The Essence of the Diamond Sutra

Throughout the entire Diamond Sutra, its essential purpose is to shatter appearances, shatter appearances, shatter appearances—to shatter all appearances, beginning with the shattering of the four marks (self, person, sentient being, and life span), shattering all dharmic appearances. The scope of these dharmic appearances is immeasurably vast and boundless. All that sentient beings can touch, see, think, conceive, or discuss are non-appearances. This includes all dharmas and appearances within the three realms of the mundane world: the marks of self, person, sentient being, life span; the marks of śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, bodhisattva; the thirty-two major marks and the perfect physical marks of a Buddha; the appearance of Tathāgata, the appearance of the great body; the appearance of lands, the appearance of minute dust particles, the appearance of worlds, the appearance of the unified whole; the mind-appearances of sentient beings, the appearance of a bodhisattva's aspiration for bodhi, the appearance of a bodhisattva adorning a Buddha-land, the appearance of a bodhisattva liberating sentient beings, the appearance of Buddhas expounding the Dharma, the appearance of Buddhas attaining the Dharma, the appearance of Buddhas attaining bodhi, the appearance of a bodhisattva's practice of the six pāramitās; even the appearance of Prajñāpāramitā, the appearance of the Buddha Dharma, the appearance of the true nature of all dharmas, and so on and so forth. All appearances are non-appearances, neither appearances nor non-appearances, neither dharmas nor non-dharmas.

And what is the basis for shattering all these appearances? The basis is the indestructible, neither-arising-nor-ceasing vajra mind. Because of this indestructible vajra mind, all dharmic appearances that arise are non-appearances; more perfectly expressed, they are also neither non-appearances. Therefore, it is said that the Vajra Prajñā Mind is also called the Great Dharma Gate of Non-Appearance in One Mark. It holds all appearances, encompasses all dharmas, causing all dharmas to be devoid of inherent nature and inherent appearance. All dharmas are neither dharmas nor non-dharmas; the world is empty, still, void, and illusory.

The process and result of shattering appearances in the Diamond Sutra resonate profoundly with the Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva's Dharma Gate of Perfect Penetration through the Faculty of Hearing. It empties everything that can be emptied, leaving only the indestructible Vajra Prajñā Mind on the other shore—neither the other shore, nor not the other shore—solitary and without companion, yet it is the One True Dharma Realm.

The Diamond Sutra also resonates with all Prajñā scriptures and Mahāyāna scriptures, mutually affirming each other without the slightest dissonance. There is nothing but emptiness, emptiness to the very end—neither emptiness nor non-emptiness. Can worldly people comprehend this? Can they realize it? If realized, would any appearances remain in their minds? Would they still grasp at anything? Of course, in between lies the path of realization spanning three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas to traverse. It requires shattering appearances one by one, shattering completely and returning to the origin, returning home to sit securely. Yet by then, there is no home to return to, no place to sit, and no body to sit with. Is this not a Dharma gate of utterly naked, utterly liberated great liberation? Of course it is—liberated from all bonds of dharmas. Therefore, let people swiftly shatter all kinds of appearances! Swiftly free themselves from all kinds of entanglements! Swiftly discard all burdens!