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The Heart Sutra decrypted The Heart Sutra presents a highly compressed version of core
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 Brahmin
idiot 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, Mahayana scholastics 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 generating mental emptiness) mantra that
ends the Heart Sutra is a further compression and abstraction to almost
zero meaning content. The purpose of ‘driving on empty’ is to stop people
getting into mischief. Its repetition, as tantric quiescence device, runs, as
it were, an almost empty tape in the head. The final compression of the
Buddhist CREDO is silence (i.e. Zero Response). more 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. |
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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 ‘ of inherent existence’ 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 (read: contemplation)
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 (basically impermanent) may lead 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. The
exercise is one of attaining wisdom and not of eliminating dukkha. That’s not Buddhism.! Note:
here the detail ‘of inherent
existence’ is dropped. That changes the whole meaning of this part of
the sutra Mahàvagga,
1st Khandhaka Samyutta
Nikàya Also
S. 35:85 see below The entire
argument doesn’t wash. There’s no mention
of dukkha. Dukkha was originally claimed to arise from transience, i.e.
impermanence. The ‘emptiness of
inherent existence’ tack appears to have been added centuries later to
counter the seductive ‘atma’ notions proposed by Vedantins. Whether or not an
appearance happens with or without inherent existence is irrelevant with
regard to the arising of dukkha. ditto ditto Logic
conclusion Samyatta
Nikaya 35:85 (see below) Note:
it is not dukkha that is removed but fear. That’s a different ball game.! Sabbe
sankhara anatta, i.e. ‘Know, all emerged phenomena are empty of atta!” Dhammapada Excluded is the cause of dukkha, namely
impermanence, possibly desire. The very, very late sutra of unknown
provenance makes hay of the attainment of the perfection of wisdom, possibly because
the whole dependent origination schedule had only recently been invented and
which had ignorance as initiating cause of appearance of becoming. The sutra sounds pretty much like one Emile Coué’s pain
removing formula, namely: “Gone, Gone, Gone!” |
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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.” |
1 … Similar to the Christian CREDO that includes the
most important beliefs of post Augustinian Christianity
2… E.
Conze: Buddhist Thought in India (1962
E. Conze:
Thirty Years of Buddhist Studies (1967)
3… Donald S.
Lopez, Jr: The Heart Sutra explained
(1988)
Donald S. Lopez, Jr:
Elaborations ion emptiness (1996)