Describing the Indescribable [Paperback]

Tom Graham (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2001

The Diamond Sutra is revered throughout Asia as one of the Buddha's most profound expressions of the nature of reality. Describing the Indescribable offers a brilliant explanation from a modern Chinese meditation master.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Some Buddhist sutras are better than others for reading aloud, and the Diamond Sutra has always been considered one of the best. Master Hsing Yun, 48th patriarch of the Lin-chi (Rinzai) sect of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, is beloved for his approachable, down-to-earth religiousness and is revered for his worldly wisdom. A gargantuan rejuvenator of Buddhism in Taiwan and elsewhere, Hsing Yun is also the author of numerous tracts on Buddhism. Now his commentary on the Diamond Sutra has been translated into English.

The Diamond Sutra, the entire text of which is included here, is famously mesmerizing and notoriously opaque, with the immortal line "give rise to a mind not based on anything." Hsing Yun brings this and other difficult passages, such as those on emptiness, true perception, the meaning of compassion, and the perfection of wisdom, down to earth, presenting them in the light of levels of understanding. The Diamond Sutra is an "ultimate" teaching, meaning it takes an enlightened mind to fully comprehend it, but also meaning it can guide one to enlightenment. With recitation of this classic, and with Hsing Yun doing the guiding, it can't be far off now. --Brian Bruya

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861711866
• ISBN-13: 978-0861711864
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #414,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Venerable Master Hsing Yun is a Chinese Buddhist monk, author, philanthropist, and founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order, which has branches throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Ordained at the age of twelve in Jiangsu Province, China, Master Hsing Yun has spent his over seventy years as a Buddhist monk building what he calls Humanistic Buddhism: Buddhism that meets the needs of people and is integrated into all aspects of life.

In 1949, Master Hsing Yun came to Taiwan and began to nurture the new burgeoning Buddhist culture in Taiwan. He served as an editor and contributor to many Buddhist magazines and periodicals, authoring the daily columns "Between Ignorance and Enlightenment," "Dharma Words," and "Hsing Yun's Chan Talk," as well as starting his own Buddhist magazine, "Awakening the World," in 1957, and the first daily Buddhist newspaper, the "Merit Times," in 2000. Master Hsing Yun authored many important works including the "Song of Silence," the "Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha," and "National Master Yulin." Master Hsing Yun also edited and sponsored the Fo Guang Encyclopedia, the most authoritative Buddhist reference work in the Chinese language. His contributions have reached as far as sponsoring Buddhist music and art, to creating Buddhist programming for television, radio, and the stage.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clarity and Wisdom, August 2, 2002

By 

charles hardy (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Describing the Indescribable (Paperback)

The Diamond Sutra is one of the most revered sacred
texts in the Buddhist canon. Master Hsing Yun has
given western readers a gift beyond measure.
His translation is poetic, yet clear. Beautiful in
form, the reader is transported back to the Jeta Grove
to receive the teaching.
The accompanying commentary is wonderful. Context
for the Diamond Sutra is provided through examples from
other Sutras and Buddhist teachers.
The format of the book lends itself to

introspection. I found myself reading a chapter,
then the commentary, followed by a brief period of
contemplation. This method helped me to understand
the content in a more meaningful way.
Master Hsing Yun and the translators, have given us profound teachings, presented in a clear and
understandable form.
They are to be congratulated, and we are grateful
for their contribution to Buddhism.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful Commentary, February 28, 2004

By 

Swing King (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Describing the Indescribable (Paperback)

This is a really indispensable companion for anyone who is familiar with and has read a translation of The Diamond Sutra. Master Hsing Yun expresses his own wealth of compassion by offering us this amazingly insightful book. The author tells us that in order to uphold the truths within the Diamond Cutter, we must practice generosity. In fact he has an entire chapter in this work covering that subject alone. He argues that the Diamond Sutra teaches us how to purify our intentions as we find perfect clarity of consciousness. By reciting even a few verses of this wonderful sutra, as the Buddha even says all throughout the Diamond Cutter, we lead others by our EXAMPLE to the Buddha's Dharma. The Buddha often says in the Diamond sutra that leading others to the path of the Buddha is actually one of the highest forms of compassion and generosity one can offer. In essence, to be fully understood, the Diamond Sutra must as a requisite be shared with others.

When our intentions are pure, we see others as they really are. Otherwise we see some muddled reflection of how our mind is feeling while defiled. It's true, too. Think of how when you are grumpy, others are a bother to you. "Go away," you say to yourself under muttered whispers. But our whole lives are dependant on others. If it wasn't for other people's love and kindness, I would have not only died as an infant but would never even have been born. Hsing Yun masterfully weaves the heart of The Diamond Sutra into this very central theme. That of giving to other sentient beings in every capacity we are capable of carrying out with our entire being. Order this book, it's a Wisdom publication - so you know you cannot go wrong.

5.0 out of 5 stars Inconceivably Great, August 7, 2011

By 

Brandon Lott - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Describing the Indescribable (Paperback)

"Subhuti, if I were to say completely how great is the goodness attained by a good man or a good woman who practices, reads, and chants this sutra in the Dharma declining age, there would be those whose minds would become crazy upon hearing this, and they would form deep doubts and not believe it. Subhuti, it is enough to know that this sutra is inconceivably great, and that the rewards it offers are inconceivably great." Buddha from The Diamond Sutra.

"Once during the T'ang Dynasty, Prince Liang Wu asked a Ch'an master to explain the Diamond Sutra to him. The master came in and sat down, and then he tapped a ruler for silence. The he got up and left. A monk who was present at the time asked the prince if he had understood the teaching. The prince replied, 'I am as mystified by it as if I had fallen five miles into a thick fog.' The monk then said, "There is nothing anyone can say about the Diamond Sutra. The master revealed the depths of its mysteries by leaving the room altogether'." Master Hsing Yun telling a story to illuminate the beauty of "Describing the Indescribable."

This is the single greatest teaching I have ever received out of many years of spiritual search, study and practice. It changed my life in ways only that something so precious (as a diamond) can. If you allow yourself to be open and practice its depths ... it will transform you ... from a lump of coal into a diamond in the "Jeweled Net of Indra."