Vajra Cutter Sutra
The Vajra Cutter Sutra (aka Diamond Sutra) (Skt. Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, Wyl. ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa rdo rje gcod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo) is a popular Prajnaparamita sutra.
Famous Quotes
- Those who see my body as ordinary form,
- And hear my voice as ordinary sound,
- Have set out upon a mistaken path.
- Such people do not truly see me.[1]
- Like a star, hallucination, candle,
- Magical illusion, dewdrop, bubble,
- Dream, lightning or a cloud—
- Know all compounded phenomena to be like this.[2]
Early Translations
- Chinese translation in 400 A.D. by Kumārajīva
- Tibetan translation in the 9th century by Śīlendrabodhi and Yeshé Dé
Translations
- Gelong Thubten Tsultrim (George Churinoff), The Exalted Mahayana Sutra on the Wisdom Gone Beyond Called the Vajra Cutter (based on the Tibetan Lhasa Zhol printing), FPMT, 2002 Available online here
- Paul Harrison, 'Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā: A New English Translation of the Sanskrit Text Based on Two Manuscripts from Greater Gandhāra', contained in Jens Braarvig, Paul Harrison, Jens-Uwe Hartmann, Kazunobu Matsuda & Lore Sander, eds., Buddhist Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection, Hermes (Oslo 2006)
- Gregory Schopen, 'The Manuscript of the Vajracchedika Found at Gilgit: An Annotated Transcription and Translation' in Luis O. Gómez and Jonathan A. Silk (ed.s), Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahāyāna Buddhist Texts
Notes
Further Reading
- Thich Nhat Hanh, The Diamond that Cuts Through Illusion: Commentaries on the Prajñaparamita Diamond Sutra (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1992)
- Edward Conze, The Prajñāpāramitā Literature (1960)