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The Heart of Perfect Wisdom Sutra or Heart Sutra or Essence of Wisdom Sutra (Sanskrit: प्रज्ञापारमिताहृदयसूत्र Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra; Traditional Chinese: 般若波羅蜜多心經, Pinyin: Bōrěbōluómìduō Xīnjīng; Japanese: 般若心経, Hannya Shingyō; Korean: 반야심경, Banya Simgyeong, Vietnamese: Bát Nhã Ba La Mật Đa Tâm Kinh) is a well-known Mahāyāna Buddhist sutra that is very popular among Mahayana Buddhists both for its brevity and depth of meaning.

The Heart Sutra is a member of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā) class of Mahāyāna Buddhist literature, and along with the Diamond Sutra, is considered to be the primary representative of the genre. It consists of just 14 shlokas or verses in Sanskrit and 260 Chinese characters  in the most prevalent Chinese version, Taisho Tripitaka Vol. T08 No. 251, translated by Xuan Zang. This makes it the most highly abbreviated version of the Perfection of Wisdom texts, texts which exist in various lengths up to and including 100,000 slokas. This sutra is classified by Edward Conze as belonging to the third of four periods in the development of the Perfection of Wisdom canon, although because it contains a mantra (sometimes erroneously called a dharani), it does overlap with the final tantric phase of development according to this scheme, and is included in the tantra section of at least some editions of the Kangyur.

The study of the Heart Sutra is particularly emphasized in the practice of East Asian Buddhism. Its Chinese version is frequently chanted (in the local pronunciation) by the Zen (Chan/Seon/Thiền) sects during ceremonies in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam respectively. It is also significant to the Shingon Buddhist school in Japan, whose founder Kūkai wrote a commentary on it, and to the various Tibetan Buddhist schools, where it is studied extensively.

A striking feature of the sutra is the fact that the teaching is not actually delivered by the Buddha, which places it in a relatively small class of sutras not directly spoken by the Buddha. In some Chinese versions of the text, the Buddha confirms and praises the words of Avalokiteśvara, although this is not included in either the extant Sanskrit version nor the preeminent Chinese version translated by Xuan Zang.

The text

Various commentators divide this text in different numbers of sections. Briefly the sutra introduces the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara, who in this case is representing the faculty of prajña (wisdom). His analysis of phenomena is that there is nothing which lies outside the five aggregates of human existence (skandhas) — form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), volitions (samskārā), perceptions (saṁjñā), and consciousness (vijñāna).

Avalokiteśvara then addresses Śariputra, who in this text — as with many other Mahāyāna texts — is a representative of the Early Buddhist schools, described in many other sutras as being the Buddha's foremost disciple in wisdom. Avalokiteśvara famously states that, "form is emptiness (Śūnyatā) and emptiness is form" and declares the other skandhas to be equally empty — that is, without an independent essence. Avalokiteśvara then goes through some of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings such as the Four Noble Truths and explains that in emptiness none of these labels apply. This is traditionally interpreted as saying that Buddhist teachings, while accurate descriptions of conventional truth, are mere statements about reality — they are not reality itself — and that they are therefore not applicable to the ultimate truth that is by definition beyond dualistic description. Thus the bodhisattva, as the archetypal Mahāyāna Buddhist, relies on the perfection of wisdom, defined in the larger Perfection of Wisdom sutras to be the wisdom that perceives reality directly without conceptual attachment. This perfection of wisdom is condensed in the mantra with which the Sutra concludes.

Mantra咒语

This mantra, chanted throughout the Mahāyāna Buddhist world, appears in transliterated Sanskrit even in the Chinese version, as pronunciation of mantras is held to be important if they are to function properly. The mantra goes:

Devanāgarī (sanskrit梵文) ：गते गते , पारगते पारसंगते, बोधि स्वाहा

Romanization : Gate gate，Pāragate，Pārasamgate ，Bodhi svāhā
[gəteː gəteː] [pɑːɾə gəteː][pɑːɾəsəm gəteː][boːdɦɪ sʋɑːhɑː]

Translaion（英文翻译）: Gone, gone，Gone beyond，Gone completely beyond，Praise to awakening(The translation can only be loose since, as with many mantras, the Sanskrit does not appear to be completely grammatical)

The text itself describes the mantra as "Mahāmantro, mahā-vidyā mantro, ‘nuttara mantro samasama-mantrah", which Conze translates as "The great mantra, the mantra of great knowledge, the utmost mantra, the unequalled mantra, the allayer of all suffering." These words are also used of the Buddha, and so the text seems to be equating the mantra with the Buddha. Although the translation is acceptable, the case ending in Sanskrit mantra is the feminine vocative, so gate is addressed to a feminine person/figure. A more accurate translation is "Oh she who is gone!" In this respect, the mantra appears to be keeping with the common tantric practice (a practice supported by the texts themselves) of anthropromorphizing the Perfection of Wisdom as the "Mother of Buddhas."

