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The Heart Sutra decrypted The Heart Sutra presents a highly compressed version of core Theravada
Buddhist dogma.1,2 That dogma claims,
albeit without providing cogent evidence, that all skandas
(i.e. aggregates, indeed all dharmas = entities)
are empty of inherent existence, elsewhere
described as being without atta.
However, in order to give the sutra its esoteric, specifically Mahayana
twist, the compiler of this sutra, probably taking his lead from the 2nd
century scholiast Nagarjuna, deliberately
abstracted (and thus generalised) the sutra’s core meaning (about emptiness)
by deleting the verbal elements ‘of inherent existence’ (elsewhere ‘atta and atta’s property’)
from the body of the text. When ‘empty of inherent existence’ became (abbreviated, hence abstracted as) ‘emptiness’
per se, the meaning of the
sutra became uncertain, indeed, fuzzy
(actually more irrational than it already was). Rather than restore the
deleted words back into the sutra to recover the original meaning (read:
dharma = dogma), Mahayana scholastics, specifically the closet Brahmin Nagarjuna, created a veritable tsunami of highly
imaginative but fundamentally irrelevant and misleading commentaries (called
‘thickets of views’) about this distorted, because fundamental detail deleted
version of Buddhist dogma. The fundamentally
meaningless (hence directed towards mental emptiness) mantra that ends the Heart
Sutra is a further compression and
abstraction to almost zero meaning content. Its repetition, as tantric
quiescence device, runs, as it were, an almost empty tape in the head (i.e.
one’s Bio-Nav).
The final compression of the Buddhist CREDO is silence (i.e. Zero Response). When the deleted words ‘of inherent existence’ are restored to the text, then the
main body of the sutra reads as a simple (Theravada) restatement of core
archaic Buddhist belief requiring neither interpretation nor commentary. |
1
… Similar to the Christian CREDO that includes the most important beliefs of
post Augustinian Christianity 2… E. Conze: Buddhist Thought in India (1962 3
… E. Conze:
Thirty Years of Buddhist Studies (1967) 4… Donald S. Lopez, Jr: The Heart Sutra
explained (1988) 5
… Donald S. Lopez, Jr: Elaborations ion emptiness (1996) |
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Translation by Donald S. Lopez, Jr3 The Mahayana text with the words ‘of inherent
existence’ deleted from the body of
the text Inherent existence = svabhava sunyam = atma |
Translation
by Donald S.
Lopez, Jr
The missing
words restored by
Victor Langheld
Inherent existence ≈ atma (Pali: atta) Empty of inherent existence ≈ anatma (Pali: anatta) |
Pali Text sources |
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At that time, the
Bodhisattva, the Mahasattva, the Superior Avalokitesvara was contemplating the practice of the profound perfection of wisdom and saw that those five aggregates
also are empty of inherent existence. Form is emptiness; emptiness
is form. Emptiness is not
other than form; form is not other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors, and consciousnesses are empty. Sariputra, in that way all phenomena are empty,
without characteristic, un-produced,
un-ceased, stainless, not stainless, undiminished, unfilled. Therefore, Sariputra, in emptiness
there is no form, no feeling, no discrimination,
no compositional factors, no consciousness, no eye, no ear, no nose,
no tongue, no body, no mind, no form, no sound, no odour, no taste, no object
of touch, no phenomenon. There is no eye constituent, no mental constituent,
up to and including no mental consciousness
constituent. There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, up to and including no ageing and
death and no extinction of ageing and death. Similarly, there are no
sufferings, no origins, no cessations, no paths,
no wisdom, no attainment, and also no non-attainment. Therefore,
Sariputra, because Bodhisattvas have no attainment
they depend on and abide in the
perfection of wisdom and their minds are without
obstruction and without fear. Having completely passed beyond all
error they go to the completion of nirvana. All the Buddhas
who abide in the three times have been
fully awakened into unsurpassed, perfect,
complete enlightenment through relying on the perfection of wisdom. Therefore, the mantra of
perfection of wisdom is the mantra of great knowledge,
the unsurpassed mantra, the mantra equal to the unequalled, the mantra that thoroughly pacifies all
suffering. Because it is not false it should be known to be true. The mantra of the perfection
of wisdom is stated: “Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone
completely beyond, enlightenment., Svaha!” |
At that time, the
Bodhisattva, the Mahasattva, the Superior Avalokitesvara was contemplating the practice of the profound perfection of wisdom and saw that those five
