Heart Sutra
Also known as: Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya, The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom, Mahāprajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya Sūtra, Hannya Shingyō
A concise Mahayana scripture in which Avalokiteśvara teaches Śāriputra that all phenomena are empty of inherent nature, culminating in a mantra that expresses transcendent wisdom and fearlessness.
Description
The Heart Sutra distills the vast Prajñāpāramitā tradition into a compact proclamation of emptiness (śūnyatā). Framed as Avalokiteśvara’s direct instruction to Śāriputra in the Buddha’s presence, it negates fixed categories—form, feelings, perceptions, formations, consciousness; the senses and their objects; the Four Noble Truths; attainment and non-attainment—to reveal dependent arising and non-duality. The text’s cadence moves from analytic deconstruction to fearless liberation, concluding with the famed mantra often chanted in ritual contexts. Revered across East Asian and Tibetan lineages, the sutra functions both as philosophical epitome and as liturgical core, recited daily in Chan/Zen, Shingon, and Tibetan monasteries.
Historiography
Circulating in multiple recensions (short/long) across Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan, the Heart Sutra’s transmission centers on early Chinese translations (notably Kumārajīva’s school and Xuanzang’s 649 CE version). Sanskrit witnesses appear later and reflect cross-linguistic back-translation and commentary. Its prominence in East Asia fostered extensive exegesis by Tiantai, Huayan, and Chan/Zen masters, while Tibetan scholastics integrated it into Madhyamaka curricula and ritual manuals.
Date Notes
Short Prajñāpāramitā digest likely condensed from earlier Perfection of Wisdom corpus; earliest secure Chinese translations date to the 5th–7th centuries CE (e.g., Xuanzang, 649 CE).
Major Characters
- Avalokiteshvara
- Shariputra
- Shakyamuni Buddha
Myths
- Avalokiteśvara’s Teaching of Emptiness
- The Vision of the Perfection of Wisdom
Facts
- Belongs to the Prajñāpāramitā (“Perfection of Wisdom”) corpus.
- Exists in short and long recensions across Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan.
- Xuanzang’s 7th-century Chinese translation became the most influential East Asian version.
- Core assertion equates form and emptiness, denying inherent existence of dharmas.
- The famous mantra ends the text: “gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā.”
- Widely memorized and chanted in Chan/Zen, Shingon, Pure Land, and Tibetan traditions.
- Philosophically aligned with Madhyamaka analyses of dependent origination.
- Often used liturgically for protection, purification, and funerary rites.
- Commentarial traditions span Tiantai, Huayan, Chan/Zen, and Tibetan scholastic schools.
- Frequently printed as a stand-alone scripture due to its brevity and ritual centrality.