One can also interpret the mantra as the progressive steps along the five paths of the Bodhisattva, through the two preparatory stages (the path of accumulation and preparation — Gate, gate), through the first bhumi (path of insight — Pāragate), through the second to seventh bhumi (path of meditation — Pārasamgate), and through the eight to tenth bhumi (stage of no more learning — Bodhi svāhā).

The current Dalai Lama explains the mantra in a discourse on the Heart Sutra both as an instruction for practice and as a device for measuring one's own level of spiritual attainment, and translates it as go, go, go beyond, go thoroughly beyond, and establish yourself in enlightenment. In the discourse, he gives a similar explanation to the four stages (the four go's) as in the previous paragraph.

《般若波罗蜜多心经》英文译文：

Thus have I once heard  ："When the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara."

"Was Coursing in the Deep Prajna Paramita."

"He Perceived That All Five Skandhas Are Empty."

"Thus He Overcame All Ills and Suffering."

"Oh, Sariputra, Form Does not Differ From the Void,

And the Void Does Not Differ From Form.

Form is Void and Void is Form;

The Same is True For Feelings,

Perceptions, Volitions and Consciousness."

"Sariputra, the Characteristics of the

Voidness of All Dharmas

Are Non-Arising, Non-Ceasing, Non-Defiled,

Non-Pure, Non-Increasing, Non-Decreasing."

"Therefore, in the Void There Are No Forms,

No Feelings, Perceptions, Volitions or Consciousness."

"No Eye, Ear, Nose, Tongue, Body or Mind;

No Form, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch or Mind Object;

No Realm of the Eye,

Until We Come to No realm of Consciousness."

"No ignorance and Also No Ending of Ignorance,

Until We Come to No Old Age and Death and

No Ending of Old Age and Death."

"Also, There is No Truth of Suffering,

Of the Cause of Suffering,

Of the Cessation of Suffering, Nor of the Path."

"Because There is Nothing to Be Attained,

The Bodhisattva Relying On Prajna Paramita Has

No Obstruction in His Mind."

"Because There is No Obstruction, He Has no Fear,"

"And He passes Far Beyond Confused Imagination."

"And Reaches Ultimate Nirvana.""The Buddhas of the Past, Present and Future,

By Relying on Prajna Paramita

Have Attained Supreme Enlightenment."

"Therefore, the Prajna Paramita is the Great Magic Spell,

The Spell of Illumination, the Supreme Spell,

Which Can Truly Protect One From All Suffering Without Fail."

"Therefore He Uttered the Spell of Prajnaparmita,

Saying Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha."

GLOSSARY

Terms are from Sanskrit unless stated otherwise.

Agamas：Generic term applied to a collection of traditional doctrines and precepts, The sutras of Theravada (Hinayana) are referred to at times as the Agamas.

Anuttara Samayak Sambodhi阿耨多罗三藐三菩提：The incomparably, completely and fully awakened mind; it is the attribute of buddhas.

Arhat阿罗汉: The one who has achieved Nirvana: A Saint in the Theravada tradition. The stage is preceded by three others, 1. Stream Winner, 2. Once-Returner, 3. Non-Returner, 4. Arhat.

Arya：Any individual ennobled by his/her own continuing effort on the path to enlightenment.

Asamkhyia (kalpa)：Term related to the Buddhist metaphysics of time. Each of the periodic manifestations and dissolutions of universes which go on eternally has four parts, called asamkhiya kalpas.

Avalokitesvara菩萨：The name is a compound of Ishwara, meaning Lord, and avalokita, looked upon or seen, and is usually translated as the Lord Who Observes (the cries of the world); the Buddhist embodiment of compassion as formulated in the Mahayana Dharma; the most important Bodhisattva of the Mahayana pantheon, second only to the Buddha.

Avatansaka or Avatamsaka (Sutra)《华严经》： One of the 5 key texts of the Mahayana canon. Its principal doctrine is that of the law-nature (Dharma-dhatu) of the universe. In modern terms it means that all objects and energies are under the law of causation, on account of which they are co-existent and interdependent.

Bhikshu比丘： Religious mendicant; Buddhist fully ordained monk. Bhikshuni比丘尼 is the equivalent term designating a woman.

Bodhi菩提：Perfect wisdom or insight knowledge by means of which a person becomes buddha.

Brahmajala：Or Indra's net, characterized by holding a luminous gem in every one of its eyes. (Hindu mythology).

Dharani：Extended mantra used in esoteric branch of Buddhism to focus and expand the mind. Its words, or sounds, should not communicate any recognizable meaning.

Dharma-dhatu： The Law-doctrine that is the reality behind being and non-being. It is interpenetrative and all-inclusive, just as the rotation of the earth holds both night and day.

Dharma-kaya：The first of the three forms of the Buddha: The Self--Nature or Void aspect. The real being in his true nature, indescribable and absolute.

