Diamond Sutra
Also known as: Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Vajracchedika Sutra, The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion, Jingang Jing
A concise Mahāyāna scripture in which the Buddha instructs the elder Subhūti on nonattachment, emptiness, and non-abiding generosity. Through paradox and negation, it dismantles fixed views to reveal the Perfection of Wisdom.
Description
The Diamond Sutra (Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) is a brief yet influential discourse of the Prajñāpāramitā tradition. Set in Jetavana, the Buddha addresses the monk Subhūti, using the ‘diamond’ as a metaphor for a wisdom that cuts through all reified concepts. The text advances non-abiding generosity, teaching that even virtues, attainments, and ‘self’ are empty of inherent nature. Its method is apophatic: names are denied as ultimately real precisely to point beyond them. The sutra culminates in memorable similes—life as a dream, bubble, or lightning flash—capturing the evanescence of phenomena and the freedom found in seeing their emptiness.
Historiography
Surviving witnesses include Sanskrit fragments, early Chinese translations (notably Kumārajīva’s 401 CE rendering), and Tibetan versions. The Dunhuang printed scroll (868 CE) is often cited as the earliest dated printed book. East Asian exegetical traditions—Sanlun, Tiantai, Huayan, and Chan/Zen—produced commentaries and sermons, with the text prominent in Chan where it is linked to sudden enlightenment narratives (e.g., Huineng). Modern scholarship situates it within the broader Prajñāpāramitā redactional history and intertextuality with the Heart Sutra and larger Perfection of Wisdom texts.
Date Notes
Composed within the Mahāyāna Prajñāpāramitā corpus; standard Chinese version translated by Kumārajīva in 401 CE; oldest extant printed scroll from Dunhuang dated 868 CE.
Symbols
Major Characters
- Buddha
- Subhuti
Myths
- Perfection of Wisdom in Dialogue
- Emptiness and Non-Abiding
- Merit of Generosity and Non-Self
Facts
- Sanskrit title is Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, “Diamond-Cutter Perfection of Wisdom.”
- Belongs to the Prajñāpāramitā literature alongside the Heart Sutra and the ‘8,000 Lines’.
- Standard Chinese translation by Kumārajīva dates to 401 CE.
- Earliest dated printed book is a Diamond Sutra scroll from Dunhuang (868 CE).
- Structured in 32 short chapters in most East Asian editions.
- Cast as a dialogue between the Buddha and the elder Subhūti.
- Central teachings emphasize non-abiding generosity and the emptiness of dharmas.
- Highly influential in Chan/Zen; associated with sudden enlightenment narratives.
- Known for its closing similes likening phenomena to a dream, bubble, and lightning flash.
- Preserved in Sanskrit fragments, Chinese canons, and Tibetan translations.