Description
 
Preface 
 
It seems very impertinent of me to lecture to believers on The Diamond Sutra, a key text by Śākyamuni Buddha, and to organize those lectures into a book. I have always considered the process of publishing a book to be one of praying for the incomplete to somehow become complete.
 
As I present this book, I would like to express my most profound gratitude from the bottom of my heart to the new Buddha, the Founding Master Sot’aesan, and to teachers including Master Chŏngsan and Master Taesan. I wandered around as a truly trifling sentient being before entering this teaching and forming an affinity with the truth on the strength of the heartfelt teachings that I received on the Il-Won-Sang. In this way, I came to study the words of the teachers of humankind who achieved great enlightenment in the past: Śākyamuni Buddha, Confucius, Lao-tze, and Jesus Christ, among others. Out of all of these, it was The Diamond Sutra, revered as the guiding buddhist scripture of Won-Buddhism, that I took as the occasion for my enlightenment, lecturing on it to the followers of the faith, examining it anew, and publishing this book in the spirit of praise for the Buddha.
 
The Diamond Sutra was originally written down in Sanskrit more than three millennia ago, and subsequently translated into Chinese. There may be some cases where the true intentions of the Buddha became buried in the writing over the course of its translations, and I also suspect that there are areas in which the true meaning has been exaggerated or expressed incorrectly owing to differences in languages.
 
In approaching this effort, I took as a case for study the question of how I might express the original meaning taught by Śākyamuni Buddha without becoming bound to language and strict usage, and how the Buddha might express his teachings were he to come here today and speak to modern individuals.
 
In the Sanskrit name of The Diamond Sutra (Vajracchedika-Prajñāpāramitā-Sūtra), vajracchedika, or “diamond,” refers to the unbreakable foundation of self-nature inherent in the human mind; prajñā to the light of self-nature that ceaselessly surges forth from that foundation; and pāramitā to the recovery of the adamantine self-nature and actions based on that self-nature, by using its light to hone wisdom for the practice of a life without delusion. My hope is that you will adopt this essential diamond nature, the prajñā light, and the pāramitā practice as your standard in studying and practicing The Diamond Sutra.
 
This essential nature, light, and self-nature practice do not exist for me alone. It is a truth that suffuses the myriad phenomena in the universe.
 
It is a substance that governs the universe; in today’s terms, it might be called an “operator” of all things in heaven and earth. Because it is so difficult for us to seek out and understand the principle that exists far outside, we can most easily awaken to and practice this Il-Won-Sang Truth by seeking out the Diamond Sutra way in the place closest to us: our own mind.
 
In human existence, the way in which we use our mind is what ultimately creates happiness and misfortune. Thus, our first task is to find the truth within the mind and to train the mind. Since this is the ultimate task falling upon religion, we, who first find and practice the Diamond Sutra way in our mind, will ultimately master the providence that governs the universe.
 
 
 
Contents
 
Preface    9
 
Chapter 1 Thus Did I Hear    13
  The Reasons for the Dharma Meeting
Chapter 2 Two Fundamental Questions of Mind-Practice    25
  Subhuti’s Dharma Request
Chapter 3 Nine Minds That Must Be Reformed    41
  The Orthodox Cardinal Doctrines of the Mahayana
Chapter 4 Where The Buddha’s Mind Dwells    67
  Marvelous Practice Without Dwelling
Chapter 5 The Unchanging Reality    77
  Truly Seeing the Principle of Suchness
Chapter 6 Prophecies on The Dharma-Ending World    83
  The Rarity of Right Belief
Chapter 7 Grounding in the No-Mind    99
  Nothing Attained, Nothing Taught
Chapter 8 The True Buddhadharma Requires Abandoning the Buddhadharma    107
  Being Born from Reliance on the Dharma
Chapter 9 Four Stages of Mind-Practice    115
  The One Form Not Being Form
Chapter 10 Practice to Cultivate the Mind-Field    131
  Cultivation of Splendor on the Pure Land
Chapter 11 The Greatest Merit    145
  The Supremacy of Unconditioned Blessings
Chapter 12 The Place Where the Diamond Sutra Is Present    153
  Revering the Proper Teaching
Chapter 13 Deciding the Title of the Scripture    161
  Accepting and Upholding in Accordance with the Dharma
Chapter 14 True Practice with Forbearance    177
  Leaving Notions and Achieving Cessation
Chapter 15 The Tathagata Sees and Knows All    205
  The Merits of Upholding the Sutra
Chapter 16 Reducing Karma from Previous Lives    221
  Capably Cleansing Karmic Obstructions
Chapter 17 I Without I    233
  No Self in the Ultimate Realm
Chapter 18 The Five Discernments of the Buddha    259
  Seeing All as a Single Body
Chapter 19 The Merits of Giving the Seven Treasures    273
  Edifying on the Entire Dharma Realm
Chapter 20 The Unknowable Mind of the Buddha    279
  Leaving Both Form and Appearance
Chapter 21 Words That Cannot Be Expressed in Words    287
  No Speaking and Nothing Spoken
Chapter 22 The Unattainable Mind    295
  No Dharma That Can Be Attained
Chapter 23 The Mind That We All Possess Equally     299
  Doing Good with a Pure Mind
Chapter 24 The Incomparable Merit    305
  Blessings and Wisdom Without Compare
Chapter 25 The Buddha's Edifying Mind    311
  Edifying Without Being Edified
Chapter 26 The Physical Body and the Dharmakāya    317
  The Dharma Body Not Being an Appearance
Chapter 27 The Meaning of ‘Nonexistence’    323
  No Cessation or Extinguishing
Chapter 28 To Freedom 329
  Neither Receiving Nor Coveting
Chapter 29 That Mind Going, That Mind Coming    341
  His Demeanor Being Serene and Tranquil
Chapter 30 The Truth Is One    349
  The Principle Image of One Unity
Chapter 31 The Views of the Buddha    357
  Not Producing Knowledge and Views
Chapter 32 A Plea for Edification   367
The Transformation Body Not Being the True Body