Customer Reviews

The Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Hui-Neng (Shambhala Dragon Editions)

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Sutra translation into English is absolutely no easy task, yet A.F. Price does an excellent job here. The Diamond Sutra is probably the singlemost important sutra to all of Mahayana Buddhism, and particularly those schools of Zen. For those unfamiliar with this sutra, it is simply a dialogue between Subhuti, Buddha's disciple-and the Buddha himself.

The Diamond Sutra says, "All things that appear in this world are transient. If you view all appearances as nonappearance, then you will see the true Buddha.'' "All things that exist are like a dream, a phantom, a bubble, a reflection; they are like dew or lightning; thus should you view them.'' "If you are attached to color and sound and want to see your true nature, you are on the wrong path.''

This sutra demonstrates, in it's basic presentation, how the mind that discriminates this from that: I like this, I don't like that/ correct/incorrect-is forever chained to delusion. But a Buddha cuts through all opposites thinking. A Buddha sees past the evident and does some investigation. Understanding does not help us-action is understanding! Basically our ideas blind our eyes-but our eyes originally have no idea-they just look. So if we can attain a mind like that, a just looking mind, not a same/different mind-we can take true steps toward liberation.

Then we have the Sutra of Hui neng, another Buddhist classic. Hui Neng, as many of you may know-was the 6th Zen Patriarch in China. Hui Neng heard just a very few lines from the Diamond Sutra and completely understood himself with no practice at all. But he had a lot of karma. Many were trying to kill him for having received transmission from a very famous Zen Master, the Fifth Patriarch, and became the Sixth Patriarch with no training, no education. He had a lot of karma for all these people were trying to stick a knife in his back. So he had to go away in the forest for sixteen years and live with hunters and kill, living under trees with no roof over his head. Finally, after that length of time, he came out and took the Precepts and became a monk before he began teaching.

So The Sutra of Hui neng is almost like an autobiography of Hui Neng-a somewhat brief one-yet quite deep and insightful. So toss this book up, it always lands heads. Read this book often-it may seem slow at parts due to the ancient dialects-but true wisdom is on every page. Read it enough times, and your minds eye can open up! So what, [money] for this kind of crazy man's wisdom-what a bargain! Enjoy:)

I believe this was the original English translation (completed in the 1920's or 30's) of the Sutra of Hui-Neng, the 6th patriarch of Zen Buddhism. As such, it is a fine and sensitive effort and stands as a historical landmark in Zen's introduction to the West, but the translator was not a native English speaker, if I understand it correctly. To my taste at least, a better -- and more recent -- translation is that by Thomas Cleary.

The diamond sutra is the oldest extant book in the world. It has been described as a concise summary of the entirety of Buddhist thought. The name diamond is associated with it because it cuts through all of the different dogmas, systems of thought, and attempts to reveal reality as directly as possible. The 32 chapters (1-3 pages each) can be read in a single sitting.

The sutra of Hui-Neng is also included which is a longer, more biographical work by the sixth patriarch that serves as a commentary on the Diamond Sutra. The most enjoyable part of this work is a poetry contest held by the fifth patriarch. This contest was open to any of the monks but was effectively between the star student that was well respected but did not have a proper understanding of the Dharma (teaching) and the anonymous, low-born, illiterate Hui-Neng that had no social standing or formal knowlege, but understood the Dharma. Here is the classic exchange (paraphrased from memory):

Good Student:

The body is the bodhi tree and
The mind a mirror bright
Carefully we clean it day by day
So no dust may alight

Hui-Neng:

There is no bodhi tree
Nor a mirror bright
Since all is void and empty
Where can the dust alight?

I recommend this book to anyone serious about learing about the essence of Buddhism as opposed to the rituals and systems of thought associated with it. As the sutra says: The religion given by Buddha is not Buddha religion.

