Master Wang Xianglu | 2018-06-23 | Download | AI assisted translation
| 我今天为什么要讲金刚经，用白话来述义呢？为要把金刚经上的妙用，移用在社会上。因离了世间一切人事，佛法就没用处了。佛法处处是解除人生的痛苦，不论贵贱贤愚、老幼中外，是个人，就免不了自身的烦恼痛苦。 | Why am I speaking on the Diamond Sūtra today and explaining its meaning in plain language? It is to apply the wondrous function of the Diamond Sūtra to society. For if Buddhism is divorced from all the affairs of people in this world, it is of no use. Buddhism everywhere seeks to relieve the sufferings of human life. Whether noble or humble, wise or foolish, old or young, Chinese or foreign, everyone is subject to their own afflictions and suffering. |
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| 其原因，总是执取名相，认虚妄的当作真实，无非以执我为本，诤论为用，发生世上一切的颠倒。而金刚经用处，正是去我执的无上法门。在社会上的广大妙用，虽说十世百世，也说不尽的。 | The reason is always attachment to names and appearances: taking what is false for what is real. This is nothing other than taking attachment to self as the basis and contention as its function, thereby giving rise to all the distortions of the world. The function of the Diamond Sūtra is precisely the supreme dharma gate for removing attachment to self. Its vast and wondrous applications in society could not be exhausted even if one spoke of them for ten or a hundred generations. |
| 譬如医院的医生医药医法，是没有穷尽的。要世上一个病人也没有了，医药就用不着了。佛法正是如此。佛法的五明，一是因明，是说一切辩证法，分别邪正真伪的理，是论理学。 | For example, the physicians, medicines, and medical methods of a hospital are inexhaustible. If there were not a single sick person in the world, medicine would be unnecessary. Buddhism is exactly the same. The five fields of knowledge in Buddhism include, first, the knowledge of reasoning, which concerns every form of dialectics and the principles for distinguishing wrong from right and true from false; it is the study of logic. |
| 二是内明，明自家心宗佛性，专讲人生内在的学问。这两门，是自己的功夫。三是医方明，发明医理方术，救人病苦。四是工巧明，明一切工艺技术，如声光化电算术各科等类。这两门是方便世用的，人事上不可废的。 | Second is inner knowledge: understanding one’s own mind tradition and Buddha-nature, a field devoted to the inner study of human life. These two fields are one’s own practice. Third is medical knowledge, which develops medical principles and methods to relieve people of illness and suffering. Fourth is knowledge of arts and crafts, which understands all crafts and technologies, such as sound, light, chemistry, electricity, mathematics, and related fields. These latter two are expedient worldly applications and cannot be dispensed with in human affairs. |
| 第五是声明，要把前四明的理智发扬开来，要靠语言文字来通达流传，是为声明。五明通了，世法才尽。世法尽了，即是佛法。五明中，内明是根本，所谓根本智，是体，其余四明是后得智，是用。 | Fifth is knowledge of language and expression. To propagate and transmit the principles and wisdom of the preceding four fields, one must rely on language and writing; this is knowledge of language and expression. When the five fields of knowledge are mastered, worldly dharmas are fully understood. When worldly dharmas are fully understood, they are Buddhism. Among the five fields, inner knowledge is fundamental. What is called fundamental wisdom is the essence; the other four fields are differentiated wisdom, the function. |
| 你想人在社会上，这五明，能缺哪一明呢？世人不明佛法的真理，笼统说是迷信，岂不可痛。 | Consider this: living in society, which of these five fields of knowledge can people lack? Because worldly people do not understand the true principles of Buddhism, they casually call it superstition. Is this not lamentable? |
| 但实在不能怪他们，一则佛门对外介绍的方法太少了；二则佛经义太深奥，不容易懂；三则人人忙于衣食住，无暇及此；四则盲从，一听说是迷信，就不好意思去学，怕人说是落伍；五则佛法宣传的信用太坏，世人但见坏处，不见好处，就是知道一点的人，也认为不急之务，可不必学它。 | Yet they cannot truly be blamed. First, Buddhists have too few methods of introducing Buddhism to the public. Second, the meaning of the Buddhist scriptures is too profound and difficult to understand. Third, everyone is occupied with food, clothing, and shelter and has no leisure for this. Fourth, people blindly follow others: once they hear that it is superstition, they are embarrassed to study it, fearing that others will call them backward. Fifth, the credibility of Buddhist propagation has become too poor. Worldly people see only its harmful aspects and not its benefits; even those who know a little regard it as nonessential and believe there is no need to study it. |
| 不知人在康健时，看医药，真是不急之务，非到真正病苦时，不知道着急求医。 | They do not realize that, while one is healthy, medical treatment truly seems nonessential. Only when one actually suffers illness and pain does one know to seek a physician urgently. |
| 但如一个地方，从无医院，也无药房，到了临时急病，还来得及吗？我人不能听其自然，明知自力不足，苟有一分力量，可以贡献社会，不致害群众的事业，自当尽力帮助，用出无畏布施的精神来，先把金刚般若经的义理，用白话来介绍，小之可以解除人事闷苦，大之可以悟见自性成佛。 | But if a place has never had a hospital or pharmacy, will it still be in time when an acute illness suddenly arises? We cannot simply leave ourselves to nature. Knowing that our own strength is inadequate, if we possess even a fraction of strength that can contribute to society and to work that does not harm the public, we should naturally do our utmost to help. In the spirit of fearless giving, I shall first introduce the principles of the Diamond Prajñā Sūtra in plain language. On a small scale, they can relieve the vexations and sufferings of human affairs; on a great scale, they can enable one to awaken to and see one’s true nature and attain Buddhahood. |
| 果人人能通达无我无人的平等至理，才知佛法实不是迷信，不是消极，是为救世的大用，可以立个真正社会共荣的基础，那就尽了我个人的天职了。 | If everyone could comprehend the equal and ultimate principle of no self and no person, they would know that Buddhism truly is not superstition and is not passive. It is a great force for saving the world and can establish a genuine foundation for society’s shared flourishing. Then I will have fulfilled my personal duty to Heaven. |
| 又此书不但述金刚经的义理，还要把人生痛苦的根源，贪恶的习性，一一述出来。因世人不明社会共存的原理，只知自私自利，结果私也不成，利亦不得，只有受苦份罢了。 | Moreover, this book will not only explain the principles of the Diamond Sūtra; it will also set forth, one by one, the roots of human suffering and the habitual tendencies of greed and evil. Because worldly people do not understand the principle of social coexistence, they know only selfishness and self-interest. In the end, they achieve neither selfish aims nor profit, but only their allotted share of suffering. |
| 金刚经上说，不但对人要度他成佛，连胎卵湿化四生，都要度他成佛。还要自己不立这个功德见，自以为了不得，是讲到无我的极则了。虽人生一时或做不到，但先得有此心愿，具此精神，那就无事不可努力前进了。 | The Diamond Sūtra says that one should not only liberate people and help them attain Buddhahood, but should liberate all beings born from wombs, eggs, moisture, and transformation, and help them attain Buddhahood. One must also refrain from establishing a view of this merit, or regarding oneself as extraordinary. This reaches the ultimate point of selflessness. Though one may not be able to do this at once in human life, one must first have this aspiration and embody this spirit. Then there is nothing in which one cannot strive to advance. |
| 所以这书名为《金刚经白话述义》，实是社会学进行法门，开一条人人共进的道路，人人得心地光明，消灭了尔虞我诈的恐怖，表明佛法于世用的重要。又为便利读诵起见，改为白话体。又借用同仁研究金刚经的机会，编立这本讲义。至于经义深远，也不过述其万一，未尽的地方，还在各人自悟自得，非语言文字所可揭示的了。 | Therefore, this book is called A Plain-Language Explanation of the Diamond Sūtra. In fact, it is a practical dharma gate for social progress, opening a road on which all may advance together, enabling everyone to attain brightness in the mind-ground and dispelling the terror of mutual deception and fraud. It demonstrates the importance of Buddhism in worldly life. For the convenience of reading and recitation, it has been rendered in the vernacular. Taking the opportunity of fellow students’ study of the Diamond Sūtra, I have compiled these lecture notes. As for the profound and far-reaching meaning of the sūtra, I have explained no more than a small part of it. What remains lies in each person’s own awakening and realization; it cannot be revealed through language and writing. |
| 我们今日读金刚经，先当明白究竟为了何事？经于社会、人生，又有什么用处？但这个道理，世人很少明白，大都是求福报，求消灾免劫。而稍明佛理的人，才知读经可以见性成佛。 | As we read the Diamond Sūtra today, we must first understand: what, ultimately, is it for? What use does the sūtra have for society and human life? Few worldly people understand this. Most seek blessings and seek to avert disasters and calamities. Only those with some understanding of Buddhist principles know that reading the sūtras can enable one to see one’s true nature and attain Buddhahood. |
| 是的，但如何谓之见性，读经又如何能见性成佛，经又如何读法，亦全不去研究它。更有人说，见性成佛是菩萨的事，不是凡夫可以做到的。 | That is so. But what is meant by seeing one’s true nature? How can reading a sūtra enable one to see one’s true nature and attain Buddhahood? How should a sūtra be read? These questions, too, are not studied at all. Some even say that seeing one’s true nature and attaining Buddhahood is the affair of bodhisattvas, not something ordinary beings can accomplish. |
| 不知菩萨是生出来就是菩萨呢，还是由凡夫修成的呢？既是凡夫无望，那你读经做什么？人皆可以为尧舜，人人具有佛性，可以成佛，这个浅近的理，人人都知道的，你为什么要甘心没出息，自暴自弃，还要阻止人家发大心？造此恶业，岂不可怪？！ | Do they not know whether bodhisattvas are born as bodhisattvas, or whether they cultivate themselves from the state of ordinary beings? If ordinary beings have no hope, then why do you read sūtras? All people can become Yao and Shun; everyone possesses Buddha-nature and can attain Buddhahood. Everyone knows this simple principle. Why are you willing to remain without aspiration, to abandon and belittle yourself, and even to prevent others from arousing great resolve? Is it not strange to create such unwholesome karma? |
| 从来读经的人千千万万，解释经义的又不知多少，但知道受持的却很少很少。受持就是照经上去行，行是心行，心行才是真实受持，自己得受用，方有用处。即如经题是波罗蜜，是说到彼岸。 | Since ancient times, there have been thousands upon thousands who have read sūtras, and no one knows how many have explained their meanings, but very few have understood how to receive and uphold them. To receive and uphold means to practice according to the sūtra. Practice is the practice of mind, and only practice of mind is genuine receiving and upholding. Only when one personally receives its benefit does it become useful. For example, the title of this sūtra includes pāramitā, which means reaching the other shore. |
| 你试想想，你是不是在此岸？但又如何叫做此岸呢？倘真明白了此岸的苦厄，方有出离的决心。然世人未尝不知自心苦厄，又因不明正理，再加依赖习性，不图自了，但求人救，是以求佛求法求僧，离题更远了。 | Consider it: are you not on this shore? But what is meant by this shore? Only if one truly understands the suffering and perils of this shore can one have the resolve to leave it. Yet worldly people have never failed to know the suffering and perils in their own minds. Because they do not understand the true principle, and further rely on habitual tendencies, they do not seek to liberate themselves but only ask others to save them. Thus they seek the Buddha, seek the Dharma, and seek the Saṅgha, thereby straying still farther from the point. |
| 佛在华严会上，特许大心凡夫，此人虽未成菩萨，还在凡夫地位，但心量已大，是个法器，可以成就的。人有四种德性：一、不甘自弃，决信自己可以成佛无疑。二、平等慈视众生，皆可成佛，故能不轻后学。 | At the Avataṃsaka assembly, the Buddha specifically accepted ordinary beings of great resolve. Though such a person has not yet become a bodhisattva and still occupies the position of an ordinary being, his mind-capacity is already vast. He is a vessel of Dharma and can be brought to accomplishment. People of great resolve possess four virtues: first, they are unwilling to abandon themselves and firmly believe, without doubt, that they can attain Buddhahood. Second, they regard sentient beings with equal compassion, knowing that all can attain Buddhahood; therefore, they do not slight later learners. |
| 三、魄力胆量胜人，日后承当力大。四、不易受法缚，心量又活泼，除习气容易。有此四德，所以称大心。不是人人都能发大心的，有肯不肯的分别，肯发大心的人，都因夙世多种善根，此生便容易了。 | Third, their courage and boldness surpass those of others, and in the future they will bear great responsibilities. Fourth, they are not easily bound by Dharma, and their mind-capacity is lively, so they can readily remove habitual tendencies. Because they possess these four virtues, they are called people of great resolve. Not everyone can arouse great resolve; there is a distinction between those willing and unwilling to do so. Those willing to arouse great resolve have, because of many wholesome roots planted in former lives, an easier time in this life. |
