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Diamond Sūtra Discussion

Power and position destroyed in silence 威儀寂淨分

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Power and position destroyed in silence 威儀寂淨


Text


須菩提有人:『如來。』不解我所何以如來從來如來

Yifa: “Subhuti, if there is someone who says the Tathagata either comes [āgacchati] or goes [gacchati], or sits [niṣīdati], or lies down [śayyā], this person does not understand the meaning of what I say. Why is this? The Tathagata has nowhere to come from and nowhere to go, therefore he is called the Tathagata.”

Sanskrit: api tu khalu punaḥ subhūte yaḥ kaścidevaṃ vadet-tathāgato gacchati vā āgacchati vā tiṣṭhati vā niṣīdati vā, śayyāṃ vā kalpayati, na me subhūte (sa) bhāṣitasyārthamājānāti| tatkasya hetoḥ ? tathāgata iti subhūte ucyate na kvacidgato na kutaścidāgataḥ| tenocyate tathāgato'rhan samyaksaṃbuddha iti||29||

Commentary


The Buddha neither comes nor goes because the Dharmakaya neither comes or goes. The Dharmakaya simply is, thus, what it is.

The Avatamsaka Sutra says,

The Buddha does not come or go at all. The body of the thirty two attributes is simply the Tathagata's apparition body.
(Red Pine 2001, ch. 29)

This section is somewhat symmetric with Section 4, where the Buddha introduces the four directions, prompting Subhūti to realize that the four directions are immeasurable.

The English word someone translates the Chinese phrase 有人, Sanskrit kaścid. The English word comes translates the Chinese , Sanskrit āgacchati. The English word goes translates the Chinese , Sanskrit gacchati. The English word sit translates the Chinese , Sanskrit niṣīdati. The English phrase lies down translates the Chinese . The Sanskrit word is śayyā, which is a noun meaning bed, sleep, or the act of lying down.

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