金刚经（简体中文版）: 中华传世珍藏古典文库

by 鸠摩罗什 (Editor)

《金刚经》是鸠摩罗什所译的一部中华传世珍藏的国学经典佳作，在海内外广为阅读和流传，值得细细品味。本书为简体中文版，全本9回，由艺雅出版社精心制作。艺雅出版社还分别提供其繁体中文版与简繁体对照版，欢迎大家下载阅读。

36 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 5, 2018

Reviews

[Barack Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

583-Diamond Sutra-Kumarajiva-Religion-344AD

Barack
August 24th , 2025


The Diamond Sutra, fully known as the Diamond Prajnaparamita Sutra, is a classic in the Prajnaparamita section of Mahayana Buddhism. This sutra recounts Subhuti's question to the Buddha about how to settle the bodhicitta and subdue the deluded mind. The Buddha expounded on the inherent emptiness of all dharmas, replying, "Bodhisattvas should abandon all thoughts (Sanskrit: sarva-sa ṃ j ñ ā , meaning all perceptions, namely, the perception of self, others, living beings, and the living being), and cultivate the anuttara-samyak-sambodhi mind. They should not give rise to thoughts based on form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharma, but should cultivate a mind that is free from attachment." The sutra emphasizes the inherent emptiness of all things, their illusory nature. To achieve supreme enlightenment, one must not give rise to thoughts based on the six sense objects. Instead, one must shed attachment to self and dharma, erasing all dharma forms and leaving the mind free from attachment. Only then can one attain liberation and Buddhahood.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Master Kaishan Zhizang experienced many miraculous responses when reciting the Diamond Sutra. Monks from the Tang Dynasty onwards viewed this sutra as a classic expounding the profound meaning of Buddha nature. Furthermore, since the Sixth Patriarch Huineng attained enlightenment upon hearing this sutra, it has been promoted by various Zen masters, giving it a high status. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang decreed that the "Book of Filial Piety," "Tao Te Ching," and "Diamond Sutra" be the most important classics of the Three Religions, and personally wrote commentaries on them. During the Song Dynasty, the imperial court used the Diamond Sutra to test monks. At the request of Yao Daoyan, the Linji sect's imperial preceptor, Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty gathered together knowledgeable scholars from both the monastic and secular worlds to compile the "Collected Commentaries on the Diamond Sutra," and he also wrote a preface in his own hand. (It is believed that it was written by Wendan and copied by Emperor Chengzu himself.)

The Diamond Sutra was vigorously promoted by Zen Buddhism, and scholars and officials revered it, believing that thorough reading could help them let go of attachments and achieve Buddhahood. Ordinary people also believed that the sutra possessed miraculous powers, and that simply reciting it could summon the protection of Vajra Acala, Vajra-Garbha Bodhisattva, the Four Vajra Bodhisattvas (Vajra Retainers, Vajra Cord, Vajra Love, and Vajra Speech), and the Eight Great Vajras. Esoteric religions of the late Ming Dynasty strongly promoted the Diamond Sutra, equating emptiness with the Dao, viewing it as the "vacuum homeland" from which all things emerge.

Kumarajiva was born in Kucha (present-day Kuche County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) in 344 AD (the second year of the Jianyuan reign of the Jin Dynasty) and died in 413 AD (the fifteenth year of the Hongshi reign of the Later Qin Dynasty). He was a Buddhist monk active during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He was a translator of Chinese Buddhism, translating works such as the Diamond Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Madhyamaka Shastra, and the Great Wisdom Treatise. He is considered one of the three great translators of Chinese Buddhism, along with Zhenti and Xuanzang.

Kumarajiva's translations of Buddhist scriptures emphasized both the original meaning and fluency of the text, rather than being literal translations. His translations were exquisite, developing a unique four-character style known as the "translation style." Hu Shi, in his article "The Translation of Buddhist Literature," noted, "In the transitional period of his time, Kumarajiva's translation method was considered the most suitable." Chen Yinke praised Kumarajiva, believing his translations to be superior to Xuanzang's, citing three key characteristics: "First, he eliminated the verboseness of the original text; second, he was not bound by the original text's structure; and third, he adapted the original text." Kumarajiva himself lamented that while he captured the main idea, he lost the beauty and elegance of the Sanskrit texts, stating, "Changing Sanskrit to Chinese loses its elegance. Although the main idea is captured, the style is alienated. It's like chewing rice and offering it to someone else: not only does it lose its flavor, it also makes one vomit."

