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the heart sutra
recently i came across the heart sutra (in chinese). by reciting just the phase 'Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha' give me a very peaceful feeling. i am able to focus my mind better do anyone have such experience?
how much have you understand about the 'mind' from this sutra?
The Heart Sutra
Prajna Paramita Hrydaya Sutra
When the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Was Coursing in the Deep Prajna Paramita.
He Perceived That All Five Skandhas Are Empty.
Thus He Overcame All Ills and Suffering.
"Oh, Sariputra, Form Does not Differ From the Void,
And the Void Does Not Differ From Form.
Form is Void and Void is Form;
The Same is True For Feelings,
Perceptions, Volitions and Consciousness."
"Sariputra, the Characteristics of the
Voidness of All Dharmas
Are Non-Arising, Non-Ceasing, Non-Defiled,
Non-Pure, Non-Increasing, Non-Decreasing."
"Therefore, in the Void There Are No Forms,
No Feelings, Perceptions, Volitions or Consciousness."
"No Eye, Ear, Nose, Tongue, Body or Mind;
No Form, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch or Mind Object;
No Realm of the Eye,
Until We Come to No realm of Consciousness."
"No ignorance and Also No Ending of Ignorance,
Until We Come to No Old Age and Death and
No Ending of Old Age and Death."
"Also, There is No Truth of Suffering,
Of the Cause of Suffering,
Of the Cessation of Suffering, Nor of the Path."
"There is No Wisdom, and There is No Attainment Whatsoever."
"Because There is Nothing to Be Attained,
The Bodhisattva Relying On Prajna Paramita Has
No Obstruction in His Mind."
[Commentary on above text]
"Because There is No Obstruction, He Has no Fear,"
"And He passes Far Beyond Confused Imagination."
"And Reaches Ultimate Nirvana."
"The Buddhas of the Past, Present and Future,
By Relying on Prajna Paramita
Have Attained Supreme Enlightenment."
"Therefore, the Prajna Paramita is the Great Magic Spell,
The Spell of Illumination, the Supreme Spell,
Which Can Truly Protect One From All Suffering Without Fail."
"Therefore He Uttered the Spell of Prajnaparmita,
Saying Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha."
how much have you understand about the 'mind' from this sutra?
The Heart Sutra
Prajna Paramita Hrydaya Sutra
When the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Was Coursing in the Deep Prajna Paramita.
He Perceived That All Five Skandhas Are Empty.
Thus He Overcame All Ills and Suffering.
"Oh, Sariputra, Form Does not Differ From the Void,
And the Void Does Not Differ From Form.
Form is Void and Void is Form;
The Same is True For Feelings,
Perceptions, Volitions and Consciousness."
"Sariputra, the Characteristics of the
Voidness of All Dharmas
Are Non-Arising, Non-Ceasing, Non-Defiled,
Non-Pure, Non-Increasing, Non-Decreasing."
"Therefore, in the Void There Are No Forms,
No Feelings, Perceptions, Volitions or Consciousness."
"No Eye, Ear, Nose, Tongue, Body or Mind;
No Form, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch or Mind Object;
No Realm of the Eye,
Until We Come to No realm of Consciousness."
"No ignorance and Also No Ending of Ignorance,
Until We Come to No Old Age and Death and
No Ending of Old Age and Death."
"Also, There is No Truth of Suffering,
Of the Cause of Suffering,
Of the Cessation of Suffering, Nor of the Path."
"There is No Wisdom, and There is No Attainment Whatsoever."
"Because There is Nothing to Be Attained,
The Bodhisattva Relying On Prajna Paramita Has
No Obstruction in His Mind."
[Commentary on above text]
"Because There is No Obstruction, He Has no Fear,"
"And He passes Far Beyond Confused Imagination."
"And Reaches Ultimate Nirvana."
"The Buddhas of the Past, Present and Future,
By Relying on Prajna Paramita
Have Attained Supreme Enlightenment."
"Therefore, the Prajna Paramita is the Great Magic Spell,
The Spell of Illumination, the Supreme Spell,
Which Can Truly Protect One From All Suffering Without Fail."
"Therefore He Uttered the Spell of Prajnaparmita,
Saying Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha."
0
Comments
Thanks for posting this sutta, Datapoly
Saying Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha."
Every one of my meditation sessions ends with me chanting this 'spell'
- babies and animals seem to find it centering, as well.
Breathing, heart beating, sitting, dying.
In Brad Warner's book, "Hardcore Zen", he translates this phrase to roughly mean...
"Gone, gone, all the way gone to the other shore. Hot damn!"
That makes me laugh a lot. Be careful of getting too attached to what reciting something makes you feel. The Heart Sutra is conceptually powerful as it points to the non-conceptual as efficiently as anything can in words that I've come across. Repeatedly chanting nearly any phrase will likely give you a more peaceful feeling, especially if you do not understand what the phrase means and are expecting some sort of peaceful result to occur.
I approach chanting the same way I approach practicing zazen. I just do it without attachment to the results or purpose. Just sitting, just chanting, just bowing, etc...
Batman, how can one not be present in what they are doing? If that is the case, how are they doing anything to begin with?
Anyone reciting about OM MANI PADME HUM ?
It is painful for some to have the mystical de-mystified and magic spells revealed as fairy tales. There is no mystery or magic just as astrology and psychics are mythical.
"Monks, I will teach you the Dhamma compared to a raft, for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of holding onto. Listen & pay close attention. I will speak."
"As you say, lord," the monks responded to the Blessed One.
The Blessed One said: "Suppose a man were traveling along a path. He would see a great expanse of water, with the near shore dubious & risky, the further shore secure & free from risk, but with neither a ferryboat nor a bridge going from this shore to the other. The thought would occur to him, 'Here is this great expanse of water, with the near shore dubious & risky, the further shore secure & free from risk, but with neither a ferryboat nor a bridge going from this shore to the other. What if I were to gather grass, twigs, branches, & leaves and, having bound them together to make a raft, were to cross over to safety on the other shore in dependence on the raft, making an effort with my hands & feet?' Then the man, having gathered grass, twigs, branches, & leaves, having bound them together to make a raft, would cross over to safety on the other shore in dependence on the raft, making an effort with his hands & feet. 7 Having crossed over to the further shore, he might think, 'How useful this raft has been to me! For it was in dependence on this raft that, making an effort with my hands & feet, I have crossed over to safety on the further shore. Why don't I, having hoisted it on my head or carrying on my back, go wherever I like?' What do you think, monks: Would the man, in doing that, be doing what should be done with the raft?"
"No, lord."
"And what should the man do in order to be doing what should be done with the raft? There is the case where the man, having crossed over, would think, 'How useful this raft has been to me! For it was in dependence on this raft that, making an effort with my hands & feet, I have crossed over to safety on the further shore. Why don't I, having dragged it on dry land or sinking it in the water, go wherever I like?' In doing this, he would be doing what should be done with the raft. In the same way, monks, I have taught the Dhamma compared to a raft, for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of holding onto. Understanding the Dhamma as taught compared to a raft, you should let go even of Dhammas, to say nothing of non-Dhammas."
Looks like our friend Avalokiteshvara has discarded his raft. Let's just make sure we don't throw ours away prematurely or falsely.
That is perhaps my favorite sutra, btw. Thanks for sharing.
_/\_
metta
Me! Me! Me!!
Heart Sutra Explained and Elaborations on Emptiness both translated by Donald Lopez.