Good morning and welcome to our Sashin. Today I want to talk a little bit about the Heart Sutra. In my class, our class talking about precepts, I realized that It's been a long time, it seems like a long time, since we talked about the Heart Sutra. And there are a lot of people that have been around for a while but have never talked about the Heart Sutra to them. So, maybe you know a lot about it, but we never know enough about the Heart Sutra. So today is a good day.

[01:03]

Ordinarily, What we chant is the short version of the Heart Sutra, but there is a longer version. And when I talk about the Heart Sutra, I usually talk about the longer version. the longer version is like an introduction and tells about, you know, talks about or introduces, introduces the stage on which the Heart Center is presented.

[02:11]

When we read the short version, it just says, Avalokitesvara and da, da, da, and it just jumps right in. And so there's no background. That makes it a little bit difficult to understand. So I'm going to talk about the stage. This is a little play, you know, as most sutras are. Mahayana sutras actually are like little dramas or presentations where there are players. The koans are like that. There's a stage and then there are the participants and the protagonists and antagonists. And so it's like a little play. So, given the introduction, you can see the stage on which the Heart Sutra is being presented. So the Heart of Perfect Wisdom is the way Kanze talks about it, or presents the title.

[03:24]

The Heart of Perfect Wisdom in 25 lines. I recommend, if you ever want to study the Heart Sutra, I recommend Edward Kanze's translation, it's the best, even though it's thick. But if you really read it the way he presents it, it's very entertaining and accurate. So, the heart of Perfect Wisdom in 25 lines. So, here's Avalokiteshvara, and the Buddha, and Shariputra. Shariputra was among the arhats, the 16 arhats who were Buddha's, Shakyamuni's favorite disciples, favorite is not the right word, main disciples,

[04:35]

Shariputra was the one who was the most ardent in analytical knowledge. Each one of the arhats had some special talent, and Shariputra's talent was the Abhidhamma, so-called. the analytical side of Buddhism. Sometimes we call it Dahinayana, but it's analytical. We don't usually study in an analytical way, but if you're going to really understand Buddhism, the history of Buddhism, and it's really important, if you're going to understand the terms, then it's really important to study the analytic side of Buddhism.

[05:41]

So anyway, here's the prologue. Thus have I heard, in a sutra, sutras always, not always, the Mahayana sutras usually talk about, have an introduction by Ananda, who memorized everything that Buddha ever said, according to the historical myth. Whether he did or not, we don't know, but people did, at that time, they perfected their memories, because there was not a lot written down. so memorizing was really important. And sometimes they memorized accurately, and sometimes they didn't. Anyway, so here's Ananda saying, thus have I heard. At one time, the Lord, meaning Shakyamuni, dwelled at Rajagriha, on the vulture peak, together with a large gathering of both monks and bodhisattvas.

[06:57]

At that time, the Lord, after he had taught the discourse on Dharma called Deep Splendor, had entered into concentration. At that time, the Holy Lord Avalokita, that's Avalokiteshvara, had taught the discourse on Dharma called Deep Splendor, and had entered into concentration, I said, At that time also, the Holy Lord Avalokita, the Bodhisattva, the Great Being, coursed in the course of the deep perfection of wisdom. He looked down from on high and saw the five skandhas, and he surveyed them as empty in their own being. Thereupon, the Venerable Sariputra, through the Buddha's might, said to the Holy Lord Avalokita Svara, the bodhisattva, the great being.

[07:59]

How should a son or daughter of good family train themselves if they want a course in the course of this deep perfection of wisdom?" So this term is used a lot in Mahayana sutras. A son or daughter of good family. I think you can think about it any way you want to, But I think about it as the good family meaning Buddha's family, not your blood family because people come from different families and the families are all different, right? Some are good and some are bad. Comparatively. So I think a son or daughter of a good family means someone who is a follower of the Dharma. the Dharma family. So at that time, I'm going to go back a little bit.

[09:02]

So it's interesting that he would ask Avalokiteshvara to do this because Manjushri Bodhisattva is usually considered the Bodhisattva of wisdom. And we're presenting the wisdom of Prajna. So he asks Avalokiteshvara, because Avalokiteshvara is the bodhisattva of compassion, as we know. So the Buddha basically asks Avalokiteshvara to explain to Shariputra what it means to course in the Prajnaparamita. In other words, how do you practice Prajnaparamita?

[10:06]

That's what he's asking. Because Prajnaparamita, the Heart Sutra, is about practice. It's not, people sometimes think that it's a kind of intellectual discourse, philosophical discourse on form and emptiness. but actually it's a document about how to practice. So, thereupon the Venerable Shariputra, through the Buddha's might, said to the Holy Lord Avalokita, the Bodhisattva, the Great Being, how should a son or daughter of the good family train themselves if they want a course in the course of this deep perfection of wisdom? The Holy Lord Avalokita, the Bodhisattva, the Great Being, then said to the Venerable Shariputra, So he was asked to do this.

