The Heart Sutra has been transmitted in a short form
(about 14 slokas) and a longer form (about 22 slokas). The latter
redaction, in 22 slokas, appears to be the more original (since it
more neatly adheres to the earlier source texts, such as the
Astasahasrika-prajnaparamita-sutra) and it is this text that we
present herein.
There are at least 21 extant manuscript versions of the Heart
Sutra: 12 Nepalese texts, seven Chinese, two Japanese, and one
Tibetan version from the Kanjur. The Tibetan text we use is taken
directly from the fresco in the Ge-gye Che-ma-ling (one of the
temples of Samye Vihara) of circa 755-800 CE Under the patronage of
the Sage Emperor Trisong Detsan, the Tibetan translator Bhikshu
Rinchen De and the Indian Mahasamdhi-master Vimalamitra translated
this text into Tibetan. Comparison between our fresco text and the
Kanjur version shows no significant differences. The Tibetan version
with an English translation made by Kyabje Palden Sherab Rimpoche,
and his brother Tulku Tsewang, with the assistance of their
disciples, has been published by Sky Dancer Press under the title of
Ceaseless Echoes of the Great Silence (1993).
We are able to supply a redaction of the original Sanskrit text
in Romanized script, as it emerges from a comparative study of the
extant manuscripts juxtaposed along side the Tibetan. A fresh
English translation has been supplied by us, with particular
consideration given to the wording of the Sanskrit-text rather than
the Tibetan; the Sanskrit being, of course, the more original. As a
result of this comparison, we consider our redaction of the Sanskrit
an improvement over Prof. Conze's initial work.
As pointed out by Conze, Kumarajiva's translation of the sutra
into Chinese, by far the earliest version (c. 400 CE) of the
Heart Sutra that we possess, is extremely important in tracing
out the argument of the sutra as it would have appeared to its
original compilers. The general agreement between Kumarajiva and
Vimalamitra's text supports the thesis that the Tibetan represents a
very early, unadulterated transmission. It will however be noted
that there are three segments missing from the Tibetan that appear
to have been present in the earliest Sanskrit version. These
segments were undoubtedly dropped prior to Vimalamitra's era.
Now, Concerning The Translation:
In the title, the word hrdaya can be translated both
'heart' and 'essence', meaning that this sutra reveals the discrete
essentials of the whole teaching of the practice of
Prajñápáramitá. It is often called simply the Heart Sutra, but
heart here means actually the "heart of Prajñápáramitá-practice."
The term Bhagavati means the Buddha; however, whereas
'Buddha' is a neuter term, the word Bhagavati is
feminine. Bhagavat is the masculine. Bhagavat
generally is translated 'Lord', meaning the Divine. Bhagavati
has the same meaning in a feminine sense. Thus Transcendental
Wisdom, the original nondual Gnosis, is personalized as the Absolute
(buddha), the Divine (devadevata), and she is the
Mother of all the Transcendental Ones (Tathagata), the womb
of all Enlightened-beings.
'At one time' - This was when the historical Buddha
Shakyamuni was at the Vulture's Peak near Rajagriha. From other
sources we know that Shakyamuni traveled to Rajagriha from Vaisali,
where he had successfully defended his teachings in debate against
six leading teachers. He was reportedly 57 years old at that time.
Therefore he was residing on the Vulture's Peak in his 57-58th year.
Since the Wheel of the Dharma was set in motion in 533 BCE or 22
years prior to the Vaisali debate, we can calculate that the Lord
was meditating on the Vulture's Peak circa 511-510 BCE
It should be noted that in the given context of the Sutra the
traditional Bhiksu-samgha is contrasted with the traditional
Bodhisattva-samgha. In this particular context the term
Bhiksu-samgha means the community of monks and nuns in general, and
the term Bodhisattva-samgha means the community of male and female
laity. This follows in the tradition of early Mahayana iconography,
where the former samgha is shown generally on the left of the
painting and the latter on the right, with the Guru in the middle.
