般若波羅蜜多心經

THUS HAVE I HEARD:

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling on Vulture Peak near the great city of Rajagriha, together with a great assembly of bhikshus and great bodhisattvas.

At that time, the Blessed One entered a samadhi called the Vast, Great, Profound Illumination and Vision.

Then, within the great assembly, there was a great bodhisattva named Avalokiteshvara, the Sovereign Seer. While practicing the profound Perfection of Wisdom, he clearly saw that the intrinsic nature of the five skandhas was empty.

At that time, the Venerable Shariputra, relying upon the Buddha’s spiritual power, reverently joined his palms and addressed the Great Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the Sovereign Seer, saying:

“Holy One! If a practitioner wishes to train in the profound Perfection of Wisdom, how should that person practice?”

After he had asked this, the Great Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the Sovereign Seer, said to the Venerable Shariputra:

“Shariputra! When a good man or good woman practices the profound Perfection of Wisdom, that person should clearly see that the intrinsic nature of the five skandhas is empty, and thereby transcend all suffering and distress.

Shariputra! The nature of form is emptiness; the nature of emptiness is form. Form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form. Feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are likewise so.

Shariputra! All dharmas are marked by emptiness: they neither arise nor cease, are neither pure nor defiled, neither increase nor diminish. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form; no feeling, perception, formations, or consciousness; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no form, sound, scent, taste, touch, or dharmas; no eye-consciousness, up to and including no mind-consciousness; no ignorance and no ending of ignorance, up to and including no aging and death and no ending of aging and death. There is no suffering, origin, cessation, or path; no wisdom and no attainment.

Because there is nothing to attain, the bodhisattva relies upon the Perfection of Wisdom, and the mind is without obstruction. Because there is no obstruction, there is no fear; far removed from inverted views and dreamlike delusions, one reaches ultimate serenity.

All Buddhas of the three times rely upon the Perfection of Wisdom and thereby attain unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment. Therefore, know that the Perfection of Wisdom is the great true mantra, the great illuminating mantra, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequalled mantra. It can dispel all suffering; it is true and not false.

Therefore, the Mantra of the Perfection of Wisdom was proclaimed.

The mantra is spoken thus:

|| án, yết đế, yết đế, ba ra yết đế, ba ra tăng yết đế, bồ đề, tát bà ha. ||

|| oṃ gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā ||

“And thus, Shariputra, great bodhisattvas should practice the profound Perfection of Wisdom in this way.”

Then the Blessed One arose serenely from samadhi and praised the Great Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the Sovereign Seer, saying:

“Excellent, excellent, good man! It is so, it is so! It is exactly as you have said. The profound Perfection of Wisdom should be practiced in this way. When it is practiced thus, all Tathagatas will rejoice.”

When the Blessed One had spoken these words, the Venerable Shariputra, the Great Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the Sovereign Seer, and the great assembly gathered at the Dharma assembly, together with all the devas, humans, asuras, and gandharvas in the world, heard the Buddha’s teaching, and all gave rise to great joy, faithfully accepted it, and respectfully put it into practice.

The Heart Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom