Content created: 2018-03-25
File last modified:
2024-02-24
Background: The Heart Sutra (Xīn Jīng 心经) is the shortest of the Buddhist scriptures commonly used in China, and, as the Chinese name implies, it is understood as representing the heart or most central insight of Buddhism, and particularly of Chán 禅 (Zen) Buddhism.
The original Sanskrit text, the Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra (प्रज्ञापारमिताहृदयसूत्र), was translated into Chinese several times. The version most commonly used in modern times was rendered by the famous seventh-century priest Xuán Zàng 玄奘, remembered today because his trip to India to find Buddhist scriptures was immortalized in the famous novel Journey to the West, where he is accompanied by a picturesque and prodigious monkey. Most English editions of the Heart Sutra are retranslations from the Chinese.
Like the Dàodé Jīng 道德经 of Daoism, the Heart Sutra's brevity, its obvious importance in China, and the attractive ambiguity of its phenomenal conciseness have made it one of the most frequently translated Chinese scriptures, although most translators, if one believes their introductions, are also inspired by the conviction that all prior translations have failed to get the meaning quite right. And nearly all translators feel the need to provide at least some expansion to make intelligible English. (More.)
This Translation: This translation is my own. It is not the most scholarly or best informed, and it does not arise from dissatisfaction with prior translations. Its advantage is that it may be freely used for educational purposes with no further permission. In making it I have been especially influenced by the sources listed at the bottom of the page.
This sūtra has produced some astonishingly tasteless Internet videos, although they do not necessarily remain available for long. Not one that I have heard sounds like a beautiful, traditional Chinese temple chant, but a range of "improved" musical performances can be found with a simple search.
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Getting Started: Like many scriptures attributed directly to the Buddha, this one takes the form of an address to his talented disciple Śāriputra (Shèlìfú 舍利弗 or Shèlì Zǐ 舍利子).
| 1. | The Heart Sutra | 心经 Xīn Jīng 心經 |
| 2. | When the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara had deeply understood the Supreme Wisdom (Prajñā Pāramitā), | 观自在菩萨。 行深般若波罗蜜多时。 Guānzìzài púsà xíngshēn Bānruò Bōluó-mìduō shí, 觀自在菩薩。 行深般若波羅蜜多時。 |
| 3. | he realized that the five aggregates (skandhas) making up a person* were but an illusion, and with this he was delivered from all sorrow and suffering. *Namely: material form (rūpa), sensation (vedanā), discrimination (saṃjñā), thinking (saṃskāra), and consciousness (vijñāna). |
照见五蕴皆空。 度一切苦厄。 Zhàojiàn wǔ yùn jiē kōng. Dù yīqiè kǔ’è. 照見五蘊皆空。 度一切苦厄。 |
| 4. | O Śāriputra, the material form (rūpa) is no different from the void of shapeless emptiness (śūnyatā); the material form is the same as emptiness, and emptiness the same as the material form. | 舍利子。 色不异空。 空不异色。 色即是空。 空即是色。 Shèlì-zǐ. Sè bù yì kōng. Kōng bù yì sè. Sè jí shì kōng. Kōng jí shì sè. 舍利子。 色不異空。 空不異色。 色即是空。 空即是色。 |
| 5. | The other aggregates —sensation, discrimination, thinking, consciousness — all are the same way. | 受想行识亦复如是。 Shòu-xiǎng-xíng-shí: yì fù rú shì. 受想行識亦復如是。 |
