Diamond Sutra
"The venerable Buddha spoke"
newly interpreted by Shaolin-Rainer
The Diamond Sutra records dialogues of question and answer between the historical Buddha and one of his disciples (the Subhūti).
This sutra can be compared to the Bible or the Koran in terms of its importance. Buddhist core sentences are formative in this work. "Form is emptiness - emptiness is form" is the central statement here.
The authenticity of all words of the Diamond Sutra could not be confirmed beyond doubt until today, it can only be assumed who was the author, and whether the content was 'glossed' or even 'instrumentalized'. However, it is certain that the philosophy of the historical Buddha is passed on here at least in the sense after.
Translated, the title means something like "The perfection of wisdom, which is so sharp that it can split even a diamond".
The first time the Diamond Sutra was 'written down' was in Tibet (about 600 years before Gutenberg printed the first Bible in Germany).
After studying the Diamond Sutra, the seeker should no longer see only the surface, but look behind events, phenomena and people.
How we perceive something is how it appears to us. But appearance is not always being.
For people of modern times, the original text falls out of today's world, is written in a language of a bygone era, which seems antiquated and takes away the fun of reading. In its original version, not many interested people find access to the words and worldview of the historical Buddha.
Therefore, I have taken the liberty of dressing the Buddha's words in modern sentences.
Chapter I "The venerable Buddha said".
"Disciple, you must know that the meaning of my teachings is beyond thoughts and words".
So what was the Buddha trying to tell his disciple?
In my opinion, what is meant here is the self-energy that springs from words, thoughts, people or even things.
A glass of water has hardly energy, a wave however already. Both is only H2O.
Where is the logic here, how do the states behave among themselves?
Some words spread like a "wildfire" (I have a dream), others fade away unheard in the room.
Some thoughts change whole countries and regions (Marx - Das Kapital), others evaporate on the way to the bathroom.
Some people have self-energy (for example Muhammad Ali), others cannot tie their own shoes.
Even some things have their own energy, self-energy. For example, a special work of art like the Mona Lisa. Thousands of people want to see it, the picture next to it goes down completely.
And if emptiness is form, and form is emptiness, what does that mean in our daily lives? What is the meaning beyond thoughts and words?
The disciple's first question in the question and answer game with the teacher was, Exalted One, what is the best way to direct the mind? The venerable Buddha spoke, disciple, by overcoming suffering. One who overcomes suffering can attain nirvana. But no one can get beyond all suffering; suffering will always remain a part of human beings. But the way we deal with suffering can be changed. Good is not always good, and bad is not always bad. Depending on how we look at it, whether with serenity or in anger, the result of looking at the same thing can even change the thing itself completely.
Emptiness is form, and form is emptiness.
A gifted football coach said: "like bottle empty".
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