This book, comprising two closely related & relatively short sutras, is elemental to Buddhist thought. The first, The Diamond Sutra is a discourse between the Nagarjuna Buddha & his disciple Subhuti. So named for its proficiency to `cut away' the illusion of duality, it probes the nature of dualistic thought with questions from each to the other. The questions seem simple enough & generally evolve around the dissolution of names in the subjective world. The goal is to `snap' the mind into seeing all as no-thing, though Buddha stresses that this should not be viewed as nothing or nihilism. Easier said than done.
The second Sutra, composed from sermons given by Hui - Neng, an illiterate wood cutter who upon hearing the Diamond Sutra became enlightened unto its meaning & eventually became the sixth patriarch of Buddhism to China, (the thirty third in the lineage from Shakyamuni), is an extrapolation of the essence of the Diamond Sutra & what many consider the root of Zen. In it is recorded questions asked by him to followers of Buddhism, & his answers to theirs which almost always show the superficial ways in which people `understand' Buddha's message. His simple but intuitive answers leave you saying `of course!' over & over again. His message is occasionally Koan like & thus can be studied as such. Rarely in the text does he speak of laws or ethics, more intent instead to dwell on the ultimate nature of mind & reality, his reasoning being that once illusion is dispelled, wisdom is immediate. Surprising is his warning against Meditative practices, so incorporated in Zen, particularly the Rinzai style, as, he cautions, `Immobility is immobility & not dhyana', preferring the idea that satori is merely realized & that meditative practices may lead one to dwell on nothing. This is a wonderful Sutra & would do well to be read by anybody truly interested in Buddha the mans message. In the end however, it is best for the author of the Platform Sutra, as it is sometimes called, to leave a final book review:

"Men of principle will get it & those who are mindless will understand it."

One of the most profound work of Buddha's teaching I have ever read. This book has inspired me and awaken my heart to put forth more effort towards my continuous strive. I pray everyone will have a chance to read and benefit from this book.

The *Diamond Sutra* is a fundamental Zen text. It is very brief, very subtle, full of the most profound wisdom. I think it is the closest I have ever seen in words to approximating the absolutely ineffable truth of the Dharma. This is a wonderful translation. This is a profound sacred text, perhaps not appropriate for beginners, who will most likely find it inscrutable, but for souls who have experienced something of the Ineffable themselves.

Excellent foreword by Joe Miller not mentioned in information. These sutras give you the essence of Buddhism not the trappings. Essential for someone wanting to know the real thing. If you find the meaning of these sutras you are on your way to nowhere with nothing

As one of buddhists,It was a good chance to get to know this book.
To my viewpoint, It consists of two parts.
The first part deals with the teaching of buddha, the Gautama Siddhartha. The second one talks about the lessons of a Zen master,the Hui-neng in China. To the best of my knowledge, It wasn't as easy as I thought when it comes to understanding this book. In terms of the first section, In order to have a better understanding , A detailed comment should be added to it. In that way, it could get the exact message across to those with no general knowledge of buddhism. For my part, It wasn't difficult to get the message of the second part. Because I know a little bit about the stroy of the chinese zen master Hui-neng. However, To those,in particular westerners,who have no information of the zen school in china would be confused and hard to follow the book.Thus, it's quite necessary to approach the book in an efficient and straightforward way. The way I see it, The writter of this book should go to the trouble to bridge a gap in between the doctrine of zen school and the mind-set of readers.

This book from the Zen tradition is the best meditation manual I have found for work on eradicating the illusion of self. I am happy to see it back in print. Modern science views the human body, mind, and persona as a dissipative system. See Capra, Fritjof. The Web of Life : A New Understanding of Living Systems. Anchor Books, 1997. The Diamond Sutra is the Buddha's eloquent instruction on this topic and this a simply wonderful translation.

The Diamond sutra is considered as one of the profound teachings in the Mahayana tradition. Along side with the Lotus sutra, the heart sutra and the platform sutra, the Diamond is considered as main work that describes the philosophy of emptiness ( Shunyata ). It is , as well, accepted as one of the main texts for the Zen schools of China , Korea and Japan.

One will not find in here any captivating stories about super natural powers or some MERIT to be gained , but the simple explanations of the Buddha to his disciple Sabuthi about the "true nature" of all beings.
You can read each chapter at a time or rush through the text in one hour, in any way- every time you'll read it the deeper your understanding will become. It is a very simple teaching it a very deep one...