Translated by tripitaka master hsuan tsang commentary by. The initiation beginsthe details have been omitted but a few of his holinesss general comments have been preserved. I say this is because the heart sutra is based on arya avalokiteshvaras own deep reflection on the perfection of wisdom. Bhagavati, the heart of transcendental knowledge preprint pdf available october 2017 with 1,690 reads how we measure reads. The patriarch who compiled the heart sutra wanted to encourage followers of tantric buddhism to practice and recite the heart sutra, so thats why he presented the heart sutra as a. Heart sutra printed out of buddhist scripture wood block in hae in sa buddhist temple.
The sutra is used in various buddhist ceremonies, including the famous shunie ceremony at todaiji temple in nara, japan. The topic of the heart sutra is one of the most extraordinarily complex and profound topics. Image, pilgrimage, practice begins to fill this gap by examining his many manifestations across asia. So, i thought it was funny enough asking me to say something about it laughter, but to want to finish it in one eveningthats even funnier or should i. The buddha is present throughout the text, but he doesnt speak. At the core of this book is the heart of prajna paramita sutra itself. Specifically in this case it is the buddhas word that comes through his blessing these two beings. At one time the blessed one was dwelling at vulture peak mountain, together with a great gathering of monks, nuns and bodhisattvas. Lotus sutra1 above all other considerations, the exhibition focuses on how. Thay needs to make this new translation of the heart sutra because the patriarch who. The master lectured in mandarin, and upasaka wang kai translated into cantonese, making the cantonese people very happy. Except for the conclusion of the text where the buddha says, excellent, excellent. Thubten konchog, who accepts responsibility for all errors and omissions. Shariputra spoke to the noble avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva, the great being, and said.
Mahaprajnaparamitahridaya sutra the heart sutra when avalokiteshvara bodhisattva was practicing the profound prajna paramita, he investigated and perceived the five skandhas and saw that they were all nonexistent, thus securing his deliverance from all suffering and difficulty. If a woman dislikes her female body and wishes to become a male, if she recites the phrases of the great compassion dharani but can not change from a female to a male, i. Great compassion mantra the great compassion mantra of avalokitesvara kuan yin is a dharani to be recited for purification, protection, and healing. Vietnam, china, japan, korea, hongkong, singapore, taiwan, tibet and mongolia are essentially mahayana. The heart sutra in sanskrit, prajnaparamita hrdaya, whose full title is the. Thailand, myanmar, sri lanka, cambodia and laos are essentially theravada. The many teachings and stories around avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, express the buddhist view that compassion is a force unto itself. Around the world, millions of mahayana buddhists chant the maha karuna dharani, the great compassion mantra of avalokitesvara chenrezig, guanyin famous for its benefits of healing, protection and purification. Because of these lectures many of them now understand the heart sutra. Great compassion dharani sutra thousandhanded and thousandeyed avalokitesvara bodhisattvas vast, perfect, unimpeded, greatcompassionate heart dharani sutra tsin sau tsin ngarn gwun syde yarm poe sard gworng dhye yiun moon moe ngoy dhye bey sum tor lor ney ging. Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different. At that time the blessed one entered the samadhi that expresses the dharma called profound illumination, and at the same time noble avalokiteshvara.
The heart sutra annotations 3 the heart 1 of prajna 3 paramita 4 sutra 2 bodhisattva 5 avalokiteshvara 6, while deeply immersed 7 in prajna paramita, clearly perceived the empty nature 8 of the five skandhas9, and transcended all suffering. Avalokiteshvara, when practicing the profound perfection of wisdom, did light up and saw that five aggregates were of emptiness and he overcame all suffering and misfortune. The sanskrit term avalokitesvara means perceiving the cries of the people in the world. The heart sutra translated by george boeree and adapted by matt mccall avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, meditating deeply on perfection of wisdom, saw clearly that the five aggregates skhandas of human existence are empty sunyata, and so released himself from suffering. Avalokiteshvaras insight is somewhat more easily understood by dividing the path of the bodhisattva into three phases and placing that insight. The diamond sutra audio reading the diamond sutra vajracchedika prajnaparamita sutra is one of the. When holy avalokiteshvara bodhisattva performed the deep practice in the perfection of transcendent wisdom, he contemplated that there were five aggregates but observed that they were devoid of essential nature. It distills perfectly the teaching of nonattachment, which is the doctrine of emptiness. Red pine translation the noble avalokiteshvara bodhisattva, while practicing the. Its very significant that this text is either about or spoken by avalokiteshvara. At that time the blessed one entered the samadhi that expresses the dharma called profound illumination.
In this text and others, such as the longer sukhavativyuha sutra, avalokitesvara is an. English translation by geshe thubten jinpa extracted from. Avalokiteshvara bodhisattva, when deeply practicing prajna paramita, clearly saw that all five aggregates are empty and thus relieved all suffering. It represents the heart of a much longer sutra of 600 volumes called the maha prajnaparamitasutra the. For the rest of us, his compassion brings us closer to bliss and wisdom. Through a copy of the heart sutra in kaisho in large size characters, brushed by the artist herself, the heart sutra copying manual teaches the stroke order for each of the 276 kanji of the heart sutra. Great compassionate heart, unless it is used by those who are not virtuous or not completely sincere. Thereupon, through the buddhas inspiration, the venerable.