| 读经先得明白本经的立场，金刚般若经是佛第四期说法，在般若部，中国已译的只六百卷当中的一部分，专明般若的体用。般若是梵文，华言大智慧，但不是智慧两个字可以尽其义的。 | Before reading a sūtra, one must first understand the standpoint of that sūtra. The Diamond Prajñā Sūtra was taught by the Buddha during the fourth period of his teaching. Within the Prajñā section, it is only one part of the six hundred fascicles translated in China, and it specifically clarifies the essence and function of prajñā. Prajñā is a Sanskrit word; in Chinese it is called great wisdom, but the two words “wisdom” cannot fully convey its meaning. |
| 当云“通达世间法，出世间法，圆融无碍，恰到好处，不执取于法的大智慧”，是般若义。金刚是表般若的体，由体起用，解决一切苦厄。波罗蜜，就是用，能够明白金刚般若的体，起随缘应世的用，这个人就算是佛。 | It should be called “the great wisdom that penetrates worldly dharmas and supramundane dharmas, harmonizes all things without obstruction, is appropriate in every respect, and does not attach to dharmas.” This is the meaning of prajñā. Vajra symbolizes the essence of prajñā. From essence, function arises, resolving all suffering and peril. Pāramitā is this function: if one can understand the essence of vajra prajñā and give rise to its function of responding to the world in accordance with conditions, that person may be considered a Buddha. |
| 倘一时尚做不到，但能够信心不逆，闻佛所说已能不惊不怖不畏，甚为希有，此人已是大乘最上乘的地位，所以此经名曰金刚般若波罗蜜。 | If one cannot yet do so at once, but has faith that does not turn back, and on hearing what the Buddha has taught is able not to be startled, frightened, or alarmed, this is exceedingly rare. Such a person already occupies the highest level of the Mahāyāna, the supreme vehicle. Therefore this sūtra is called the Vajra Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. |
| 如来为大乘者说，为最上乘者说，但佛是平等慈视众生的，不是专对大乘人教授，无论何人，只要是大乘根性，就有成就的资格，所谓根性的显发就是人的意境。 | The Tathāgata taught it for those of the Mahāyāna and for those of the supreme vehicle. But the Buddha regards sentient beings with equal compassion; he did not teach it exclusively to Mahāyāna practitioners. Whoever has the capacity for the Mahāyāna is qualified for accomplishment. What is called the manifestation of one’s capacity is a person’s spiritual outlook. |
| 圣凡的体，是不二的，圣凡的意境，却不同的，有人天的意境，有菩萨的意境，有佛的意境，你看经文里许多于意云何，就是引入意境去领会。这部经是说最上乘人的意境，是果位人的意境。 | The essence of sages and ordinary beings is nondual, but their spiritual outlooks differ. There are the outlooks of humans and devas, of bodhisattvas, and of Buddhas. The many instances of “What do you think?” in the sūtra guide one into this outlook so that one may understand. This sūtra speaks of the outlook of those of the supreme vehicle, the outlook of those at the fruition stage. |
| 不同这个意境的人，非但不懂其义，就是对他讲，也不能受持读诵，何况为人解说。因为他的根性是乐小法的，小法就是被自己的情见所惑，执著在我相，不能发大心的。 | Those who do not share this outlook not only fail to understand its meaning; even if it is explained to them, they cannot receive, uphold, read, or recite it, much less explain it to others. This is because their capacities delight in lesser dharmas. Lesser dharmas mean being deluded by one’s own emotional views, attached to the mark of self, and unable to arouse great resolve. |
| 所以经中说来说去，只在人去四相，要去四相先去我相，去就是勿执取，明悟这个我本是空，我身不是我，我心也不是我。身相心相，虽暂时似有，毕竟非实。 | Therefore, throughout the sūtra, the point is simply for people to relinquish the four marks. To relinquish the four marks, one must first relinquish the mark of self. To relinquish means not to attach. One must awaken to the fact that this self is originally empty: this body is not self, nor is this mind self. Though the marks of body and mind seem temporarily to exist, they are ultimately not real. |
| 因为非实，故云无实，因为暂有，故云无虚，只是缘生的，所以是空，你执取了有，固然不是，执取了空，也不是，即执取个非有非空，却也是执，也还不是。但明白这是个义，义即是法，即是名，根本都是空性。 | Because they are not real, they are said to be without substantial existence; because they temporarily appear, they are said not to be nonexistent. They arise only through conditions, and therefore are empty. To attach to existence is certainly mistaken; to attach to emptiness is also mistaken. Even attachment to neither existence nor emptiness is still attachment, and is likewise mistaken. But understand that this is a meaning; meaning is dharma, and dharma is a name. Fundamentally, all are empty in nature. |
| 因为世上一切一切，都不过是个假义，假法假名，我权立了一个假心，用来一时假用罢了。因为世上假人事，是不能废的，不许断灭的，只要你明白了不作真，不上当，修一切善法。 | For everything in the world is no more than a provisional meaning, a provisional dharma, and a provisional name. I provisionally establish a provisional mind, to be provisionally used for a time. The provisional human affairs of the world cannot be discarded; annihilationism is not permitted. One need only understand that they are not real, avoid being deceived by them, and cultivate all wholesome dharmas. |
| 善是善巧方便，能用善巧方便的法应付一切，那般若的妙用活用，就起来了。所以着不得一点相，先成个大自在的意境。能大自在的人，自己受用，即是功德。施之于人，即是大功德。 | Wholesomeness is skillful means. If one can use the dharma of skillful means to deal with all things, then the wondrous and living function of prajñā arises. Therefore one must not cling to even the slightest mark, but first establish a spiritual outlook of great freedom. For one who possesses great freedom, the benefit one receives oneself is merit and virtue. When bestowed upon others, it is great merit and virtue. |
| 推广开来，即是无量无边功德，即是荷担如来无上菩提的大事业。所以有功于世道人心的，功德不可称量。社会上的一切人事，本此建立，就转娑婆为极乐了。这是本经的立场，要首先明白的。 | When extended broadly, it becomes immeasurable and boundless merit and virtue; it becomes the great undertaking of taking up the Tathāgata’s unsurpassed bodhi. Therefore, the merit and virtue of benefiting the moral order of the world and the human mind cannot be measured. If all social and human affairs were established on this basis, the Sahā world would be transformed into the Land of Ultimate Bliss. This is the standpoint of this sūtra, and it must be understood first. |
| 次说金刚经的妙用，在表面上，处处讲般若无住的妙用，骨子里却点出金刚不动的性体。说体，是无形的，说相，是无相的，说用，是无住的。说无形的，是暗指人人同具的佛性，虽不可见，却是实有湛寂圆明，所以叫做实相。 | Next, let us speak of the wondrous function of the Diamond Sūtra. On the surface, it expounds everywhere the wondrous function of prajñā's non-abiding; at its core, however, it points out the unmoving essential nature of the vajra. Speaking of its essence, it is formless; speaking of its characteristics, it is without characteristics; speaking of its function, it is non-abiding. To speak of the formless is to allude to the Buddha-nature that all possess alike. Though it cannot be seen, it truly exists—limpidly still, complete, and luminous—and is therefore called true reality. |
| “实相者，即是非相。”就是说非同有相的相，是不可眼见的，但处处表现的如胎卵湿化的身相、动作相、语言相、文字相，连所受的福德相，心中缘起的善恶思想种种妄相，全从这实相里幻出。外形似乎变化不尽，但实相本体性，是不动不变的，所以叫做福德性，有形的是福德相。 | “True reality is precisely no characteristic.” This means that it is unlike characteristics that have form and can be seen with the eyes. Yet the bodily forms of those born from wombs, eggs, moisture, and transformation; the forms of action, speech, and writing; even the characteristics of the blessings one receives; and all the deluded appearances of wholesome and unwholesome thoughts arising through conditions in the mind—all are illusorily produced from this true reality. Outer forms seem to change without end, but the essential nature of true reality is unmoving and unchanging. This is called the nature of blessings; what has form is the characteristic of blessings. |
| 初步的功行，先破四相，粗的是四相，细的是四见，四相四见，把实相蒙住了，所以不见。譬如水，被波浪所迷糊了，就此不见，但水终究没有增损，波浪一息，水自见了。所以经中再三要破一切相。佛说凡所有相，皆是虚妄，若见诸相，非是真相，即见如来了，如来是指实相性体，见了实相，即同诸佛。 | The initial work of practice is first to break through the four characteristics. The coarse aspect consists of the four characteristics; the subtle aspect consists of the four views. The four characteristics and four views obscure true reality, and therefore it cannot be seen. It is like water: when one is confused by its waves, one no longer sees the water itself. Yet the water has never increased or diminished; once the waves subside, the water reveals itself. Therefore, the sūtra repeatedly urges us to break through all characteristics. The Buddha said, “All appearances whatsoever are false and illusory. If one sees all appearances as not being true appearances, one sees the Tathāgata.” The Tathāgata refers to the essential nature of true reality. To see true reality is to be the same as all Buddhas. |
| 修行人到了亲见实相之后，自然明白，了知一切一切，都从实相里幻出，一切处一切处，都不离我的实相，尽虚空，遍法界，无非是我的实相，我的佛性，我的妙用，我的大身。 | After practitioners directly see true reality, they naturally understand and know that everything whatsoever is illusorily produced from true reality. Everywhere, without exception, is inseparable from my true reality, my Buddha-nature, my wondrous functioning, my great body. Throughout empty space and pervading the dharma realm, there is nothing that is not my true reality. |
| 更知道人人如是，佛亦如是，尽虚空，遍法界，无非是人人的实相，人人的佛性，人人的妙用，人人的大身，不分胎卵湿化，有色无色，有想无想，一是平等，包罗万象。 | They further know that everyone is thus, and that Buddhas are likewise thus. Throughout empty space and pervading the dharma realm, there is nothing that is not everyone's true reality, everyone's Buddha-nature, everyone's wondrous functioning, and everyone's great body. There is no distinction among womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, or transformation-born beings; among those with form or without form, with perception or without perception. All are equal and encompass the myriad forms. |
| 此心廓然，无圣无凡，无人无我，我与众生，众生与我，一体性空，无彼无此，无冤无亲。何以故，一切同体，无生无灭，所以叫做大身。这是真见实相的人。此便是佛的意境，从般若中慧见的，不是世人情见分别所得的。 | This mind is vast and open: there are no sages and no ordinary beings, no person and no self. I and sentient beings, sentient beings and I, are one body, empty in nature; there is no other and no self, no enemy and no relative. Why? Because all are of one body, neither arising nor ceasing; therefore it is called the great body. This is the state of one who truly sees true reality. It is the Buddha's realm, perceived with wisdom through prajñā; it cannot be attained through the discriminating emotional views of worldly people. |
| 金刚经破四相是初步的入手方法，再深入去，不取法相，不离法相，就是不住于法，是破四见的功行。此心不被境转，不被法缚，微细微细处，并不受佛缚，不受经缚，不受功德心所缚，只一无住，便缚不住了。 | Breaking through the four characteristics in the Diamond Sūtra is the initial method of entry. Going deeper, neither grasping dharma characteristics nor departing from dharma characteristics means not abiding in dharmas; this is the work of breaking through the four views. This mind is not turned by circumstances and is not bound by dharmas. At the most subtle and minute level, it is not bound by the Buddha, not bound by sūtras, and not bound by thoughts of merit and virtue. With non-abiding alone, it cannot be bound. |
| 因为晓得一切法，一切见，总是有为法，如梦幻泡影，但不取有为，也不离有为。譬如走路，步步踏着砖走过去，步步不离砖，但总不曾带走一块砖去。 | This is because one knows that all dharmas and all views are conditioned dharmas, like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows. Yet one neither grasps conditioned dharmas nor departs from them. It is like walking: one steps on bricks with every step, never leaving the bricks, yet one never carries away a single brick. |
| 如是行云流水，应付世上的事，只如是知，如是见，如是信解，不要再添什么道理，反又迷了。所以说不生法相，这才是如如不动。如如是活泼泼的妙用，不动是未尝离了金刚性体，这是深的般若波罗蜜多。所以须菩提说，离一切诸相，即名诸佛，佛所以许了他，说如是如是。 | Thus, like drifting clouds and flowing water, one responds to the affairs of the world: one simply knows thus, sees thus, and understands through faith thus. Do not add any further doctrine, for that will only lead one back into delusion. Therefore it is said not to give rise to dharma characteristics. Only this is thusness that does not move. Thusness is lively wondrous functioning; not moving means never having departed from the vajra's essential nature. This is profound prajñāpāramitā. Therefore Subhūti said, “To depart from all characteristics is called all Buddhas.” The Buddha approved this, saying, “So it is, so it is.” |
