Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The concluding verse of the Diamond Sutra

一切有為法,如夢幻泡影,如露亦如電,應作如是觀。

My translation:
All teachings of the Dharma
Should thus be viewed and experienced
As dreams and fantasy
As dews and lightning

This comes from the last chapter of the Diamond Sutra (金剛經). If one is to follow the advice of the Buddha, the correct action is to be: put down your copy of Diamond Sutra and forget about it (or if you're reading it on line, google for something else). I believe the Buddha is serious, he seems to be sitting next to us. For one who can get enlightenment out of the Sutra, he doesn't need the Sutra any more, the best way is to put it down, as the Buddha explained previously: in Chapter 6 of the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha says,

知我說法,如筏喻者,法尚應捨,何況非法。

My translation:
Those who knows my Dharma
Knows my boat metaphor
Even my Dharma should be discarded
Why not everything else

And for those who can't get enlightened, their copy of Diamond Sutra is not Dharma, it belongs to the category of "everything else", and should rightfully be put down.

Next question: After one has put one down the Diamond Sutra, should one pick it up again some other day or some other time?

The clear answer from the Buddha, as I speculate, is a definite yes. There will always be another dream! Or as Scarlett O'Hara's famous quote says, "Tomorrow is another day!", that ends the novel "Gone with the Wind".

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