Five Fundamental Conditions of Passions and Delusions: 1. Wrong views which are common to triloka; 2. Clinging or attachment in the desire realm; 3. Clinging or attachment in the form realm; 4. Clinging or attachment in the formless realm which is still mortal; 5. The state of unenlightenment which is the root-cause of all distressful delusion.

Four Fruits of the Arhat：See under Arhat entry.

Hinayana小乘. Lit., a small vehicle; designates Buddhist tradition of southeast Asia; replaced by the term Theravada.

Kalpa：劫。 Periodic manifestations and dissolutions of universes which go on eternally. Great kalpas consist of four asamkhiya kalpas corresponding to childhood, maturity, old age and the death of the universe.

Lotus Sutra. Or Saddharma-pundarika,《妙法莲华经》 Dharma Flower, or "The Lotus of the True Law." The sutra is the basis for the Lotus sect (T'ien-t'ai in Chinese). Among the sutras of the Mahayana canon.

Mahayana大乘. Lit., great vehicle; the dominant Buddhist tradition of China. Special characteristics of Mahayana are 1. Emphasis on bodhisattva ideal, 2. The accession of the Buddha to a superhuman status, 3. The development of extensive philosophical inquiry to counter Brahmanical and other scholarly argument, 4. The development of elaborate devotional practice.

Middle Vehicle中观派. Also called Middle Doctrine School or Madhyamika; one of the two main schools of Mahayana thought; it upholds the Void as the only really real or independent, unconditioned Reality.

Nirvana Sutra. The last of the sutras in the Mahayana canon. It emphasizes the importance of Buddha-nature, which is the same as Self-Nature.

Paramita波罗密多. Perfected virtue, of which there are six, namely: 1. Dana: Generosity; charity. 2. Shila: Morality; harmony. 3. Kshanti: Patience; tolerance of insults. 4. Virya: Valor; vigor in practice. 5. Dhyana: Contemplation; meditation. 6. Prajna: Essential wisdom; awareness as such, beyond the duality of subject and object.

Pratyeka-Buddha.辟支佛 Self-enlightened being who attained without a teacher; attained individual unwilling or unable to teach.

Saddharma-pundarika. See entry under Lotus Sutra.

Saha-lokadhatu or Saha world婆娑世界; this world to be endured, this earth.

Sanskrit. Learned language of India. Canonical texts of Mahayana Buddhism in its Indian stage were written in Sanskrit.

Skandhas. As taught by the Buddha, the skandhas are the components of the human so-called entity that is constantly changing. They are: 1. Name/form; 2. Feeling; 3. Conception; 4. Impulse; 5. Consciousness.

Small Vehicle. See entry under Hinayana.

Sramana. Lit. laborer; applied to those who wholeheartedly practice toward enlightenment; root word of the designation for novice monk.

Sravaka. Lit. hearer; it originally referred to those who paid devoted attention to the spoken words of the Buddha; today it is more often applied to an ardent teacher of Buddhist texts; an individual still needing guidance in Dharma.

Tao道. Chinese term meaning the way. In Buddhist terminology it may be applied to practice, to Self-nature or to the Ultimate.

Tathagata. Thus gone; term frequently used by the Buddha in reference to himself.

T'ien T'ai天台宗. Chinese name designating a school of Buddhism in that country; the Lotus Sutra is the school's textual foundation. The T'ien T'ai doctrine speaks of the threefold Truth, the three being three in-one. These are: 1. All things are of the Void; 2. Phenomenal existences of all kinds are only temporary productions and so only the Void; 3. As everything involves everything else, all is one, and something of everything involves everything else, all is one, and something of everything is the basis of its being, this something being the Buddha-nature. The school emphasizes Buddhist philosophy.

The ten Directions： North, South, East, West, N-E, N-W, S-E, S-W, Zenith and Nadir.

Theravada小乘佛教. Lit., the School of the Elders; one of the two main forms of Buddhism known in the world today; practiced chiefly in south-east Asia; has the Pali Canon for textual foundation.

Triloka or Trailoka. The three realms: World of sensuous desire; form; formless world of pure spirit.

Tripitaka. Lit., three baskets: The earliest Buddhist canonical text consisting of three sections: 1. Buddha's discourses (sutras), 2. Rules of Discipline (Vinaya), 3. Analytical and explanatory texts or commentaries (Sastras); usually referred to as the Pali canon.

Upasaka优婆塞（男居士）. Buddhist lay disciple (man), who formally received five precepts or rules of conduct. Upasika 优婆夷（女居士）is the equivalent term designating woman.

终于把1年来积累的东西重新整理好以文字的形式作了备份。也算对自己的一个交待。《心经》是经藏般若部最短的一部经玉枕纱厨文，又是哲理最为深刻的。玄奘法师集600卷大般若经精华翻译为260个汉字。与《金刚经》Diamond Sutra 并为佛学中最为伟大最智慧的经典。 （版权所有，转载请注明出处）

                            BY ERIC FUNG