[11:07]

That's why he's doing it. Shariputra asks him how he practiced this. Son or daughter of good family who wants to course in the course of this deep perfection of wisdom should thus consider that there are five skandhas and of those he sees in their own being are empty. O Shariputra, form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form. Emptiness is no other than form. Form is no other than emptiness. Whatever is form, that is emptiness. Whatever is emptiness, that is form. The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness. So I'm gonna switch to a different little piece of paper here, because it has my notes. So, the sutra, this Deep Splendor, I want to start with Deep Splendor, is the,

[12:26]

samadhi in which this Heart Sutra is taught. So there are many kinds of samadhis. I remember when we first studied this in the 60s, early 70s, Deep Splendor was a There was a matchbook cover that came out that appeared. We used matches in those days. It said, deep splendor is nothing special. That was putting together that Samadhi was Suki Roshi's basic quote, practice is nothing special. So deep splendor. Well, people did all kinds of things in the day.

[13:34]

We even had Zen cigarettes. Okay, so now that I've got you interested, So you could also say profound illuminating samadhi. So it's also ji ju yu zamae, which is self-illuminating. Anyway, splendor, that's like light. So, avalokiteshvara bodhisattva.

[14:35]

I want to explain a little bit first. Maha, prajna, paramita, hrudaya, sutra. Maha is great, prajna is wisdom, paramita means beyond, hrudaya means heart, and sutra means stringing the words together. like suture. Yeah, this comes from suture. There's a lot of Sanskrit words are in our English vocabulary. So Avalokiteshvara, his name is something like the perfect balance between wisdom and compassion. So the Heart Sutra, or Daya Sutra, is about, actually, about the balance between wisdom and compassion.

[15:40]

And this is one reason, I think, why Avalokitesvara has been asked to explain to Shariputra, because he's not only being compassionate, but he's expressing this wisdom as compassion. So, Avalokiteshvara, when practicing, when we say practicing, Kanze says coursing, but it's the same thing. When practicing deeply, the Pragyaparamita, perceived, saw that all five skandhas in their own being are empty and was saved from all suffering." So this is the opening statement and the rest is commentary.

[16:44]

Avalokiteshvara is compassionately explaining to Shariputra how you do this. So he starts out with saying, I see, I saw, that the five skandhas are empty of a, empty of what? Empty of a, an own being. Own being means, individual existence. So everything in this sutra contradicts itself. That's why we have such a hard time understanding it, because it's from the point of view of non-duality. Since being from the point of view of non-duality, it's hard to understand.

[17:53]

because our understanding is usually from the point of duality. We always think in terms of duality and rarely, thank you, do we think in terms of non-duality because it's confusing. And we want clarity. So it's easier to lean to one side or the other. So that's the realm of conflict. But duality is important, so we'll see as we unfold. So what are the five skandhas that are empty in their own being? Five skandhas are form. Well, first of all, skandha means literally heaps, one thing heaped on another or heaped together. But actually, it's much nicer to use the term streams.

[18:57]

The five streams that come together, we say all the streams of water eventually end up in the ocean, right? Whether they do or not. Water returns to the source, which is the streams return to the ocean. So empty is the ocean. Form, so this is about what is it that makes up a person? It's about what is our self? Right, so we're made up of forms, we're made up of feelings, we're made up of perceptions, we're made up of thought coverings, impulses, but that's not a very good term.

[20:04]

It's often, it used to be used, but we say, Forms, feelings, perception, mental formations, which are basically karma-making forms. I mean, thoughts. Thinking thoughts are mental formation in your mind that we think. And consciousness, forms, feelings, mental forms, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. That is, those are five categories in which all the dharmas are the particulars. So, the categories are general terms. All forms, all feelings, all perceptions, all mental formations, all consciousness, those are headings. And the dharmas are the particulars.

[21:05]

Like, all of our thoughts and feelings are the particulars. So when we're discussing stuff like this, It's all about the person. It's not so much about what's outside of us. It's what makes up a person, what makes up a self. And that the self, so the five skandhas are what make up a self. And we haven't got to dharmas yet. But, so, this is all, the five skandhas are empty in their own being. So, own being, is important because it means that if the five skandhas were not empty, they would be permanent, right?

[22:10]

So whatever you felt would be permanent, whatever you thought would be permanent, never go away. The thing about empty that drove me is that empty can be a noun, can be a verb, can be an adjective. Yes. Right? And... Depending on how you use it. Yeah. But in the Heart Sutra... It says, of own being. That's the noun. In other words, all... We use the word, do not have an inherent existence. Inherent existence means that they exist independently. So the Heart Sutra, you can interchange emptiness with interdependence. If you take away the word emptiness and use interdependence, that helps in how we think about it. Because all dharmas, all five skandhas, they only exist interdependently.

