The Diamond Sutra

To attain nothing is to attain everything. This is basically the message of this passage I believe. This kind of thought process has always fascinated me, because it challenges me to think beyond myself.

For a number of years, my family has hosted the Tibetan monks to assist them in their travels. The first time they came to us, there were ten very quite, pensive monks. Each monk had a very different personality, and their Lama was an old, silent man who sat in meditation for most of their stay.

Their translator, Sunam was a very funny, excited young monk who entertained my brother and I everyday. He would ask us questions that made Kole (my brother) and I grapple with our minds. He asked questions of thought, of meditation, of spiritual practice that we had never thought to think about. The Lama, who Sunam explained as enlightened, fascinated Kole. When he asked Sunam what made him enlightened, Sunam answered: “He is as enlightened as you, but he has discovered his enlightenment without discovering.” This answer made Kole laugh, because he thought Sunam was telling yet another joke, but Sunam was very serious. I don't think that Kole ever thought about this conversation afterwards, but I remember thinking very seriously about his bizarre answer.

Sunam awakened in me a self awareness of the essence of human beings. His presence in our lives left lasting marks on my whole family, and in a way we experienced a little piece of enlightenment as a result of their presence in our house.

In the Diamond Sutra, the idea that there is no “self” and “others”, but rather the concept that there is “one” consciousness that is a part of us all. I like this concept, it appeals to me in a way that no other teachings do. It is one of the only universal concepts that all religious sects keep. The knowing that we are all one.

I love the line “The Buddha has no doctrine to convey. The truth is ungraspable and inexpressible. It neither is nor is not.” This line allows me to accept what can never be known, and understand that what I wish to know the most, I already know.