The Diamond Sutra: Transforming the Way We Perceive the World

Rating:
Summary: Bowing
Review: Bowing to the two previous reviewers, I will add these few words.

If you want to know more about Prajnaparamita thought and practice than this book undertakes to explain, then you are in for some serious reading of very thick and mysterious books (commentaries on sutras), supplemented by no small amount of meditation practice. I hope that you will 'go for it'. Until then, Part Two of this book will serve you well.

The Part One is the real find, however, delivering a marvelous digest of the most recent scholarship of the history and analysis of the origins of Mahayana. Your simplistic distinctions go out the window, with no regrets. Most every Mahayanist will learn some new things here.

Rating:
Summary: Transformation and the Diamond Sutra
Review: Most religous teachings have as a goal the transformation of self -- a move from selfishness, ignorance, and -- in many traditions -- sin towards understanding of reality, compassion for others, and a weakening of the bonds of ego. These goals are at the heart of Buddhism and of the Diamond Sutra. The Diamond Sutra is a seminal text of Mahayana Buddhism probably written about 350 A.D. The work is written in difficult, deliberately paradoxical terms. It encourages the reader to change his or her outlook by understanding the evanescent, changing, illusory character of what we take in our ordinary moments to be fixed reality. The Diamond Sutra tries to get the reader to let go of fixed concepts, of ideology, of selfishness, and to work towards a transformation to true wisdom and understanding and compassion for others. The Diamond Sutra also asks us to rethink our concept of a religious text. In the West, most people tend to see Scripture as specific teachings reflective in some sense of a Divine command. The Diamond Sutra and Buddhist teachings generally follow the Buddha's famous simile of the raft. The teachings are means to lead the reader to understanding -- or to the other side-- rather than ends or doctrines to be followed in their own right. When a person has attained enlightenment -- a rare occurence -- the teachings of the Sutras have fulfilled their goal and have no inherent value for their own sake.

In his study, "The Diamond Sutra: Transforming the Way We See the World" Mu Soeng emphasizes the transformative intent of the Diamond Sutra. Mu Soeng is a former Zen monk and currently is the co-director of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Barre, Massachusetts. His book is a valuable guide to this difficult text designed, Soeng tells us (at xi), for "serious readers of Buddhist teachings."

The book is in three parts. Part I consists of a historical and thematic discussion of the Diamond Sutra to prepare the reader for a study of the text. Soeng sets the Sutra in the context of early Buddhism with its belief in the transformative power of shamanism. He explains well, in a short space, many important concepts of Mahayana Buddhism and how it differed from what its followers perceived as the monastic, scholastic Buddhism codified in the Abidahamma texts of Southern Buddhism. Soeng also discusses the concepts emptiness, skillful means, and compassion, as exemplified by the Mahayana ideal figure of the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva takes a vow to help all beings become free from suffering before he or she passes into Nirvana.

Mu Soeng gives an analysis informed by many sources, both ancient and modern. He discusses in particular scientific developments in quantum theory and the literary philosophy of deconstruction as analogies to the teachings of the Diamond Sutra. I am skeptical of the value of these analogies and think they should be used with caution. I think these teachings, while having some relevance to the Sutra, are basically of the sort that the Buddha counseled his followers to avoid and to transform their minds instead by working towards a different, non-ideological approach to reality and to the end of the concept of self.

The second part of the book consists of a paragraph-by-paragraph presentation of the text of the Diamond Sutra together with a commentary. The commentary is basically Mu Soeng's own, informed by classical and modern texts. The third part of the book is the simple text of the Diamond Sutra, unadorned by commentary. Apparently, Mu Soeng suggests his readers approach the Sutra in a manner that follows his presentation (discussion of backround, text and commentary, simple text).

I found Mu Soeng's book helpful in approaching this text. The interested reader may wish to compare the approach of this book to the approach of Red Pine in his recent translation and commentary on the Diamond Sutra. Both Pine and Soeng emphasize the transformative power of the text. Pine has less detail on the backround of Buddhism and of the Mahayana School but he offers a wealth of classical Buddhist commentaries on the Diamond Sutra and integrates them well into his own thinking. His commentary draws much more on traditional Buddhist sources than does Soeng's.

Interestingly as well, Pine's pedagogical approach is almost the reverse of Mu Soeng's. After brief introductory material, Red Pine presents the unadorned text of the Diamond Sutra and then follows it with his detailed section-by-section commentary. Both Soeng's and Pine's approaches are insightful.

Mu Soeng's work will help the reader see the goal of transformation underlying the difficult and great teaching of the Diamond Sutra and to work towards its realization.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Commentary for an Important Buddhist Sutra
Review: The Diamond Sutra is one of the most important works in the Buddhist religion. It is one of a number of great sutras that make up what would be considered the equivalent of the Christian Bible. This sutra, like all the sutras and much of the Oriental writing such as the Bhagavad-Gita, is written in the form of a conversation . . . in this case it's written between the Buddha and , a monk by the name of Sabuthi.

Buddha is speaking to a large group of monks and others but the conversation is with this one individual.

The book is very intelligently divided into three parts. The first part consists of a history of this sutra and Buddhism in general. And it very well written.

The second part is the Diamond Sutra in a translated text and commentary and finally there is an appendix which consists of the raw text of the diamond Sutra. I find this an excellent way to put the commentary together.

While the book itself is relatively short with only 167 pages., it manages to give a tremendous amount of valuable information about this delightful sutra.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of historical data in this book. The author, Mu Soeng, gives a tremendous amount of historical background, as well as explains the differences in some of the various schools of Buddhism. This is most fascinating.

This material is written in a very easy to understand way and it is exceptionally well researched.

