The Essence of the Heart Sutra

Chapter 1: Brief Explanation of the Sutra Title

Sutra title\: [The Heart Sutra of Prajñāpāramitā]

The full name of the Heart Sutra is The Heart Sutra of Prajñāpāramitā. The title can be explained in three parts.

The first part, "Prajñā", is the transliteration of the Sanskrit word Prajna, meaning great wisdom in Chinese. This great wisdom refers to the wisdom beyond the mundane world, the innate wisdom of the true suchness self-nature. This wisdom is not cultivated; it is inherently possessed. Because this wisdom does not belong to the mundane wisdom of the three realms and is not an acquired wisdom, it neither arises nor ceases and will never be lost. The seven consciousnesses do not possess this innate wisdom. If the seven consciousnesses are to attain great wisdom, they must do so through the study and practice of the Buddhadharma. The wisdom thus acquired comes from nothing into being and is therefore characterized by arising and ceasing. To distinguish the inherent Buddha wisdom of sentient beings from the mundane wisdom of the seven consciousnesses, "Prajñā" is transliterated rather than translated.

The second part, "Pāramitā", means "reaching the other shore." In the Buddhadharma, the "other shore" is contrasted with the "this shore" characterized by birth, death, and afflictions. The "other shore" is the quiescent state of the true suchness self-nature—the Tathāgatagarbha—where there is no perception, cognition, or awareness of mundane phenomena, hence no clamor, no birth or death, no afflictions; it is tranquil and unconditioned. Meanwhile, our five aggregates ceaselessly arise, cease, are born, and die on the "this shore," revolving in the cycle of birth and death like a revolving wheel of fire, turning without end. Only upon realizing the emptiness of the five aggregates can one attain liberation and depart from the cycle of birth and death; otherwise, there is never a day of cessation.

The third part, what does the "Heart" refer to? The Avataṃsaka Sūtra contains a verse: "If one wishes to understand all Buddhas of the three times, one should contemplate the nature of the Dharma realm; all is created by mind alone." This speaks of precisely this heart, the "heart" in "the three realms are mind-only," referring to the eighth consciousness, the Tathāgatagarbha, this Prajñā heart-substance. The Heart Sutra revolves around this "heart." It is the true substance of our Buddhahood, the essence and synopsis of the six hundred volumes of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

After Śākyamuni Buddha manifested the eight aspects of attaining the Way, he expounded the Dharma for forty-nine years. First, he taught the four Āgamas, enabling sentient beings to rely on them to eliminate the view of self and realize the fruit of liberation, gaining the ability to enter the remainderless nirvāṇa and attain liberation. After teaching the four Āgamas, he then taught the six hundred volumes of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, all of which revolve around this Prajñā heart. The six hundred volumes of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, condensed, become the Diamond Sūtra, which also speaks of this true substance of Buddhahood—the indestructible vajra heart. The Diamond Sūtra, further condensed, becomes this Heart Sutra of two hundred and sixty-eight characters. The Heart Sutra is the condensation and essence of the six hundred volumes of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra. The source of the Heart Sutra is the Prajñā heart-substance—the Tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, the Tathāgatagarbha is the essential teaching of the Prajñāpāramitā scriptures and the essential teaching of the entire Tripiṭaka and twelve divisions of scriptures.

The Dharma expounded by the World-Honored One over forty-nine years was compiled into the Tripiṭaka and twelve divisions of scriptures. Where did the Tripiṭaka and twelve divisions come from? They flowed forth from the World-Honored One's inherently pure self-nature mind. How do sentient beings become Buddhas? The ultimate principle of Buddhahood is because there is this Tathāgatagarbha heart to rely upon, which can store the seeds of practice and realization, and because one takes the Tathāgatagarbha as the model to eliminate ignorance. If the seven consciousnesses become unconditioned and pure like the Tathāgatagarbha, then the Buddha Way is achieved. Bodhisattvas, through practice, realize the Tathāgatagarbha, then comprehend the functional roles of all the seeds contained within this heart-substance, realize all its functional natures, rely upon its pure unconditioned nature, eliminate all obscurations of ignorance, ultimately transform consciousness into wisdom, and only then achieve the complete and perfect Buddhahood.

All sentient beings throughout the ten directions possess the Tathāgatagarbha. Only those with the Tathāgatagarbha functioning within their bodies are called sentient beings; those without the Tathāgatagarbha functioning within them are insentient objects. Those possessing this heart are sentient; sentient beings can become Buddhas, while insentient objects cannot. The reason one can become a Buddha is because of the Tathāgatagarbha, for it is the true substance of Buddhahood. With this heart-substance storing the seeds of Buddhahood, the Buddhas of the ten directions and three times can be born. With this heart-substance, the Buddhas of the ten directions and three times can expound the Dharma treasure of Buddhahood—the Tripiṭaka and twelve divisions. With this heart-substance, there is the Saṅgha treasure of the five aggregates formed by the union of the true and the false. Thus, all Three Jewels arise from this.

The Avataṃsaka Sūtra states that this heart is the One True Dharma Realm. How vast is the One True Dharma Realm? All sentient beings ceaselessly arise and cease within this heart; all Buddha lands manifest within this heart; all dharmas do not extend beyond this heart-substance. One Buddha land is called a trichiliocosm; immeasurable trichiliocosms form a Lotus Treasury World; immeasurable Lotus Treasury Worlds form a World Ocean; all World Oceans form the One True Dharma Realm. The One True Dharma Realm refers to this heart; the worlds of the ten directions are all within this heart. Whether it is the Buddhas of the ten directions and three times or the immeasurable and countless sentient beings, they forever remain within this heart, just as Sun Wukong could never leap out of the Tathāgata's palm, because all dharmas are originally born from this heart, originally arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing within this heart.

This Tathāgatagarbha heart is the fundamental basis of our practice. Apart from it, there are no dharmas, nor would there be such a thing as learning and practicing Buddhism. Even if one could practice, there would be no result, because the pure seeds and wholesome karma seeds formed by our practice rely on it for storage, so that in future lives the seeds can take root, sprout, blossom, and bear fruit, enabling us to achieve the Buddha fruit through practice. Without this heart, sentient beings cannot become Buddhas, nor would the phenomenon of the six paths of rebirth exist. Therefore, all sentient beings who learn and practice Buddhism must believe in the existence of this heart, gradually understand its nature, realize this heart, and observe this heart to attain increasingly profound and vast wisdom. The entire edifice of the Buddhadharma is built upon the foundation of the Tathāgatagarbha. If one denies the true existence of the Tathāgatagarbha or considers this heart merely an expedient teaching of the Buddha, it is tantamount to denying the entire Buddhadharma, making one an icchantika who severs wholesome roots and severs the Buddha seeds.