Dear bodhisattvas,What I have in my hands is a copy of the Heart Sutra.
I was able to memorize the Heart Sutra at the age of four already.
And I have always been very fond of this sutra.
And we have been talking about the Heart Sutra for four days,and including this final day,five days.Do you think any of the lines from the Heart Sutra represent delusive or illusive beliefs?
A proper start and ending is essential to a Dharma talk.And in the previous four days,I have spent a lot of time going into the details of the beginning lines or sentences of the Heart Sutra. Therefore as we come to the final day today,I think it is important for me to make sure that the dharma talk comes to a proper ending.Therefore,I think today,I will use the opportunity to go through every single word with you.
And before I go to the theories behind the Heart Sutra, what I'm going to do now is to go through the whole sutra in what we say,modern or easy to understand language.
And if you have a copy of the Heart Sutra in your hands, and then you can follow my words as you read these words.
Once there was a bodhisattva, by the name of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, which means contemplating and observing oneself.And as he was coursing in the profound prajna,or Prajna wisdom,he saw that all five skandhas were empty.And this realization allowed the bodhisattva to overcome all ills and suffering.
And as this sutra is an extract or a concentrated version of the Mahaprajna Sutra,you would see that Sariputra has been addressed in this sutra,and basically in the Chinese version,you would see that he addressed differently with different characters as"zi,"and this character in Chinese means a proper way to address a man in the past time,such as Confucius,or Mencius and so on. That is why you would see in the Heart Sutra the mentioning of Sariputra's name,and the Buddha followed by telling him that form is no different from emptiness,and emptiness is no different from form,and the same goes to the five skandhas.