The Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Hui-Neng

Outstanding translation. A must have for the way of abiding. 🙏

This book, comprising two closely related & relatively short sutras, is elemental to Buddhist thought. The first, The Diamond Sutra is a discourse between the Nagarjuna Buddha & his disciple Subhuti. So named for its proficiency to `cut away' the illusion of duality, it probes the nature of dualistic thought with questions from each to the other. The questions seem simple enough & generally evolve around the dissolution of names in the subjective world. The goal is to `snap' the mind into seeing all as no-thing, though Buddha stresses that this should not be viewed as nothing or nihilism. Easier said than done. The second Sutra, composed from sermons given by Hui - Neng, an illiterate wood cutter who upon hearing the Diamond Sutra became enlightened unto its meaning & eventually became the sixth patriarch of Buddhism to China, (the thirty third in the lineage from Shakyamuni), is an extrapolation of the essence of the Diamond Sutra & what many consider the root of Zen. In it is recorded questions asked by him to followers of Buddhism, & his answers to theirs which almost always show the superficial ways in which people `understand' Buddha's message. His simple but intuitive answers leave you saying `of course!' over & over again. His message is occasionally Koan like & thus can be studied as such. Rarely in the text does he speak of laws or ethics, more intent instead to dwell on the ultimate nature of mind & reality, his reasoning being that once illusion is dispelled, wisdom is immediate. Surprising is his warning against Meditative practices, so incorporated in Zen, particularly the Rinzai style, as, he cautions, `Immobility is immobility & not dhyana', preferring the idea that satori is merely realized & that meditative practices may lead one to dwell on nothing. This is a wonderful Sutra & would do well to be read by anybody truly interested in Buddha the mans message. In the end however, it is best for the author of the Platform Sutra, as it is sometimes called, to leave a final book review: "Men of principle will get it & those who are mindless will understand it."

Sutra translation into English is absolutely no easy task, yet A.F. Price does an excellent job here. The Diamond Sutra is probably the singlemost important sutra to all of Mahayana Buddhism, and particularly those schools of Zen. For those unfamiliar with this sutra, it is simply a dialogue between Subhuti, Buddha's disciple-and the Buddha himself. The Diamond Sutra says, "All things that appear in this world are transient. If you view all appearances as nonappearance, then you will see the true Buddha.'' "All things that exist are like a dream, a phantom, a bubble, a reflection; they are like dew or lightning; thus should you view them.'' "If you are attached to color and sound and want to see your true nature, you are on the wrong path.'' This sutra demonstrates, in it's basic presentation, how the mind that discriminates this from that: I like this, I don't like that/ correct/incorrect-is forever chained to delusion. But a Buddha cuts through all opposites thinking. A Buddha sees past the evident and does some investigation. Understanding does not help us-action is understanding! Basically our ideas blind our eyes-but our eyes originally have no idea-they just look. So if we can attain a mind like that, a just looking mind, not a same/different mind-we can take true steps toward liberation.Then we have the Sutra of Hui neng, another Buddhist classic. Hui Neng, as many of you may know-was the 6th Zen Patriarch in China. Hui Neng heard just a very few lines from the Diamond Sutra and completely understood himself with no practice at all. But he had a lot of karma. Many were trying to kill him for having received transmission from a very famous Zen Master, the Fifth Patriarch, and became the Sixth Patriarch with no training, no education. He had a lot of karma for all these people were trying to stick a knife in his back. So he had to go away in the forest for sixteen years and live with hunters and kill, living under trees with no roof over his head. Finally, after that length of time, he came out and took the Precepts and became a monk before he began teaching. So The Sutra of Hui neng is almost like an autobiography of Hui Neng-a somewhat brief one-yet quite deep and insightful. So toss this book up, it always lands heads. Read this book often-it may seem slow at parts due to the ancient dialects-but true wisdom is on every page. Read it enough times, and your minds eye can open up! So what, [money] for this kind of crazy man's wisdom-what a bargain! Enjoy:)

One of the most profound work of Buddha's teaching I have ever read. This book has inspired me and awaken my heart to put forth more effort towards my continuous strive. I pray everyone will have a chance to read and benefit from this book.

The *Diamond Sutra* is a fundamental Zen text. It is very brief, very subtle, full of the most profound wisdom. I think it is the closest I have ever seen in words to approximating the absolutely ineffable truth of the Dharma. This is a wonderful translation. This is a profound sacred text, perhaps not appropriate for beginners, who will most likely find it inscrutable, but for souls who have experienced something of the Ineffable themselves.