The Diamond Sutra

This English version of The Diamond Sutra, l translated from the Chinese text of Kumarajiva, owes its inception to successive conversations with a friend, profoundly interested in the interpretation of oriental systems of philosophy. During those conversations renderings into English were made of numerous passages from the works of Confucius, Mencius, and Lao-Tsz.

Having surveyed briefly those fertile fields of thought, we passed, by a natural transition, into the delectable Buddhist realm. Some passages from the Chinese Sutras, comprising texts and annotations, were consecutively examined, and variously considered. Eventually it was suggested that The Diamond Sutra, perhaps one of the most metaphysical of the works ascribed to Buddha, be conveniently rendered into the English language.

In order that the rather unfamiliar text might assume due intelligibility, parallel passages and numerous annotations were subjoined, as the pleasant work of translating proceeded. The idea of printing and publishing the text seemed to follow as a natural sequence.