Detailed Introduction
The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra is known simply as the Heart Sutra. Xuanzang's translation runs to just 260 characters, yet it is the most widely circulated Buddhist scripture of all, regarded as the whole 600-volume Great Prajna Sutra boiled down to its essence. In Taiwan it is not only a Buddhist's daily recitation but has long since seeped into everyday Chinese culture.
Core Philosophy
The whole sutra turns on a single word: "emptiness" (sunyata). It opens: "When Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva was practicing the deep Prajna Paramita, he illuminated the five aggregates and saw that they are all empty, thus transcending all suffering and distress." With the wisdom of deep prajna the bodhisattva sees that the five aggregates that make up all existence -- form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness -- are all, at root, empty. Then comes the most famous line of all: "Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form; form is emptiness, emptiness is form" -- the material world and emptiness are not two opposed things but one reality seen from two sides. This is not nihilism; it means that everything arises through the coming-together of causes and conditions, with no permanent, unchanging self-nature. See through this, and attachment loosens, arriving at the state of "a mind with no hindrances, and because there are no hindrances, there is no fear, and one is far removed from inverted thinking and fantasy, ultimately attaining nirvana."
The Closing Mantra
The Heart Sutra concludes with the mantra "Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha" (in Sanskrit), meaning "Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond, awakening, so be it!" This is the summation mantra of the entire Heart Sutra, gathering the full force of prajna wisdom into these few words.
Sutra-Copying Culture
In Taiwan, copying the Heart Sutra by hand could not be a more common form of practice. It is more than penmanship -- writing it out one character at a time takes concentration and calm, and every stroke is a kind of quiet conversation with the text. Many temples (Dharma Drum Mountain among them) have set up "sutra-copying rooms" where people can copy in stillness. Some vow to copy it a thousand or even ten thousand times, dedicating the accumulated merit to someone on their mind. Even Taiwan's creative arts market now turns out all kinds of beautifully designed Heart Sutra copybooks, linking old practice to modern taste.
Everyday Applications
The Heart Sutra is almost everywhere in Taiwan:
- The required recitation of temple morning and evening services.
- Chanted for the deceased during funerary ceremonies.
- A recurring subject for calligraphers.
- Engraved by jewelers onto gold amulets and bracelets.
- Printed in full on protective amulets.
- Silently recited by many people to calm anxiety and steady a restless mind.
Methods of Recitation
The Heart Sutra is short, which makes it perfect for daily recitation. Recite it three to seven times just after waking in the morning or before bed at night. Keep an even pace, enunciate clearly, and let it ride the rhythm of your breath. Some suggest getting a rough sense of the meaning before you recite, but even if it stays beyond you, reciting sincerely still lets the mind settle bit by bit.