Section 26
Original Sanskrit
तत्किं मन्यसे सुभूते लक्षणसंपदा तथागतो द्रष्टव्यः । सुभूतिराह । नो हीदं भगवन् । यथाहं भगवतो भाषितस्यार्थमाजानामि न लक्षणसंपदा तथागतो द्रष्टव्यः । भगवानाह । साधु साधु सुभूते एवमेतत्सुभूते एवमेतद्यथा वदसि । न लक्षणसंपदा तथागतो द्रष्टव्यः । तत्कस्य हेतोः । सचेत्पुनः सुभूते लक्षणसंपदा तथागतो द्रष्टव्योऽभविष्यद्राजापि चक्रवर्ती तथागतोऽभविष्यत् । तस्मान्न लक्षणसंपदा तथागतो द्रष्टव्यः । आयुष्मान्सुभूतिर्भगवंतमेतदवोचत् । यथाहं भगवतो भाषितस्यार्थमाजानामि न लक्षणसंपदा तथागतो द्रष्टव्यः । अथ खलु भगवांस्तस्यां वेलायामिमे गाथे अभाषत ॥
ये मां रूपेण चाद्राक्षुर्ये मां घोषेण चान्वगुः । मिथ्याप्रहाणप्रसृता न मां द्रक्ष्यंति ते जनाः ॥१॥
धर्मतो बुद्धो द्रष्टव्यो धर्मकाया हि नायकाः । धर्मता च न विज्ञेया न सा शक्या विजानितुं ॥२॥
२६॥
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Sanskrit of F. Max Müller’s 1881 Anecdota Oxoniensia edition, all 32 sections, with the printed section numbers kept.
"What do you think, Subhūti? Can the Tathāgata be seen by the perfection of marks?" "No, Blessed One. As I understand what the Blessed One has said, the Tathāgata cannot be seen by the perfection of marks." The Blessed One said: "Well said, well said, Subhūti. So it is, Subhūti, so it is, as you say: the Tathāgata cannot be seen by the perfection of marks. Why? If the Tathāgata could be seen by the perfection of marks, a universal monarch would be a Tathāgata too. Therefore the Tathāgata cannot be seen by the perfection of marks." The venerable Subhūti said to the Blessed One: "As I understand what the Blessed One has said, the Tathāgata cannot be seen by the perfection of marks."
Then the Blessed One spoke these verses at that moment:
Those who saw me in my form and followed me in my voice, set on wrong effort, will not see me.
The Buddha is to be seen as the dharma; the leaders are the dharma-bodies. Yet the nature of the dharma cannot be known, and it cannot be understood. [26]
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the same Sanskrit, covering all 32 sections with the printed section numbers.
"Subhūti, what do you think? Can you see the Tathāgata by his marks?" Subhūti said: "No, Blessed One. As I understand what you have said, you cannot see the Tathāgata by his marks." The Buddha said: "Well said, Subhūti, well said. That is right, as you say: you cannot see the Tathāgata by his marks. Why? If you could see the Tathāgata by his marks, then a universal king would be a Tathāgata too. So you cannot see the Tathāgata by his marks." The elder Subhūti said to the Buddha: "As I understand what you have said, you cannot see the Tathāgata by his marks."
Then at that time the Blessed One spoke these verses:
People who saw me in my form and followed me by my voice were set on wrong effort. They will not see me.
The Buddha should be seen as the teaching, because the leaders are bodies made of teaching. But the nature of the teaching cannot be known, and it cannot be understood. [26]
About this section
Section 26 is part of Diamond Sutra (Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) by Unknown. This page sets the Sanskrit original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is section 26 of 32 in the work, which is kept in the Buddhist tradition.
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