Kumarajiva made significant contributions to East Asian Buddhist canonization. He began translating Buddhist scriptures at Ximing Pavilion and Xiaoyao Garden. His translations covered the Buddhist Tripitaka (Sutras, Vinaya, and Abhidharma), as well as the Dhyana Sutras. He also translated many Mahayana sutras, making them more accurate. He introduced the Vinaya of the Sarvastivada school and, in terms of doctrine, introduced the Chengshi Shastra and the Madhyamika works of Nagarjuna and Deva. He also passed down the Mahayana Dhyana method based on the Dhyana Essence of the Sarvastivada school. In the history of Buddhist translation, the translations of Xuanzang and others are called New Translations, those of Kumarajiva are called Old Translations, and those earlier than Kumarajiva are called Ancient Translations.

Kumarajiva created a new literary style that blended foreign languages with Chinese. The sutras and treatises he translated were enjoyed by Chinese Buddhists. Zan Ning praised Kumarajiva's translation of the Lotus Sutra as "having a natural Western flavor." Although there are many translations of the Diamond Sutra, Kumarajiva's translation is the most widely circulated, and his translation style also had a significant influence on later Buddhist literature.

Terminology
Vajra: A metaphor for the "strong and destructible" wisdom power, not metal but a mental quality; used to describe the "Prajna" that can destroy all attachments while remaining indestructible itself.
Prajna ( prajñā ): Insight into the true nature of all dharmas, not knowledge; in the Diamond Sutra, it is almost equivalent to the wisdom of "seeing that all dharmas are empty."
Paramita (Pāramitā ) : meaning reaching the other shore, perfection; "Prajnaparamita" means "reaching the other shore of liberation through emptiness and wisdom." It is one of the six perfections.

Mahayana (Mahāyā na ): A path with the ambition of benefiting others and attaining Buddhahood; in this sutra it is embodied in “giving without dwelling on form” and so on, putting the wisdom of emptiness into practice to save lives.

Bodhisattva (bodhisattva): A practitioner who vows to attain Buddhahood and whose core purpose is to benefit others.
Bodhi/Bodhicitta: Bodhi means enlightenment, and bodhicitta is the aspiration and motivation to seek supreme enlightenment for all sentient beings. The sutra asks, "How to abiding in bodhicitta?" This is essentially asking how to stabilize this heart seeking enlightenment for all sentient beings without becoming attached.
Anuttara -samyak-sa ṃ bodhi : Arouse the mind of supreme enlightenment; the goal is complete enlightenment, and the path is the practice of "detachment from form and non-attachment".

Delusion: A mind that arises from discriminating and clinging to circumstances; it is not a “bad mind” but a habitual mind that has not been trained and changes with circumstances.
Staying still: Keep your mind steady and don’t let it drift with the circumstances; the answer given in the Diamond Sutra is not “grasp something” but “give rise to the mind without dwelling on anything”.

All appearances / all thoughts ( sarva-sa ṃ j ñ ā ): conceptual labels and external appearances added to objects; the sutra advocates that "one should not see the Tathagata by appearance", reminding us that dependence on "names and appearances" itself will obscure the true reality.
The Four Aspects (self-aspect, other-aspect, sentient beings-aspect, and life-aspect): Four deep-rooted labelings: treating the subject, the other, the group, and life span as fixed entities; they are the common faces of "self-attachment".

Ego: The belief in a fixed and unchanging "self".
Dharma attachment: The attachment to fixed, unchanging "Dharma" (the various things that make up the world). The sutras address both of these: not only not clinging to "self," but also not clinging to "teachings and merits" per se.
Dharmadhatu: Here, it refers to the "appearance/mark" of things that can be grasped, and is not a specific term used by the later Dharmadhatu school. The sutra states, "One should detach from all dharma-dhatu," which is a remedy for "grasping at appearances."

Self-nature / emptiness of self-nature ( svabhāva / svabhāva - śūnyatā ): Self-nature refers to the self-existent nature of things, independent of conditions. "Emptiness of self-nature" denies this independent, self-existent nature—that everything is conditioned and has no fixed core. Unlike "nothingness," it refers to "no self-nature" rather than "nothingness."
Dependent Origination (pratī tya-samutp āda): Although not explicitly stated in the original paragraph, it is the underlying logic of emptiness: things arise when causes and conditions come together, and cease when causes and conditions cease.

