Talk:Heart Sutra

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[edit] Possible Error

tasmat sariputra sunyatayam na rupam na vedana na samjna na samskara na vijnanam

Therefore, Shariputra, in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, no volition, no consciousness,

In above, "na vedana" is not translated and omitted, I think. Anyone who can translate Sanskrit, would you correct this? --JustinPark 09:50, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Complete text

Someone recently added the complete text of the sutra to this entry. I'm not sure -- should it be removed to Wikisource? Are there copyright issues? The Sanskrit version is probably okay, but the translation might belong to somebody. - Nat Krause 10:48, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Your caution to copyright infringement is correct. In this case, there is no need to worry because this is a new translation.

[edit] Possible IPA version

I've doubtless got this wrong, given the vagueness of the current pronunciation guide, hence my posing it here for integration by someone who can check it --bjh21 12:46, 4 May 2005 (UTC):

guh-tay guh-tay gəteɪ gəteɪ
pah-rah-guh-tay pɑɹɑ gəteɪ
pah-rah-sahm-gah-tay pɑɹɑsɑm gəteɪ
boh-dee swah-hah bəʊdiː swɑhɑ
That looks right to me, or at least close enough to get started with. I'll replace the article text. Thanks. - Nat Krause 14:45, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Sutras not spoken by Buddha

Are there any other examples of sutras that are not the direct word of the Buddha? I'd like to have said that the Heart Sutra is unique in this regard, but I don't know. --MrDemeanour 09:15, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Sure, there are certainly some Pali suttas spoken by a high-level disciple, such as Sariputra. Perhaps the Heart Sutra is the only Mahayana sutra not spoken by the Buddha? I have no idea off the top of my head.—Nat Krause(Talk!·What have I done?) 21:47, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sutras Not Spoken by the Buddha

It's doubtful that any of the Mahayana Sutras were "spoken by the Buddha". The Prajnaparamita Sutras did not appear until about the 1st Century CE. The earliest text known was the Pefect Wisdom in 8,000 lines. From 100-300 CE it was expanded to 100,000 lines. From 300-500 CE condensed scriptures (including the Heart Sutra) appeared. From 600-1200 CE, Tantric sutras appeared. Therefore, the first of these sutras appeared approximately 500 years after the paranirvana of the Buddha and were central to the development of the Mahayana, "which was developed in conscious opposition to the conceptual realism, distinctionism and dualism of the Abhidharma schools". (all above comes from Kajiyama Yuichi in Buddhist Spirituality: Indian Southeast Asian, Tibetan, Early Chinese, Motilal Banarsidass, 1994, ISBN 81-208-1255-1) Hope this clarifies somewhat this difficult issue. Thinman10

You are right. The Prajnaparamita Sutras begin with evam maya shrutam, and many of them (this includes the Heart Sutra), are not believed to be spoken by the Buddha. In all probablities, they are not even spoken by Avalokisteshwara to Sariptura. However, does it matter, as long as it is believed to be true? deeptrivia (talk) 22:01, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

No-one can ever "prove" that the Buddha actually said the words recorded and attributed to him in the Pali Canon, written down some 444 years after his Parinirvana. This happened in Sri Lanka at about the same time as the Mahayana scriptures started to be written down elsewhere. Even though a sutta might be considered by some to be the word of the Buddha, I think that when it comes to Mahayana and Vajrayana, a discourse is not judged by strict lineage, but whatever is well-spoken is the word of the Buddha. In fact, the impression I get from most Mahayana sutras is that they try to evoke an emotion rather than providing material for analytical study. --- Andkaha(talk) 02:22, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, we are definitely talking about which scriptures describe themselves as spoken by the Buddha, and which do not.—Nat Krause(Talk!·What have I done?) 02:45, 4 February 2007 (UTC)
Then there's the Platform Sutra of the Fifth Patriarch...Not that the Platform Sutra has ever been ascribed to the historical Buddha, but it does indicate a certain flexibility in the label 'sutra'. Ultimately, of course, whether a particular writing was ever literally said by the historical Buddha is less important than the soteriological function of the work. The goal of Buddhism is liberation from suffering, not adhering to doctrine. Hence, the Chan (Zen)school was quite willing to go "outside" the sutras in its search for freedom (although it must be remembered that much of Chan was grounded in traditional Buddhist practices, including studying the sutras). Thinman10

[edit] Musical setting

There is a popular chorus of the Heart Sutra sung in Sanskrit and available in mp3 format on the net. Below is one of the web site hosting the above mentioned mp3

http://www.mp3tube.net/es/musics/Sutram-Bhagavati-Prajnaparamita-Hridaya-Sutram/61194/

Does anyone know the origin and other details of this version? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kamleong (talk • contribs) 05:33, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

The musical setting section has now become a trivia list, I think we should either remove it or convert it into a paragraph in the article about how it has been incorporated in modern music because of WP:TRIVIA. Just having a list of songs that incorporate it without any citations doesn't seem to me to add anything to the discussion of what the heart sutra is. Any objections? Any thoughts? - Owlmonkey (talk) 04:34, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Modified section on The Text

Changed the section The Text to read as follows:

Briefly, the sutra describes the insight of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara, while engaged in deep meditation, representing the faculty of prajña (wisdom). The insight refers to the fundamental emptiness of all phenomena

Emphasis is on the sutra's depiction on the experience of insight, prajna, and emptiness and consequently liberation, missing in the original description —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.202.248.81 (talk) 12:19, 19 November 2007 (UTC)


The rap group the wu-tang clan uses this heart sutra apparently at the end of the song Life Changes a tribute to one of their fellow groupmates who passed away. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.232.202.142 (talk) 18:49, 1 March 2008 (UTC)