The background of the Diamond Sutra is well-documented in this book. Its relevance to the various schools of Buddhism are given quite a bit of space in the book, which I found very useful.

The second part of the book is the translated text and commentary. I had some trouble with this section. But perhaps the reason I had this difficulty, is explained by the Buddha himself who said in this sutra, "This sutra will be called the . . . The Diamond -- Cutter Wisdom That has Gone Beyond, because it has the capacity to cut through illusions and afflictions and bring us to the sure awakening, and by this title you will know it"

The Buddha also said in his discussion with Sabuthi (the monk Lord Bud dah was talking to in the sutra), that Sabuthi should know that the meaning of this sutra is beyond comprehension and discussion. He added that the fruit that results from receiving and practicing this sutra is beyond comprehension and discussion also.

So perhaps the fact that many things in this sutra were still left esoteric is because that's the way it was intended to be.

To give you an example of just one of the hundreds of areas that I felt were not commented upon enough for me understand is the following:

"Therefore, Sabuthi, a bodhisattva, detaching him or herself from all ideas, should rouse the desire for utmost, supreme, and perfect awakening. He or she should produce thoughts that are unsupported by forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangible objects, or mind objects, unsupported by Dharma, unsupported by no-Dharma, unsupported by everything. And why? Because all supports are no supports. This is the reason why the Buddha teaches that the bodhisattva should practice generosity without dwelling on form. Sabuthi, the reason he practices generosity is to benefit all beings." The Buddha also says that there is no Dharma by which he has fully known the utmost, right, and perfect awakening. And the Dharma that he has fully known and demonstrated is neither grasped nor elusive. Therefore he teaches all dharmas are the Buddha's own special dharmas. Finally to give another example of the difficulty in understanding the sutra, allow me to quote one more time from the Diamond Sutra.

"Know, World Honored One, he does not, why? Because to create a harmonious Buddha field is not to create a harmonious Buddha field, and therefore he is known as creating a harmonious Buddha field."

Now I realized that this is written eons ago. I know that it is esoteric in nature. But I would have liked the author to explain some of these areas better. I don't feel that a person should have to be a Buddhist scholar with many years background to be able to understand this lovely sutra.

But having said that, I think the author has done a superior job in writing a book that explains the eloquence and the beauty and the deep richness of Buddhism. Further, he has described the history in such manner that it brings Buddhism alive and makes it very real for the reader.

And so if a person is either well entrenched in Buddhism of any school, or if an individual is very interested in Buddhism and wants to gain a greater knowledge of it, I highly recommend this book. It is a wonderful work and well worth reading. I would advise the reader to read it more than one time, however. Because that will be the only way that he or she is going to be able to grasp the full meaning of both the commentary and this sutra.

I would give another star to the book if only it could explain what more of the text means or even gave the reader a few options from which to choose. But this being an ancient text and esoteric at best, perhaps that can never be done.

One should be aware too that Mu Soeng comes from the Zen tradition and some of the material cannot help but be colored by that. However, I found that he did an excellent job at being objective. So people from other traditions should be able to enjoy this book as well as people of the Zen tradition.

Rating:
Summary: Mahayana Revealed
Review: The Diamond Sutra is the core of the Buddhist Mahayana tradition and displays the paradoxical and mystical nature of Buddhism. Mu Soeng has written an extraordinary book for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. It is transformative for readers from almost any spiritual tradation, and the most articulate and absorbing commentary on the Buddhist Mahayana tradition as well as the Diamond Sutra. Thich Nhat Hanh's commentary on the same sutra pales by comparison. The book's first section is the most elaborate and remarkable exposition and history of Mahayana available in a popular text. Mu Soeng places both Buddhism and the Mahayana tradition in the historical and cultural context of the times, showing the remarkable creativity of the Buddha's views. His exposition of shunyata or emptiness is as close to human comprehension as we are likely to get.

Rating:
Summary: Mahayana Revealed
Review: The Diamond Sutra is the core of the Buddhist Mahayana tradition and displays the paradoxical and mystical nature of Buddhism. Mu Soeng has written an extraordinary book for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. It is transformative for readers from almost any spiritual tradation, and the most articulate and absorbing commentary on the Buddhist Mahayana tradition as well as the Diamond Sutra. Thich Nhat Hanh's commentary on the same sutra pales by comparison. The book's first section is the most elaborate and remarkable exposition and history of Mahayana available in a popular text. Mu Soeng places both Buddhism and the Mahayana tradition in the historical and cultural context of the times, showing the remarkable creativity of the Buddha's views. His exposition of shunyata or emptiness is as close to human comprehension as we are likely to get.

Rating:
Summary: A Work of Clarity and Scholarship
Review: This is an excellent book. Mu Soeng writes with a clarity that makes very difficult concepts understandable. At the same time, he presents a work of excellent historical scholarship that will educate, inform, and even entertain those readers wanting greater depth in understanding the Diamond Sutra and Mahayana Buddhism.

When I bought this book I expected a treatise that would clarify the philosophical depth of the Diamond Sutra. I was not disappointed. Mu Soeng's explanations of the Diamond Sutra clearly explain this paradoxical sutra without trivializing the material.

I was surprised when I discovered the wealth of historical material in the book on the development of Mahayana thought and the bodhisattva ideal. Normally such material might bore me, but somehow Mu Soeng weaves an historical tale that infuses the story of the development of Mahayana Buddhism with a sense of excitement.

I have studied and practiced Buddhism (Zen in particular) for almost 30 years. This is an excellent book that should be on the shelves of anyone who wants greater depth and clarity regarding the Diamond Sutra, the bodhisattva ideal, and Mahayana thought.