The Six Dusts (form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma): six "objects of experience" (objects of perception), corresponding to what the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind encounter. "One should not dwell on form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharma" means not to fixate one's mind on any of these objects.
"Awakening from the Absence of Attachment": A famous line from this sutra. It doesn't mean "letting go and doing nothing," but rather "giving rise to altruistic thoughts and actions without clinging to any object." How it works: Do things without framing identity, merit, or success or failure as self-centeredness.

"One should not dwell on the six dusts and give rise to thoughts": a methodological expression. When performing good deeds such as giving, one should not cling to the idea that "I am giving, he is receiving, and there is something to gain." This avoids turning good deeds into a self-aggrandizement project.

Zen/Enlightenment: Zen emphasizes "seeing the nature" and attaches importance to the Diamond Sutra because of its direct method of "detachment from form" and "non-dwelling"; the Sixth Patriarch was enlightened when he heard "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows..." This was later generations using historical events to promote the sutra, not that the meaning of the sutra is only equal to Zen.

Buddha-nature: The possibility/potential for all beings to attain Buddhahood. This concept is not inconsistent with emptiness: The openness to Buddhahood is precisely due to the absence of self-nature (unfixed or restricted).

Induction: The experience of "response" between practitioners and Dharma protectors—folk and religious accounts of the blessings brought by scripture recitation. This is an "experiential" account of faith, distinct from the textual doctrines of emptiness and non-dwelling, and should not be confused with "evidence" proving the truth of the text.

Vajra Acala (more accurately, Acala): A guardian deity of Esoteric Buddhism, this deity is not a Buddha but a Myoko (in wrathful form), symbolizing the willpower to overcome obstacles. The term "Buddha" used in this material is a colloquial term.
Vajragarbha Bodhisattva : The main deity of the Vajra sect in Tantric Buddhism, symbolizing the wisdom of the Vajra realm.
The Four Vajra Bodhisattvas and the Eight Great Vajras are distinct groups within the Tantric Dharma Protector system (names like Rope, Love, and Speech often refer to the symbolic functions of "rope," "love," and "Sanskrit sound"). Their core purpose is to "protect the Dharma and eliminate obstacles." They have no direct doctrinal connection to the Diamond Sutra itself and are part of a later-developed Dharma Protector belief framework.

Tripitaka (Sutra, Vinaya, Abhidharma): The three major categories of Buddhist texts: Sutra (practice and teaching), Vinaya (precepts), Abhidharma (explanation/systematization of principles).
Sarvāstivāda : An important school of Hinayana Buddhism , which advocates "the three periods of time are real and the dharma body is eternal" (roughly stated); most of the Vinaya Pitaka translated by Kumarajiva is based on this school.
Chengshi Lun: Chengshi Lun ( Harivarman ) has a great influence in Han area and is often regarded as a bridge to the meaning of "emptiness", between the Abhidharma and Madhyamaka of the sects.
Madhyamaka / Nāgārjuna / Āryadeva : a school of thought based on the principle that “dependent origination is emptiness, emptiness is dependent origination”; Kumarajiva systematically introduced the Madhyamika Shastra and the Mahaprajnaparamita Shastra, laying the foundation for the discourse on emptiness in East Asia .
Mahāpraj ñ āpāramitā- ś āstra : According to tradition , it was written by Nagarjuna, which provides a detailed explanation of the Prajna Sutras; the translation by Kumarajiva had a far-reaching influence.

New Translation/Old Translation/Ancient Translation: Periodization of Chinese Translation History: Kumarajiva is classified as an "old translation" (as opposed to Xuanzang's "new translation"). The advantage of the old translation is its strong sense of flow and ease of recitation; the trade-off is the frequent use of paraphrases and omissions.
Four-character verses: Kumarajiva's choice of translation style. Advantages: The rhythm facilitates memorization and poetic memorization. Cost: Detailed terminology is sometimes merged or embellished, requiring modern readers to refer back to the Sanskrit text for comparison.

Ximing Pavilion and Xiaoyao Garden: the names of the translation sites and resettlement places of Kumarajiva in Chang'an. These are historical terms referring to the places where he presided over translation activities.
Theology: an academic orientation centered on the interpretation of principles, as opposed to "vinaya/practice"; Kumarajiva promoted the "theology" of East Asian Buddhism through translating and studying scriptures.
The Three Religions (the article mentions that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang listed "The Book of Filial Piety", "Tao Te Ching" and "Diamond Sutra" in parallel): the "three religions integration" attitude in the political culture of the Tang Dynasty emphasized the equal importance of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism; the status of the texts was "courtesy", not the same doctrine.

