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The Heart Sutra of Transcendent Knowledge

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1. Translated from Tibean Text

Thus have I heard.  Once the Blessed One was dwelling in Rajagriha at Vulture Peak mountain, together with a great gathering of the Sangha of monks and a great gathering of the Sangha of Bodhisattvas.  At that time, the Blessed One entered the Samadhi that expresses the Dharma called "profound illumination," and at the same time noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva Mahasattva, while practicing the profound Prajnaparamita, saw in this way: he saw the five squanders to be empty of nature.

Then, through the power of the Buddha, venerable Shariputra said to noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva Mahasattva, "How should a son or daughter of noble family train, who wishes to practice the profound Prajnaparamita?"


Addressed in this way, noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva Mahasattva, said to venerable Shariputra, "O Shariputra, a son or daughter of noble family who wishes to practice the profound Prajnaparamita should see in this way: seeing the five skandhas to be empty of nature.  Form is emptiness; emptiness also is form.  Emptiness is no other than form; form is no other than emptiness.  In the same way, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are emptiness.  Thus, Shariputra, all dharmas are emptiness.  There are no characteristics.  There is no birth and no cessation.  There is no impurity and no purity.  There is no decrease and no increase.  Therefore, Shariputra, in emptiness, there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no formation, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no appearance, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no dharmas, no mind consciousness dhatu; no ignorance, no end of ignorance up to no old age and death, no end of old age and death; no suffering, no origin of suffering, no cessation of suffering, no path, no wisdom, no attainment, and no nonattainment.  Therefore, Shariputra, since the bodhisattva have no attainment, they abide by means of Prajnaparamita.  Since there is no obscuration of mind, there is no fear.  They transcend falsity and attain complete nirvana.  All the Buddhas of the three times, by means of Prajnaparamita, fully awaken to unsurpassable, true, complete enlightenment.  Therefore, the greater mantra of Prajnaparamita, the mantra of great insight, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequaled mantra, the mantra that calms all suffering should be known as truth, since there is no deception.  The Prajnaparamita mantra is aid in this way:


OM GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA

Thus, Shariputra, the bodhisattva Mahasattva should train in the profound Prajnaparamita."

Then the Blessed One arose from that Samadhi and praise noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva Mahasattva, saying, "Good, good, O son of noble family; thus it is, O son of noble family, thus it is.  One should practice the profound Prajnaparamita just as you have taught and all the Tathagatas will rejoice."

When the Blessed One had said this, venerable Shariputra and noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva Mahasattva, that whole assembly and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.

Translated by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the Nalanda Translation Committee

2. Translated from Chinese

Homage to the Perfection of Wisdom, the lovely, the holy!

Avalokitesvara, the holy Lord and Bodhisattva, was moving in the deep course of the wisdom which has gone beyond.  He looked down from on high, he beheld but five heaps, and he saw that in their own-being they were empty.

Here, O Sariputra1, form is emptiness, and the very emptiness is form; emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness; whatever is form, that is emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form.  The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness.

Here, O Sariputra, all Dharmas are marked with emptiness; they are not produced or stopped, not defiled for immaculate, not deficient or complete.

Therefore, O Sariputra, in emptiness there is no form, nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness; no eye, ear, nose tongue, body, mind; no forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables or objects of mind; no sight-organ-element, and so forth, until we come to: no mind-consciousness-element; there is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and so forth, until we come to: there is no decay and death, no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path; there is no cognition, no attainment, and no non-attainment.

Therefore, O Sariputra, it is because of his indifference to any kind of personal attainment that a Bodhisattva, through having relied on the perfection of wisdom, dwells without thought-coverings.  In the absence of thought-coverings he has not been made to tremble, he has overcome what can upset, and in the end he attains to nirvana.


All those who appear as Buddhas in the three periods of time fully awake to the utmost, right and perfect enlightenment because they have relief on the perfection of wisdom.

Therefore one should know the Prajnaparamita as as the great mantra, the mantra of great knowledge, the utmost mantra, the unequaled mantra, allayer of all suffering, in truth - for what could go wrong?  By the Prajnaparamita has this mantra been delivered.  Repeat this mantra:  Jie-di jie-di Po-lou-ji-di Po-lou-sen-ji-di Bodhi Sava.

1  Wisest of all Shakyamuni's students.

http://www.buddhistsutras.org


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