The Heart Sutra

A Transliteration

Written by John Crook based on E. Conze's translation.

Through the inspiration of the Buddha, Avalokiteshvara said to Sariputra:

O Sariputra - the wise and compassionate ones practise insight into their own nature through perceiving that all their attributes can be dropped.

This alone relieves all suffering - Sariputra - because in dropping concern with structure, structure becomes no different from emptiness. Indeed emptiness is no different from structure; rather emptiness becomes structured when feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness and discrimination come into awareness creating your identity. In dropping all these your structure becomes like void, in taking them up again emptiness assumes its forms.

O Sariputra - this truth describes the root character of your being. You are not born as a construction, you are not annihilated as one either. In your centre you are not stained, not impure, you neither gain nor lose. When you drop all concern, wanting nothing, there is no form, feeling, perception, consciousness or discrimination to worry about. When mind and body alike are dropped there is no need to worry over what is seen, heard, smelt, tasted, felt, thought about - no worry over the qualities of colour, sound, taste or feel. All these adjectives we ourselves give to things. Seeing this they are of no importance. When you stop discriminating there can be neither ignorance nor the annihilation of ignorance. With no concern for past or future old age and death are dropped - likewise immortality.

Here then there is no cause for suffering -
And likewise no cause for wisdom nor for folly.
The wise one depends not upon attainments
But on insight
And because the meditative mind poses no obstacles
There is no fear.
Go on therefore beyond all upsetting views - attain equanimity.
All the Buddhas depend upon insight. Use therefore the power words associated with the experience of insight, use therefore the mantra evoking insight, the great mantra that drops all worlds, the supreme mantra that drops all discriminations, the incomparable mantra assuaging all suffering.

True not false.

Going Going Going On,
Going On Beyond,
Going Altogether Beyond,
Wisdom, All Hail.

Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha!