The Sutra of the Heart of the
Glorious Lady Prajnaparamita
Thus have I heard. Once the Bhagavan was residing on Vulture Flock Mountain in Rajagrha together with a great assembly of fully ordained monks and a great assembly of bodhisattvas. At that time the Bhagavan entered the samadhi of the enumerations of phenomena called "perception of the profound." At the same time noble Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, while practising the profound prajnaparamita, saw the following: he saw the five skandhas to be empty of nature.
Then, through the power of the Buddha, venerable Sariputra spoke thus to noble Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva: "How should a son of noble family or a daughter of noble family train who wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita?"
Noble Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, said to venerable Sariputra, "O Sariputra, a son of noble family or a daughter of noble family who wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita should see in this way: they see the five skandhas to be empty of nature. Form is emptiness; emptiness also is form. Emptiness is no other than form; form is no other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, discrimination, formation, and consciousness are emptiness. Thus, Sariputra, all phenomena are emptiness, without characteristics, without arising, without ceasing, without stain, not without stain, without decrease, and without increase.
“Therefore, Sariputra, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no discrimination, no formation, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no form, no sound, no smell, no taste, no tangible object, no phenomenon; no eye dhatu up to no mind dhatu, no dhatu of phenomena, no mental consciousness dhatu; no ignorance, no termination of ignorance up to no ageing and death and no termination of ageing and death; no suffering, no origin, no cessation, no path, no wisdom, no attainment, and no non-attainment
"Therefore, Sariputra, since bodhisattvas have no attainment, they abide by relying on prajnaparamita. Since their minds are without obscuration, they have no fear. Having fully transcended delusion, they attain complete nirvana. All the buddhas who abide in the three times fully awaken to unsurpassable completely perfect enlightenment by relying on prajnaparamita.
"Therefore, the great mantra of prajnaparamita, the mantra of great insight, the unsurpassed mantra, the mantra equal to the unequalled, the mantra that calms all suffering, should be known to be true since it is undeceiving. The prajnaparamita mantra is said as follows:
OM GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA
"In this way, Sariputra, bodhisattva mahasattvas should train in the
profound prajnaparamita."
Then the Bhagavan rose from that samadhi and spoke to noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, "Well done! Good, good, O son of noble family. Thus it is, O son of noble family, thus it is. One should practice the profound prajnaparamita just as you have taught and the tathagatas will rejoice."
When the Bhagavan had said this, venerable Sariputra and noble Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, all those surrounding them, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the words of the Bhagavan.
