The Heart Sutra: The Heart of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra
Below is a translation of the Heart Sutra that I did several years ago (perhaps around 2000). It is followed by a short commentary that I hope will clarify some of the background the sutra takes for granted and the points it is making about emptiness. First, I’d like to say a few things about the position of the Heart Sutra in relation to the Buddha’s other teachings. The Heart Sutra can be regarded as part of the Shared teachings and as part of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) period of the Buddha’s teachings according to the T’ien-t’ai sutra classification system of the Four Teachings by Content and the Five Periods. The point of this particular teaching is to move the practitioner from approaching the emptiness of phenomena through an analytical method to a more direct and intuitive realization of how all phenomena are empty. The categories that are being referred to (in whole are in part) are the basic categories of the Buddha’s teaching: the four noble truths, the five aggregates, the eighteen elements, and the twelve-fold chain of dependent origination. All of these are asserted as empty, because they are only nominal categories applied to the flux of causes and conditions, but there are no such objective entities. At the initial stage of study and practice it is helpful to analyze life in terms of these categories in order to make sense of things on the conventional level of speaking and relating, but, the deeper approach of the Perfection of Wisdom is to understand that any “objective phenomena” such as designated by all these categories is empty of any kind of permanent, isolatable, self-nature. All things are what they are only temporarily, only as the conglomeration of certain causes and conditions, and only because our minds have interpreted such a temporary aggregation to be a specific person, place, thing, feeling, or idea. This is not to say that such “things” don’t exist at all, but not in the way we normally think they do. The emptiness of all phenomena is a major theme of the Mahayana sutras, particularly the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, and was also taken up by Nagarjuna in terms of the two truths of the conventional and the ultimate, and Chih-i in terms of the three truths of the empty, the provisional, and the Middle Way.
Because the Heart Sutra is so short and concise, it is often recited by most East Asian Buddhists in China, Korea, and Vietnam, and in Japan by the Zen, Tendai, Kegon, Shingon and other schools with the exception of the Jodo and Nichiren schools. The copying of the Heart Sutra is also a popular practice. Even those who do not recite or copy it should be familiar with its contents, as the teaching of emptiness is a fundamental teaching that more advanced teachings assume as understood, for instance it is an integral part of the three truths of T’ien-t’ai who taught that reality is the Middle Way that encompasses emptiness and provisional existence.
Now here is the translation:
The Heart of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva
deeply practicing the perfection of wisdom at this time,
clearly sees that all five aggregates are empty
and delivered from all suffering and distress.
Shariputra!
Form is no other than emptiness.
Emptiness is no other than form.
Form is emptiness.
Emptiness is form.
Feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness
are also like this.
Shariputra!
All phenomena are empty of characteristics.
They neither appear nor disappear.
They are neither defiled nor pure.
They neither increase nor decrease.
Thus, in emptiness there is no form,
nor is there feeling, perception, mental formations, or consciousness;
no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or [mental] phenomena;
no realm of seeing
and so on until no realm of mental discrimination;
no ignorance,
no end of ignorance,
and so on until no old age and death,
and no ending of old age and death;
no suffering, origination, cessation or way;
no wisdom and no attainment.
Since there is nothing to attain
a bodhisattva
relies upon the perfection of wisdom, whereby
the mind is unhindered.
Because there is no hindrance
there is no fear.
Far removed from all inverted delusions
nirvana is realized at last.
The past, present and future buddhas all
rely on the perfection of wisdom in
attaining the supreme perfect awakening.
Therefore, know that the perfection of wisdom
is the great sacred mantra,
the great illuminating mantra,
the unsurpassed mantra,
which is able to remove all suffering.
It is true not false.
Therefore expound the perfection of wisdom mantra.
Now expound this mantra, saying:
Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha!
Commentary:
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva
deeply practicing the perfection of wisdom at this time.
Avalokiteshvara is Regarder of the Cries of the World Bodhisattva (Chinese name is Kuan-yin, in Japanese it is Kanzeon or Kannon), the subject of chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra. By being the teacher of this discourse he (or she) represents the connection between realizing the emptiness of all things and the bodhisattva’s heart of compassion for all sentient beings.
clearly sees that all five aggregates are empty
and delivered from all suffering and distress.
The five aggregates are form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. These are the components of human existence. All five are impermanent, all five depend upon each other as they arise together, all five are unstable and constantly depend upon supporting conditions, and none of the five are a candidate for being a stable, isolated, unchanging self. Outside of the five aggregates there is nothing that we can talk about as part of human experience, so there is no “self” apart from them either. What this means is that all five are empty of a stable, unchanging, independent self or self-nature. None of them apart or together provide anything that is ultimately graspable, and so ultimately they present no object for attachment or aversion, and because there is nothing to get rid of and nothing lacking from the ultimate point of view there is ultimately no reason for fear or distress. Note that in the Lotus Sutra it asserts that all phenomena are by nature of the tranquil nature of nirvana, and that is true because the are all empty and therefore provide no basis for fear or distress.