The term gambhira-avabhasa has connotations far more
special than can be translated alone by the term 'Profound
Radiance.' Avabhasa (Tib: sNang-ba) means "to shine
forth" and/or "appearance", in the sense of the manner in which the
Universe of phenomena "radiates forth as appearance." How does the
Universe radiate forth as appearance? This was the meditation of the
Buddha at that time.
The term 'profound' is used to signify the depth or ground of
phenomenal existence. It is when abiding in contemplation at the
substratum level (alaya) of this Universe, that mind grasps
the way that phenomena radiate forth as Appearance, or in other
words the manner in which the Universe comes into creation. The
substratum level is the level at which phenomena comes into being.
In other words it is the quantum level. It is thus that [the
creation and nature of] phenomena are observed, and this is the
meaning of the line: 'wherein [the creation and nature
of] phenomena are examined.'
'Tena ca samayena' implies not the 'same time' but, according to
the analysis our teacher Chogyam Trungpa, a coinciding or
corresponding time period. Thus two time periods are being referred
to, and it is said that these two time periods 'come together' much
in the manner that two parallel universes might touch. In that time
is relative, two time periods can be conceived as 'touching' each
other.
It is through the anubhava or power of the Buddha that Shariputra
is able to enquire of the cosmic-being (mahasattva, universal being)
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara concerning the non-dual
Prajna-paramita. Might we translate anubhava as the
'inspiration' of the Buddha, in the sense that it was through such
inspiration that Shariputra received Avalokiteshvara's revelation?
The problem here is that the word 'inspiration' or 'revelation' is
insufficient to also include the concept of a power (grace) that
makes higher communication possible. What the text says is that it
is through the Buddha's revelatory-power that Shariputra, a human
being on our planet, was able to receive communication (inspiration)
from the 'great-being' Avalokitesvara.
Avalokiteshvara's name means the lord (isvara) who has
'panoramic vision' (ava-lokitya, seeing the world-horizon).
Note that in the text it says that Avalokitesvara was engaged in
observing the practice of Transcendental Wisdom. Engaged
(caramana—from the root car) here means 'coursing in', or
'in the flow', or 'journeying' through that observation. The word
'observing' is vyavalokayati, and there is a deliberate
relationship between the usage of this term and the name of the
Mahasattva himself. Coursing in the observation of the practice of
Transcendental Wisdom (where the independent identity (svabhava)
of aggregate-phenomena collapses into absoluteness, or
zero-intensity) corresponds across the temporal world-horizon with
the Buddha Shakyamuni's dwelling in the Profound Radiance
samádhi. Herein too you must understand that 'contemplation'
(samádhi) does not mean a state of intellectual enquiry or
thought, but an infused condition of mystical absorption.
In the Tibetan version of this text the first Iha Shariputra
of the Sanskrit text is missing, and yet it certainly must have
been present in the original. Without it, the Sanskrit loses its
poetic harmony and rhythm. The meaning of the text, however, is not
altered by its absence. As the Tibetans were excruciatingly precise
in their translations, these words must have been missing already by
the time that Vimalamitra brought the text to Tibet circa 755
CE.
Note the variance between the word sunya (empty) and
sunyata (emptiness). The text says Form is empty,
Emptiness is form. In the next line we have Form is
emptiness. This is a nice play of grammar and
meaning. Many of the later renditions in Nepalese Sanskrit miss this
distinction, which we also see as one of the signs of the authentic
originality of the Tibetan text.
Laksana—an object is known by its characteristics. Without
characteristics one object cannot be seen as separate or different
from another object. The characteristics, for example, of a 'cup' is
what defines a cup as different and distinct from a 'plate', and so
forth. The inherent non-distinction (alaksana) of phenomena
derives from the non-duality of the absolute state, the Supreme
Reality (dharmata). Supreme Reality is ultimately the only
reality, and this singular reality is Transcendental Wisdom. Another
term would be Non-dual Gnosis (jnana advaya).
