Cover of The Heart Sutra

The Heart Sutra

The short text of The Heart Sutra is Buddhism in a nutshell. It has had the most profound and wide-reaching influence of any text in Buddhism. Its full title, Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra, "The Sutra of the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom," explains that this sutra contains the essence of the Buddha's teaching, the core of perfect enlightenment. It is the source of the famous and puzzling declaration, "form is emptiness, emptiness is form."

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For this new translation into English, Red Pine, award-winning translator of Chinese poetry and religious texts, has utilized various Sanskrit and Chinese versions, refining the teachings of dozens of ancient teachers together with his own commentary to offer a profound word-for-word explication. The result is a wise book of deep teaching destined to become the standard edition of this timeless statement of Mahayana truth.

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Liked The Heart Sutra? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked The Heart Sutra. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

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“If it was the Buddhism that hooked you, try one of these.”

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“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

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