The Sūtra of the Heart of Transcendent Wisdom
from the Words of the Buddha
In Praise of Prajñāpāramitā
Beyond words, beyond thought, beyond description, Prajñāpāramitā
Unborn, unceasing, the very essence of space
Yet it can be experienced as the wisdom of our own rigpa:
Homage to the mother of the buddhas of past, present and future!
The Heart Sūtra
In the language of India:
Bhagavatī prajñāpāramitā hṛdaya
In the language of Tibet:
Chomden dema sherab kyi parol tu chinpé nyingpo
1
In the English language: The Blessed Mother, the Heart of the Transcendent Perfection of
Wisdom
In a single segment.
Homage to the Bhagavatī Prajñāpāramitā!
Thus have I heard:
At one time the Blessed One was dwelling in Rājgṛha at Vulture Peak mountain, together
with a great community of monks and a great community of bodhisattvas.
At that time, the Blessed One entered an absorption on categories of phenomena called
‘perception of the profound’.
At the same time, noble Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva and great being, beheld the
practice of the profound perfection of wisdom,
And saw that the five aggregates are empty of nature.
Then, through the Buddha’s power,
Venerable Śāriputra said to noble Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva and great being:
“How should a child of noble family who wishes to practise the profound perfection of
wisdom train?”
This is what he said, and the noble Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva and great being,
replied to venerable Śāriputra as follows:
“O Śāriputra, a son of noble family or daughter of noble family who wishes to practise the
profound perfection of wisdom should regard things in this way:
They should see the five aggregates to be empty of nature.
Form is empty; emptiness is form;
Emptiness is not other than form;
Form is not other than emptiness.
In the same way, sensation, recognition,
Conditioning factors and consciousness are emptiness.
Therefore, Śāriputra, all dharmas are emptiness.
They are without characteristics; they are unarisen and unceasing;
They are not tainted and not untainted;
They are not deficient and not complete.
Therefore, Śāriputra, in emptiness, there is no form,
No sensation, no recognition, no conditioning factors, no consciousness;
No eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
No visible form, no sound, no odour, no taste, no texture, and no mental objects;
There is no eye element up to no mind element;
And as far as no mental consciousness element;
There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance up to no old age and death,
No extinction of old age and death;
No suffering, no origin,
No cessation, no path, no wisdom, no attainment,
And no non-attainment.
Therefore, Śāriputra, since bodhisattvas have no attainment,
They rely on and abide by the perfection of wisdom.
Since their minds are unobscured, they have no fear.
They completely transcend error and reach the ultimate nirvāṇa.
All the buddhas throughout the three times
Fully awaken to unsurpassable, true, complete enlightenment by means of the perfection
of wisdom.
Therefore, the mantra of the perfection of wisdom—
The mantra of great insight, the unsurpassed mantra,
The mantra that equals the unequalled, the mantra that pacifies all suffering—
Is not false and should be understood as true.
The mantra of the perfection of wisdom is proclaimed as follows:
tadyathā | oṃ gate gate pāragate | pārasaṃgate | bodhi svāhā
Śāriputra, a bodhisattva and great being should train in the profound perfection of
wisdom in this way.”
Thereupon, the Blessed One arose from that absorption
And commended Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva and great being:
“Excellent, excellent, O son of noble family, that is how it is. That is just how it is.
One should practise the profound perfection of wisdom just as you have taught
And then even the tathāgatas will rejoice.”
When the Blessed One had said this,
Venerable Śāriputra, and
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva and great being,
Together with the whole assembly and the world of gods, human beings,
Asuras and gandharvas rejoiced and praised
The speech of the Blessed One.
Thus concludes the Mahāyāna Sūtra of the Blessed Mother, the Heart of the
Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom.
The Prajñāpāramitā Mantra
tadyathā | oṃ gate gate pāragate | pārasaṃgate | bodhi svāhā
Dokpa—Averting Obstacles through the Heart Sūtra
If you wish to make a practice of the sūtra then consider that the Tathāgata appears in the space before you, adopting the mudrā of subjugating Māra and surrounded by the retinue from the saṅgha of the greater and lesser vehicles, including both Avalokiteśvara and Śāriputra in dialogue. And, while contemplating the meaning of emptiness, recite the profound sūtra as many times as you can, up to seven times in total, and recite the vidyā mantra too, as many times as possible. Then, at the end, perform the following practice of averting demonic forces:
Namo! Homage to the Guru!
Homage to the Buddha!
Homage to the Dharma!
Homage to the Saṅgha!
Homage to the Great Mother, Prajñāpāramitā!
Through the power and strength of paying homage to you,
May these words of ours come true!
Just as, long ago, the king of the gods Indra, by the power and strength of contemplating
the profound meaning of the perfection of wisdom, the Great Mother, and reciting its
words,
Was able to avert the demonic forces of negativity, so in the very same way, may we too,
through the power and strength of contemplating the profound meaning of the Perfection
of Wisdom, the Great Mother, and reciting its words,
Avert all the negative influences which prevent us and those around us from
accomplishing the Noble Dharma!
May they be annihilated!
May they be rendered harmless!
May they be completely pacified!
3 times Conclusion
Everything that arises interdependently
Is unceasing and unborn
Neither non existent nor everlasting
Neither coming nor going,
Neither multiple nor single.
To this teaching that pacifies all concepts and duality
The most sacred speech of the fully enlightened Buddha,
We pay homage!
May all obstacles
Outer and inner,
To our attaining complete enlightenment,
Be totally pacified!
Also, in this very life,
May everything inharmonious be pacified, and
May we always enjoy peace and happiness, long life,
Good health, prosperity and success!
| Heart Sūtra translated by Adam Pearcey, 2019.
Source: “shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i snying po” insnga ‘gyur smon lam chen
mo’i zhal ‘don phyogs bsrigs bzhugs so. Delhi: Chos spyod publication. 2008: 142–147
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
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ISSN 2753-4812