| 般若妙用，只是在一切，著不得一点，一著就落住了。如上面“离一切诸相，即名诸佛”两句，细细研究，说“离一切相即佛”，有六个字，就够了，但何以上句要加个诸字呢？是言连离的相也要离去，不许著一点。 | The wondrous function of prajñā consists simply in not attaching to anything at all; the moment one attaches, one falls into abiding. Consider carefully the two clauses above: “To depart from all characteristics is called all Buddhas.” If it merely meant “To depart from all characteristics is Buddha,” six characters would suffice. Why, then, does the first clause add the word “all”? It means that even the characteristics one departs from must be left behind; one must not attach in the slightest. |
| 诸字，连离相也在内的。 | The word “all” includes even the characteristic of departure itself. |
| 下一句又加上名诸两个字，恐人又执取了佛，又受了佛缚，要使你知道佛亦性空，不过是个假名，没有实体，切莫上当，自生法相，全经中往往有三句，如佛说般若波罗蜜，即非般若波罗蜜，是名般若波罗蜜。 | The next clause further adds the words “is called all.” This is for fear that people may again grasp at Buddha and be bound by Buddha. It is to make you understand that Buddha too is empty in nature, merely a provisional name without any substantial entity. Do not be deceived and give rise to dharma characteristics on your own. Throughout the entire sūtra, there are often three clauses, as in: “The Buddha speaks of prajñāpāramitā; it is not prajñāpāramitā; it is called prajñāpāramitā.” |
| 佛说，是不得已而说，不是佛的执有；即非，是言本来性空，不是要你取著；是名，是因为不可断灭了去，一切原不过是个名而已。 | “The Buddha speaks of” means that he speaks out of necessity; it does not mean that the Buddha clings to its existence. “It is not” means that it is originally empty in nature; it does not tell you to grasp it. “It is called” means that it must not be annihilated, for everything is originally no more than a name. |
| 你想世界上一切一切，哪一处哪一点，能离了名字？总是个名在那里布弄，世上千千万万的我见我执，人事纷纭，都是自己上名的当。明明说是名，明明虚幻不实，但愚人总跳不出这圈子去，因此苦无尽期。 | Consider this: in all the world, what place or thing can be apart from names? It is always names that are manipulating matters. The countless views of self and attachments to self, and the tangled affairs of human life, all arise because people are deceived by names. Though it is plainly said to be merely called such, plainly unreal and unsubstantial, foolish people can never leap out of this circle; therefore their suffering has no end. |
| 佛要我们深悟般若无住的妙用，把所有一切一切，如世间法出世法，轻轻用是名两个字，一刀斩却，直截痛快，一了百了，前不落空，中不落有，后不断灭，如鸟飞空中，虽有来去诸相，却无迹可觅。这是金刚般若经的妙用，世人能用在人事上，就无一事不圆满了。 | The Buddha wants us deeply to realize the wondrous function of prajñā's non-abiding. With the two words “is called,” lightly cut through everything—worldly dharmas and supramundane dharmas alike—with a single stroke of the blade: direct and decisive, settling a hundred matters at once. In the beginning, do not fall into emptiness; in the middle, do not fall into existence; in the end, do not fall into annihilation. It is like a bird flying through the sky: though there are the various appearances of coming and going, no trace can be found. This is the wondrous function of the Diamond Prajñā Sūtra. If worldly people can apply it in human affairs, there will be no matter that is not brought to fulfillment. |
| 讲到般若，是说心的灵用，绝无定法，不可测知。你用意识去分别它，就不见了。正如龙戏大海，翻腾飞舞，没有你捉摸处。 | When speaking of prajñā, one speaks of the mind's numinous functioning. It has absolutely no fixed dharma and cannot be measured or known. If you use discriminating consciousness to distinguish it, it disappears from sight. It is like a dragon sporting in the great ocean, leaping, churning, and soaring, leaving nowhere for you to grasp. |
| 所以解释经文，也无定法，要忽前忽后，忽有忽空，使对方心先放大了，如东方虚空，可思量否？南西北方四维上下虚空，可思量否？心同十方虚空的广大无著，才可以入无住的意境。 | Therefore there is no fixed method for explaining the sūtra either. One must move suddenly forward and backward, from existence to emptiness, so that the listener's mind first expands, like the empty sky of the east. Can it be conceived? Can the empty sky in the south, west, north, the intermediate directions, above, and below be conceived? Only when the mind is as vast and unattached as the space of the ten directions can one enter the realm of non-abiding. |
| 次将此心打杀了，无我无人，连最大的功德心也没有，如度尽无量无边众生，都入了无余涅槃，就是成了佛。我心中若无其事，因我与众生，无不性空。 | Next, put this mind to death: there is no self and no person, not even the thought of the greatest merit and virtue. Though one liberates immeasurable, boundless sentient beings, causing them all to enter nirvana without remainder, and thereby becomes a Buddha, in my mind it is as though nothing has occurred, because both I and sentient beings are empty in nature. |
| 再次，明白我心众生心，根本是不可得，处处空灵，般若的机用始开，开了灵机，那实相自然而见。所以读般若经，不同余书，切不可咬文嚼字，在字音上、字句多少上和四句偈上打算，反使灵机窒碍了。 | Further, understand that my mind and the minds of sentient beings are fundamentally unobtainable and everywhere empty and numinous. Then prajñā's capacity for functioning begins to open. Once this numinous capacity has opened, true reality naturally appears. Therefore, reading the Prajñā Sūtras differs from reading other books. One must never pick apart words and chew over phrases, calculating over pronunciation, the number of words and sentences, or four-line verses; this instead obstructs the numinous capacity. |
| 四句偈，是说一行，梵文无行，总成四句，就说有一行也够了，只要你通达其义，能够活用活参，随时随句，可以玩味，得其神妙。 | A four-line verse means one line. Sanskrit has no lines; it is conventionally arranged into four phrases. To say that there is one line would also suffice. So long as you penetrate its meaning and can apply and investigate it flexibly, you may contemplate it at any time and in any phrase, and attain its spiritual subtlety. |
| 经要多读，文句熟了，熟了之后，不拘何句，触机即发，听讲时，点到哪一句，忽然明悟，这才是真受用。倘不解义理，如同嚼蜡，一无滋味，又有何用？所以一面读，一面要明解经中义趣，那就近了。近是近于世用了。 | The sūtra should be read often. Once its sentences become familiar, then, regardless of which sentence it is, an appropriate occasion will trigger insight. When listening to an explanation, if a particular sentence is mentioned and you suddenly awaken, that is true benefit. If you do not understand its principles and meaning, it is like chewing wax: there is no flavor at all. What use is it then? Therefore, while reading, one must also understand the import of the sūtra. That brings one nearer—nearer to its application in the world. |
| 每日试验，用在人事上，久久不觉同化，妙用自然而启。般若妙机，以前世种植善根，今生自会启发，心无所执，心自灵活，不同凡见，自然入圣。这全是般若的功行，切不可看轻了他。 | Test it daily by applying it in human affairs. Over time, without noticing it, you will become assimilated to it, and its wondrous functioning will naturally open forth. The wondrous capacity of prajñā arises from wholesome roots planted in previous lives and naturally unfolds in this life. When the mind clings to nothing, it becomes naturally agile; unlike ordinary views, it naturally enters the sacred. All this is the work of prajñā. Never regard it lightly. |
| 凡未曾深达实相的人，也往往好谈般若。因为功夫不深，不觉流入于妄谈般若的病。譬如初学医的人，粗知药性，乱开医方，不觉误了人命，此切切不可。但考其原因，也由于夙世有过一点根器来，否则也谈不出。 | Those who have never deeply penetrated true reality often enjoy talking about prajñā. Because their practice is shallow, they unwittingly fall into the error of idle talk about prajñā. It is like a novice student of medicine who has only a crude knowledge of medicinal properties and recklessly writes prescriptions, inadvertently endangering lives. This must absolutely not be done. Yet, examining its cause, such people also possess some spiritual capacity from former lives; otherwise, they could not even speak of it. |
| 加以自己无明我见，夹杂在内，自误误人，添诸罪业，此不可不防。所以般若剑，弄得不好，伤了自己，杀了人，还不自知。 | Moreover, their own ignorance and view of self become mixed into it. They mislead themselves and others, adding to their karmic offenses. This is something against which one must guard. Thus, if the sword of prajñā is handled badly, it injures oneself and kills others, while one does not even know it. |
| 若要辨别这个毛病，须看出言吐语，是不是有我见在内，是不是有名心法执在内，是不是合凑对方的机而说。如其人不可谈而与之谈，是妄。可与谈而不与之谈，也是妄。自己不可与人谈而谈，是妄。 | To discern this fault, one must examine whether one's words contain views of self, whether they contain attachment to name and dharma, and whether they are spoken in accord with the other person's capacity. To speak to someone who cannot be spoken to is delusion. Not to speak to someone who can be spoken to is also delusion. To speak with others when one oneself is not fit to do so is delusion. |
| 自己可以与人谈而吝法勿谈，也是妄。自己未明其义，见人谈般若无从测知而亦妄加批评，都是妄。至于般若，是圆融无碍，不得著一点心，何况有骄慢心名心胜负心夹杂在内，只看他多所诤论，好世智强辨，即是妄作。 | When one is able to speak with others but begrudges the Dharma and refuses to speak, that too is delusion. When one has not understood its meaning, sees others discussing prajñā beyond one's ability to fathom, and rashly criticizes them, that too is delusion. Prajñā is perfectly harmonized and unobstructed, and one must not attach even a trace of mind to it. How much less should arrogance, concern for reputation, or competitiveness be mixed into it? If one engages in much disputation and delights in clever worldly argument, that is deluded activity. |
| 所以要谦虚，不可自大。佛对须菩提说，你成了四果，所修由须陀洹至阿罗汉，自己以为有果可得，有道可成否？倘著此念，便落四相，中间菩萨不必说，连我佛自己，夙世在燃灯佛所，于法也无所得，岂可自以为胜而骄于人么？ | Therefore one must be humble and not conceited. The Buddha said to Subhūti: when you attained the four fruits, progressing in cultivation from srotāpanna to arhat, did you yourself suppose that there was a fruit to be attained or a path to be accomplished? If you cling to such a thought, you fall into the four characteristics. There is no need even to mention bodhisattvas. Even I, the Buddha, when in former times I was with Dīpaṅkara Buddha, obtained nothing in regard to dharmas. How, then, could one consider oneself superior and be arrogant toward others? |
| 此经以金刚为体，以离相为相，以无住为用。体比喻其坚，相比喻其明，用比喻其利，合此三德，以表般若的圆融广大。这部经，经过六次翻译了，以鸠摩罗什译得最胜，合我们东土人的意境，文笔也极灵活，所以人人喜读。 | This sūtra takes the vajra as its essence, departure from characteristics as its characteristic, and non-abiding as its function. Its essence symbolizes firmness, its characteristic symbolizes luminosity, and its function symbolizes sharpness. These three virtues together express the perfectly harmonized vastness of prajñā. This sūtra has been translated six times; Kumārajīva's translation is the finest. It accords with the sensibility of our people in China, and its prose is exceptionally lively, which is why everyone enjoys reading it. |
| 六种翻译中，以隋译是梵文对照而译，不按中国文法，所以难解。金刚经义理很深，佛说法四十九年，其中有二十九年专说般若的。其实五期中无一处无一时无一句不是说般若。 | Among the six translations, the Sui translation renders the Sanskrit in direct correspondence, without following Chinese grammar, and is therefore difficult to understand. The principles of the Diamond Sūtra are very profound. During the Buddha's forty-nine years of teaching, he devoted twenty-nine years specifically to expounding prajñā. In fact, among the five periods, there was not a place, time, or sentence that was not an exposition of prajñā. |
| 不过专说般若的，前后共十六会，这是中国已译般若部六百卷中一部分，各家注解，不知有多少。 | However, the specific expositions of prajñā comprise sixteen assemblies in all. They form one part of the six hundred Chinese-translated fascicles of the Prajñā section, and there are countless commentaries by different authors. |
| 当初有个无著菩萨，入日光定，上升兜率天，请弥勒菩萨解说经义，菩萨传了八十章偈颂，无著传给他兄弟天亲，令造一部金刚经论，按二十七疑立论。无著意尚未足，自己又造了一论，分十八住，后来功德施又造一论。 | In former times, there was the bodhisattva Asaṅga. Entering the Sunlight Samādhi, he ascended to Tuṣita Heaven and requested Maitreya Bodhisattva to explain the meaning of the sūtra. The bodhisattva transmitted eighty verses to him. Asaṅga passed them on to his brother Vasubandhu and instructed him to compose a treatise on the Diamond Sūtra, structured around twenty-seven doubts. Asaṅga was still not fully satisfied, so he himself composed another treatise, divided into eighteen stages of abiding. Later, Guṇamati also composed a treatise. |
| 这前四种，专解释金刚经的，只是文义太深，还是不懂。 | These first four works specialize in explaining the Diamond Sūtra, but their wording and meaning are too profound, and they still remain difficult to understand. |