"Emptiness" is equated with "Tao" and "the homeland of the vacuum" (terminology from late Ming Dynasty secret religions). Treating "emptiness" as "the origin of the universe/the Tai Chi-like root that gives rise to all things" is a folk religious reinterpretation; it's not the same as the Prajna principle of "no self-nature." When reading, ask yourself: Does this "emptiness" refer to "the essence of one thing" or "all dharmas are separate from self-nature"? The two are vastly different.


Table of Contents
The full text is about 5,100 words without paragraphs.

No matter what book I read, at the end, it's like looking into a mirror: what I see isn't the Buddha's voice, but my own confusion. Subhuti asked, and the Buddha answered, but the Buddha didn't write down a single word himself. Like other religious texts, they were later recorded by his disciples. Why didn't the Buddha write it down himself? Is it because the Tao is inherently inexpressible? The sun is overhead, but even if every language were used to describe it, from the perspectives of physics, chemistry, and literature, it would still be like looking at a flame through a window—not the sun itself. Since it can't be explained, then there's no need for words? But how could followers live without words? Without words, how could ideas be passed on? Thus, the learned disciples transformed their teacher's fragmentary words into scriptures. However, this raises a new question: Once words are fixed, will they become shackles? Will future generations become obsessed with words, treating every metaphor as a law and every expedient as eternal truth? I think of myself: sometimes, upon seeing something written in a book, I would believe it without a doubt, as if the black words on paper were more real than what I had seen with my own eyes, only to realize later that I had been trapped in dogma. It turns out that words are both a bridge and a trap. Ancient philosophers like Confucius, Lao Tzu, Jesus, and Buddha likely knew this long ago, so they exercised restraint, leaving their disciples to record them, allowing their teachings to wander in uncertainty and leave room for maneuver. Thus, the questions and answers in the Diamond Sutra are more like a deduction: the Buddha doesn't answer, but rather deconstructs the questions; each answer invites the reader to reflect on whether the rope they hold is an illusion. While words have great power, they are merely my fingers reaching toward truth, not the truth itself. Books can be read, words can be heard, but if one believes only in books, "believing in books alone is worse than having no books at all."

When I read the Diamond Sutra's closing lines, I've long heard the four verses: "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows; like dew and lightning; view them in this way." We live in this material world, where what we see, hear, and touch are all tangible, and we naturally take them for granted, believing them to be the most important. If all tangible things are fleeting, what is real? Consciousness? Thoughts? Emotions? Obsessions and longings? These are intangible, yet they dominate our tangible lives. Strangely, the intangible are the most tenacious. The more we desire something, the less we get it, leading to pain. Resentment builds when we can't obtain it, and fear of losing it when we do. Isn't this just self-imposed bondage? The Confucian saying, "Nothing is impossible, nothing is impossible," seems to be advising us to be less attached. But people always like to plan, always wanting to control their destiny. Then, when plans are shattered, it's like losing our foundation, and suffering ensues. Is this what Buddhist texts refer to as "attachment to appearances"? The Buddha taught us to "give without attachment," to act without clinging to the results. But does this mean doing nothing? Clearly not. You still need to act—to love, to help, to take responsibility—but without clinging to the results. For example, when we help others, we often secretly calculate the re

[E.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

不大明白，不过看着让心情平静。“ 凡所有相，皆是虚妄。”“一切有为法，如梦幻泡影，如露亦如电，应作如是观。”所谓A者，即非A，是名A。

[Octoberbear · Rating 5 out of 5]

与朋友夜游谈论到各自读过的公案、佛经。想起这部经典，从没完整念完，清晨醒来之后持诵，很喜欢，也相较禅公案多了一些官方浮华正统的气息，可能当下的年纪更享受公案的禅意和乐趣。

之前没注意过的，如：
（1）威仪寂净分提到“如来”之名来自“无所从来，亦无所去，故名如来。”

（2）一直喜欢的这个“不可说”，也出自这里：第三十品，一合相分，问“如来所说三千大千世界，则非世界，是名世界。何以故？若世界实有相，则是一合相。”如来答“一合相，则非一合相，是名一合相。” 回“一合相者，这是不可说，但凡夫之人贪著此事。”

（3）在其他地方常见的“过去之心不可得，现在心不可得，未来心不可得”也出自这里的一体同观分。