Diamond Sutra Midnight Meanderings (Part 1)

 In the Diamond Sutra the Buddha speaks of four ideas that a true bodhisattva does not attach to. These ideas, referred to as “characteristics” are: “self,” “other,” “sentient beings,” and “lifespan.” Actually, all four characteristics derive from the first, the idea of self (from Tea Words Volume 1, Master Sheng Yen)

If there is a notion of self and other that is illusory, is there any reason to "give"? A bodhisattva gives without attachment to a sense of self and others, but shouldn't there be a sense of "other beings" suffering that would motivate generosity and compassion?

When we experience suffering of any kind, it's all through the same mind. Whether it's "my" or "your" suffering, all of these perceptions are created by the mind. I experience "myself" and "others" with the same mind. Therefore, if I am truly liberated from notions of self, others, sentient beings, and lifespan, then I wouldn't be worried about keeping anything to myself. What's mine really belongs to all, because the mind encompasses all.

This doesn't mean that I give indiscriminately or unwisely. It means that I take all of this experience to be the mind. Mind is the screen through which all the characters of "me", "you", "they", "sentient beings", "non-sentient beings", and so on, are making their way. If I say I should donate all my money to you, then I am equally deluded as saying I should keep the money to myself. Why? Because I believe that there are real selves that have money. Do the characters on a movie screen actually "own" money? Think about it. Do they have clothes? Only if you take the images to be real will you start to invest in those images things like "belonging", "possesses", is "entitled" to etc.

The point is not to abandon the conventional notions of self, others, sentient beings and lifespans. These notions are needed if we are to communicate with each other in the world and even get things done. At work, Boss A has to choose between Tom, Jack and Mary in terms of who gets the promotion. People need to have names so that they can identify themselves. But the point is that we should not be too attached to these designations, because at the end of the day, Tom, Jack and Mary are constructions of the mind. We all even have different constructions of each character. I like Tom better than Mary, but you see Mary as a saint. Who are we to say which "Mary" is the "real" Mary? Mary is only a series of perceptions created by the mind. Same for "me" and "you".

When I fully embody the notion that sentient beings are only appearances of the mind, then my mind stops discriminating between the different parts of what I see. Friends cease to be friends, enemies cease to be enemies. I am able to see that the mind only creates these labels based on conditioning and, most importantly, the attachment to self. When someone criticizes "me", is this "me" more important than the critic? In fact both "me" and the "critic" are created by mind. Why should one assume more importance than the other? Furthermore, the two thoughts of "me" and "critic" don't even interact with each other. I too create the notion of "me" and "the critic" interacting to create the interchange of criticism and response.

But when all is said and done, who am I liberating when I realize this? It's only a kind of dream, so there is no one to liberate after all! All the dramas were created by mind. So the only real liberation is when we let go of self and other and recognize that it's all created by the mind.

The ultimate gift is to let go. That is all. Let go of naming, judging and labeling. Only be in this moment, and that is all. That is a gift without a giver and without a receiver. It just is but it encompasses all that we see equally.