| 后来中国各家，如唐朝窥基大师、圭峰大师，宋朝的长水子，都有注释，不过前四种论到中国在后，梁昭明太子不曾见到，因此判金刚经三十二分，虽煞费苦心，却不能说出所以然来。 | Later, Chinese masters of various schools—including Master Kuiji and Master Guifeng of the Tang dynasty, and Changshui Zi of the Song dynasty—wrote commentaries on it. But the first four commentaries reached China only afterward, and Crown Prince Zhaoming of Liang had never seen them. Thus, although he divided the Diamond Sūtra into thirty-two sections with great painstaking effort, he could not explain the rationale for doing so. |
| 其实经文虽千注万判，也分不清的，是在各人自己修证后的领悟，悟得深，见到亦深。但不受持，照经上去做，也还是不能深悟的。要得受用，自非亲历不可。所以宗下首重见性，开了眼，再去看经，头头是道。所谓由体起用，从根本智，开发后得智，是修行正路也，正是心中心密法入门开启般若的捷径。 | In fact, even with a thousand commentaries and ten thousand divisions of the sūtra text, it cannot be fully distinguished. It depends on each person’s understanding after practice and realization: the deeper one’s awakening, the deeper one sees. Yet if one does not uphold the teaching and act in accordance with the sūtra, one still cannot awaken deeply. To derive benefit from it, one must undergo it personally. Therefore, the Chan school places primary emphasis on seeing one’s true nature. Once one’s eyes have been opened, one may read the sūtras again and find that every point is meaningful. This is what is meant by giving rise to function from essence and, from fundamental wisdom, developing differentiated wisdom. It is the proper path of practice, and precisely the shortcut by which the Heart-of-Heart Dharma opens the gate to prajñā. |
| 佛说法只是随说，随时随地随机而说。尤其是般若，更无定法。我们今日参究，虽不必拘定何章何偈何句，然此经先后次第，有条不紊，我们也得逐段来参。此经大体分几大段： | When the Buddha taught, he simply taught in response to the occasion, at whatever time and place, according to the capacities of those before him. Prajñā in particular has no fixed teaching. Although in our inquiry today we need not rigidly adhere to any particular chapter, verse, or sentence, this sūtra proceeds in an orderly sequence, and we too must examine it section by section. Broadly speaking, this sūtra may be divided into several major parts: |
| 第一段，是佛不开口说法，以身教，以意授，名不说说。由“如是我闻”至“敷座而坐”止。只有大乘菩萨看得懂。此段佛在动作上、态度上，表六波罗蜜的行相。如乞食，是表布施波罗蜜。 | The first part is where the Buddha teaches without opening his mouth: he teaches by his bodily conduct and transmits through intention. This is called teaching without speaking. It extends from “Thus have I heard” to “spread his seat and sat down.” Only Mahāyāna bodhisattvas can understand it. In this section, the Buddha’s movements and demeanor express the forms of practice of the six pāramitās. For example, going out for alms expresses the pāramitā of generosity. |
| 于食时，著衣持钵，躬行走乞，是表持戒波罗蜜。次第乞已，不择贵贱精粗，是表忍辱波罗蜜。收衣钵，洗足，经常如是，是表精进波罗蜜。敷座而坐，是表禅定波罗蜜。 | At mealtime, putting on his robe, taking up his bowl, and personally going to beg for alms express the pāramitā of observing the precepts. Begging in order, without choosing between noble and lowly or fine and coarse food, expresses the pāramitā of patience. Putting away his robe and bowl, washing his feet, and regularly doing so express the pāramitā of diligence. Spreading his seat and sitting down expresses the pāramitā of meditative stability. |
| 五处全是般若行，正表般若波罗蜜，即在行住坐卧之中，处处可见，但无可言说，只如是而已。可知般若功行，全由里面发出，不能丝毫做作。所谓蕴于中，形于外，神露于不知不觉间，绝不著意，正表无住的意境，般若妙用，全盘披露，这是佛不开口的说法境。 | These five actions are all practices of prajñā, and they directly express the pāramitā of prajñā. It can be seen everywhere in walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, yet it cannot be spoken of; it is simply thus. This shows that the practices of prajñā arise entirely from within and cannot contain the slightest contrivance. What is contained within takes form without; spiritual radiance reveals itself unconsciously and spontaneously, without deliberate attention. This precisely expresses the realm of non-abiding. The wondrous functioning of prajñā is fully disclosed: this is the Buddha’s teaching without opening his mouth. |
| 第二段，由“时长老须菩提”起至“愿乐欲闻”止。上面佛的意境动作，正是说无相法，而许多人不懂其机，只有须菩提感觉了。 | The second part extends from “At that time, Elder Subhūti” to “we joyfully wish to hear.” The Buddha’s demeanor and actions above were themselves an exposition of the Dharma of non-appearance, but many did not understand the occasion; only Subhūti sensed it. |
| 但会上无量诸大菩萨，岂有不懂，何以不问呢？因为须菩提虽是东方青龙陀如来化生，但特意现声闻身，来此土助佛行化，在许多声闻中，是为上首，与诸声闻同是朋类容易接近，又大都不敢启闻。 | But among the immeasurable great bodhisattvas in the assembly, how could there have been none who understood? Why did they not ask? Although Subhūti was an emanation of the Tathāgata Qinglongtuo of the East, he deliberately appeared in the form of a śrāvaka and came to this land to assist the Buddha in teaching and transforming beings. Among the many śrāvakas he was their foremost disciple. Being of the same kind, he could more readily approach the other śrāvakas, most of whom also did not dare to ask for instruction. |
| 他所以特地设问，在大众之中起来，把右肩袒了，是表示坦白忏悔，右膝著地，坐起半个身子，是请问的仪式。从右的道理，是因为右边手足，动作多，作恶也多，是表降伏的意思。合掌，是表彼此心心相合。 | This was why he deliberately raised the question. Rising amid the assembly, exposing his right shoulder, he expressed candid repentance. Placing his right knee on the ground and raising half his body from his seat constituted the formal manner of asking a question. The significance of the right side is that the right hand and foot act more often and thus commit more evil; it symbolizes subduing them. Joining the palms symbolizes the mutual union of mind with mind. |
| 如是恭敬，方可请问。说希有世尊，不是说世尊的希有，是说今日世尊的行动不是普通人可测，用意深妙，实为希有。但我知如来是不舍一众生的，对于大菩萨，不必定要开口付嘱，只如是引逗，随机表演，正是护念。 | Only with such reverence could he ask a question. By saying, “Rare, World-Honored One,” he was not calling the World-Honored One rare; he meant that the World-Honored One’s actions that day were beyond the measure of ordinary people, profound and subtle in intent, and truly extraordinary. Yet I know that the Tathāgata does not abandon a single sentient being. For great bodhisattvas, there is no need always to entrust them with instructions verbally; simply drawing them forth in this way and responding to their capacities through manifestation is itself mindfulness and protection. |
| 然亦不废言说，同时对于小菩萨，亦尽情付嘱，并且善于随机而说。 | Yet this does not dispense with verbal teaching. At the same time, for lesser bodhisattvas, he fully entrusts the teaching to them and is skillful in speaking according to their capacities. |
| 所以我请问世尊，一班善男女，个个想发菩提心，但苦于无可捉摸，应该如何样得个安住、得个降心的法子呢？在梵文原文上本有如何修持一句，罗什法师却取消了。因为安住降心，即是修持，可以不必再多此句。 | Therefore I ask the World-Honored One: all these good men and good women wish to arouse bodhicitta, but they suffer because they cannot grasp how to do so. How should they find a way to abide and to subdue their minds? The Sanskrit original includes the phrase “how should they cultivate,” but Master Kumārajīva omitted it. Since abiding and subduing the mind are themselves cultivation, there was no need to add that phrase. |
| 般若的妙用，在扫荡心上法垢，第一要干净明简，容易使人显畅，所以他的译笔特别好。韩文公早年辟佛，后来从大颠和尚，深通禅意，并且自认文章不如他。 | The wondrous functioning of prajñā lies in sweeping away the defilements of dharmas from the mind. Above all, it must be clean, clear, and simple, so that people may readily attain open understanding. This is why his translation style is particularly fine. In his early years, Han Yu opposed Buddhism, but later studied under Chan Master Dadian, penetrated deeply into the meaning of Chan, and even acknowledged that his own writing was inferior to Dadian’s. |
| 可见文章原是表意，意境越高，文章越古，然而意境不高，也是表达不出的。当时佛赞叹须菩提善哉善哉，是叹伊居然懂得机了，所以许可他。 | This shows that writing originally serves to express meaning: the loftier the spiritual realm, the more classical the writing. Yet if one’s spiritual realm is not lofty, one cannot express it at all. At that time the Buddha praised Subhūti, saying, “Excellent, excellent,” because he marveled that Subhūti had understood the occasion, and thus granted him permission to ask. |
| 诚如你所说，如来确是这样的，你今要专心细听，我替你说，你要知道，善男女，要发无上菩提心，并无别法，也只要这样就安住了，心就降伏了。 | Just as you have said, the Tathāgata is indeed so. Now listen with focused attention, and I shall explain it to you. You should know that good men and good women who wish to arouse unsurpassed bodhicitta need no other method: simply in this way they abide, and in this way their minds are subdued. |
| 佛只说这两句，下面不说了，须菩提就悟到这纯是行云流水，心无可住的无上法门，只不能说出，大皆只要如佛的如是办法好了。 | The Buddha spoke only these two sentences and said no more. Subhūti then awakened to the fact that this was entirely like floating clouds and flowing water—the unsurpassed Dharma gate in which the mind has nowhere to abide. He simply could not put it into words. In general, one need only follow the Buddha’s method of suchness. |
| 诸位要晓得，世上的事，本不过如是，马虎不得，认真不得，本来是空，你当真了，未免太苦了，你当假了，又未免太无味了。 | You should understand that worldly affairs are simply thus. They cannot be treated carelessly, yet they cannot be taken too seriously. Originally they are empty: if you take them as real, you will suffer too much; if you take them as false, they will seem altogether tasteless. |
| 一切明知是假，今正用时，暂时不必作假，时候一过，变化生灭，哪里是实在永久的呢？譬如夏天用冰，冬天用火，有就用，没有就算了，原不过一时的缘会，不必特意去执取好坏，心就自在广大，不被境夺，不被见迷，苦厄自断了。 | Although one clearly knows that everything is provisional, while using it one need not for the moment regard it as false. Once the time has passed, it changes, arises, and ceases; where is anything truly permanent? For example, one uses ice in summer and fire in winter. If they are available, use them; if not, let them be. They are merely a temporary conjunction of conditions. There is no need deliberately to cling to good or bad. Then the mind becomes free and expansive, not seized by circumstances or deluded by views, and suffering and adversity cease of themselves. |
| 这是心不住法的妙用。心果不住，那末无心可降，寂灭的景象自见，这就安住了。此是釜底抽薪法，简捷了当。但此意只可神会，所以须菩提说，呀，是了，唯、然两个字，作两句，正表自己领会了。但我一人觉知，大众尚未明白，愿乐欲闻，尚愿世尊慈悲，开口宣示，以解众惑，于是再请佛说法。 | This is the wondrous functioning of a mind that does not abide in dharmas. If the mind truly does not abide, there is no mind to subdue; the state of quiescence and cessation reveals itself naturally, and this is abiding. It is the method of removing the fuel from beneath the cauldron—direct and swift. But this meaning can only be apprehended inwardly. Thus Subhūti said, “Ah, yes.” The two words “yes” and “indeed” are treated as two sentences, precisely indicating that he himself understood. Yet although I alone have realized it, the assembly has not yet understood. “We joyfully wish to hear” means that they still wished the World-Honored One compassionately to speak and explain, thereby resolving the doubts of the assembly. Thus he again asked the Buddha to teach the Dharma. |
| 第三段，由“佛告须菩提”至“则非菩萨”止。凡成佛也必要有资粮，譬如出门要带食粮本钱方才可以就道，度众生是成佛的资粮。 | The third part extends from “The Buddha told Subhūti” to “then he is not a bodhisattva.” To become a Buddha, one must also have provisions. Just as one setting out on a journey must carry food and travel funds, liberating sentient beings is the provision for becoming a Buddha. |
| 众生有外众生，即胎卵湿化等四众；有内众生，即是自己的无明，由无明发挥贪嗔痴三毒，养成六道轮回，所以先自度成佛，再度外众生，明心见性，是根本办法。这一段是成佛的资粮分，是说到降心的极则，无可再加的了。 | There are external sentient beings, namely the four kinds born from womb, egg, moisture, and transformation. There are also internal sentient beings, namely one’s own ignorance. From ignorance arise the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance, which foster rebirth in the six realms. Therefore, one must first liberate oneself and become a Buddha, and then liberate external sentient beings. Realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature is the fundamental method. This section concerns the provisions for Buddhahood and speaks of the ultimate extent of subduing the mind, beyond which nothing can be added. |
| 降心即须空心。但心本来空，因众生情见坚固，养成个有心的习惯，久之认为心是实有的，把本来空忘记了。 | To subdue the mind, one must empty the mind. But the mind is originally empty. Because sentient beings’ emotional views are firmly entrenched, they develop the habit of regarding the mind as existent. Over time, they take the mind to be truly existent and forget that it is originally empty. |
