Chapter Six : Doubts Clarified 19 A disciple asked,
“I would like to know the meaning of the four signs mentioned in the Diamond Sūtra.”
The Founding Master said,
“Apparently there have been many interpretations of these four signs given by various scholars over time, but I will explain it simply by relating it to actual experience.
The ‘sign of a self’ is a name for conceit, wherein one considers everything only from one’s own position and values only oneself and what belongs to oneself.
The ‘sign of a person’ is a name for an anthropocentric attitude, wherein one thinks that, since humans are superior to the myriad living things, other creatures were created for the sake of humans and thus it is all right to treat them in any way one pleases.
The ‘sign of sentient beings’ is a name for lacking advancement because one gives up on oneself, since one differentiates sentient beings from buddhas and doubts that a mere sentient being like oneself can accomplish anything.
The ‘sign of long life’ is a name for sign that elders have, wherein one vaunts either seniority, accumulated assets, or superior position without distinguishing right from wrong. One who has these signs will not be able to reach buddhahood.”
The disciple asked again, “Through what method may we eradicate these four signs?”
The Founding Master said,
“To eradicate the sign of a self, we must understand the principle of impermanence by realizing that the physical body, possessions, position, or authority, which are our most beloved things, are of no use to us on the day we die, so that nothing is definitively mine.
To eradicate the sign of a person, one must realize the principle of the eternal cycle between the six destinies and the four types of birth, within which each of us is changing bodies.
To eradicate the sign of sentient beings, one must realize that originally sentient beings and buddhas are nondual: if a buddha is deluded, then he is a sentient being; if a sentient being awakens, then he is a buddha.
To eradicate the sign of long life, one must realize that physical bodies may be young or old, noble or common, but in the nature there is no young or old, noble or common.
If a practitioner completely eradicates these four signs, he is in fact a buddha.”
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