W hen bodhisattva avalokiteshvara was practicing the profound prajna paramita, he illuminated the five skandhas and saw that they are all empty, and he crossed beyond all suffering and difficulty. Once the blessed one was dwelling in rajagriha at vulture peak mountain with a great gathering of monks, nuns and bodhisattvas. Heart sutra copying made easier with a kanji stroke order. A 3day intensive course april 05 07, 20 heart sutra cultural centre of his holiness the dalai lama. Avalokiteshvara bodhisattva, doing deep prajna paramita, clearly saw emptiness of all the five conditions, thus completely relieving misfortune and pain. Seven sutras that are related to bodhisattva avalokitesvara in mahayana buddhism, bodhisattva avalokitesvara is one of the most eminent bodhisattvas whose presence is palpable in many of the famous temples in east asia.
Heart sutra english translation jung myung sa buddhist. It represents the heart of a much longer sutra of 600 volumes called the mahaprajnaparamitasutra the. Avalokitesvara compassion practices can enhance treatment. Here then, form is no other than emptiness, emptiness no other than form. The avalokiteshvarasutra was incorporated into the widely popular saddharmapundarikasutra, or lotus sutra, in the 3rd century ce, though it continued to circulate as an independent work in china. A brief exposition on the heart sutra the heart sutra is the apex of the mahayana buddhism thought. Below is the romanized sanskrit version of the heartdhara. There is no extant, full english translation at this time.
Also, this practice is very helpful for someone who has been practicing a long time, yet has lots of obstacles that they are encountering on the path. Also at that time, the bodhisattva greatminded mahasattva, the arya avalokiteshvara, the powerful lord beholding all around, conducting his behavior in profound and farreaching discriminating awareness, was beholding all around, in detail, like this. This is the mahayana and vajrayana essential practice. A commentary on the heart sutra teachings from tibet. Avalokiteshvara while practicing deeply with the insight that brings us to the other shore. New heart sutra translation by thich nhat hanh plum village. It is also among the most beautiful to listen to both in. The boundless heart sutra joan halifax upaya zen center i have chanted the heart sutra in various translations for nearly forty years.
This teaching is provided by avalokiteshvara bodhisattva, the. The dharani represents the spoken words of kuan yin as she recites the names of deities from many pantheons. The heart sutra as recited in the triratna buddhist community the bodhisattva of compassion, when he meditated deeply, saw the emptiness of all five skandhas and sundered the bonds that caused him suffering. Homage to perfection of wisdom, the lovely, the holy thus have i heard. The heart sutra om namo bhagavatyai prajnaparamitayai. Seven sutras that are related to bodhisattva avalokitesvara. In english a mere sixteen sentences, and a mere 262 characters in chinese, the heart sutra, as it is called in brief, is nothing less than a summation of the wisdom of the buddha. In essence of the heart sutra, the dalai lama translates and interprets a central teaching of buddhism with his trademark precision and straight talk. So, lets start going through the heart sutra line by line.
A consecrated copy of the text is considered a powerful protection talisman. The heart of the perfection of wisdom sutra aryabhagavatiprajnaparamitahridayasutra i prostrate to the arya triple gem thus did i hear at one time. The heart sutra when bodhisattva avalokiteshvara practiced the. Commentary on the heart sutra the essence of wisdom. It is very effective to new practitioners, opening their hearts to the path of liberation. The heart of prajna paramita sutra the sutra text is given first, then each line is repeated with the appropriate analysis when avalokiteshvara bodhisattva was practicing the profound prajna paramita, he illuminated the five skandhas and saw that they are all empty and. The height of the veneration of avalokiteshvara in northern india occurred in the 3rd7th century. He is an archetypal bodhisattva, which is a uniquely mahayana buddhist creation thats half. Oh shariputra, form is no other than emptiness, emptiness no other than form.
For many of those years, i simply chanted it, was quietly confounded by it, and let it sink into my practice, like a shiny penny sinks into a. Plum village chanting heart sutra the insight that brings us to the other shore. According to the karaavyuha sutra, the sun and moon are said to be born from avalokitesvaras eyes, shiva from his brow, brahma from his shoulders, narayana from his heart, sarasvati from his teeth, the winds from his mouth, the earth from his feet, and the sky from his stomach. In the mahayana sutra tradition there are several lists of eight and sixteen great bodhisattva. The heart sutra made a late appearance at a time when tantric buddhism had begun to flourish.
Mantra of avalokitesvara elevenfaced avalokitesvara. Avalokitesvara compassion practices can enhance treatment of anxiety, depression, trauma say some scientists and clinicians. The thousandarm avalokiteshvara lineage that the tibetan tradition has received is that of bhikshuni palmo. The heart of the perfection of wisdom sutra has been translated from the tibetan, consulting the. It is probably the second most chanted mantra, after om mani padme hum which is a short mantra of avalokitesvara. The bhagavan was dwelling on mass of vultures mountain in rajagriha together with a great community of monks and a great community of bodhisattvas. Precious teacher, guru rinpoche, in the heart of a giant lotus that we say the famous 6. At that time the blessed one entered into the samadhi on the enumeration. Knowing the stroke order of the kanji is an invaluable key to smooth and easy sutra copying. In the heart sutra, the bodhisattva avalokiteshvara describes how to train in the perfection of wisdom by seeing through the illusions of all things. Heart sutra 1 sanskritenglish translated by zuio h.