The Heart That Is Empty, Yet Full

My friend and I had gone to watch a play on the Sufi Mystic and Poet Amīr Khusrau at Ranga Shankara Theatre in Bengaluru, India. Amir Khusrau, an iconic figure in the cultural history of South Asia, was associated with the royal courts of more than seven rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. He was also the spiritual disciple of the Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Auliya.

The play featured an incident in the life of Nizamuddin Auliya. Nizammudin, as a Sufi Saint, regularly kept fasts. He wouldn’t break the fast for any reason, as they were sacred. Once, a farmer came to visit him. The farmer had travelled a long way from Rajasthan to Delhi on foot to meet with the saint. He carried with him a bundle of rotis made from wheat. In those days (~1000 years ago when this incident took place), wheat was a delicacy. It was hard to grow, especially in the desert land of Rajasthan. This farmer had a great harvest of wheat, and he desired to present the first offering of wheat to the Sufi Saint. His wife ground the wheat into flour, made it into rotis and packed it up for the farmer to take to the Saint.

The farmer, with great joy, having met the Sufi Saint, offered it to him as a token of his love. Nizammudin Auliya was on one of his religious fasts. But to the great astonishment of his followers, he lovingly beckoned the farmer to his side, opened the cloth parcel and partook of the roti. He exclaimed, “I’ve not eaten such delicious roti.” The farmer was overjoyed and went back home with a full heart.

Auliya’s disciples were shocked that he broke his fast for a trivial reason.

The essence of Mahayana Teachings is captured beautifully in Auliya’s story. Pema says that the real essence of Mahayana is THINKING and FEELING BIGGER than oneself. We move beyond ourselves to others and relate to each other as equals.

In this newsletter edition, we will look at Chapter 4 of the audiobook, “Coming Closer to Ourselves: Making Everything the Path of Awakening” by Ani Pema Chodron. This article will explore the Heart Sutra or Maha Prajna Paramita, which is at the core of the Mahayana Teachings.

Origin of The Heart Sutra

Maha Prajna Paramita means The Heart of Transcendent Knowledge. It is commonly referred to as The Heart Sutra. This is a key text in the Mahayana Traditions - which includes Zen. The Heart Sutra is the teaching that marks the Second Turning of the Wheel.

Once, the Buddha and all his key disciples had gathered at Rajagriha, India, at the Vulture Peak Mountain. On this occasion, the teachings of the Heart Sutra were given. This sutra is not a direct teaching by the Buddha. Instead, it is a mind transmission by Buddha to Avalokiteshwara.

The Heart Sutra is a dialogue between Avalokiteshwara and Shariputra.  Pema calls Shariputra the Foundation Yana Representative. By this, she means that Shariputra, a key disciple of Buddha, embodies the essence of the Foundation Yana teachings by having curiosity and an open mind towards the new set of teachings. Avalokiteshwara is considered to be the embodiment of the Mayayana Teachings as Bodhisattva.

What is The Heart Sutra?

We explored groundlessness in the context of the Foundation Yana Teachings. The Mahayana teachings are Buddha’s progressive teachings on groundlessness. It is said that many Arhants walked away when they heard these teachings. It was controversial, and many thought it went against Buddha’s original teachings.

I first encountered the Heart Sutra in a Zendo when I went for a short retreat. We recited many sutras during the practice session, and this one profoundly impacted me. Although it is in English, the words made no sense to my mind, but they touched something deep in my heart. My heart feels light whenever I read this sutra. You can find the entire sutra at the bottom of this article.

Even after reading it many times, the Heart Sutra doesn’t make sense to me. The Sutra says there is no such thing as suffering, cause of suffering, cessation or even the path of cessation. It seems like a play of words, and I can imagine why the Arhants walked out of the gathering.

There are scores of commentaries on this sutra, and if you wish to delve deeper into it, here are some of my recommendations to get started.

Crux of The Heart Sutra

Essentially, the Heart Sutra is an instruction on how to practice. Anything you are clinging to or believing in right now is not that. The clinging and grasping is a significant obstacle to the path and is not true wisdom.

It is about training to be in the present moment. Even with a mind free of biases, things are happening in the present moment. There is no escape from the present moment. Everything manifests out of emptiness and goes back into emptiness when we no longer cling to it.

Prajna Paramita can be translated as Transcendent Knowledge/Understanding. Paramita means to go to the other shore beyond dualistic thinking. Prajna means to see things as they are without concepts.

So where is this Transcendent Knowledge found?

How does one practice Prajna Paramita?

