved as they are in all aspects of life—whether in speech, silence, movement, stillness, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down—without clinging to any appearances, then this person is abiding in the “great Samadhi of the Dharma realm.” All Dharmas, being inherently without birth, are the Tathgata’s Samaidi of emptiness which is formless and shapeless. In this state of emptiness and samadhi, the Tathāgata, without uttering a single word, whereas, liberates countless beings.
At the conclusion of his teachings, the Buddha elaborated on the notion of “not grasping at appearances, remaining unmoved as they are.” From the perspective of the Tathāgata, all phenomena in the world should be seen as dream-like illusions—like a bubble, a shadow, dew, or lightning. The Buddha then instructed all the disciples who had received the Dharma to observe the world in this way.
The final verse of the Diamond Sutra is often misunderstood by those who are new to the sutra. Many practitioners not only repeat this verse but also attempt to visualize the phenomena of the world as dreams, bubbles, dewdrops, or lightning during meditation. However, this approach represents a fundamental misunderstanding, as it again cling to the form of dreams, illusions, bubbles, or lightning. The Buddha, when describing all things as being like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and lightning, aims to convey that the phenomena of the world—our own body and mind included—are impermanent, ever-changing, and ultimately illusory. They do not possess inherent reality. The Buddha is instructing us not to cling to the constant flux of life, to the cycles of gain and loss, and the suffering that arises from them. Indeed, the afflictions and suffering are as illusory as dew or lightning.
By abiding in this perception, one should view everything that causes confusion, pain, joy, desire, or fear as though they were mere dreams and illusions. There is no need to become entangled in how to hold onto or let go of these. All that is required is to awaken from the dream.
Upon hearing the Buddha’s teachings, Elder Subhūti and the entire assembly were filled with immense joy. They accepted, believed, and immediately began to put the teachings into practice.
What does “faith, acceptance, and practice” mean? Once you understand and believe in everything the Buddha said, then immediately put it into practice.