| 但心如何习惯成有呢？又如何坚固呢？是由于爱，爱是我爱，最深的是法爱，就是我见，爱我见，甚于一切，所以破人我容易，破法我难，总是求个心上一时的安适，不是求个究竟安适。 | But how does the mind acquire the habit of being regarded as existent? And how does this habit become so firmly entrenched? It is because of attachment—attachment to self. The deepest attachment is attachment to dharmas, namely self-view: attachment to self-view surpasses all else. Therefore, it is easier to overcome the personal self than the dharma-self. One is always seeking a momentary comfort for the mind, rather than ultimate ease. |
| 譬如我有个单面的道理，自己也明知道是勉强的，只要有人反对，就马上不高兴。或对方地位不如我的，就可以动怒。假如有人赞成，就立刻欢喜。或对方地位高于我的，也来赞成，又觉得特别光荣体面。 | For example, I may hold a one-sided opinion and know perfectly well that it is forced. Yet if someone opposes it, I immediately become unhappy. Or, if that person’s status is lower than mine, I may become angry. If someone agrees with me, I immediately rejoice. If someone of higher status also agrees with me, I feel especially honored and gratified. |
| 你想难不难呢？但这个我见，还容易牺牲的，独有名心，如我的正理，我的善举，我的功德，无人可及，正要有人赞扬，若使有人反对，是断断不肯的。那个我相，又特别的坚强了。所以自己的名心功德见肯牺牲了，才是无我。 | Do you not see how difficult this is? Yet this self-view is still comparatively easy to relinquish. What is unique is the mind attached to reputation: “My correct principles, my good deeds, my merit and virtue—none can compare with them.” One is just waiting for others to praise them; if anyone opposes them, one absolutely refuses to accept it. That self-image becomes especially strong. Only when one is willing to relinquish one’s attachment to reputation, merit and virtue, and views can one be without self. |
| 而我一身的大功德，无过成佛。 | And among all the great merits of one’s life, none surpasses becoming a Buddha. |
| 要成佛，不算稀奇，连度众生成佛，也还不算稀奇，甚至把大千世界众生，从胎卵湿化，下至地狱众生，上至色界天、无色界天，乃至非想非非想处天，我统统度尽，个个到无余涅槃成佛，如是度了无量无数无边众生，功德还有可比拟的么？但我心中，若没有这件事，也毫不稀奇，因为众生与我，大皆本是佛，本是性空。 | To become a Buddha is not especially remarkable. Even becoming a Buddha through liberating sentient beings is not especially remarkable. Suppose I liberate all sentient beings throughout the great thousand-world system—from those born of womb, egg, moisture, and transformation, down to the beings in hell, and up to the heavens of the form realm, the formless realm, and even the heaven of neither perception nor non-perception—and bring every one of them to Buddhahood in nirvāṇa without remainder. Having thus liberated immeasurable, innumerable, boundless sentient beings, could any merit and virtue compare with this? Yet if my mind contains no such thing, it is still not at all remarkable, because sentient beings and I are all originally Buddhas and originally empty in nature. |
| 因为不空，著了我见，所以不成佛。今立了能度的心，便是我相，立了所度的众生心，便是人相，立了许多法见，如是广大功德等心，便是众生相。 | Because one is not empty and clings to self-view, one does not become a Buddha. Once one posits a mind that can liberate, that is the mark of self. Once one posits sentient beings to be liberated, that is the mark of persons. Once one establishes many dharma-views, such as thoughts of such vast merit and virtue, that is the mark of sentient beings. |
| 众生即是烦恼的别名，立了这个见，永永要保留，如寿命的不肯布施，舍去这个心是寿者相，有了四相，我见横生，自己的心，又如何空，如何降伏呢？自己未度，又如何度人呢？既不能自度，又不能度人，又如何称菩萨呢？菩萨是觉有情，觉了自己不算，还要觉一切有情；所以称摩诃萨，就是说大，要能如是广大，才堪称大菩萨。 | Sentient beings is another name for afflictions. Once this view is established, one wishes to preserve it forever. Refusing to give up one’s life as though it were one’s lifespan, and refusing to relinquish this mind, is the mark of lifespan. With the four marks present, self-view arises unchecked. How can one’s mind then be empty? How can it be subdued? If one has not liberated oneself, how can one liberate others? If one can neither liberate oneself nor liberate others, how can one be called a bodhisattva? A bodhisattva is an awakened sentient being: awakening oneself is not enough; one must also awaken all sentient beings. This is why one is called a mahāsattva—that is, a great being. Only one who can be thus vast may be called a great bodhisattva. |
| 佛告须菩提，是极郑重的辞句，这一段，佛斩金截铁地说，菩萨摩诃萨，必得如是心空无见，才是真无我，真正无心可降，为全经的纲领，一切众生成佛的条件。 | “The Buddha told Subhūti” is an extremely solemn expression. In this section, the Buddha states with decisive clarity that a bodhisattva mahāsattva must empty the mind in this way and be free of views. Only then is there true selflessness and truly no mind to subdue. This is the guiding principle of the entire sūtra and the condition for all sentient beings to become Buddhas. |
| 你想如是大事，尚且不以为胜，那末世上还有什么事不可解决的，不可牺牲的，不可退让的呢？看一切真不值半文钱，任何许多好处，若利若名，都不得动我的心了，那贪污心、狠毒心、痴迷心，三个无明心，无根可生，无处可 | If one does not regard even such a great matter as exceptional, what worldly matter remains that cannot be resolved, relinquished, or yielded? One sees that everything is truly not worth half a penny. No matter how many benefits there may be, whether profit or reputation, none can move one’s mind. Then the minds of greed, cruelty, and delusion—the three minds of ignorance—have no root from which to grow and no place in which to abide; |
| 存，当下便是极乐，又非成佛而何呢？此段需要特别体会，逢到烦恼不可解决时，把这段记一记，你的苦自然化去了。全经的总纲说过了，下面再说无住的办法。 | at that very moment one is in ultimate bliss. What else could this be but Buddhahood? This section requires special contemplation. Whenever you encounter afflictions that seem impossible to resolve, recall this section, and your suffering will naturally dissolve. Having explained the general outline of the entire sūtra, it now proceeds to explain the method of non-abiding. |
| 第四段，由“复次须菩提”至“菩萨但应如所教住”。 | The fourth section, from “Furthermore, Subhūti” to “A bodhisattva should only abide as taught.” |
| 复次，就是次说，菩萨对于一切法、一切心，应该一切无所住，先把布施来代表，说一个波罗蜜，即是六个波罗蜜，十波罗蜜，八万四千波罗蜜，千法万法，统把布施来代表。 | “Furthermore” means to speak again. With regard to all dharmas and all mental states, bodhisattvas should abide nowhere. First, generosity is taken as representative: to speak of one pāramitā is to speak of the six pāramitās, the ten pāramitās, the eighty-four thousand pāramitās, the thousand dharmas and myriad dharmas—all are represented by generosity. |
| 你应该对于外境六尘，声色香味触法，都不要染著，你一执取于相，就住了，住就染著了，不能解脱了，所以不废布施等等动作，只是不要著，著就立相了，立相就有心了，有心就小了，小就所见不大，取一则漏万，不能广大圆遍。 | With regard to the six external sense objects—form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas—you should not become attached. Once you grasp at appearances, you abide; once you abide, you become attached and cannot be liberated. Therefore, acts such as giving are not discarded; one simply must not cling to them. Clinging establishes appearances; established appearances give rise to mind; when there is mind, it becomes narrow. When it is narrow, one’s vision is not broad; to seize one is to miss ten thousand, and one cannot be vast and all-pervading. |
| 佛所以把十方虚空来比喻，因为无住则无心，无心则遍满虚空，正如十方虚空之广大，正表性空的广大。你须知道如何是功德，性空才是大功德，才是真功德。心无所住的人，此人便无成见，便不会误人，便不会作恶业。 | This is why the Buddha used the space of the ten directions as an analogy: where there is non-abiding, there is no mind; where there is no mind, one pervades empty space. Just as the space of the ten directions is vast, it aptly expresses the vastness of empty nature. You must understand what merit and virtue are: only empty nature is great merit and virtue, true merit and virtue. A person whose mind abides nowhere has no fixed views, will not mislead others, and will not create evil karma. |
| 只有解除人的痛苦，不会多事生事添人的烦恼，所以说是功德。对一人如是，对无量人也如是，所以是无量无边的功德。这是福德性，不是福德相。 | Such a person only relieves others’ suffering and will not stir up needless trouble or add to their afflictions; this is why it is called merit and virtue. This is so toward one person, and it is also so toward immeasurable persons; therefore, the merit and virtue are immeasurable and boundless. This is the nature of merit and virtue, not the appearance of merit and virtue. |
| 如即今我以财布施，是福德相，我不著此相此见此心，是从空性中流露，所以是福德性，不可比拟而思量的。 | For example, if I now give material wealth, that is an appearance of merit and virtue. If I do not cling to this appearance, this view, or this mental state, then it flows forth from emptiness of nature; therefore, it is the nature of merit and virtue, beyond comparison or calculation. |
| 最后佛又说一句，并且叫他名字，是郑重的告示：“须菩提，菩萨并无别法，但只要照我所说的办法，如是安住好了，放心放心，不要再犹豫，自生法见，误了你的世世生生。 | Finally, the Buddha spoke another sentence and called him by name as a solemn admonition: “Subhūti, bodhisattvas have no other dharma. They need only abide in accordance with the method I have taught. Rest assured, rest assured. Do not hesitate further, give rise on your own to views of dharmas, and thereby obstruct yourselves life after life.” |
| ”这一句，是千万斤的力量，正以表前面所说的万分郑重，不是儿戏。到此是佛开口说金刚经已完。有志人，如每日参究，从如是我闻至此句参止，至千万遍，一样可以见性成佛。下面的只是铺陈这四大段，开示一切办法而已。 | These words carry the weight of ten million catties, showing precisely how exceedingly solemn the preceding teaching is; it is no child’s play. At this point, the Buddha’s spoken exposition of the Diamond Sūtra is complete. Those with resolve may investigate it daily, from “Thus have I heard” to this sentence, investigating it tens of millions of times; in the same way, they may see their true nature and become Buddhas. What follows merely elaborates these four great sections and expounds all the methods. |
| 一切功德，总以布施为第一，所以居六波罗蜜的第一位。修世间福德相的，必须布施，修出世间福德性的，必须无住。世上一切，无非是苦，到了刀兵饥馑，是苦果到极点了。但众生何以受苦，只缘造业。 | Of all merit and virtue, generosity is foremost; therefore, it occupies the first place among the six pāramitās. To cultivate worldly appearances of merit and virtue, one must practice generosity; to cultivate the supramundane nature of merit and virtue, one must abide nowhere. Everything in the world is nothing but suffering. When warfare and famine arise, the fruit of suffering has reached its utmost extreme. But why do sentient beings suffer? Solely because they create karma. |
| 造业由于迷惑，是最福薄相。然而福薄的根源是量小，所以布施是放大心量，植德的根本法。布施名为檀施，布施有财布施，用品食物药料，都算财布施。有法布施，如劝化开导解释等等，是用法的。 | The creation of karma arises from delusion, which is the mark of the greatest lack of blessings. Yet the root of scant blessings is narrowness of capacity. Therefore, generosity expands the mind-capacity and is the fundamental method for planting virtue. Generosity is called dāna. There is material giving: articles of use, food, and medicines all count as material giving. There is giving of Dharma: exhorting, guiding, and explaining, all of which use the Dharma. |
| 有无畏布施，如肯代人负责分谤，解除对方的痛苦，是用大无畏精神的。布施是舍弃的意思，自己对自己，第一要布施。 | There is also the giving of fearlessness: being willing to assume responsibility for another, share blame and slander, and relieve the other person’s suffering—this employs a spirit of great fearlessness. Generosity means relinquishing. First of all, one must be generous toward oneself. |
| 我的意要舍，气自平了；我的物要舍，身自轻了；我的见要舍，心自空了；连我的功德心也要舍，法自净了。所以性空是真功德，恶心更不必说，施之于人，人有烦恼，我替他开释，令他布施。 | If I relinquish my intentions, my energy naturally becomes even; if I relinquish my possessions, my body naturally becomes light; if I relinquish my views, my mind naturally becomes empty; if I even relinquish my mind of merit and virtue, the Dharma naturally becomes pure. Therefore, empty nature is true merit and virtue. Needless to mention an evil mind: when I apply it to others, they have afflictions; I explain and relieve them, enabling them to give them up. |
| 所以排难解纷是真功德，挑拨是非是大罪恶。凡人一生遭遇不顺，困屯一世的人，都因喜欢生事，布弄是非，平日信用失了，没人敢和他亲近。这种人，比废人还利害，要害社会群众的。所以功德以有相为小，无形为大。 | Therefore, dispelling difficulties and resolving disputes are true merit and virtue, whereas stirring up quarrels and sowing discord are grave evils. Those who encounter continual misfortune throughout life and remain trapped in hardship for a lifetime do so because they enjoy making trouble and stirring up conflicts. They lose the trust of others in ordinary life, and no one dares draw close to them. Such people are even more harmful than useless people; they endanger society and the public. Therefore, merit and virtue with appearances are small, while that without form is great. |
