Commentary on the Heart Sutra | There Is No Suffering

By Master Sheng-yen

The Heart Sutra or Hridaya Sutra is so called because it embodies the core or the heart of the Buddhadharma. It is also the heart of the Mahaprajnaparamita-sutra, and in fact , the full title— Mahaprajnaparamita-hridaya-sutra—is normally translated simply as Heart Sutra.

Prajna means the ‘wisdom of emptiness,’ a state of mind distinguishing an enlightened bodhisattva from an ordinary person who may already be on the path to enligthenment. To a Dharma practitioner, without the presence, guidance, and genuine practice of wisdom, Buddhadharma would be no more than philosophy. For this reason, the Heart Sutra describes the nature of wisdom— the root of Buddhadharma.

As Chan is pragmatic, I will discuss the Heart Sutra in terms of practice. Buddhist sutras describe a threefold path of practice, which includes precepts (sila), meditation (samadhi), and wisdom
(prajna). Hence, to be in accordance with Buddhadharma, the practices must ultimately resonate with wisdom, the special insight into the nature of emptiness.

Meditative cultivation of samadhi without the practice of wisdom is not exclusive to Buddhism. Many other spiritual traditions cultivate in one form or another, levels of meditative absorption, trance, or contemplation. Although such experiences may be beneficial, without prajna, they cannot be considered true Buddhist samadhi. The Platform Sutra says, “genuine samadhi and prajna arise simultaneously…; samadhi is the essence of wisdom, and wisdom is the function of samadhi…”5 Furthermore, the same sutra states that a person with prajna or in such samadhi cannot, and will not , break the precepts.6 In fact, precepts without the guidance of wisdom are no different from the ethics and commandments of other spiritual doctrines. In other words, any practice not guided at its center by the principle of prajna is other than Buddhist.

Shakyamuni Buddha’ s teachings emanated from deep prajna to guide sentient beings so they too could eventually give rise to wisdom. If one practices in accordance with Buddhadharma and gives rise to wisdom, then one attains enlightenment, or liberation.

People who want to attain wisdom usually do not know how or where to begin. If you seek wisdom through words, all you will gain is intellectual knowledge. Scholars may study and even recite sutras by heart without perceiving their meaning from direct personal experience. Writing about sutras, doing comparative analysis, and so on, do not necessarily confer acquired wisdom. Not that it is impossible to gain wisdom through reading sutras; it depends on one’ s attitude. If one reads sutras with an attitude of gaining intellectual understanding, wisdom will be elusive. On the other hand, if you approach sutras as a method of meditation or contemplation, and commit your whole being to perceiving their meaning, it is possible for wisdom to arise.

Chan emphasizes a living wisdom, in which one personifies the Buddhadharma on the way to directly experiencing wisdom. For this reason, the schools of Chan have revered the Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra for succinctly expounding the core realizations of the Buddha. The Heart Sutra, however, is much shorter, more direct and condensed than the Diamond Sutra, making it easier to memorize and recite. For centuries, practitioners in Chan monasteries have recited the Heart Sutra at least twice a day. This deepened their commitment to Buddhism, mirrored and attuned their cultivation of the Dharma, and of their view of reality and themselves.

Quieting the mind is only one facet of the practice because at the core of the sutra’ s teachings are both wisdom and compassion. In fact, one leads to the other. Any insight derived from meditation is incomplete unless imbued and tempered with compassion. We only fully realize the Dharma when we act with both wisdom and compassion.

Mahayana Buddhism, which espouses the bodhisattva path of altruism and compassion, speaks of the six paramitas, or perfection: generosity, precepts, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom. The goal of the first five paramitas is to attain the sixth— wisdom. However, to properly practice the first five paramitas, one must be guided by the Buddha’ s wisdom. Otherwise, the paramitas will fall short of being perfections, and not lead to wisdom.

Paramita literally means ‘from here to there,’ but it also has connotations of ‘leaving behind’ or ‘transcending.’ In particular, it means leaving behind and transcending suffering and its causes: the root afflictions (klesas), propensities (vasanas),7 and deluded thoughts, words, and actions (karma). Another nuance of paramita is ‘liberation.’ Therefore , once you realize wisdom, you have completed the journey across the ocean of suffering, and its causes, to the other shore, liberation.

People in Shakyamuni’ s time were not much different from people today. Many people embody one of two extreme attitudes. Some seek happiness through pursuit of sensual and material pleasures, such as sex, wealth, power, etc. Ultimately, they do not achieve happiness as much as they do stimulation. The author Ernest Hemingway once claimed that there were only three important things in his life: war, wine, and women. He had them all, but in spite of all his indulgences, he was not a happy man, and in the end took his own life. Obviously, he did not find the happiness he was looking for in those things.

At the other extreme, some people see no happiness in this world and try to transcend it through hardship or asceticism. Ultimately, neither hedonism nor asceticism leads to wisdom.

Buddhadharma tells us that wisdom is paramount, and to attain this wisdom, we must practice in accordance with how things actually are. The Heart Sutra clearly and concisely describes true reality, explains the nature of wisdom, and elaborates the means to attain it.

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