Shariputra!
That Shariputra is being addressed here is significant because Shariputra is the one who is often credited (or blamed) for being the compiler of the Abhidharma system of analysis. Basically the Abhidharma is a way of systematizing all the teachings of the Buddha in the Pali Canon. It amounts to a system of analyzing experience into little bits and pieces of reality called “dharmas” These ”dharmas” are supposedly the indivisible building blocks of our everyday experience. So birth and death is analyzed into the twelve-fold chain of dependent origination, and some of the terms in that chain are further analyzed, the same for the five aggregates which are further analyzed into the four elements and consciousness and 52 mental factors. The Sarvastivadin Abhidharma systems proposed that there are 75 such dharmas, the Mahayana Consciousness Only School later bumped this up to 100. Theravada has 81 (if memory serves). The point is to analyze reality into bits and pieces so that one can see there is no ”self” but only these bits and pieces. But the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras were highly critical of this. The problem is that people start to believe these dharmas are real objects with a self-nature, as opposed to being merely nominal labels used to investigate reality as part of a conceptual analytic method. The Abhidharmists (aka Hinayana Buddhists) were getting so caught up in their analysis and categorizing that they were clinging to the process and forgetting the point – which is to see the ungraspable ultimate nature of reality. And that is why Shariputra is being addressed here, as he represents this analytic endeavor that the Perfection of Wisdom is critiquing.
Form is no other than emptiness.
Emptiness is no other than form.
Form is emptiness.
Emptiness is form.
The above four lines are probably the most important and most oft quoted passage from this sutra or Mahayana Buddhism in general. It is basically pointing out that “emptiness” is not a thing or some filed of void out of which things arise and into which they return (which is actually a Taoist idea). Rather, to speak of emptiness is simply to speak of how in form, just as it is, there is no unchanging, permanent, isolatable self-nature. Things do not come from emptiness or return to emptiness, they are empty just as they are in their provisional caused and conditioned expression. Emptiness makes no sense apart from the way things are, and the way things are is empty of self-nature, but they are present in a caused and conditioned manner. Form may be solid (you can still kick a rock) but it is empty all the same of such a falsely imagined self-nature. Emptiness may be ungraspable in the ultimate sense, but it is experience only in and through the actual phenomenological expression of rocks, clouds, birds, trees, people and so forth.
Feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness
are also like this.
What is true of form is also true of the other four aggregates. So you can also replace the term “form” with these others and say (for instance) that consciousness is no other than emptiness and emptiness is no other than consciousness. All are causal processes with no graspable self-nature.
Shariputra!
All phenomena are empty of characteristics.
They neither appear nor disappear.
They are neither defiled nor pure.
They neither increase nor decrease.
Thus, in emptiness there is no form,
nor is there feeling, perception, mental formations, or consciousness;
So if there is no “self-nature” or any permanent, isolatable and ultimately graspable characteristic or underlying substantial reality beyond the flux of causes and conditions then there is no ultimate object that we can say arises or disappears. No-thing to call pure or impure, or that increases or decreases. There is the flow of causality and we relate to it with conventional nominal designations. Provisionally we can talk about birth and death, wholesome and unwholesome, but ultimately there is this deeper perspective that transcends any such things. This is a tricky point, and it is why I think Chih-i was extremely wise to teach the unity of the three truths of emptiness, provisional existence, and the Middle Way that encompasses and completely integrates the first two terms. WIthout the unity of the three truths, the teaching of emptiness can easily lead to conclusion that would negate wholesome common sense and compassion, and lead to either a cold indifference or a wild amorality. This has in fact happened many times in the history of Buddhism. So one must not think that what is being advocated here is nihilism or a negation of provisional existence. One reason the Heart Sutra is merely of the Shared Teaching is that it does not explicitly point the reader from emptiness back to provisional existence. Of course implicitly it does, because form is not just emptiness, emptiness is also form.