We train not to grasp, intellectualise or solidify thoughts, feelings, perceptions, people, beings and objects (the five skandhas). We learn to practice when we unconsciously hold on tight to something, and it is taken away from us. In our life, when things fall apart, it is an experience of Prajna Paramita. When it happens, everything is clear. Prajna Paramita can either be transformative or crippling - depending on how we look at it.

Pema says that Prajna Paramita can be practised in small things when things are not the way they are. She asks us to explore and contemplate how we work with our minds. Do we block or allow flexibility for the present experience to touch us?

Pema says that the obscuration or blocking of the mind can happen in two ways.

1. Obscuration of conflicting emotions

2. Obscuration of primitive beliefs of reality

The Path of Awakening is a slow, weaning process of letting go of the ground under our feet. We let go of one finger at a time and, finally, the hand. Pema says we take a long, long time to do so, and there is no hurry to get anywhere. We take the time we need. Letting go is a compassionate, loving and enormously patient process.

How does one work with fear?

The heart of the Heart Sutra is encapsulated in the below mantra from the Sutra.

Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate. Bodhi Swaha.

It means Gone, Gone, Gone Beyond, Gone Completely Beyond, Awake, So be it.

We are encouraged to go slow, be patient, and get ready.

For a comprehensive explanation by Pema, I recommend you listen to this Chapter of the audiobook, “Coming Closer to Ourselves: Making Everything the Path of Awakening”.

Where does Compassion come in?

To have compassion for oneself and others through the journey of life. She says we don’t even realise when the change starts to happen from within. So, holding compassion in our hearts, we dive into Prajna Paramita for ourselves and all the sentient beings. Compassion is the motivation, and Shunyata is the fruition of this path.

What’s next?

We will examine the Vajrayana Teachings in the next edition of the newsletter. 

Write back to me! 

It would be great to hear from you, and I’d love to know what parts of this article resonated with you and tell me your thoughts on what you experienced when you read the full version of the Heart Sutra.

P.S. Thank you for subscribing and sticking with me. 

As a parting thought, I will finish this edition with a story and the full version of The Heart Sutra.

Is that So?

The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbours as one living a pure life.

A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child.

This made her parents very angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment, at last named Hakuin.

In great anger, the parents went to the master. “Is that so?” was all he would say.

After the child was born, it was brought to Hakuin. By this time, he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child. He obtained milk from his neighbours and everything else the little one needed.

A year later, the girl-mother could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth - that the child’s real father was a young man who worked in the fish market.

The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask his forgiveness, to apologise at length, and to get the child back again.

Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: “Is that so?”

Source: https://life-explorers.com/terra/stories/zen/zen-story3.php

Maha Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra (Heart Sutra)

Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,

Practicing deep Prajna Paramita

Clearly saw that all five skandhas are empty,

Transforming all suffering and distress.

Shariputra, form is no other than emptiness,

Emptiness no other than form;

Form is emptiness; emptiness is form;

Feeling, perception, mental reaction, consciousness are also like this.

Shariputra, all dharmas are essentially empty:

Not born, not destroyed;

Not stained, not pure, without loss, without gain.

Therefore, in emptiness, there is no form, no feeling,

No perception, mental reaction, consciousness;

No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind;

No colour, sound, smell, taste, touch, objects of mind;

No seeing and so on to no thinking;

No ignorance and also no ending of ignorance

And so on to no old age and death,

And also no ending of old age and death;

No suffering, cause of suffering, cessation, path;

No wisdom and no attainment.

Since there is nothing to attain,

The Bodhisattva lives by Prajna Paramita

With no hindrance in the mind; no hindrance, thus no fear;

Far beyond delusive thinking right here is Nirvana.

All Buddhas past, present and future

Live by Prajna Paramita,

Attaining Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi.

Therefore know that Prajna Paramita is the great mantra, the wisdom mantra,

The unsurpassed mantra, the supreme mantra,

Which completely removes all suffering.

This is truth, not mere formality.

Therefore, set forth the Prajna Paramita mantra

Set forth this mantra and proclaim;

Gaté, Gaté, Paragaté, Parasamgaté.

Bodhi Swaha.

Translation from The Sutra Book of Bodhi Sangha, Kodaikanal, India

Source: http://bodhisangha.net/index.php/en/zen/recitation 

Disclosures

1. All images have been generated using Open AI. I had loads of fun experimenting with prompts and generating images for this newsletter. Have a go at it!

2. This page contains affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase using these links, at no extra cost to you.