Diamond Sutra
The
Diamond Sutra (
Vajracchedika-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra) is a short
Mahayana sutra of the
prajnaparamita genre, which teaches the practice of the avoidance of abiding in extremes of mental attachment. Since it can be read in approximately forty minutes, it is often memorized and chanted in Buddhist monasteries. This sutra has retained a high degree of popularity in the Mahāyāna
Buddhist tradition for over a millennium, especially in East Asia, and most importantly within the East Asian meditation (
Chan/
Seon/
Zen/Thien) school, where it is recited, taught, and commented extensively, even today. One basic reason for its popularity is its brevity — the sūtra can be chanted in about forty minutes, which means that it also readily memorizable for the average person. More important, though, is the basic resonance of the text's message with a core aspect of Chan doctrine/praxis — the theme of "non-abiding."
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