Vajrakkhedika (Diamond Cutter) · 15 of 19 · tr. E.B. Cowell, F. Max Müller, and J. Kakakusu
Section 1o
Bhagavat said: 'What do you think, O Subhûti, has the Tathâgata the bodily eye?' Subhûti said: 'So it is, O Bhagavat, the Tathâgata has the bodily eye.' Bhagavat said: 'What do you think, O Subhûti, has the Tathâgata the heavenly eye?' Subhûti said: 'So it is, O Bhagavat, the Tathâgata has the heavenly eye.' Bhagavat said: 'What do you think, O Subhûti, has the Tathâgata the eye of knowledge?' Subhûti said: 'So it is, O Bhagavat, the Tathâgata has the eye of knowledge.' Bhagavat said: 'What do you think, O Subhûti, has the Tathâgata the eye of the Law?' Subhûti said: 'So it is, O Bhagavat, the Tathâgata has the eye of the Law.' Bhagavat said: 'What do you think, O Subhûti, has the Tathâgata the eye of Buddha?' Subhûti said: 'So it is, O Bhagavat, the Tathâgata has the eye of Buddha.' Bhagavat said: 'What do you think, O Subhûti, as many grains of sand as there are in the great river Gangâ--were they preached by the Tathâgata as grains of sand?' Subhûti said: 'So it is, O Bhagavat, so it is, O Sugata, they were preached as grains of sand by the Tathâgata.' Bhagavat said: 'What do you think, O Subhûti, if there were as many Gangâ rivers as there are grains of sand in the great river Gangâ; and, if there were as many worlds as there are grains of sand in these, would these worlds be many?' Subhûti said: 'So it is, O Bhagavat, so it is, O Sugata, these worlds would be many.' Bhagavat said: 'As many beings as there are in all those worlds, I know the manifold trains of thought of them all.
And why?
Because what was preached as the train of thoughts, the train of thoughts indeed, O Subhûti, that was preached by the Tathâgata as no-train of thoughts, and therefore it is called the train of thoughts.
And why?
Because, O Subhûti, a past thought is not perceived, a future thought is not perceived, and the present thought is not perceived.' (18) XIX.
'What do you think, O Subhûti, if a son or a daughter of a good family should fill this sphere of a million millions of worlds with the seven treasures, and give it as a gift to holy and fully enlightened Buddhas, would that son or daughter of a good family produce on the strength of this a large stock of merit?' Subhûti said: 'Yes, a large one.' Bhagavat said: 'So it is, Subhûti, so it is; that son or daughter of a good family would produce on the strength of this a large stock of merit, immeasurable and innumerable.
And why?
Because what was preached as a stock of merit, a stock of merit indeed, O Subhûti, that was preached as no-stock of merit by the Tathâgata, and therefore it is called a stock of merit.
Themes
◆Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
The passage defines reality through negation, stating that worlds are 'no-numbers' and all things are 'without self.'
All passages →◆Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis
Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.
The Bodhisattva is praised for believing all things are without self, reflecting a radical letting-go of grasping and ego-image.
All passages →◆Infinite Cosmoscosmology
The doctrine of the universe as boundless and without center or circumference, populated by innumerable worlds — Bruno's rejection of the closed Aristotelian sphere; the divine and the cosmos as ontologically infinite.
The dialogue uses the metaphor of innumerable grains of sand to describe a boundless multitude of worlds and beings.
All passages →◆Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
The text employs contradictory statements like calling worlds 'numbers' and 'no-numbers' to convey the doctrine of emptiness.
All passages →◇Anthropomorphismtheology
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
The Tathagata is described as possessing specific types of eyes, attributing human-like sensory organs to the enlightened being.
All passages →◇Hidden Sayingssoteriology
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The dialogue presents deep doctrinal truths about emptiness addressed specifically to a disciple capable of understanding them.
All passages →◇Sunyata Emptinesssoteriology
The Buddhist doctrine that all phenomena lack independent self-nature; emptiness as the positive recognition that things arise only in dependence on conditions — distinct from kenoma's mere deficiency.
[auto] The passage explicitly defines phenomena as lacking inherent nature ('numbers of worlds... spoken of as no-numbers', 'all things are without self').
