The Heart Sūtra
This is the short form of „The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom“ in its Japanese version. It is famous for the sublime line „Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form“ — one of the most powerful ideas in Buddhist philosophy.
観自在菩薩行深般波羅蜜多時 kan-ji-zai-bo-satsu-gyō-jin-han-nya-ha-ra-mi-ta-ji
照見五薀皆空度一切苦厄 shō-ken-go-on-kai-kū-do-is-sai-ku-yaku 舍利子色不異空 sha-ri-shi-shiki-fu-i-kū 空不異色 kū-fu-i-shiki 色即是空 shiki-soku-ze-kū 空即是色 kū-soku-ze-shiki 受想行識亦復如是 ju-sō-gyō-shiki-yaku-bu-nyo-ze 舍利子是諸法空相 sha-ri-shi-ze-sho-hō-kū-sō 不生不滅 fu-shō-fu-metsu 不垢不浄 fu-ku-fu-jō 不増不減 fu-zō-fu-gen 是故空中無色 ze-ko-kū-chū-mu-shiki 無受想行識 mu-ju-sō-gyō-shiki 無眼耳鼻舌身意 mu-gen-ni-bi-ze-shin-i 無色声香味触法 mu-shiki-shō-kō-mi-soku-hō 無限界乃至無意識界 mu-ken-kai-nai-shi-mu-i-shiki-kai 無無明亦無無明尽 mu-mu-myō-yaku-mu-mu-myō-jin 乃至無老死亦無老死尽 nai-shi-mu-rō-shi-yaku-mu-rō-shi-jin 無苦集滅道 mu-ku-shū-metsu-dō 無智亦無得 mu-chi-yaku-mu-toku 以無所得故 i-mu-sho-toku-ko 菩提薩埵依般若波羅蜜多故 bo-dai-sat-ta-e-han-nya-ha-ra-mi-ta-ko 心無罣礙 shin-mu-ke-ge 無罣礙故無有恐怖 mu-ke-ge-ko-mu-u-kū-fu 遠離一切顛倒無想 on-ri-is-sai-ten-dō-mu-sō 究竟涅槃 kū-kyō-ne-han 三世諸仏 san-ze-sho-butsu 依般若波羅蜜多故 e-han-nya-ha-ra-mi-ta-ko 得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提 toku-a-noku-ta-ra-san-myaku-san-bo-dai 故知般若波羅蜜多 ko-chi-han-nya-ha-ra-mi-ta 是大神呪 ze-dai-jin-shu 是大明呪 ze-dai-myō-shu 是無上呪 ze-mu-jō-shu 是無等等呪 ze-mu-tō-dō-shu 能除一切苦真実不嘘 nō-jo-is-sai-ku-shin-jitsu-fu-ko 故説般若波羅蜜多呪 ko-setsu-han-nya-ha-ra-mi-ta-shu 即説呪曰 soku-setsu-shu-watsu 揭諦揭諦波羅揭諦 gya-tei-gya-tei-ha-ra-gya-tei 波羅僧揭諦菩提薩婆訶 ha-ra-sō-gya-tei-bo-ji-so-wa-ka 般波心経 han-nya-shin-gyōWhen Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound Prajnā pāramitā, he illuminated the Five Skandhas and saw that they were all empty, and crossed over all suffering and affliction.
Sariputra, form is not different from emptiness, and emptiness is not different from form. Form itself is emptiness, and emptiness itself is form. Sensation, conception, synthesis, and discrimination are also such as this. Sariputra, all dharmas are empty — they are neither created nor destroyed, neither defiled nor pure, and they neither increase nor diminish. This is because in emptiness there is no form, sensation, conception, synthesis, or discrimination. There are no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or thoughts. There are no forms, sounds, scents, tastes, sensations, or dharmas. There is no field of vision and there is no realm of thoughts. There is no ignorance nor elimination of ignorance, even up to and including no old age and death, nor elimination of old age and death. There is no suffering, its accumulation, its elimination, or a path. There is no understanding and no attaining.
Because there is no attainment, bodhisattvas rely on Prajnā pāramitā, and their minds have no obstructions. Since there are no obstructions, they have no fears. Because they are detached from backwards dream-thinking, their final result is Nirvāna. Because all buddhas of the past, present, and future rely on Prajnā pāramitā, they attain Anuttarā Samyaksambodhi. Therefore, know that Prajnā pāramitā is a great spiritual mantra, a great brilliant mantra, an unsurpassed mantra, and an unequalled mantra. The Prajnā pāramitā mantra is spoken because it can truly remove all afflictions. The mantra is spoken thusly:
Gate, gate, pāragate, pārasamgate, Bodhi Svāhā.
Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form.
A Master said: „When one has succeeded in eliminating desire, especially of greed, anger and lust, he attains nirvana“.
So, suffering is driven by craving, aversion and ignorance. Remove those, and the whole machinery of suffering collapses. When greed, anger and lust are fully eliminated, what remains is what’s called Nirvana.
But there is a catch. This is not about suppressing my desires really hard and becoming emotionally numb. It goes deeper. The desires don’t just get pushed down; they lose their grip because the illusion behind them disappears.
It’s less about killing desire and more about realizing that the whole chase was pointless in the first place.
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