Section 28 — Neither receiving nor craving不受不貪分第二十八
Jingang Jing (The Diamond Sutra) 金剛般若波羅蜜經 · Kumārajīva, Chinese translation · 402 (Later Qin, 4th year of the Hongshi era) · 3 passages · 106 Chinese characters · reading time 0.4 min
Jingang Jing (The Diamond Sutra) Complete in one volume "All marks that exist are empty and false" — a sutra that teaches one to give rise to the mind without dwelling anywhere. It follows, just as they stand, the thirty-two sections into which Prince Zhaoming divided it. It is told that Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch, heard one line of this sutra and set his heart on awakening.
1The Bodhisattva Who Attains Forbearance Is Greater
"Subhuti! Suppose a bodhisattva took the seven treasures enough to fill as many worlds as there are grains of sand in the Ganges and gave them away. And suppose someone else knew that in all dharmas there is no self, and so attained forbearance (忍). This bodhisattva is greater than the former bodhisattva in the merit gained. Why is this? Subhuti! Because bodhisattvas do not receive merit."
Interlinear notes 1
一塵不染，何貪何受
Not one speck of dust stains him, so what would he crave, and what would he receive?
2Why Does a Bodhisattva Not Receive Merit?
須菩提白佛言：「世尊！云何菩薩不受福德？」
Subhuti said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! Why does a bodhisattva not receive merit?"
3Because He Does Not Crave and Cling
「須菩提！菩薩所作福德，不應貪著。是故說不受福德。」
"Subhuti! A bodhisattva should not crave and cling to the merit he makes. That is why it is said he does not receive merit."