All passages →Related passages · 9 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 7, Section 1a
“CHAPTER VII Concerning “Wisdom,” “Mind,” “Reason,” “Truth,” “Faith.” 1.
Now, if it like thee, let us consider the Good and Eternal Life as Wise and as Very Wisdom, or rather as the Fount of all wisdom and as Transcending all wisdom and und…”
Both passages explore the transcendent nature of ultimate reality (Buddha in Passage A and God in Passage B) and the limitations of human perception and understanding in grasping it. They both emphasize the paradoxical nature of the divine or enlightened state, which transcends conventional categories and understanding.
◆gnosticism|Gospel of Thomas|Logion 3
“Jesus said, "If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and i…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of inner knowledge and understanding. The Gospel of Thomas stresses self-knowledge as the path to realizing the kingdom within, while the Diamond Sutra discusses the profound understanding of the nature of reality and the emptiness of concepts, including thoughts and merit.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 1: Poimandres|Section 1b
“But when He raised His head, I see in Mind the Light, [but] now in Powers no man could number, and Cosmos grown beyond all bounds, and that the Fire was compassed round about by a most mighty Power, and [now] subdued had come unto a stand.…”
Both passages explore the nature of ultimate reality and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They discuss the concept of a higher, transcendent knowledge or insight that goes beyond ordinary human experience, and the idea that ultimate reality is beyond the grasp of conventional thought.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 360
“Section 40 40. But magic spells; how can their efficacy be explained? By the reigning sympathy and by the fact in Nature that there is an agreement of like forces and an opposition of unlike, and by the diversity of those multitudinous powe…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality and the limitations of perception. The Vajrakkhedika discusses the concept of 'no-self' and the illusion of multiplicity, while the passage from Select Works discusses the variety and hidden life within the universe. Both texts emphasize the deeper, often imperceptible nature of reality beyond surface appearances.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 638
“Section 18 18. It appears then that Number in that realm is definite; it is we that can conceive the "More than is present"; the infinity lies in our counting: in the Real is no conceiving more than has been conceived; all stands entire; no…”
Both passages explore the nature of multiplicity and unity, discussing how numbers and quantities are perceived and understood. They share a mystical perspective on the underlying principles of existence, though they come from different traditions (Neoplatonism and Mahayana Buddhism).
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 642
“Section 3 3. What then is there to prevent man having been the object of planning There? No: all stands in that likeness, nothing to be added or taken away; this planning and reasoning is based only on an assumption; things are taken to be…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality and the limitations of perception and description. The Vajrakkhedika discusses the concept of 'no-self' and the illusory nature of multiplicity, while Plotinus' work delves into the unity and number of the Intellectual-Principle. Both texts grapple with the idea that what is perceived is not the ultimate reality.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 645
“Section 6 6. But how can that higher soul have sense-perception? It is the perception of what falls under perception There, sensation in the mode of that realm: it is the source of the soul's perception of the sense-realm in its corresponde…”
Both passages explore the concept of infinity and the nature of reality beyond finite perception. Plotinus discusses the infinite line in the Intellectual realm, while the Buddhist text delves into the idea of infinite worlds and the nature of thought, both emphasizing the transcendence of conventional understanding.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 646
“Section 7 7. But if it is by becoming evil and inferior that the soul produces the animal nature, the making of ox or horse was not at the outset in its character; the reason-principle of the animal, and the animal itself, must lie outside…”
Both passages discuss the nature of reality and the limitations of human perception and language in describing it. They emphasize the unity and eternity of the ultimate reality, which transcends conventional notions of number, time, and individual existence.
◆platonism|Plato: Republic|Section 1c
“Moreover, I said, you must not wonder that those who attain to this beatific vision are unwilling to descend to human affairs; for their souls are ever hastening into the upper world where they desire to dwell; which desire of theirs is ver…”
Both passages discuss the nature of perception and knowledge, emphasizing the limitations and transformations of human understanding. The Diamond Sutra explores the concept of non-attachment and the illusion of perception, while Plato's Allegory of the Cave discusses the journey from ignorance to enlightenment and the nature of true knowledge.