Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

It is commonly recognized that contemporary Korean Buddhist thought is largely based on the Diamond Sutra [金剛經]. A considerable number of printings and commentaries attest to the importance of the Diamond Sutra in the history of Buddhism. However, many such commentaries are often written in a pedantic manner and ignore the original text's flow or mode of expression, by emphasizing supramundane principles outside the realm of ordinary conceptual thought [格外道理]. Therefore, this study attempts to analyze the Diamond Sutra [金剛經] more clearly by examining the changes in its mode of expression. In this essay, the analysis of the original text is mostly based on the commentary of Kumārajīva (鳩摩羅什:344-413), with references to Jae-Seong Cheon’s (全在星:2003) and Gakmuk's (覺黙:2001) translation. Though some scholars divided the Diamond Sutra [金 剛經] into two parts when translating into Chinese, this was not due to inevitability but due to convenience. Therefore, this study attempts to divide the Sutra into two parts, classifying it as ‘Just-not Speech’ [卽非的 話法] and ‘Just-not butnamed Speech’ [卽非是名的 話法]. I find that the former was mostly composed of ‘Just-not Speech’ [卽非的 話法] and the latter ‘Just-not but-named Speech’ [卽非是名的 話法]. Through the analysis of the difference between the two, this essay concludes that the Sutra ’s mode of expression in the two parts conflict with each other.