“No Such Thing as a Self”(All things are devoid of selfhood) In my view there are 4 main teachings in the Diamond Sutra. This is the second of the four I will present. Chapters related to this teaching: Chapter 3“Because if a disciple still clings to the arbitrary illusions of…
Author: Alex Johnson
First Teaching From the Diamond Sutra
“All form is illusive and unreal”(What we see isn’t what is real) In my view there are 4 main teachings in the Diamond Sutra. This is the first of the four I will present. Chapters related to this teaching: Chapter 5The Buddha then spoke to Subhuti: “All that has a…
Buddha’s Morning Enlightenment
Previously I have posted about the references to Enlightenment in the Diamond Sutra. Enlightenment is not a main topic in this sutra, but it is an important element in most branches of Buddhism. It seems like the references to “Enlightenment” in the Diamond Sutra would mostly refer to the kind…
The Diamond Sutra and Enlightenment
There are at least 10 references to Enlightenment in the 32 chapters contained in the Diamond Sutra. The purpose of this initial article is to mark out where in the Diamond Sutra these references are, and what they are. I am not going to analyze or comment on the chapters…
My Take on Buddhism
In order to help make sense of my observations in my posts and commentary about the Buddha and Buddhism, I would like to take a moment and clarify some of my own ideas of what Buddhism means to me. I am not a formal “Buddhist” and understand that there are…
Commentary Section Added to Website
A new section called “Commentary by Alex Johnson” is being added to the diamond-sutra.com website. This area will be a collection of my thoughts about what the Diamond Sutra might mean and specific thoughts and discussions about individual chapters and concepts. The main landing page for Commentary by Alex Johnson…
New Video Versions of the Diamond Sutra
All of the video versions of Diamond Sutra are now available on the diamond-sutra.com website, and on YouTube. Each chapter of the Diamond Sutra has it’s own video. The videos were intended to allow the viewer to be able to focus on the words and text, or to just listen…
How I Made the Diamond Sutra Videos
Diamond Sutra Videos: A Labor of Love I made individual videos for each of the 32 Chapters of the Diamond Sutra. This project was a labor of love, which took quite a bit of thought and work to produce. These videos are dedicated to keeping the Diamond Sutra alive and…
Diamond Sutra Website Updated
The Diamond Sutra website has been updated with a new look, and a new layout. The navigation has been simplified into new categories of ways to experience the Diamond Sutra. These sections are now named “Read“, “Watch“, “Listen“, and “Learn“. The website was redone and updated to give it a…
“3 Voices” Video Version of The Diamond Sutra
Click for “3 Voices” Video Version of “The Diamond Sutra – A New Translation” Note: In this Newer video version, there are three voices reading. In this new version of the Diamond Sutra, each part of the Sutra is read by a different reader. The graphics and organization is also…