| 罪恶以无心的小，有意的大。无相布施，福德不可称量。 | With evil, what is done unknowingly is small, while what is done deliberately is great. In formless giving, merit and virtue cannot be measured. |
| 心如著相，就有厚薄报酬往来性质，等于借债还债，两相抵销，又算什么功德呢？又如我人现在所享受的物质，经过去的无数先哲发明制造，流传下来，布施给我们，我们独享独乐，良心上也说不过去。 | If the mind clings to appearances, there is a nature of substantial or meager recompense and exchange, like borrowing and repaying debts; when the two sides offset each other, what merit and virtue remains? Again, the material things we enjoy now were invented and produced by countless sages of the past, passed down and given to us. It does not sit well with one’s conscience for us alone to enjoy them. |
| 我把心去感念他们，这也是布施，再能公诸大众，如祖传的医药发明，切不可自秘不传，这是大布施。人人肯布施，那报我的心，自然由紧而松，无我的心，自然由小而大了。但此地说的布施，是代表一切心一切行的，都要无相。无相是成佛的张本，由小做起，可以成就无量无边功德。 | When I cherish grateful thoughts for them, this too is generosity. Better still, if I make such things public for all, as with inherited medical formulas and inventions, I must never keep them secret and refuse to transmit them; this is great generosity. If everyone is willing to give, the mind that demands repayment from others will naturally relax from tightness to ease, and the selfless mind will naturally grow from small to great. But the generosity spoken of here represents all mental states and all actions: all must be formless. Formlessness is the foundation for becoming a Buddha. Beginning with small things, one can accomplish immeasurable and boundless merit and virtue. |
| 第五段，由“须菩提于意云何”至“所谓佛法者即非佛法”。这一大段，须分四小分说： | The fifth section, from “What do you think, Subhūti?” to “What are called Buddhadharmas are not Buddhadharmas.” This major section must be explained in four subsections: |
| 第一小分：至“即见如来”止。这大段的总意，由承上面下来的。上面先说成佛必度无量众生，度生不可着四相。 | First subsection: ending with “one sees the Tathāgata.” The overall meaning of this major section follows from what came before. Above, it was first said that becoming a Buddha requires liberating immeasurable sentient beings, and that in liberating sentient beings one must not cling to the four appearances. |
| 次说破四相，在一切不住，心如十方虚空的大，这个福德也是不可思量，菩萨但应如我所教就是要住了，但这是笼统说的，是到了果位的说法。 | Next, it was said that to break through the four appearances, one must abide nowhere in all things, with a mind as vast as the space of the ten directions. This merit and virtue, too, are beyond calculation. When it is said that bodhisattvas should only abide as I have taught, this is the point at which one must abide. Yet this is a general statement, a teaching from the standpoint of fruition. |
| 至于因地上的下手，必先明法身，就是先要明心，而众生不明心的总原因，在把一切相当真了。如说一切相是虚妄的，或者勉强可信，至于佛的相，就不敢说它是虚妄了。佛要总破他的见。 | As for how to begin at the causal stage, one must first understand the dharmakāya—that is, one must first understand the mind. The fundamental reason sentient beings do not understand the mind is that they take all appearances as real. If one says that all appearances are illusory, they may reluctantly find it believable; but as for the appearance of the Buddha, they dare not say that it is illusory. The Buddha wished to demolish this view altogether. |
| 先提佛的三十二相，八十种好，你心中以为是真的么？须菩提说：不是，如来是法身，法身是无相的，实相不可执取眼见的相算是真实。所以佛说的身相，即非身相，是无相的真如法性身，非是三十二相等的幻相身。 | He first raised the matter of the Buddha’s thirty-two marks and eighty excellent features: do you think these are real? Subhūti replied: No. The Tathāgata is the dharmakāya, and the dharmakāya is formless. Ultimate reality cannot be taken as the appearances seen by the eyes and counted as real. Therefore, the bodily appearance of which the Buddha spoke is not a bodily appearance; it is the formless body of suchness and Dharma-nature, not an illusory body of the thirty-two marks and the like. |
| 佛遂说：是的。凡所有相，不论好坏，无分圣凡，总是虚妄。如来是智慧身，你需用智慧来观一切相，非是真实，那你就不被情欲所蔽，就这个无心心处，可以见你自己的无相法性身如来了。这一小段是总破有相的第一关。打破这关，一切解决了。 | The Buddha then said: Yes. Whatever has appearances, whether good or bad, sacred or ordinary, is always illusory. The Tathāgata is a body of wisdom. You must use wisdom to contemplate all appearances as unreal; then you will not be obscured by emotional desire. Right at this place of no-mind, you can see the Tathāgata, the formless body of your own Dharma-nature. This first subsection demolishes the first barrier of attachment to appearances. Once this barrier is broken through, everything is resolved. |
| 第二小分：至“何况非法”止，是表法身原是无相，但亦须藉幻相而显。 | The second subsection, ending with “how much less so what is not Dharma,” shows that the dharmakāya is originally formless, yet must also be revealed through illusory appearances. |
| 言说虽是幻身口齿喉舌所化，但也由法性身里起发，不要全把言说都偏空看了，须菩提遂请问这种甚深的言论，和记载章句，一班众生闻了之后，能不起怀疑，众生决定实行么？佛说，你切莫如是说，自有智慧人可以深信不疑的 | Although speech is produced through the illusory body, mouth, teeth, throat, and tongue, it also arises from within the body of Dharma-nature. Do not regard all speech one-sidedly as empty. Subhūti then asked: when ordinary beings hear such profound discourse and its recorded passages and verses, can they refrain from doubt? Will sentient beings certainly put them into practice? The Buddha said, “You must not speak thus. There are naturally people of wisdom who can have deep and unwavering faith.” |
| ，莫说现今的人，即使我灭了之后，近到末法时代，最后五百年，在斗争坚固的时候，难道就没正信的人么？他们也能持大戒，修无上福，发大信心，以此为实，对我所说的，决定不疑。 | Do not speak only of people today. Even after I have passed into nirvāṇa, as the Dharma-ending Age draws near, during the final five hundred years, when contention is firmly established, could there be no people of Right Faith? They too can uphold the great precepts, cultivate unsurpassed blessings, and give rise to great faith. Taking this as real, they will have no doubt whatsoever about what I have taught. |
| 这种人，非同小可，不仅是经过几位佛出世，种过善根，实已经过不可说不可说，无量千万佛出世，受过教训，种过善根，成就这样的无量福德来，所以能够一闻这种深妙章句，一念生信，更不犹豫，心中更无丝毫法见，决定深信，就是净信，我就悉知悉见。 | Such people are extraordinary. Not only have they encountered several Buddhas appearing in the world and planted good roots; in truth, they have encountered and received instruction from immeasurable, countless millions of Buddhas and planted good roots, thereby accomplishing such immeasurable merit and virtue. Thus, upon hearing these profound and wondrous passages and verses, they give rise to faith in a single thought, without further hesitation. Their minds contain not the slightest view of dharmas. Their resolute and profound faith is pure faith, and I fully know and see them. |
| 此人的大智慧福德，你莫用普通的眼光看他，量他疑他，何以故呢？因为这种人，心已广大圆融，不会受外境所缚，也不受法见所拘了。所以不但没四相，并且无法相，亦不偏执非法。 | Do not regard such a person’s great wisdom and merit and virtue through ordinary eyes, measuring and doubting them. Why? Because such people’s minds have become vast and perfectly integrated. They are not bound by external circumstances, nor constrained by views of dharmas. Therefore, not only do they lack the four appearances, they also lack appearances of dharmas and do not one-sidedly cling to what is not Dharma. |
| 所谓亦无非法相，只是人用法，要用便用，不用就舍，心无所住，不受法转的了。为什么能如是呢？因为他能够心不取相了。如果他心取了相，就著我人众生寿者了，心就迷了，如果他取了法相，也就著我人众生寿者了。 | What is meant by also having no appearance of what is not Dharma is simply this: when people use a dharma, they use it when it is needed and relinquish it when it is not. Their minds abide nowhere and are not turned by dharmas. Why can they be thus? Because their minds do not grasp appearances. If their minds grasp appearances, they cling to the appearances of self, person, sentient being, and life span, and their minds become deluded. If they grasp the appearance of dharmas, they likewise cling to the appearances of self, person, sentient being, and life span. |
| 但如果他偏于离法，不取法相，也还不是著么？也就著我人众生寿者了。所以不应该取法，也不应该离法，只是勿执，勿执就无住了。 | But if they one-sidedly reject Dharma and do not grasp appearances of dharmas, is that not still attachment? They likewise cling to the appearances of self, person, sentient being, and life span. Therefore, one should neither grasp Dharma nor reject Dharma; one simply must not cling. Without clinging, there is non-abiding. |
| 因此，我常说你们诸比丘，须要了解我的说法，原为一时的应用法，不过是过渡的东西，为了众生不明，所以说法，你自不可舍，及到明白之后，更有什么用呢？你自不可再取，如过江必用筏，到岸不须船，你想正法尚且是虚妄 | Therefore, I often tell you bhikshus that you must understand that my teachings are only expedient applications for a time, merely things for crossing over. Because sentient beings do not understand, I teach the Dharma, which you must not discard. But once you understand, what use is it? You must no longer grasp it. To cross a river one must use a raft, but upon reaching the shore one no longer needs the boat. You see that even the true Dharma is illusory, |
| 不实，不可执取，应当舍去，又何况一切虚妄非实的法呢？这小段，到“何况非法”为止，总是尽量发挥无住的妙用。 | unreal, not to be grasped, and should be relinquished—how much less so all dharmas that are illusory and unreal? This subsection, ending with “how much less so what is not Dharma,” fully elucidates the wondrous functioning of non-abiding. |
| 第三小分：至“而有差别”止。此段是表智相法身。 | The third subsection ends with “and yet there are distinctions.” This section reveals the dharmakāya as the appearance of wisdom. |
| 因为成就无上菩提，也是法身成就的，佛又说须菩提，你的意中，总以为一切本空，不应取著，那末如来所成的无上菩提，和如来所说的法，岂也是虚幻不实么？你真以为成佛有所得么？又如来有法可说么？虽这种智相，原也由法身所表，但是性空假名，非有实体的呀。 | Since the accomplishment of unsurpassed bodhi is also an accomplishment of the dharmakāya, the Buddha again said: “Subhūti, in your mind you always think that, since everything is originally empty, one should not grasp or cling. Then is the unsurpassed bodhi attained by the Tathāgata, and the Dharma taught by the Tathāgata, also illusory and unreal? Do you really think that becoming a Buddha entails something gained? And does the Tathāgata have a Dharma to teach?” Although such an appearance of wisdom is expressed through the dharmakāya, it is empty in nature and only provisionally named; it has no substantial entity. |
| 须菩提说：是的，我是了解如来所说的意义了，就是成佛，也没有定法可名，因为成佛不是有法，众生本来是佛，顿然觉悟，回到本来面目，即是佛了，一说有法，却又辗转不是了。 | Subhūti said: “Yes, I understand the meaning of what the Tathāgata has said. Even in becoming a Buddha, there is no fixed dharma that can be named, because becoming a Buddha is not a dharma that one possesses. Sentient beings are originally Buddhas; when they suddenly awaken and return to their Original Face, that is Buddhahood. Once one says that there is a dharma, it becomes incorrect again and again.” |
| 但又不是无法，圣凡毕竟有别，众生成佛，也得有方便法去引导，所以根本无定，不可执实，并名亦没有定名。因此如来说法，也只是随缘方便，绝无定法。 | Yet it is not that there is no dharma at all. Ordinary beings and sages are, after all, different. For sentient beings to become Buddhas, expedient methods are needed to guide them. Thus, fundamentally, nothing is fixed and nothing may be grasped as real; even the names are not fixed. Therefore, when the Tathāgata teaches the Dharma, it is merely expedient in accordance with conditions; there is absolutely no fixed dharma. |
| 何以故呢？如来所说法，不过是缘生而已，不可定执为有所说，我们也不可定执为有可取，因为说的听的，两皆性空，非法，非可取法，非非法，非可离法，只随各人的因缘而转。 | Why is this so? The Dharma taught by the Tathāgata arises only in dependence on conditions. It must not be rigidly grasped as something taught, nor may we rigidly grasp there to be something to take up. For both what is spoken and what is heard are empty in nature: not dharmas, not dharmas that may be taken up, not non-dharmas, and not dharmas that may be discarded. They merely turn according to each person's causes and conditions. |
| 一切贤圣，虽同向无为大道，取法却有差别，有时可取，有时不可取，有人应取，有人不应取，有此时此人可取，彼时此人即不应取，所以无定义的。岂但佛法如此，世间一切法，都是如此。佛法尚且如此，虚幻不可取，又何况一切有为法呢？ | All sages, though alike directed toward the great Way of non-contrivance, differ in the dharmas they take up. At times they may be taken up, and at times they may not; some people should take them up, while others should not. What may be taken up by a particular person at one time should not be taken up by that same person at another time. Therefore, there is no fixed definition. Nor is this true of the Buddhadharma alone; all worldly dharmas are likewise so. If even the Buddhadharma is thus illusory and not to be grasped, how much more so are all conditioned dharmas? |