| 6. | O Śāriputra, everything is that way: neither begun nor ended, neither impure nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing. | 舍利子‧是诸法空相。 不生不灭。 不垢不净。 不增不减。 Shèlìzǐ‧shì zhū fǎ kōng xiāng. bù shēng bù miè. bù gòu bù jìng. bù zēng bù jiǎn. 舍利子‧是諸法空相。 不生不滅。 不垢不淨。 不增不減。 |
| 7. | And so within the void there is no material form, and no sensation, no discrimination, no thinking, and no consciousness. | 是故空中无色。 无受想行识。 Shì gù kōng zhōng wú sè. Wú shòu xiǎng xíng shí. 是故空中無色。 無受想行識。 |
| 8. | There is not [whatever is shown us by our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body or mind], no form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or reasoning. | 无眼耳鼻舌身意。 无色声香味触法。 Wú yǎn ěr bí shé shēn yì. Wú sè shēng xiāng wèi chù fǎ. 無眼耳鼻舌身意。 無色聲香味觸法。 |
| 9. | There are no [eighteen] elements (dhātu) of sensation from sight to consciousness (vijññaṇa), or [twelve] links from ignorance (avidyā) and its ending to old age and death (jarāmaraṇa) and their ending. | 无眼界乃至无意识界。 无无明。 亦无无明尽。 乃至无老死。 亦无老死尽。 Wú yǎn jiè nǎi zhì wú yìshì jiè. Wú wú míng. Yì wú wú míng jìn. Nǎi zhì wú lǎosǐ. Yì wú lǎo sǐjìn. 無眼界乃至無意識界。無無明。 亦無無明盡。 乃至無老死。 亦無老死盡。 |
| 10. | There are even no “Four Noble Truths,” nor wisdom, nor attainment. | 无苦集灭道。 无智亦无得。 Wú kǔjí-mièdào. Wú zhì yì wú dé. 無苦集滅道。 無智亦無得。 |
| 11. | Because there is no attainment, bodhisattvas who rely on Supreme Wisdom, having unworried hearts, being without hindrance, have no fear, | 以无所得故。菩提萨埵。 依般若波罗蜜多故。 心无罣碍。 无罣碍故。 无有恐怖。 Yǐ wú suǒ dé gù, pútísàduǒ yī Bānruò Bōluó-mìduō gù, xīn wú guà’ài, wú guà’ài gù, wú yǒu kǒngbù. 以無所得故。菩提薩埵。 依般若波羅蜜多故。 心無罣礙。 無罣礙故。 無有恐怖。 |
| 12. | and transcend illusion to reach highest Nirvana. | 远离颠倒梦想。 究竟涅槃。 Yuǎnlí diāndǎo mèngxiǎng, jiūjìng Nièpán. 遠離顛倒夢想。 究竟涅槃。 |
| 13. | Because all buddhas of the three ages —past, present, and future— attained Supreme Wisdom, they attained “unsurpassed, complete, and perfect enlightenment” (anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi). | 三世诸佛。 依般若波罗蜜多故。 得阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。 Sānshì zhū fó, yī Bānruò Bōluó-mìduō gù, dé Ānòu-duōluó sān miǎo sān pútí. 三世諸佛。 依般若波羅蜜多故。 得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。 |
| 14. | Thus we know that the mantra (zhòu 咒) of Supreme Wisdom is a mantra of consummate splendor, unsurpassed, unequalled, truly able to relieve all suffering. | 故知般若波罗蜜多是大神咒。 是大明咒。 是无上咒。 是无等等咒。 能除一切苦。 Gù zhī Bānruò Bōluó-mìduō shì dà shénzhòu. Shì dà míng zhòu. Shì wúshàng zhòu. Shì wú děngděng zhòu. Néng chú yīqiè kǔ. 故知般若波羅蜜多是大神咒。 是大明咒。 是無上咒。 是無等等咒。 能除一切苦。 |
| 15. | It is never true and never false, it should be spoken saying: | 真实不虚。 故说般若波罗蜜多咒。 即说咒曰。 Zhēn shí bù xū. Gù shuō Bānruò Bōluó-mìduō zhòu, jí shuō zhòu yuē. 真實不虛。 故說般若波羅蜜多咒。 即說咒曰。 |
| 16. | Gate!, Gate! Pāra-gate! Pārasaṃ-gate! Bodhi. Śvāhā! (Go! Go! Go beyond! Go completely beyond!! To enlightenment. Amen.*) *The full phrase Prajñāpāramitā, here rendered “Supreme Wisdom,” has been deified as the name of a goddess of wisdom, and some commentators take the gate in this mantra as an imperative of the verb gati, “to go,” addressed to her. The final “śvāhā” is a conventional ending for a mantra. |
揭谛。 揭谛。 波罗揭谛。 波罗僧揭谛。 菩提萨婆诃。 Jiēdì. Jiēdì. Bōluó jiēdì. Bōluósēng jiēdì. Pútí. Sàpóhē! 揭諦。 揭諦。 波羅揭諦。 波羅僧揭諦。 菩提薩婆訶。 |
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