In this text the term jnana is used in the line Na
jnanam, na praptirna-apraptih. In this line jnanam
means 'knowledge'—particularly the knowledge acquired in the form of
Enlightenment. In the Prajñápáramitá texts, we should
understand that where jnana means 'knowledge' or 'insight' to
be acquired, prajña (pra and jnana) means a 'superior
knowledge' or 'an inherently existing, original Wisdom.' It is
precisely because that Wisdom is already always present and
complete, that there is nothing to acquire. Since the very
beginning, no actual obscuration has occurred, and what is observed
as 'ignorance' is merely a virtual obscuration. Hence in
Mahasamdhi we have the doctrine of "Pure (Tib: kadag) from
the Beginning."
Prapti is distinctly a term from the metaphysics of the
Sarvastivada school. Vimalamitra was ordained in the Sarvastivada
school (as distinct, for example, from the Abbot Shantaraksita who
belonged to the Mulasarvastivada school) and this may be seen as one
reason for the originality and lack of adulteration present in the
Tibetan version of the Heart Sutra. Texts undergo change
chiefly when being translated from one language to another, or when
being copied, or when through age fragments become lost. Our text
was undoubtedly composed in Sanskrit under the auspices of the
Sarvastivada school. Other than possible scribal error, it would
have been transmitted without alteration by the members of that
school. Thus was it brought intact to Tibet. In other words, we are
dealing with a text that has been passed down in a single line of
continuity from its inception, with the least possible alteration.
To explore the meaning of prapti and aprapti one
should immerse oneself in the Abhidharmakosa-bhasyam of
Vasubandhu, which is our most authoritative commentary on the
metaphysical language of the Sarvastivada.
There are many small additions in subsequent versions of the
Heart Sutra. Where, for example, our text declares that there is
"no ignorance (avidya), no extinction of
ignorance" several later editions add further that there is
"no vidya (Tib: rig-pa)" either—a single interpolation
with tremendous ramifications. In the intellectual milieu of the
Mahasamdhiyogacara tradition this statement would be impossible.
Historically speaking, we may draw the conclusion that nothing like
this statement could have existed in the original document. We
should also point out that this line, na vidya na vidyaksayo, is
not to be found in Kumarajiva's translation.
Conze points out that in virtually all the later texts in place
of cittalambana we have instead cittavarana—'mental-hindrances'
(i.e., vices), instead of the original 'mental-objects' (i.e.,
objects of consciousness). In this regard again our Sanskrit shows
an older derivation. Also 'mental-objects' makes better sense in the
context.
Note that the term Tadyatha is retained in
the Tibetan version of the mantra, whereas in the Sanskrit it
is part of the sentence leading into the mantra. This is
because the word tadyatha means "recite as follows: " we have
adhered to the Sanskrit in this instance, with the result that in
this instance our English translation is more accurate than the old
Tibetan.
We also want to draw your attention to the word Arhadhih
(confirming) which is missing in the Tibetan. It may well have been
absent in the original text, but it is found in all the Sanskrit
versions and must have been either included at a very early date or
original with the text. It seems to give greater sense to the
sentence and appears essential in the given context.
Likewise in the next line we find nothing that corresponds to the
Sanskrit Te Ca Bhiksavas Ca Bodhisattvah, and yet the
Sanskrit does seem to be an improved version. Whether this line is
an addition to the text, or something that was dropped by error, we
cannot ascertain. Anyone with an appreciation for the harmony of the
text as a whole, would advocate that in any case it should be
retained.
These are the points and issues of translation, which in
particular should be noted when beginning a study of the Heart
Sutra. May the blessing and insight of this Sutra be of benefit
to each of you.
1. Conze, The Composition of the Astasahasrika
Prajnaparamita, Bulletin of the London School of Oriental and
African Studies, 14, 1952, pp. 251-62.
2. See Obermiller, Prajnaparamita in Tibetan Buddhism, Delhi
1988. p.6
3. Conze, The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines,
Bolinas CA. 1973
4. Conze, The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines,
Bolinas CA. 1975
5. Conze, The Prajnaparamita-hrdaya Sutra, Journal of the
Royal Asiatic Soc., 1948, pp. 33-51
6. A. K. Warder, Indian Buddhism, Delhi, 1970
