Heart Sutra — Prajnaparamita Hridaya

ADORATION TO THE OMNISCIENT!

This I heard: At one time the Bhagavat dwelt

at Ragagriha, on the hill Gridhrakuta, together

with a large number of Bhikshus and a large

number of Bodhisattvas.

At that time the Bhagavat was absorbed in a

meditation, called Gambhiravasambodha. And at

the same time the great Bodhisattva Aryavalokitesvara, performing his study in the deep Pragnaparamita, thought thus: 'There are the five Skandhas,

and those he (the Buddha?) considered as something

by nature empty.'

Then the venerable Sariputra, through Buddha's

power, thus spoke to the Bodhisattva Aryavalokitesvara: 'If the son or daughter of a family wishes

to perform the study in the deep Pragnaparamita,

how is he to be taught?'

On this the great Bodhisattva Aryavalokitesvara

thus spoke to the venerable Sariputra: 'If the son

or daughter of a family wishes to perform the study

in the deep Pragnaparamita, he must think thus:

'There are five Skandhas, and these he considered

as by their nature empty. Form is emptiness, and

emptiness indeed is form. Emptiness is not different

from form, form is not different from emptiness.

What is form that is emptiness, what is emptiness

that is form. Thus perception, name, conception,

and knowledge also are emptiness. Thus, O Sariputra, all things have the character of emptiness,

they have no beginning, no end, they are faultless

and not faultless, they are not imperfect and not

perfect. Therefore, O Sariputra, here in this emptiness there is no form, no perception, no name, no

concept, no knowledge. No eye, ear, nose, tongue,

body, and mind. No form, sound, smell, taste,

touch, and objects. There is no eye, &c., till we

come to there is no mind, no objects, no mind-knowledge. There is no knowledge, no ignorance,

no destruction (of ignorance), till we come to there

is no decay and death, no destruction of decay and

death; there are not (the Four Truths, viz.) that

there is pain, origin of pain, stoppage of pain, and

the path to it. There is no knowledge, no obtaining,

no not-obtaining of Nirvana. Therefore, O

Sariputra, as there is no obtaining (of Nirvana),

a man who has approached the Pragnaparamita of

the Bodhisattvas, dwells (for a time) enveloped in

consciousness. But when the envelopment of consciousness has been annihilated, then he becomes

free of all fear, beyond the reach of change, enjoying final Nirvana.

'All Buddhas of the past, present, and future, after

approaching the Pragnaparamita, have awoke to

the highest perfect knowledge.

'Therefore we ought to know the great verse of

the Pragnaparamita, the verse of the great wisdom,

the unsurpassed verse, the verse which appeases

all pain — it is truth, because it is not false — the

verse proclaimed in the Pragnaparamita: "O

wisdom, gone, gone, gone to the other shore, landed

at the other shore, Svaha!"

'Thus, O Sariputra, should a Bodhisattva teach

in the study of the deep Pragnaparamita.'

Then when the Bhagavat had risen from that

meditation, he gave his approval to the venerable

Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, saying: 'Well done,

well done, noble son! So it is, noble son. So indeed

must this study of the deep Pragnaparamita be

performed. As it has been described by thee,

it is applauded by Arhat Tathagatas.' Thus spoke

Bhagavat with joyful mind. And the venerable

Sariputra, and the honourable Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, and the whole assembly, and the world

of gods, men, demons, and fairies praised the speech

of the Bhagavat.

Here ends the Pragnaparamita-Hridaya-Sutra.

ADORATION TO THE OMNISCIENT!

The venerable Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, performing his study in the deep Pragnaparamita

(perfection of wisdom), thought thus: 'There are

the five Skandhas, and these he considered as by

their nature empty (phenomenal).

'O Sariputra,' he said, 'form here is emptiness,

and emptiness indeed is form. Emptiness is not

different from form, form is not different from

emptiness. What is form that is emptiness, what

is emptiness that is form.'

'The same applies to perception, name, conception, and knowledge.'

'Here, O Sariputra, all things have the character

of emptiness, they have no beginning, no end, they

are faultless and not faultless, they are not imperfect

and not perfect. Therefore, O Sariputra, in this

emptiness there is no form, no perception, no name,

no concepts, no knowledge. No eye, ear, nose,

tongue, body, mind. No form, sound, smell, taste,

touch, objects.'

'There is no eye,' &c., till we come to 'there is

no mind.'

(What is left out here are the eighteen Dhatus

or aggregates, viz. eye, form, vision; ear, sound,

hearing; nose, odour, smelling; tongue, flavour,

tasting; body, touch, feeling; mind, objects, thought.)

'There is no knowledge, no ignorance, no destruction of knowledge, no destruction of ignorance, &c.,

till we come to there is no decay and death, no

destruction of decay and death; there are not (the

four truths, viz. that there) is pain, origin of pain,

stoppage of pain, and the path to it. There is no

knowledge, no obtaining (of Nirvana).'

'A man who has approached the Pragnaparamita

of the Bodhisattva dwells enveloped in consciousness.

But when the envelopment of consciousness

has been annihilated, then he becomes free of all

fear, beyond the reach of change, enjoying final

Nirvana.'

'All Buddhas of the past, present, and future,

after approaching the Pragnaparamita, have awoke

to the highest perfect knowledge.'

'Therefore one ought to know the great verse

of the Pragnaparamita, the verse of the great

wisdom, the unsurpassed verse, the peerless verse,

which appeases all pain — it is truth, because it is

not false — the verse proclaimed in the Pragnaparamita: "O wisdom, gone, gone, gone to the other

shore, landed at the other shore, Svaha!"'

Thus ends the heart of the Pragnaparamita.