| 第四小分至“即非佛法”止。此段是表福德法身，不是七宝布施的福德相可以比拟的。 | The fourth subsection ends with “is not the Buddhadharma.” This passage indicates the meritorious dharmakāya, which cannot be compared with the appearance of merit gained by giving the seven treasures. |
| 佛说须菩提呀，若是有人能广大布施，不是少数七宝，却是充满三千大千世界的七宝，拿来布施，这个人的福德，究竟多不多呢？须菩提说，甚多甚多。 | The Buddha said, “Subhūti, if someone were to give extensively—not merely a small quantity of the seven treasures, but seven treasures filling the three-thousand great-thousand world system—would that person's merit and virtue be great or not?” Subhūti replied, “Very great, World-Honored One, very great.” |
| 世尊呀，我为什么说多呢？因为这是有相布施，有物就数得清的，可以说多少的，但是福德相，却非福德性，福德性是无相功德，正如十方四维上下虚空，就没法可说多少的。 | “World-Honored One, why do I say that it is great? Because this is giving with attributes. Where there are material things, they can be clearly counted, and one can speak of more or less. But the appearance of merit and virtue is not the nature of merit and virtue. The nature of merit and virtue is merit without attributes; just as with the empty space throughout the ten directions—above, below, and in the four quarters—there is no way to say how much there is.” |
| 是故如来说，七宝是福德多的，佛又说是的，这种大布施，不算了不起的，因为是有相的，生灭的，有量的，不能了生死，反加生死的，引人的贪心烦恼的，七宝是虚幻的，是不能开智慧的。 | Therefore, the Tathāgata says that the seven treasures yield much merit and virtue. Yet the Buddha also says that such great giving is not something extraordinary, for it has attributes, arises and ceases, and is measurable. It cannot liberate one from birth and death; rather, it adds to birth and death and provokes people's greed and afflictions. The seven treasures are illusory and cannot open wisdom. |
| 如果有人对于这篇经义，能够自己受持，能够替人解说，不必全文半文或取一章一段，就只一行，不过四句偈，那已经就了不起了，他那福德，远胜过三千大千世界七宝的布施了。 | If someone can personally uphold the meaning of this sūtra and explain it for others, there is no need to take up the entire text, half the text, or even a chapter or section. If one takes up only a single verse of four lines, that is already extraordinary. That person's merit and virtue far surpass those gained by giving seven treasures filling the three-thousand great-thousand world system. |
| 为什么呢？须菩提呀，你要晓得，这个经，这个佛说的法，专是发明自性光明的，所以一切诸佛，一切佛成就无上菩提法，都要从这里启发出来的，因此不能拿有相布施来比的。但你却不可因为我说的了不起，又执取了佛法去。所谓佛法者，原也不过是一时之用，暂名为佛法而已，深悟的人，即非佛法，毋庸再取的了。 | Why? Subhūti, you should know that this sūtra, this Dharma taught by the Buddha, is solely for revealing the intrinsic luminosity of one's nature. Thus all Buddhas, and all dharmas by which Buddhas attain unsurpassed bodhi, must be awakened from here. Therefore, it cannot be compared with giving that has attributes. Yet you must not, because I have said it is extraordinary, proceed to grasp the Buddhadharma. What is called the Buddhadharma is originally only of temporary use and is provisionally called the Buddhadharma. For one who has deeply awakened, it is not the Buddhadharma, and there is no need to take it up further. |
| 这四小分：总说成佛必得先显法身以为根本，法身虽是无相，但言说、智相、福德，统统是法身，即山河大地、无量世界，一切处，也不离我的法身，如黄花翠竹，无非是真如般若，我的性，包罗万有，无不一一入我性海。 | These four subsections state in general that, to become a Buddha, one must first reveal the dharmakāya as the foundation. Although the dharmakāya is without attributes, words, wisdom-attributes, and merit and virtue are all the dharmakāya. Mountains, rivers, the great earth, and immeasurable worlds—every place—is likewise inseparable from my dharmakāya. Like yellow blossoms and green bamboo, all are none other than suchness and prajñā. My nature encompasses all that exists, and each and every thing enters the ocean of my nature. |
| 所以名法性身又名佛性，孟子所谓万物皆备于我，凡我心所可拟到之处，无一处不是法到之处，故又名法界。 | Therefore, it is called the body of dharma-nature, and also Buddha-nature. As Mencius said, “All things are complete within me.” Wherever my mind can extend, there is nowhere that the Dharma does not extend; hence it is also called the dharma realm. |
| 因此成佛是意境成佛，成了佛，看出来，不但个个人是佛，胎卵湿化四生尽是佛，连一切器物，甚至山林河岳也是佛，入于化境，浑成一体的了。这个道理，只有到了那境界，才感觉到，不是神话，完全要冷暖自知，所以没法可说的。 | Thus, becoming a Buddha is becoming a Buddha in one's state of mind. Having become a Buddha, one sees that not only every person is a Buddha: all four kinds of birth—womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born—are Buddhas as well. Even all implements, and even mountains, forests, rivers, and peaks, are Buddhas. One enters a transformed realm in which all is wholly one body. This principle can be felt only upon reaching that state; it is not mythology. One must know for oneself, as one knows warmth or cold by drinking water. Therefore, there is no way to speak of it. |
| 三千大千世界，是说共有十亿个世界，但也不过无量世界中一粒沙罢了。我们所居的地球，只通四分之一，所以称一四天下南赡部洲，只南面一部分，其余东西北三洲，还不曾通，通了，合起来，成一个地球，算一粒芝麻。 | The three-thousand great-thousand world system is said to comprise one billion worlds, yet it is no more than a grain of sand among immeasurable worlds. The earth on which we live is connected only to one quarter, and so it is called Jambudvīpa, the southern continent of one four-continent world. Only the southern portion is connected; the eastern, western, and northern continents have not yet been connected. Once they are connected, they form one globe, which counts as but a sesame seed. |
| 要一千粒芝麻，成一烧饼，为一个小千世界。再合一千个烧饼为一罗，合起来，共有一百万个世界。如一个中千世界，再合一个罗，共计有十万万世界，为一个大千世界。 | A thousand sesame seeds make one cake, constituting one small-thousand world system. Then a thousand such cakes are combined into one group, making a total of one million worlds, which is one medium-thousand world system. Combining another group yields a total of one hundred thousand ten-thousands of worlds, constituting one great-thousand world system. |
| 因为有三个千，所以合称三千大千世界，只算一个佛土，是由一位佛所度化的。你看这个伟大，还了得么！所以称世界无尽，这不是神话。 | Because it contains three levels of thousand, it is collectively called a three-thousand great-thousand world system. This counts as only one Buddha-land, transformed and liberated by a single Buddha. Consider how vast this is! Therefore, worlds are said to be endless; this is not mythology. |
| 我们已公认空中的星，是一个个地球，苦于不能通，但可眼见的，尚且数不清，就是小到我们身居的世界，尚且走不到，可到的，尚且走不完，看不尽，那我人的世智，真是有限、藐小到极点了。 | We have already acknowledged that the stars in space are individual worlds. Though we cannot reach them, even those visible to the eye cannot be counted. Even in the small world in which we dwell, there are places we cannot reach; and even what can be reached cannot be fully traversed or seen. Human worldly knowledge is truly limited and exceedingly insignificant. |
| 然而我的佛性，不但包罗这一个三千世界，连无尽的世界，也包罗在内。因此人人有成佛的资格，不可自暴自弃的了。以上五大段，是专说证到法身，见到本空后方有无住的力量，有此力量，才可以无四相，而内外众生斯得度尽成佛，可算是上卷金刚经，到此一个结束。下面是开说如何做到证法身破四相的办法，共分九段： | Yet my Buddha-nature encompasses not only this one three-thousand world system, but also endless worlds. Therefore, everyone is qualified to become a Buddha and must not abandon themselves to despair. The preceding five major sections have been devoted to explaining that only after realizing the dharmakāya and seeing original emptiness does one have the strength of non-abiding. With this strength, one can be free of the four marks; then sentient beings both within and without may all be liberated and become Buddhas. This concludes the first volume of the Diamond Sūtra. What follows explains how to realize the dharmakāya and break through the four marks, in nine sections: |
| 第一段办法：由“须菩提于意云何，须陀洹能作是念”至“于法实无所得”。这一段的总意，是说人不可有骄傲自大的心。 | The first method: from “Subhūti, what do you think? Can a srotāpanna have the thought” through “in reality, nothing has been attained in regard to dharmas.” The general meaning of this section is that one must not be arrogant or self-important. |
| 此心全从我相而来，倘自己以为我成四果，便著四相了，中间菩萨不必说，就是我如来，在燃灯佛所，也无法可得，不能自以为胜的。 | This attitude arises entirely from the mark of self. If one thinks that one has attained the four fruits, one is attached to the four marks. There is no need even to mention bodhisattvas in between; even I, the Tathāgata, obtained no dharma from Dīpaṃkara Buddha and could not regard myself as superior. |
| 佛所以先引须菩提自身成就四果来比，说如初果须陀洹，他成了须陀洹，可自以为我得了果么？须菩提说：不也，因为须陀洹，名为入于圣流，但属性空，根本无能入，亦无所入，六根不著六尘，才是初果意境。 | The Buddha first cited Subhūti's own attainment of the four fruits as a comparison. He said, “For example, when a first-fruit srotāpanna attains srotāpannahood, can he think, ‘I have attained the fruit’?” Subhūti replied, “No. Srotāpanna means entering the stream of the noble ones, but it is empty in nature. Fundamentally, there is no one who can enter and nothing entered. When the six faculties do not cling to the six sense objects, that is the state of the first fruit.” |
| 佛又说，那末二果斯陀含，他成了二果，可自以为有所得么？须菩提说：不也，斯陀含名为一往来，虽再来一生，以后不复再来六道受生，但此一往一来，终是性空不实，倘有此念，便立我人四相，就不成其果位了。 | The Buddha further asked, “Then what of the second fruit, the sakadāgāmin? Having attained the second fruit, can he think that he has attained something?” Subhūti replied, “No. Sakadāgāmin means One-Returner. Though he returns for one more life and thereafter does not return to take birth in the six realms, this one coming and one going is ultimately empty in nature and unreal. If he has such a thought, he immediately establishes the four marks of self and person, and no longer attains that fruition.” |
| 佛又说，那三果呢？须菩提说：不也，阿那含也不能作此念的，因为他虽不再来此世受生，但也无不来的相，心中一著不来，便又不是了，于是佛又点到须菩提自身说，如阿罗汉成了道，可自以为有道可得么？须菩提：不也，不要说无法可得，无道可成，连阿罗汉这个名，也不可得呀！若阿罗汉一有此念，便著了人我四相。 | The Buddha further asked, “What of the third fruit?” Subhūti replied, “No. An anāgāmin likewise cannot have this thought. Although he does not return to take birth in this world, neither is there a mark of not returning. Once the mind clings to not returning, it is no longer so.” The Buddha then referred to Subhūti himself: “For example, when an arhat realizes the Way, can he think that there is a Way to attain?” Subhūti replied, “No. Not only is there no dharma to attain and no Way to realize; even the name arhat cannot be attained. If an arhat has such a thought, he becomes attached to the four marks of person and self.” |
| 第一，我能成阿罗汉，是我相。第二，我所成的是阿罗汉道，是人相。第三，中间有种种成道的行相，是众生相。 | First, “I can become an arhat” is the mark of self. Second, “What I attain is the Way of arhatship” is the mark of person. Third, the various aspects of practice leading to realization in between are the mark of sentient beings. |
| 第四，这个法见观念，坚固执持，如寿命的不舍，是寿者相，还算成道么？所以佛虽许可我无诤功夫，已证到三昧，称为第一能离欲的阿罗汉。但我始终不作此念，以为我是离欲阿罗汉了。 | Fourth, to firmly uphold and cling to this conceptual view of dharma, as though one refuses to relinquish one's life, is the mark of a living being. Can that still count as realizing the Way? Thus, although the Buddha acknowledged that my practice of non-contention had realized samādhi and called me the arhat foremost in freedom from desire, I have never had the thought, “I am an arhat free from desire.” |
| 世尊，我如果作了此念，那你世尊就不说我须菩提，是个清净无诤的行者了。正因我无此心行，所以名我须菩提是有清净无诤的道行的。 | “World-Honored One, if I had such a thought, you, the World-Honored One, would not say that I, Subhūti, am a practitioner of pure non-contention. Precisely because I have no such mental activity, you call me Subhūti, one who has the practice of pure non-contention.” |
| 佛于是又说，于意云何，如我呢，从前在燃灯佛时，有法可得么？须菩提说：不也，世尊如来虽得了法，实亦无所得，以本来诸法性空，以得此无所得，才是得呢。 | The Buddha then asked, “What do you think? When I was with Dīpaṃkara Buddha in the past, was there any dharma I could attain?” Subhūti replied, “No. Although the World-Honored Tathāgata attained the Dharma, in truth nothing was attained. Since all dharmas are originally empty in nature, attaining this non-attainment is true attainment.” |
