Section 6
Original Sanskrit
एवमुक्ते आयुष्मान्सुभूतिर्भगवंतमेतदवोचत् । अस्ति भगवन्केचित्सत्त्वा भविष्यंत्यनागतेऽध्वनि पश्चिमे काले पश्चिमे समये पश्चिमायां पंचशत्यां सद्धर्मविप्रलोपकाले वर्तमाने य इमेष्वेववंरूपेषु सूत्रांतपदेषु भाष्यमाणेषु भूतसंज्ञामुत्पादयिष्यंति । भगवानाह । मा सुभूते त्वमेवं वोचः । अस्ति केचित्सत्त्वा भविष्यंत्यनागतेऽध्वनि पश्चिमे काले पश्चिमे समये पश्चिमायां पंचशत्यां सद्धर्मविप्रलोपे वर्तमाने य इमेष्वेववंरूपेषु सूत्रांतपदेषु भाष्यमाणेषु भूतसंज्ञामुत्पादयिष्यंति । अपि तु खलु पुनः सुभूते भविष्यत्यनागतेऽध्वनि बोधिसत्त्वा महासत्त्वाः पश्चिमे काले पश्चिमे समये पश्चिमायां पंचशत्यां सद्धर्मविप्रलोपे वर्तमाने गुणवंतः शीलवंतः प्रज्ञावंतश्च भविष्यंति य इमेष्वेववंरूपेषु सूत्रांतपदेषु भाष्यमाणेषु भूतसंज्ञामुत्पादयिष्यंति । न खलु पुनस्ते सुभूते बोधिसत्त्वा महासत्त्वा एकबुद्धपर्युपासिता भविष्यंति नैकबुद्धावरोपितकुशलमूला भविष्यंति अपि तु खलु पुनः सुभूते अनेकबुद्धशतसहस्रपर्युपासिता अनेकबुद्धशतसहस्रावरोपितकुशलमूलास्ते बोधिसत्त्वा महासत्त्वा भविष्यंति य इमेष्वेववंरूपेषु सूत्रांतपदेषु भाष्यमाणेष्वेकचित्तप्रसादमपि प्रतिलप्स्यंते । ज्ञातास्ते सुभूते तथागतेन बुद्धज्ञानेन दृष्टास्ते सुभूते तथागतेन बुद्धचक्षुषा बुद्धास्ते सुभूते तथागतेन । सर्वे ते सुभूतेऽप्रमेयमसंख्येयं पुण्यस्कंधं प्रसविष्यंति प्रतिगृहीष्यंति । तत्कस्य हेतोः । न हि सुभूते तेषां बोधिसत्त्वानां महासत्त्वानामात्मसंज्ञा प्रवर्तते न सत्त्वसंज्ञा न जीवसंज्ञा न पुद्गलसंज्ञा प्रवर्तते । नापि तेषां सुभूते बोधिसत्त्वानां महासत्त्वानां धर्मसंज्ञा प्रवर्तते । एवं नाधर्मसंज्ञा । नापि तेषां सुभूते संज्ञा नासंज्ञा प्रवर्तते । तत्कस्य हेतोः । सचेत्सुभूते तेषां बोधिसत्त्वानां महासत्त्वानां धर्मसंज्ञा प्रवर्तेत स एव तेषामात्मग्राहो भवेत्सत्त्वग्राहो जीवग्राहः पुद्गलग्राहो भवेत् । सचेदधर्मसंज्ञा प्रवर्तेत स एव तेषामात्मग्राहो भवेत्सत्त्वग्राहो जीवग्राहः पुद्गलग्राह इति । तत्कस्य हेतोः । न खलु पुनः सुभूते बोधिसत्त्वेन महासत्त्वेन धर्मं उद्ग्रहीतव्यो नाधर्मः । तस्मादियं तथागतेन संधाय वाग्भाषिता । कोलोपमं धर्मपर्यायमाजानद्भिर्धर्मा एव प्रहातव्याः प्रागेवाधर्मा इति ॥६॥
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.
Then the venerable Subhūti said to the Blessed One: "Blessed One, will there be beings in the future, in the last age, in the last time, in the last five hundred years, when the true teaching is in decline, who, when such passages are spoken, will bring forth the perception of what is real?" The Blessed One said: "Do not speak so, Subhūti. There will be beings in that future time, in the last age, in the last time, in the last five hundred years when the true teaching is in decline, who, when such passages are spoken, will bring forth the perception of what is real. Yet, Subhūti, in that future time there will be bodhisattvas, great beings, in the last age, in the last time, in the last five hundred years when the true teaching is in decline, who will be virtuous, disciplined, and wise, and who, when such passages are spoken, will bring forth the perception of what is real. Those bodhisattvas will not have waited upon only one Buddha, nor will they have planted their roots of goodness under only one Buddha. They will have waited upon many hundreds of thousands of Buddhas, and planted roots of goodness under many hundreds of thousands of Buddhas. When such passages are spoken, even a single moment of clear faith will arise in them. Subhūti, such beings are known by the Tathāgata with his Buddha-knowledge, seen by the Tathāgata with his Buddha-eye, and understood by the Tathāgata. All of those beings will gain a heap of merit that cannot be measured or counted, and will receive it. Why? In those bodhisattvas, great beings, no perception of a self arises, nor a perception of a being, of a living soul, or of a person. Nor does any perception of a dharma arise in them, nor any perception of a non-dharma. Nor does any perception or non-perception arise in them. Why? If a perception of dharmas arose in those bodhisattvas, great beings, it would be a grasping at a self, a being, a living soul, and a person. If a perception of non-dharmas arose, it would likewise be a grasping at a self, a being, a living soul, and a person. Why? Subhūti, a bodhisattva, great being, should not grasp at dharmas, nor at non-dharmas. Therefore the Tathāgata has taught this in a veiled way: those who understand this teaching as a raft must give up even the dharmas, and how much more the non-dharmas." [6]
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 said: "Blessed One, will there be people in the future, in the last age, in the last period of five hundred years when the true teaching has fallen into decline, who will hear these teachings and believe that they are true?" The Buddha said: "Do not say that, Subhūti. There will be people in that future time, in the last period of five hundred years, when the true teaching has declined, who will hear these teachings and believe that they are true. But there will also be bodhisattvas, who are great beings, in that same time. They will be good, disciplined, and wise. When they hear these teachings, they will believe in what is real. These bodhisattvas will not have served only one Buddha, and they will not have planted their roots of goodness under only one Buddha. They will have served many hundreds of thousands of Buddhas and planted their roots of goodness under them. When they hear these teachings, even one moment of clear trust will arise in them. Subhūti, the Tathāgata knows them with his Buddha-knowledge, sees them with his Buddha-eye, and understands them. All of these people will build a heap of merit that is endless and cannot be measured, and they will receive it. Why? In these bodhisattvas, great beings, no idea of a self arises, nor an idea of a living being, a soul, or a person. No idea of a teaching arises in them, and no idea of a non-teaching arises either. No idea and no absence of idea arises in them. Why? If they held an idea of a teaching, they would still be holding onto a self, a being, a soul, and a person. If they held an idea of a non-teaching, it would be the same. So, Subhūti, a bodhisattva should not hold on to teachings or to non-teachings. That is why the Tathāgata taught this with something hidden in mind: those who understand this teaching as a raft must let go even of the teachings, and how much more must they let go of the non-teachings." [6]
About this section
Section 6 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 6 of 32 in the work, which is kept in the Buddhist tradition.
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