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 at this point, but this short article should give some rough idea of where Enlightenment fits into the Diamond Sutra.
Most of these references are fairly significant, but several are more in passing and not a main point of the chapter. There may be a few places in the sutra that I did not reference here where the word enlightenment is used, but not in any noteworthy sense.
I will be posting another article where I will discuss what the word “enlightenment” might mean in this sutra and in Buddhism in general.
Part of the enigma in trying to discuss or to think about enlightenment is in even coming up with a useful definition of it. Those issues will be discussed elsewhere.
Enlightenment in the Diamond Sutra
Here are the main references I found to Enlightenment in the Diamond Sutra:
Chapter 6:
“Therefore anyone who seeks total Enlightenment should discard not only all conceptions of their own selfhood, of other selves, or of a universal self, but they should also discard all notions of the non-existence of such concepts.”
and
“These arbitrary concepts and ideas about spiritual things need to be explained to us as we seek to attain Enlightenment.”
Chapter 7:
“As far as I have understood the lord Buddha’s teachings, there is no independently existing object of mind called the highest, most fulfilled, awakened or enlightened mind.”
and
“What this means is that Buddhas and disciples are not enlightened by a set method of teachings, but by an internally intuitive process which is spontaneous and is part of their own inner nature.”
Chapter 9:
There are references to “entering the stream which flows to enlightenment” and several other things, but I find these not to be the main point of the chapter, but only secondary.
Chapter 13:
This chapter references how the Diamond Sutra got it’s name.
“This Sutra is hard and sharp, like a diamond that will cut away all arbitrary conceptions and bring one to the other shore of Enlightenment.”
Chapter 14:
“Therefore, Subhuti, disciples should leave behind all distinctions of phenomena and awaken the thought of the attainment of Supreme Enlightenment.”
Chapter 15:
“The Buddha has declared this teaching for the benefit of initiates on the path to Enlightenment; he has declared it for the benefit of initiates on the path to Nirvana. If there is someone capable of receiving, practicing, reciting, and sharing this Sutra with others, the Buddha will see and know that person, and he or she will receive immeasurable, incalculable, and boundless merit and virtue. Such a person is known to be carrying the Supreme Enlightenment attained by the Buddha.”
Chapter 22:
Subhuti again asked, “Blessed lord, when you attained complete Enlightenment, did you feel in your mind that nothing had been acquired?”
The Buddha replied:
“That is it exactly, Subhuti. When I attained total Enlightenment, I did not feel, as the mind feels, any arbitrary conception of spiritual truth, not even the slightest. Even the words ‘total Enlightenment’ are merely words, they are used merely as a figure of speech.”
Chapter 23:
“Furthermore Subhuti, what I have attained in total Enlightenment is the same as what all others have attained. It is undifferentiated, regarded neither as a high state, nor a low state. It is wholly independent of any definite or arbitrary conceptions of an individual self, other selves, living beings, or a universal self.”
Chapter 31:
“Subhuti, when people begin their practice of seeking to attaining total Enlightenment, they ought to see, to perceive, to know, to understand, and to realize that all things and all spiritual truths are no-things, and, therefore, they ought not to conceive within their minds any arbitrary conceptions whatsoever.”
Chapter 32:
“Subhuti, if anyone gave to the Buddha an immeasurable quantity of the seven treasures sufficient to fill the whole universe; and if another person, whether a man or woman, in seeking to attain complete Enlightenment were to earnestly and faithfully observe and study even a single section of this Sutra and explain it to others, the accumulated blessing and merit of that latter person would be far greater.”
Feel free to leave your comments, and check back for more soon.
Alex Johnson
—————————–
