Heart Sutra (Skt. prajpramit hdaya; Tib. , Wyl.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i snying po), aka The Twenty-Five Verses on the Perfection of Wisdom the most popular sutra of the prajaparamita collection and indeed of the mahayana as a whole. Although the sutra primarily consists of a dialogue between Shariputra and the great bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, their words are inspired by the blessings of the Buddha, who remains absorbed in samadhi meditation until the end of the discussion. As with all the prajaparamita sutras, the teaching took place at Vulture's Peak near Rajagriha.

It was first translated into Tibetan by Vimalamitra and Rinchen D. The translation was later revised by Gew Lodr, Namkha and others.

Contents [hide] 1 Related to the Five Paths 2 Mantra 3 Dokpa 4 Commentaries 4.1 Indian 4.2 Tibetan 4.3 English

5 Translations 6 Famous Quotations 7 Notes 8 Teachings on the Heart Sutra Given to the Rigpa Sangha 9 Further Reading 10 Internal Links 11 External Links

Related to the Five Paths

In the various commentaries, there are different explanations as to how the sutra can be related to the five paths.

Mantra

The sutra includes the mantra tadyatha om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha (tadyath o gate gate pragate prasagate bodhi svh). Atisha explained that the mantra encapsulates the entire teaching of the Heart Sutra for the benefit of those of the sharpest faculties.[1]

Dokpa

The Heart Sutra is often recited together with a supplemental section for dokpa, the practice of averting harm and negativity. The text of the dokpa section refers to an incident recounted in the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in Eight Thousand Lines and Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in Eighteen Thousand Lines, when the god Indra turned away Mara and his forces, who were approaching the Buddha, by contemplating and reciting the Prajnaparamita.[2]

Commentaries

Indian Atisha, Janamitra, Prajpramithdayavykhy ('phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i snying po'i rnam par bshad pa) Kamalashila, Mahajana, Prajpramithdrthaparijna (shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i snying po'i don yongs su shes pa)

Prashastrasena, Prajpramithdayak ('phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i snying po rgya cher 'grel pa) Shri Singha, Vajrapani, Prajpramithdrthapradpa (bcom ldan 'das ma shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i snying po'i 'grel pa don gyi sgron ma) Vimalamitra, Prajpramithdayak ('phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i snying po rgya cher bshad pa)

Tibetan Gungthang Tenp Drnm, shes rab snying po'i sngags kyi rnam bshad sbas don gsal ba sgron me Jamyang Gaw Lodr Ngawang Tendar, Light of the Jewel (shes rab snying po'i 'grel pa don gsal nor bu'i 'od) Taranatha, Word Commentary (Tib. , sher snying gi tshig 'grel) , sher snying gi tshig 'grel English Chgyam Trungpa, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, (Boulder & London: Shambhala, 1973) chapter 'Shunyata', pages 187-206. Dalai Lama, Essence of the Heart Sutra (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2002), includes a commentary by Jamyang Gaw Lodr (1429-1503). Garchen Rinpoche, Oral Commentaries on the Heart Sutra in Relation to Shamatha and Vipassana Meditation And Seven Point Mind Training, San Francisco 2001 (San Francisco, Ratna Shri Sangha). Rabten, Geshe, Echoes of Voidness (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1983) Sonam Rinchen, Geshe, The Heart Sutra, translated and edited by Ruth Sonam (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2003) Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1988, 2009)

Translations Edward Conze, The Short Prajnaparamita Texts, London: Luzac & Co, 1973

Famous Quotations

Form is emptiness; emptiness also is form. Emptiness is no other than form, Form is no other than emptiness.

kyamuni, Heart Stra

Notes 1. Lopez (1996), p.170 2. Lopez (1996) pp.223-4

Teachings on the Heart Sutra Given to the Rigpa Sangha Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Rigpa London, 19 October 1991 Sogyal Rinpoche, Lerab Ling, April-May 1998 Dzogchen Rinpoche, Lerab Ling, July 1998 Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, using a commentary by Taranatha, Lerab Ling, 8-10 June 2010 Sogyal Rinpoche, Haileybury, UK, 25 April 2011

Further Reading

Conze, Edward. The Prajpramit Literature (1960) Eckel, Malcolm David, "Indian Commentaries on the Heart Sutra: The Politics of Interpretation" in Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, vol. 10, no. 2 (1987), pp. 69-79. Lopez, Donald S. The Heart Sutra Explained: Indian and Tibetan Commentaries, Abany: SUNY, 1988 Lopez, Donald S. "Inscribing the Bodhisattva's Speech: On the "Heart Sutra's" Mantra" in History of Religions, Vol. 29, No. 4. (May, 1990), pp. 351-372 Lopez, Donald S. Elaborations on Emptiness: Uses of the Heart Stra. Princeton University Press, 1996 Silk, Jonathan. The Heart Stra in Tibetan: A Critical Edition of the Two Recensions Contained in the Kanjur, Arbeitskreis fr Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universitt Wien (Vienna 1994).

Internal Links Eleven son scriptures

External Links Heart Sutra 'Dance Mix' by Gary Dyson The Heart Sutra in Tibetan performed by Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche. Produced by Gary Dyson