INTRODUCTION

The Diamond Sutra is one of the most valued and widely read philosophical works in Buddhist literatureThe body of religious and philosophical texts belonging to the Buddhist tradition, spanning various languages and centuries.. It is very popular amongst ardent Buddhists in China, and excepting the Lotus of the Good Law A translation of the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra, one of the most influential scriptures in East Asian Buddhism., and the Leng-Yen-Ching¹ Also known as the Shurangama Sutra, a significant text in Chinese Zen (Chan) Buddhism regarding meditation and the mind., perhaps no other SutraA Sanskrit word meaning 'string' or 'thread,' referring to a sermon or discourse attributed to the Buddha or his close disciples. ascribed to BuddhaSiddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism, who lived in ancient India. is regarded by the Chinese with so great esteem.

In Japan, The Diamond Sutra appears to be perused extensively by what Max MüllerFriedrich Max Müller (1823–1900), a famous German philologist and orientalist who pioneered the study of comparative religion. ² termed the Shin-Gon sect Shingon Buddhism, a major school of Japanese Buddhism that emphasizes esoteric or 'secret' teachings., founded by Ko-Bo Kūkai (774–835 AD), also known as Kōbō-Daishi, the monk who established Shingon Buddhism in Japan., a disciple of the renowned pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang Xuanzang (602–664 AD), a famous Chinese monk who traveled to India to retrieve sacred texts and translate them into Chinese., about the year 816 A.D.

The Diamond Sutra was written originally in SanscritAlso spelled Sanskrit; the primary liturgical and philosophical language of ancient India., and in process of time translated into the Tibetan, Chinese, Mongol, and Manchu languages. It represents the Mahayana schoolLiterally the 'Great Vehicle,' one of the two main branches of Buddhism, which emphasizes the path of the Bodhisattva for the sake of all beings. of Buddhist thought, a school founded by Nagardjuna³ Nagarjuna (c. 150–250 AD), one of the most important Buddhist philosophers, known for his teachings on 'Emptiness.' which flourished primarily at

¹ "The Sutra of firm establishment in all doctrine, describing clearly the secret merit and attainments in the religious life of TathagataA title meaning 'One who has thus gone' or 'One who has thus come,' which the Buddha used when referring to himself.." (Compare Edkins' Chinese Buddhism.)
² See the preface to The Vagrakkhedika original: "Vajracchedika," the Sanskrit title of the Diamond Sutra, meaning "The Diamond Cutter.".
³ "A native of Western India who lived as a hermit under an Arguna tree The Terminalia arjuna, a large tree common in India., whence he derived his name. Converted by Kapimala, he laboured in Southern India as the fourteenth patriarch. . . . He is the chief representative, if not originator, of the Mahayana school, the"