The Heart Sutra
A Comprehensive Guide to the Classic of Mahayana Buddhism
Ratings1
Average rating3
15
A Comprehensive Guide to the Classic of Mahayana Buddhism
Ratings1
Average rating3
An illuminating in-depth study of one of the most well-known and recited Buddhist texts, by a renowned modern translator The Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra is among the best known of all the Buddhist scriptures. Chanted daily by many Zen practitioners, it is also studied extensively in the Tibetan tradition, and it has been regarded with interest more recently in the West in various fields of study—from philosophy to quantum physics. In just a few lines, it expresses the truth of impermanence and the release of suffering that results from the understanding of that truth with a breathtaking economy of language. Kazuaki Tanahashi’s guide to the Heart Sutra is the result of a life spent working with it and living it. He outlines the history and meaning of the text and then analyzes it line by line in its various forms (Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, Mongolian, and various key English translations), providing a deeper understanding of the history and etymology of the elusive words than is generally available to the non-specialist—yet with a clear emphasis on the relevance of the text to practice. This book includes a fresh and meticulous new translation of the text by the author and Roshi Joan Halifax.
Reviews with the most likes.
Nice to have as a reference text if the text is important in your religious practice and the terms and concepts section is handy, but a rather strange book in terms of structure. The new translation of the sutra provided is informative but I'm not sure “boundless” is necessarily an improvement over “emptiness” and certainly reads less smoothly than either Suzuki or Conze translations. Still, I learnt a fair deal.
