Diamond Sutra
Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra
Even the Buddhist teaching itself, and the very concepts of self, being, and dharma used to convey it, must be seen as empty of fixed identity, since clinging to any concept, however sacred, is still clinging.
- radical application of emptiness to Buddhist concepts themselves
- paradoxical logic ('a is not a, therefore it is called a')
- dialogue between the Buddha and the disciple Subhuti
- part of the broader Prajnaparamita literature
A short but philosophically dense Mahayana sutra within the Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) literature, framed as a dialogue between the Buddha and his disciple Subhuti, using paradoxical formulations such as 'a is not a, therefore it is called a' to dismantle attachment to concepts, including Buddhist ones like merit and bodhisattva. Its precise date and place of composition are uncertain, situated broadly within the wider Prajnaparamita corpus developing over the early centuries AD; it later became one of the most copied and printed Buddhist texts in East Asia.
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