| 这一段，是说成了四果，不算一回事，连成佛，也不算一回事，中间菩萨不说了，那末世间还有什么了不起的事呢？世人颠倒烦恼，就无一件事不当真，连空言虚论，一点也不放松，所以有诤成了习惯，人事纷纭，相争不已，失去了社会上平等共处、相安互利的原则，无非一苦引众苦，一盲引众盲，造成个苦海世界。 | This section says that attaining the four fruits is not something to make much of; even becoming a Buddha is not something to make much of. There is no need to mention the bodhisattvas in between. Then what in the world is so remarkable? Deluded and troubled by afflictions, worldly people take everything seriously. They do not let go even of empty words and vain theories. Thus contention becomes habitual; human affairs become tangled and disputes never cease. The principles of social equality, peaceful coexistence, and mutual benefit are lost. One suffering merely leads to many sufferings, and one blind person leads many blind people, creating a world that is a sea of suffering. |
| 因此量小福薄的人，稍有一点胜人处，便骄态满面，不知越多诤，越是丑态百出。你如得了天耳通，普世间几万万的音声来入耳鼓，无非演唱三个字，个个人说“我不错”。你想偌大一个社会，竟分成一个个人的单位了，人人成了敌对，是何等苦恼呢？ | Therefore, those of narrow capacity and scant merit become full of arrogant airs as soon as they have some small advantage over others. They do not know that the more they contend, the more their ugliness is exposed. If you attained the divine ear, and the sounds of hundreds of millions throughout the world entered your ears, they would do no more than proclaim three words: “I am right.” Consider it: an immense society is divided into separate individual units, and everyone becomes an adversary. How miserable that is! |
| 三昧是正受，正受即是不受，世上一切一切，不是不见，不是不知，但决定知道是性空不实，不必作真，也暂勿当假，便是受而不受，此是正受，名为三昧。人人到了无诤时，自然心空自在，无苦也无乐，一切不受便是极乐世界。 | Samādhi is right reception, and right reception is no reception. It is not that one does not see or does not know everything in the world; rather, one definitely knows that it is empty in nature and unreal. There is no need to take it as real, nor for the moment to regard it as unreal. This is receiving without receiving; it is right reception, called samādhi. When everyone reaches non-contention, the mind naturally becomes empty, free, and at ease. There is neither suffering nor pleasure. To receive nothing is the Land of Ultimate Bliss. |
| 第二段办法：从“须菩提于意云何，菩萨庄严佛土不”至“而此福德胜前福德”。这一段是说庄严佛土的法子，佛说菩萨成就种种功德，使佛道重光，众生得度，是为庄严佛土么？须菩提说：不也。 | The second method: from “Subhūti, what do you think? Does a bodhisattva adorn a Buddha-land?” through “and this merit and virtue surpasses the preceding merit and virtue.” This section explains how to adorn a Buddha-land. The Buddha said, “When bodhisattvas accomplish various merits and virtues, causing the Buddha Way to shine anew and sentient beings to be liberated, is this adorning a Buddha-land?” Subhūti replied, “No.” |
| 为什么呢？所谓庄严者，论事相若实有，论本体是性空，亦不过一名而已，大众须知，佛土有二，庄严也有二：一是有相的，如七宝池八功德水，种种妙相，以及此世的庙貌千秋，香花庄严等是。 | Why? What is called adornment, considered in terms of phenomenal appearances, seems to exist; considered in terms of its fundamental essence, it is empty in nature and is merely a name. Everyone should know that there are two kinds of Buddha-land and also two kinds of adornment. One has attributes, such as pools of the seven treasures, water possessing the eight excellent qualities, various wondrous marks, and the temples, fragrant flowers, and other adornments of this world that endure through the ages. |
| 二是无相的，如自性本是佛土，此是实相，是无相相，心能清净无染，不住一切法，不离一切法，证到法性广大无边，圆明自在，才是真正佛土庄严，但亦不可执取以为胜。 | Second, it is formless. For example, one’s own nature is originally a Buddha-land; this is the true mark, the mark of signlessness. When the mind can remain pure and undefiled, neither abiding in any dharma nor departing from any dharma, and realizes the vastness, boundlessness, perfect luminosity, and freedom of dharmatā, this is the true adornment of a Buddha-land. Yet one must not grasp it as something superior. |
| 于是佛又接口云，是故须菩提，诸大菩萨，应如是起心，不要取著尘境是清净心，心是要有的，倘死执没有，便落断灭了，只是心无所住罢了。 | The Buddha then continued: “Therefore, Subhūti, all great bodhisattvas should give rise to the mind in this way. Do not take attachment to the objects of the senses to be a pure mind. There must be a mind; if one rigidly clings to there being no mind, one falls into annihilationism. It is simply that the mind abides nowhere.” |
| 生心两个字，不要误会了，以为有心可生，那是背了不生的意义，是不可以的，佛说的是无住心。 | Do not misunderstand the two words “give rise to the mind” to mean that there is a mind that can be produced. That would contradict the meaning of non-arising and is unacceptable. What the Buddha speaks of is a non-abiding mind. |
| 佛又说譬如有人，他的身相，大如修罗王的身，如须弥山那样大，可算是大身么？须菩提说：大是大的，正因为是有形相的，所以名大。 | The Buddha further said: “Suppose there were a person whose bodily form was as great as that of an asura king, as immense as Mount Sumeru. Could this be called a great body?” Subhūti said: “It is indeed great. Precisely because it has form and appearance, it is called great.” |
| 但佛不是这个意思，佛是说非有相之身，必是清净法身，才可名大身呢，所以人人可显大身，只是心有住著，被无明所盖覆，不能庄严耳，显发大身，即同诸佛，福德不可比量。 | But this was not what the Buddha meant. The Buddha meant that a body without marks, which must be the pure dharmakāya, may rightly be called a great body. Thus everyone can manifest the great body; it is only because the mind has attachments and is obscured by ignorance that it cannot be adorned. To reveal the great body is to be one with all Buddhas, and its merit and virtue cannot be measured. |
| 佛又说，你看恒河中所有的沙，一粒一粒数起来，要一粒沙再成一条恒河，你想这许多的恒河里的沙，是多不多呢？须菩提说：多极了，照许多恒河，尚算不清，何况是沙呢？佛说：我实告你，若有善男女把许多恒河沙数再一粒沙，一个三千大千世界用七宝来布施，得福多不多呢？须菩提说：甚多甚多。 | The Buddha further said: “Consider all the grains of sand in the Ganges. If they were counted one by one, and each grain of sand became another Ganges, do you think the sand in all those many Ganges would be abundant or not?” Subhūti said: “Extremely abundant. Even the many Ganges could not be counted, much less their sand.” The Buddha said: “I tell you truly: if a good man or good woman were to take as many three-thousand great-thousand world systems as there are grains of sand in all those Ganges, and give the seven treasures as alms in each one, would that person gain much merit?” Subhūti said: “Very much, World-Honored One, very much.” |
| 佛于是郑重地再告须菩提说：这还不算是胜事，如果善男女能把这个经义，亲去受持，或是替人开说，不必多，就是一行四句偈，他那福德，已胜过许多七宝布施了。 | The Buddha then solemnly told Subhūti again: “Even this is not the most excellent thing. If a good man or good woman can personally receive and uphold the meaning of this sūtra, or explain it for others—even no more than a single four-line verse—their merit and virtue already surpass those gained through all those gifts of the seven treasures.” |
| 总说有相的是生灭的，虽多不实，亦非究竟的，在上卷里较量功德，说一个三千大千世界的七宝布施，是第一次；此是许多恒河里的沙数的三千大千世界七宝来布施，更是无量数了，是第二次。经中共有四次较量功德，其余不过带便说说罢了。 | In summary, whatever has marks is subject to arising and ceasing. Though abundant, it is not real and is not ultimate. In the preceding volume, the comparison of merit began with the gift of the seven treasures filling one three-thousand great-thousand world system; this was the first instance. Here, the gift consists of the seven treasures filling as many three-thousand great-thousand world systems as there are grains of sand in all those many Ganges, an immeasurable number; this is the second instance. The sūtra contains four such comparisons of merit in all; the others are merely mentioned incidentally. |
| 第三段办法：由“复次”至“如来无所说”。这一段的意思，是说要尊重正教。 | The third method: from “Furthermore” to “The Tathāgata has nothing to teach.” The meaning of this section is that one should revere the true teaching. |
| 上面表这经义，是一切佛所自生，就是一行四句偈，表此无上法王，功德不可比拟，应可受人天供养，若是经典所在之处，即为有佛，所以不同外道典籍的散乱诸论。 | The foregoing shows that the meaning of this sūtra arises from all Buddhas themselves. Even a single four-line verse expresses this unsurpassed Dharma King; its merit and virtue are incomparable, and it deserves the offerings of humans and devas. Wherever this sūtra is found, it is as though a Buddha were present. Thus it differs from the scattered and disorderly treatises of non-Buddhist paths. |
| 佛说：随说是经的精义，不拘何人何地何时何文，就说一行四句偈，在此时此地，如佛现在俨然是塔庙，凡是法界众生，上自天道，下至地狱，都应个个发心恭敬供养，供是使现在功德满足，养是使未来功德光大。 | The Buddha said: wherever the essential meaning of this sūtra is taught—regardless of the person, place, time, or wording—even if it is only a single four-line verse, that place and time are as though the Buddha were visibly present in a stūpa or shrine. All sentient beings in the dharma realm, from the heavenly realms above to the hells below, should each arouse the resolve to revere and make offerings. “Offering” brings present merit and virtue to fulfillment; “supporting” enables future merit and virtue to flourish. |
| 一行偈已是如此，何况有人把这经义完全能够受持读诵呢？当知道，这个人，已可成就法报化三身矣。 | If even a single verse is thus, how much more so when someone can completely receive, uphold, read, and recite the meaning of this sūtra? Know that such a person can already accomplish the dharmakāya, sambhogakāya, and nirmāṇakāya. |
| 说法身是最上，说报身是第一，说化身是希有，三身圆满即是佛，你看这个经典，有多么的贵重呢？所以经典所在的地方，即为有佛，大家皆当尊重，自己算是弟子。 | The dharmakāya is called supreme, the sambhogakāya first, and the nirmāṇakāya rare. The perfection of the three bodies is Buddhahood. See, then, how precious this sūtra is. Therefore, wherever the sūtra is found, it is as though a Buddha were present; everyone should revere it and regard themselves as disciples. |
| 不但对经，即对受持读诵的人，也应当尊重为善知识，自己如弟子，因为人能宏道，人在道在，个个人有佛性，个个人可通般若，即个个人，乃至胎卵湿化，无一不是佛，处处平等。在我看来，个个当彼此互相尊重，互敬如佛。 | One should not only revere the sūtra; one should also revere those who receive, uphold, read, and recite it as spiritual friends, regarding oneself as their disciple. For people can spread the Way: where people are, the Way is present. Everyone has Buddha-nature; everyone can penetrate prajñā. Everyone, even those born from womb, egg, moisture, or transformation, is without exception a Buddha; everywhere is equal. In my view, everyone should respect one another and revere one another as Buddhas. |
| 可知般若眼光之广大，佛法普利的妙用了。那时须菩提又起来问佛，这个经典，应定为什么名字？我等如何奉持呢？佛说：这个经可名为金刚般若波罗蜜。金刚是表体，般若是言用，依之而可超登彼岸。 | This shows how vast the perspective of prajñā is and the wondrous function by which the Buddhadharma benefits all. At that time, Subhūti again rose and asked the Buddha, “What name should be given to this sūtra, and how should we uphold it?” The Buddha said: “This sūtra may be called the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā. Diamond indicates its essence, and prajñā describes its function; by relying on it, one may transcend to the other shore.” |
| 但又恐人执取了法，所以又说，不过是个名字，汝当奉持，不是真有实法可取，佛说般若波罗蜜，是不得已而随缘应付，为未曾证到的人所说，论到诸法空相，即非般若波罗蜜，不过是名般若波罗蜜而已。 | Yet, fearing that people might grasp the Dharma, he further said that it is merely a name which you should uphold; there is no truly existent dharma to grasp. The Buddha’s teaching of prajñāpāramitā is a provisional response to conditions, spoken for those who have not yet realized it. From the perspective of the empty marks of all dharmas, it is not prajñāpāramitā; it is merely called prajñāpāramitā. |
| 但又恐须菩提执取佛有所说法，遂又反问曰：你以为如来有所说法么？须菩提说：世尊，如来虽说，而实无所说，我人当知般若功用，是扫荡一切法，即扫荡一切心，扫至无可再扫，证到无心可心时，那寂灭的金刚性体自见。不但此经如是，经经都是这个法，佛佛同是一个道，无非是为众生。佛和佛，便毋庸说了。 | Yet, fearing that Subhūti might grasp at the idea that the Buddha had taught a dharma, he again asked: “Do you think that the Tathāgata has taught any dharma?” Subhūti said: “World-Honored One, although the Tathāgata teaches, in truth there is nothing taught.” We should know that the function of prajñā is to sweep away all dharmas, and thus to sweep away every mind. When everything has been swept away and there is nothing further to sweep away, one realizes that there is no mind to be minded; then the quiescent and extinct vajra-nature and essence reveals itself. This is true not only of this sūtra; every sūtra teaches this Dharma, and all Buddhas share the one Way, solely for the sake of sentient beings. As for Buddhas among themselves, there is no need to speak of it. |
