Buddhist Audio Books

From the Introduction to the commentary on Diamond Sutra

By reading the Diamond Sutra, reflecting upon it, meditating upon it, bearing it in mind, we make contact with reality itself. The light of reality shines through the thick veil of our ignorance, so that transcendental wisdom can begin to glimmer in the inert darkness of our hearts and minds. At the same time, transcendental wisdom is also like a diamond, like a thunderbolt. It cuts through all our thoughts, all our ideas, all our concepts about reality, all our metaphysical assumptions. It shatters all our negative emotions - our fear, our anxiety, our anger, our jealousy, our possessiveness, our clinging, our craving. It cuts through all our psychological conditionings, all our prejudices, all the conditionings which arise out of belonging to this nationality rather than that one, originating from this race rather than that one, coming from this particular social background, speaking this language, living in this environment....

The diamond-thunderbolt of transcendental wisdom pulverizes all conditionings that stop you from seeing the truth face to face. Above all it smashes you - as you at present know yourself to be. When you contact that transcendental wisdom, you feel its impact like a thunderbolt, crushing and destroying you - and this is a very terrible thing. It is a terrible thing to be caught in the grip of reality - and it is a terrible, fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Diamond Sutra, because once you are caught, well, you are caught. Wriggle as much as you like, you will not get free.

Are we ready for this? If not, we would be better to leave the Diamond Sutra on the shelf collecting dust. And even if we do decide to let it take hold of us, we need to proceed very slowly and cautiously, for 'humankind cannot bear very much reality'