aggregates also are empty of inherent existence. Form is emptiness of inherent existence; emptiness of inherent existence is form. Emptiness of inherent existence is not other than form; form is not other than emptiness of inherent existence. In the same way, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors and consciousnesses
are empty of inherent existence. Sariputra, in that way all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, without inherent existence characteristic, un-produced, un-ceased, stainless, not stainless,
undiminished, unfilled. Therefore, Sariputra, in emptiness of
inherent existence there is no inherently existing form, no inherently existing feeling, no inherently
existing discrimination, no inherently existing compositional factors, no inherently existing consciousness, no inherently existing eye, no inherently
existing ear, no inherently
existing nose, no inherently
existing tongue, no inherently
existing body, no inherently
existing mind, no inherently
existing form, no inherently
existing sound, no inherently
existing odour, no inherently
existing taste, no inherently
existing of touch, no inherently existing phenomenon. There is no inherently
existing constituent, no inherently
existing mental constituent, up to and including no inherently existing mental consciousness constituent. There is no inherently existing ignorance, no inherently existing extinction of ignorance, up to and including no inherently existing ageing and death and no inherently existing extinction of
ageing and death. Similarly, there are no inherently
existing sufferings, no inherently
existing origins, no inherently
existing cessations, no inherently existing paths, no inherently existing wisdom, no inherently existing attainment, and also no inherently
existing non-attainment. Therefore,
Sariputra, because Bodhisattvas have no inherently existing attainment they
depend on and abide in the perfection of wisdom and their minds are without (possibly
existing, but inherently non-existing) obstruction and without (possibly existing, but inherently non-existing)
fear. Having completely passed beyond all (possibly
existing but inherently non-existing) error they go to the
completion of (inherently non-existing)
nibbana. All the Buddhas
who abide in the (inherently non-existing) three times have been fully awakened into
unsurpassed, perfect, complete (inherently non-existing) awakening through relying on the (inherently non-existing) perfection of wisdom. Therefore, the mantra of
perfection of wisdom (i.e. of the
non-inherence of existence of all sankharas)
is the mantra of great knowledge, the
unsurpassed mantra, the mantra equal to the unequalled, the mantra that thoroughly pacifies all (existing (?) but inherently non-existing) suffering. Because it is not false it should be known to be true. The mantra of the
perfection of wisdom is stated: Gone, gone, gone beyond,
gone completely beyond, awakened, Amen!.” To wit: “Empty, empty,
empty, empty (= awakening). Amen!” Meditation using the mantra “Empty, empty,
empty, empty” pacifies (i.e. eliminates distress). @ 100% application, 100%
elimination of distress (hence nibbana) is
achieved. The same affect is achieved by visualising the SRI Yantra. Clinging to (or desiring)
that which is empty of inherent existence leads to distress, and to the
belated realization: “Vanity, Vanity, all is vanity” |
The
quasi deity = Mahasattva
Avalokitesvara appears to have been invented by a Mahayana
sectarian. Samyutta Nikàya Also S. 35:85 see below ditto ditto Logic conclusion Samyatta Nikaya 35:85 (see below) Sabbe sankhara anatta, i.e. ‘Know, all emerged phenomena are empty of atta!” Dhammapada No definition of ‘beyond’
is given. It’s left up to the imagination! |
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For empty of inherent existence (to wit: anatma) read: svabhāva-sunyān For (the) emptiness…of inherent existence read: sunyata Note: The Tathagata responded to the two questions about atta (≈ inherent existence) which the wanderer Vacchagotta
put to him, namely “How is it, Master
Gotama, does SELF (≈
inherent existence) exist?”
and “How is it, then, Master Gotama, does SELF (≈ inherent existence) not exist?” with silence. |
For anatta
read: empty of atta
To wit, empty of SELF (hence permanent and empty of distress) Taken from the Samyutta Nikaya 35 : 85
Ananda said: “ ‘Empty world, empty world’ is said Lord; in what way is
‘empty world’ said?” The Buddha answered: “It is
because of what is empty of SELF and SELF’s property that ‘empty world’ is said, Ananda. And
what is empty of SELF and SELF’s property? The eye ... forms ... eye-consciousness …
eye‑contact… any feeling ... born of eye-contact ... The ear,
etc... The nose, etc.... The tongue, etc.... The body, etc.... The mind, etc … any
feeling whether pleasant, painful or neither-painful-nor‑pleasant
born of mind-contact is empty of SELF and SELF’s
property.” |