開經偈
Opening Verse
無上甚深微妙法， 百千萬劫難遭遇，
我今見聞得受持， 願解如來真實義。
The Dharma, profound and wondrous beyond all measure, Is rarely met even in countless ages. Now that I see, hear, and receive it, May I truly understand the Tathagata's real meaning.
金剛般若波羅蜜經註卷上
Commentary on the Diamond Sutra, Volume One
金剛般若波羅蜜經
The Diamond Sutra: The Perfection of Wisdom That Cuts Like a Diamond
This is what I heard:
At
川老曰：法不孤起，誰為安名？ 頌曰：
The Elder of the River said: "The Dharma does not arise in isolation—who can give it a settled name?"
The verse says:
摩訶大法王， 無短亦無長， 本來無皂白，
隨處現青黃。 華發看朝艶， 林凋逐晚霜。
疾雷何太急。 迅電亦非光。 九聖猶難測。
龍天豈度量， 古今人不識， 權立號金剛。
The Great Dharma King, neither short nor long, originally without black or white, yet manifests green and yellow wherever it appears.
Flowers bloom in morning’s radiance, forests fade beneath evening frost. A sudden thunderclap—why so urgent? A flash of lightning—still not true light.
Even the nine sages cannot fathom it; how could dragons or gods measure its depth? Unrecognized through all time, we provisionally name it “Vajra.”
(本註六祖所述也，頌著語川老所述也。)
The original text is from the Sixth Patriarch's teachings; the appended verses are from Elder Chuan.
新注： 此經雙喻法為名，實相為體，無注為宗，斷疑為用，大乘為教相。
New Annotation: This sutra uses the dual metaphor as its name, ultimate reality as its essence, non-attachment as its guiding principle, resolving doubts as its function, and the Great Vehicle as its teaching category.
初釋法喻名者，金剛喻也，般若法也，金中精剛至堅至利能碎萬物，此經能斷眾生疑執取以為喻，故大品般若十六分中以此經名能斷分。波羅蜜是梵語，華言到彼岸，眾生在生死海中無有窮極，修此般若到涅槃彼岸，蓋大乘菩薩達生死即涅槃，則非度而度、非到而到也。經者訓法訓常，梵語曰修多羅，此翻契經，謂契理契機故也。
First, let me explain the title. "Diamond" is the metaphor, and "Wisdom" is the Dharma. Just as the diamond, the most refined and hardest of metals, can shatter all things, this sutra can sever the doubts and attachments of sentient beings. Therefore, it is used as a metaphor. In the sixteenth section of the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra, this sutra is named the "Section on the Ability to Sever."
"Paramita" is a Sanskrit word, which in Chinese means "arriving at the other shore." Sentient beings drift endlessly in the ocean of birth and death. By cultivating this wisdom, one arrives at the other shore of Nirvana. However, in the Mahayana, bodhisattvas realize that birth and death are themselves Nirvana. Thus, there is no crossing yet crossing is accomplished; there is no arriving yet arrival is achieved.
"Sutra" means "method" and "eternal principle." The Sanskrit word is "Sutra," translated here as "scripture that accords," meaning it accords with both the truth and the capacity of beings.
二、辨實相體者，即一實相理也。經曰：若人得聞是經，即生實相。
Second, discerning the substance of true reality: this refers to the principle of the one true reality. The sutra says: If a person hears this sutra, true reality arises within them.
三、明無住為宗者。宗者，要也。經曰：應無所住。經中多以無住破著，故以無住為宗也。
III. Clarifying "Non-Abiding" as the Essential Principle
"Principle" here means the core teaching. The sutra states: "One should abide nowhere." Throughout the sutra, the concept of non-abiding is repeatedly used to dismantle attachments. Therefore, non-abiding is established as the essential principle.
四、論斷疑為用者，由經力用能斷妄執，故以斷疑為用也。
Fourth, the function of resolving doubts: because the power of the sutra can cut through false attachments, its function is to resolve doubts.
五、判大乘為教相者，經曰為最上乘者說，故以大乘為教相也。此經乃姚秦三藏法師鳩摩羅什所譯，分三十二分者，相傳為梁昭明太子所立，元譯本無，又與本論科節不同，破碎經意，今不取焉。今註一本慈氏天親偈論，取其意而不盡用其語，以其語深，難便初學故也。
V. Determining the Great Vehicle as the Teaching Characteristic: The sutra states that it is spoken for those of the supreme vehicle; therefore, the Great Vehicle is established as its teaching characteristic. This sutra was translated by the Tripitaka Master Kumarajiva during the Later Qin dynasty. The division into thirty-two sections is traditionally attributed to Crown Prince Zhaoming of the Liang dynasty; it was not present in the original translation. Furthermore, it differs from the structural analysis in this commentary, fragments the sutra's meaning, and is therefore not adopted here. The present commentary is based on the verse treatise by Maitreya and Vasubandhu, adopting its meaning but not strictly adhering to its wording, as its language is profound and difficult for beginners.
姚秦三藏法師鳩摩羅什奉 詔譯。
Translated by the Tripitaka Dharma Master Kumarajiva of the Later Qin Dynasty, under imperial command.