Heart Sutra

The Heart Sūtra (in Sanskrit, Hṛdayasūtra) is a Buddhist sutra, often considered one of the most important and well-known texts of the Mahayana tradition. It is part of a larger collection of about 40 sutras referred to as the Prajñāpāramitā, meaning “Perfection of Wisdom.” The Heart Sutra itself is brief but dense, making it the core or heart of the Prajnaparamita teachings. The sutra contains the Bodhisattva Avalokita’s teachings of the fundamental ideas of interdependence and emptiness (śūnyatā).

The earliest record of the Heart Sutra is a Chinese translation that dates back to the 3^rd century CE, but it commonly appears today in several Asian languages and English. There later emerged a new translation that includes an introduction and conclusion, so the Heart Sutra appears today in two versions: the short version and the long version. Both versions are very short (i.e. less than a page in English) and contain the same main body. However, for the longer version, the Buddha is mentioned in a conventional introduction (“Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One…”) as well as in the conclusion. (See link for full long version.) The most common form of the Heart Sutra is the shorter version, which simply contains the teachings of Avalokita with no mention of the Buddha. (See Nhat Hanh, Thich, The Heart of Understanding, Ch. 1)

The main content of the Heart Sutra consists of three parts: (1) Avalokita’s claim that the five skandhas—form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness—are empty, (2) an explanation of how this emptiness exists (interdependence), and (3) how this emptiness can lead to enlightenment. At the end of the shorter version is a Sanskrit mantra that encapsulates the power of the sutra in a single line.

Emptiness in the Heart Sutra

Emptiness exists not only for the five skandhas but for every aspect of the universe. In the Heart Sutra, Avalokita teaches this phenomenon as the emptiness of separate, independent existence. In other words, everything in this universe, whether it is a thought or a physical object, originates from something else. Things come into being from certain causes and conditions and therefore do not exist on their own. This is the idea of interdependence, also called dependent origination. Since no such thing has its own separate origin, everything can be characterized by the ideas of emptiness and interdependence. Attainment of enlightenment is no exception to the concept of interdependence, so all beings are capable of true enlightenment. Therefore, enlightenment can be achieved from a complete understanding of the ideas presented in the Heart Sutra.

Two Truths

The Two Truths is a doctrine associated with the Heart Sutra that characterizes the perception the world. A perfect understanding of the Heart Sutra is called ultimate truth, which represents the true nature of reality. As described above, ultimate truth is the realization that nothing has intrinsic existence, and therefore all things are empty. Conventional truth describes the universe as it seems, with distinctive things and beings existing independently. Both truths are found within the Heart Sutra: “form is emptiness, emptiness is form.” The ultimate truth is that all of the five skandhas are empty of independent origination. The conventional truth is that independent things do exist, but they only exist because of the concept of emptiness. Understanding the Two Truths is important for the attainment of enlightenment, as they are both in fact true. It may seem that conventional truth should be deemed false, as it does not describe the complete nature of reality. However, the constructed nature of reality that is conventional truth does matter and should be considered. If one were to fixate solely on ultimate truth, they would constantly think that nothing exists the way it seems, which could cause ethical problems as they lose touch with reality. Therefore, there is a Middle Path within the Two Truths that leads to universal enlightenment.

The Mantra of the Heart Sutra and Popular Culture

The Sanskrit mantra of the Heart Sutra has been used to represent the spirit and power of the text. This is the mantra: “gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhisvāhā,” which essentially translates to “go, go, go beyond, go completely beyond, be rooted in the ground of enlightenment.” The Heart Sutra and its mantra are frequently used in Mahayana Buddhist practices such as reciting, chanting, singing. Not only may the Heart Sutra be the best-known and most commonly recited text in Mahayana traditions, but it is also found in popular culture such as music, books, and films. In The Journey to the West, a popular 16^th century Chinese novel, the protagonist, Tripitaka, learns and recites the Heart Sutra as a part of his journey. A television series, The Journey to the West, based on the same novel also used the mantra of the Heart Sutra as a part of its theme song. See External Links for other multimedia references of the Heart Sutra.

References

Gethin, Rupert. The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford University Press, 1998. 234-236 [Provides a section on emptiness and the ‘perfection of wisdom,’ giving brief descriptions of interdependence, emptiness, and the full ‘perfection of wisdom’ sutra collections. (pages 234-236)]

Nattier, Jan. “The Heart Sutra: A Chinese Apocryphal Text?” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, 1992 [An in-depth article about the origins of the Heart Sutra and a breakdown of the actual text as well as the different translations.]

Nhat Hanh, Thich. The Heart of Understanding. Berkeley, California: Parallax Press. 1988 [The short version of the translated Heart Sutra and several chapters of commentary and in-depth explanation of the sutra by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.]

O’Brien, Barbara. “The Essence of the Heart Sutra.” Learn Religions, 2019, https://www.learnreligions.com/the-heart-sutra-450023. [A general internet article about the Heart Sutra including its historical origins. Written by a Zen Buddhist practitioner and author of many Buddhist works.]

Zhang, Shuhang. “The Reins of Language: The Mantra of the Heart Sutra in The Journey to the West.” Sino-Platonic Papers Number 286, UPenn, 2019 [A thesis published by the University of Pennsylvania on an in-depth analysis of the Heart Sutra in the novel The Journey to the West.]

“Heart Sutra.” Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2019, https://encyclopediaofbuddhism.org/index.php?title=Heart_Sutra&oldid=45218 [An encyclopedia article on the Heart Sutra, used to find further readings on the subject and find some general information.]

Further Reading

The Dalai Lama. Essence of the Heart Sutra: The Dalai Lama’s Heart of Wisdom Teachings. Boston Massachusetts: Wisdom Publications. 2002 [A book written by the Dalai Lama on the Heart Sutra, with further explanations of its concepts written from a Tibetan Buddhist view.]

Porter, Bill (Red Pine) The Heart Sutra: The Womb of Buddhas. Shoemaker & Hoard. 2004 [Translation and commentary about the Heart Sutra by American scholar of Buddhism. Further discusses the core message of the sutra and provides personal insights on the path to enlightenment.]

Lopez, Donald. The Heart Sutra Explained. South Asia Books. 1990 [Another book to offer new insights on the core meaning of the Heart Sutra and its mantra. The author looks at the Heart Sutra in relation to Indian Buddhist traditions as well as tantric thought.]

External Links

Link to a recent teaching of the Heart Sutra by the Dalai Lama during a 3-day teaching at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India. This provides a further explanation to the text but in the context of practicing Buddhism.

Link to the theme music for the television show The Journey to the West (2011). At the end of the song the mantra from the Heart Sutra can be heard clearly. This TV show is based off the novel The Journey to the West, which also implemented the Heart Sutra, as described above.

Here is a link to a documentary called Journey of the Heart, which includes interviews with several Buddhist scholars, and provides a historical analysis of the Heart Sutra along with real locations associated with the text.