[23:19]

They do not exist by themselves. Nothing exists by itself, even though things have a kind of independent existence. But that independence is not a complete independence. It's just that when you have a cart, for instance, or an automobile, it has all these different parts. And these parts all go together to make the cart, right? But if you start taking it apart, there's the nuts and bolts, so to speak. They're all a little part, but they don't exist independently. They don't work until they're all put together, right? And then you'll say, well, I have the car, the cart. It's a combination of all these independent entities. But when you take it apart, there's nothing there, right? So everything is built on interdependent parts.

[24:24]

And the dependent parts forms feelings, perceptions. So there's a book called The Questions of King Melinda. It's old text. And Nagasena, who is a, a Buddhist monk in his time, the king kept asking him questions about the Dharma. And he said, well, what about a person? I feel like I have a self. What's your understanding of a self? And Nagasena says, well, I'll tell you about my understanding of a self. It's like a cart. Is the wheels the card? Is the body the card?

[25:26]

Is the frame the card? And he keeps taking the thing apart until finally there's nothing there. And he says, so where's the self in all of that? So that's what this is about. It's about what is the self? Yes? Could you talk about, again, I know you've talked about this a lot before, but what consciousness is other than all those other four things? You mean just about consciousness? Yeah, I mean, you know, I sort of think of consciousness as, you know, perceptions. You know, that's consciousness to me. Well, consciousness is awareness, basically. Consciousness is awareness, and it has various levels. But what would be beyond perceptions or feelings? Awareness of feeling, awareness of consciousness, awareness of, yeah. But I mean, simplistically talking, speaking. So, O Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness.

[26:32]

Emptiness does not differ from form. That which is form is emptiness, that which is emptiness form. The same is true of feelings. Feelings do not differ from emptiness. Perceptions do not differ from emptiness. Mental formations do not differ from emptiness. And consciousness does not differ from emptiness. That's exactly what it's saying. Or Shariputra, form, all forms, do not differ from emptiness. Emptiness does not differ from form. That which is form is emptiness, and that which is emptiness, form. The same is true of feelings. do not differ from form, I mean from emptiness. The same is true of perceptions, which do not differ from emptiness.

[27:35]

The same is true of mental formations, which do not differ from emptiness. The same is true of consciousness, which does not differ from emptiness. So consciousness is emptiness. Mental formations are emptiness. Perceptions are emptiness. Feelings are emptiness and forms. are emptiness. So what is emptiness and what is form? It's better be short. Mental formations are emptiness, I know, but also are they what I believe, like I believe that people are irresponsible or people are late or early or believe about the world? Is that what mental formations are? Karma creating? Well, it's thoughts which lead to actions. We create karma through both thought and action.

[28:39]

So it's like a plan, I make a plan. Everything that we think, we either put into action, or we don't. So there are thoughts which are generated all the time, but they're not necessarily leading to anything. They're not necessarily a follow-up. But any thought that has a follow-up and is enacted in a volitional way is a karmic act, which leads to the next act, which leads to the next act, which leads to the wheel of habitual energy, which is also stated here later on. This keeps opening up more and more. These are general statements. And then as we go through the Heart Sutra, it uncovers more and more particulars.

[29:48]

So it covers all of the stereotypes of practice. They're all included in the Heart Sutra. And anything that's denied, is being empty, is also supported. Every no is also balanced by yes. This is the problem that we have with the Heart Sutra, because dealing with non-duality, we think that the thing either is or it isn't. And there's a little statement here. A verse says, sometimes the Buddhas speak of self. Other times they speak of no self. All phenomena are in reality neither self nor no self. That's the middle way.

[30:50]

Sometimes we speak of self, and so we think there's a self. And sometimes we speak of no self, we say, oh, there's no self. But it's neither one. What do you mean? It appears to me that if I'm caught by a perception or a feeling or an awareness, consciousness, and I lose my center and spin out, When I hear your talk, it's composed reading. So I'm thinking about, if I'm feeling, I should... By mental formation,

[32:02]

I think that's good perception, which is one of his conducts, because they all are interacting with each other all the time. Absolutely. The six Prajnaparamitas, each one is really So this is like perceiving the whole being and acting from the whole being rather than acting from some part, which is called partiality.

[33:15]

Yes. And is it really time to end? Yes, it's right. That's good. We got this far. I would ask you maybe to, the skandhas are kind of like a section of the wheel of dependent origination. Yes, I'm going to talk about that. I know, but I think the way it's laid out here, it seems like those describe how a moment moves through those from a bare perception, from feeling as bare perception to the creation of a whole state of mind about it.

[34:17]

I think that would be useful because otherwise they feel separate. Well, we separate them in order to talk about them. Right. Yes. If unmediated, they flow into each other. Well, through five streams. Yes. Okay, well, I'll consider that. Thank you.

[34:48]

@Text_v004
@Score_JJ