The Essence of the Heart Sutra
Chapter One A Brief Explanation of the Sutra Title
Sutra title\: [The Heart Sutra of Prajñāpāramitā]
The full name of the Heart Sutra is the Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra, and the sutra title can be explained in three parts.
The first part, "prajñā," is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word Prajña, meaning great wisdom in Chinese. This great wisdom refers to transcendental wisdom, the wisdom inherently possessed by the self-nature of suchness (tathatā). This wisdom is not cultivated into being; it is innately present from the beginning. Because this wisdom does not belong to the worldly wisdom of the three realms, and is not wisdom acquired later, it neither arises nor ceases and will never regress. The seven consciousnesses do not possess this innate wisdom; if the seven consciousnesses are to obtain great wisdom, they must acquire it through studying and practicing the Buddha-dharma, and the wisdom thus obtained comes from nonexistence into existence, and is therefore subject to arising and ceasing. In order to distinguish the inherent Buddha-wisdom possessed by sentient beings from the worldly wisdom of the seven consciousnesses, prajñā is not translated by meaning but is directly transliterated as "prajñā."
The second part, "pāramitā," means "reaching the other shore." The "other shore" in the Buddha-dharma is relative to "this shore," which has birth-death and afflictions. The "other shore" is the quiescent and ceased realm of the self-nature of suchness — the tathāgatagarbha — where there is none of the seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing of worldly dharmas; therefore there is no clamor, no birth and death, no afflictions — it is tranquil and unconditioned. Whereas our five aggregates arise and cease ceaselessly, with birth and death unending; on "this shore" we are born and die, die and are born, with birth and death revolving endlessly like a whirling fire-wheel, turning without stop. Unless one realizes the emptiness of the five aggregates, one cannot attain liberation and escape the wheel of birth and death; otherwise there will never be a day of rest.
The third part, "heart" — which mind does it refer to? There is a verse in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra: "If one wishes to understand all Buddhas of the three periods of time, one should contemplate the nature of the Dharma realm: everything is created by mind alone." This verse speaks of this mind, that is, the mind of "the three realms are mind-only," referring to the eighth consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha, this prajñā mind-substance. The Heart Sutra is taught centered on this "heart"; He is the true substance by which we attain buddhahood, the essence and general outline of the six hundred fascicles of the Great Prajñā Sūtra.
After Śākyamuni Buddha completed his eight aspects of manifesting the path, he taught the Dharma for forty-nine years. He first taught the four great Āgama collections, enabling sentient beings to cultivate in accordance with them, eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), realize the fruit of liberation, and gain the ability to enter nirvāṇa without remainder and attain liberation. After finishing the four great Āgamas, he then taught the six hundred fascicles of the Great Prajñā Sūtra, all of which revolve around this prajñā heart. The six hundred fascicles of the Great Prajñā Sūtra, when condensed, become the Diamond Sutra; the Diamond Sutra also teaches this true substance of buddhahood — the indestructible vajra mind; and when the Diamond Sutra is further condensed, it becomes this Heart Sutra of two hundred and sixty-eight characters. The Heart Sutra is the condensation and essence of the six hundred fascicles of the Great Prajñā Sūtra, and the source of the Heart Sutra is the prajñā mind-substance — the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, the tathāgatagarbha is the general dhāraṇī of the prajñā scriptures, and also the general dhāraṇī of the Tripiṭaka and twelve divisions of the canon.
The Buddha's forty-nine years of teaching were compiled into the Tripiṭaka and twelve divisions. Where did the Tripiṭaka and twelve divisions come from? They flowed forth from the Buddha's originally pure self-nature. How do sentient beings attain buddhahood? The ultimate principle of attaining buddhahood is that there is this tathāgatagarbha mind to rely upon, which can store the seeds of cultivation and realization, and which serves as a model for removing ignorance. If the seven consciousnesses are as unconditioned and pure as the tathāgatagarbha, then buddhahood is accomplished. Through cultivation, bodhisattvas realize the tathāgatagarbha, and then understand all the functional powers of the seeds contained within this mind-substance, realize His complete functional nature, rely upon His pure unconditioned nature, eradicate all obstructions of ignorance, completely transform consciousness into wisdom, and finally attain the ultimate and perfect Buddha.
All sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions possess the tathāgatagarbha. Only those with the tathāgatagarbha operating within their bodies are called sentient beings; that in which the tathāgatagarbha does not operate is an insentient object. Only those with this mind are sentient; only sentient beings can attain buddhahood; insentient objects cannot attain buddhahood. The reason one can attain buddhahood is precisely because of the tathāgatagarbha, because He is the true substance of buddhahood. Only with this mind-substance storing the seeds of buddhahood can the Buddha jewels of the ten directions and three periods of time be brought forth; with this mind-substance, the Buddhas of the ten directions and three periods of time can proclaim the Dharma jewel for attaining buddhahood — the Tripiṭaka and twelve divisions; with this mind-substance, there can be the Sangha jewel of the five aggregates in which the true and the false are conjoined. Therefore, all Three Jewels issue forth from this.
The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says that this mind is the one true Dharma realm. How vast is the one true Dharma realm? All sentient beings arise and cease ceaselessly within this mind; all Buddha-lands manifest within this mind; all dharmas do not go beyond this mind-substance. One Buddha-land is called one trichiliocosm (three-thousandfold great world system); countless trichiliocosms form a world of the lotus treasury; countless worlds of the lotus treasury form an ocean of worlds; and all the oceans of worlds form the one true Dharma realm. The one true Dharma realm refers to this mind; the worlds of the ten directions are all within this mind. Whether the Buddhas of the ten directions and three periods of time, or the countless sentient beings, none can ever go beyond this mind — just like Sun Wukong, who could never leap out of the Buddha's palm, because all dharmas are originally generated by this mind, and originally arise, abide, change, and cease within this mind.
This tathāgatagarbha mind is the fundamental basis of our cultivation. Apart from Him there are no dharmas at all, and there would be no such thing as studying Buddhism and cultivating practice. Even if one could cultivate, there would be no result, because the pure seeds and wholesome karma seeds formed through our cultivation must be stored by Him, so that in future lives the seeds can take root, sprout, blossom, and bear fruit, and through cultivation the fruit of buddhahood can be accomplished. Without this mind, sentient beings cannot attain buddhahood, and the phenomenon of transmigration through the six realms would not exist. Therefore, all sentient beings who study Buddhism and cultivate practice must believe in the existence of this mind, gradually understand the nature of this mind, realize this mind, and observe this mind, in order to obtain ever deeper and broader wisdom. The entire edifice of the Buddha-dharma is built upon the foundation of the tathāgatagarbha. If one denies the real existence of the tathāgatagarbha, or considers this mind to be merely the Buddha's expedient teaching, it is equivalent to denying the entire Buddha-dharma, and one becomes an icchāntika who severs the wholesome roots and cuts off the seed of Buddhahood.