no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or [mental] phenomena;
no realm of seeingand so on until no realm of mental discrimination;
In the Pali Canon (and thus in the Abhidharma) the Buddha taught a way to analyze experience so that we are not overwhelmed by it or substantialize it. He taught that there are six sense bases (the five physical senses plus mind), and if you add their respective objects then there are twelve sense fields, and if you add the respective types of consciousness corresponding to the meeting of sense and object you get 18 elements that comprise our everyday experience. The point of this is that every moment of conscious experience is a caused and conditioned process and therefore empty and ungraspable. Because these 6 bases, or 12 fields, or 18 elements are all an impermanent, interdependent process, they are also empty of any fixed, isolated self-nature or underlying substance beyond the interplay of causes and conditions. They are being negated here on that basis, but of course in the empty interdependent process there is what we conventionally relate to as seeing, hearing, etc… That is fine. Just don’t try to grasp any of it. You can find a more detailed discussion of the five aggregates and the 18 elements in this article with citations form the discourses of the Buddha where they are explained:
no ignorance,
no end of ignorance,
and so on until no old age and death,
and no ending of old age and death;
In the Pali Canon the Buddha lays out the twelve-fold chain of dependent origination starting with ignorance and ending with old age and death (that form the 12th link together). This is really a circle in that old age and death bring you back to ignorance which starts the process over again. The Buddha would usually say that the way to get rid of old age and ignorance is to get rid of the link before it, which is becoming, and so on until one gets back to ignorance. The idea being that ignorance is at the root of this vicious circle of ignorance, leading to the formation of body-mind, then to grasping, then to becoming and resulting in suffering. The 12-fold chain also shows that birth and death is not about a substantial self or being that is reincarnated but that birth and death is a causal process. So once again, the elements of it, the links of the chain, are all empty of a self-nature as they are all designations for caused and conditioned phenomena. You can read in more detail about the 12-fold chain here:
no suffering, origination, cessation or way;
And here the Four Noble Truths are empties out as well. The four being that 1) one should understand the pervasiveness of suffering in conditioned existence (even the heavens, so all six worlds of rebirth); 2) one should cut off the cause of suffering which is selfish craving (but implicitly including hatred, and delusion); 3) one should realize the cessation of suffering; 4) One should cultivate the Middle Way which is the 8-fold path in order to bring about the cessation of suffering. Again, the Four Noble Truths are a causal process and therefore empty of self-nature, and so they should not become objects of attachment or aversion either. To read in more detail about the Four Noble Truths go here:
no wisdom and no attainment.
Wisdom and the “attainment” of awakening or liberation should also not become objects of attachment, as they too are empty of self-nature. One “attains” wisdom by realizing there is no-thing to get, and that no-thing is lacking.
Since there is nothing to attain
a bodhisattva
relies upon the perfection of wisdom, whereby
the mind is unhindered.
The perfection of wisdom is the culmination and guiding principle of the six perfections. The other five are generosity, morality, patience, energy, concentration. In fact, the first five are not bodhisattva perfections unless guided by the wisdom that realizes there is no-thing to grasp or push away in any ultimate sense. The first five perfections are forms of practice and they must be performed in a way that transcends self-consciousness that would only reinforce egoism. The six perfections are not so much “things” to be cultivated as an authentic expression of the selfless compassion of an awakened one who has awakened to the reality that there is no-thing to be attached to and no-thing to have aversion towards, and yet conventionally responds in a spontaneous and uncontrived way appropriate to causes and conditions to relieve suffering and bring about liberation for all beings (who are no-self beings and therefore no beings are liberated and therefore they are truly liberated). Because there is no self-nature, and all conditions are ultimately empty, there is ultimately no-thing to hinder the work of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. There is no attainment and no hindrance, no-thing gained, no-thing lost, a perfect state of equilibrium that does not even cling to emptiness (also not a thing to be gained or held on to) but gracefully expresses itself in the flow of causality. I have said more about the six perfections and what is meant by the perfection of wisdom here:
Provisional Mahayana: The Perfection of Wisdom
Because there is no hindrance
there is no fear.
Far removed from all inverted delusions
nirvana is realized at last.
It is realizes that it was there all along. As the Lotus Sutra says,
All things are from the outset
In the state of tranquil extinction.
The Buddhas’ sons who complete the practice of the Way
Will become Buddhas in their future lives.”
(The Lotus Sutra translated by Senchu Murano p.39)
You may also want to read the articles on the three truths and non-substantiality in Dharma Flower (each chapter starts with a relevant quote from the Lotus Sutra). These chapters are all here:
Note that I moved Dharma Flower to the Nichiren Buddhism section of my blog, which you can find under Areas of Interest on the first page.
The past, present and future buddhas all
rely on the perfection of wisdom in
attaining the supreme perfect awakening.
Therefore, know that the perfection of wisdom
is the great sacred mantra,
the great illuminating mantra,
the unsurpassed mantra,
which is able to remove all suffering.
It is true not false.
Therefore expound the perfection of wisdom mantra.
Now expound this mantra, saying:
Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha!
I like how Brad Warner translates and explains the mantra at the end (though I think he is wrong when he says it wasn’t meant to be chanted, as I think it obviously was because it is specifically called a mantra) so I am going to share that:
The last section is really different from the rest and seems to be encouraging us to chant that little line at the end, “Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate. Bodhi! Svaha!” (Gate is pronounced “gah-tay,” by the way.) This basically means ”Gone, gone, all the way gone to the other shore. Enlightenment! Hot damn!” It’s not really meant to be chanted. It’s ust an expression of joy in response to realization. (Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner, p. 82)
And that is what the Heart Sutra is all about. There are many passages about emptiness in the Lotus Sutra, particularly chapter 14, but a key passage in chapter 16 relies upon this teaching. I hope this has made things a little clearer.