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Translated by Thomas Sullivan, 2023.
(The Heart Sutra Puzzle, photograph by 董其昌, CC BY-SA 2.0)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Translating the Heart Sutra seems like a rite of passage for students of Literary Chinese and budding Buddhist studies scholars—and so, here is my first movement towards translating this complex, dense, text.
In order to have this new translation add something to the literature, I have split this translation into two sections: firstly, the translation by itself. Secondly, an interlinear version, with extensive footnotes, which will hopefully be helpful for others understanding the text and how I arrived at the decisions I made. This translation was made significantly easier by the fantastic line-by-line polyglot interlinear discussion by Kazuaki Tanahashi in their The Heart Sutra: A Comprehensive Guide to the Classic of Mahayana Buddhism (2014), which I reference in the foodnotes, and Paul W. Kroll’s A Student’s Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese (2017). I did tell you I was a student of the language! I have intentionally avoided reading other translations during the process of creating this, similarities are unintentional. In a few cases, my translation clearly diverges from standard English renderings of this text.
I am also placing this translation under a Creative Commons license. This is important to me, not just because of a commitment to open access generally, but because there are few scholarly, recent translations of the Heart Sutra that can be reproduced without complex concerns about copyright.
My approach was to attempt a degree of literalism—translating double negatives and double affirmatives, using concise English phrasing when the Chinese is concise, and such. When Xuánzàng transliterates from Sanskrit, I also transliterate, with the exception of prajñā pāramitā, which I translate as “Perfection of Wisdom”. I translate non-transliterated Buddhist concepts that use “ordinary” Chinese characters into “ordinary” English, to give an impression of how the Chinese uses words that readers would encounter in other texts. For example, I translate 咒 as “incantation” rather than dhāraṇī or mantra, as it is a character used outside of translating Sanskrit. The exception to this rule is translating 法 as dharma, due to the many, many, implications of that word.
This is a translation of Xuánzàng’s translation of the Sutra: T251, as found in the SAT Daizokyo Text Database (2018) online. Line breaks are given at each of the punctuation marks, according to the SAT edition.
The Perfection of Wisdom Heart Sutra
Translated by Tripiṭaka Dharma-master Xuánzàng, of the Tang Dynasty.
Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva,
while moving deeply in the Perfection of Wisdom,
saw brightly that the five aggregates are completely empty,
and crossed over completely from bitter restraints.
Shariputra,
Form is not different from emptiness.
Emptiness is not different from form.
Form is precisely such emptiness.
Emptiness is precisely such form.
Sensations, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness, are also, again, just like this.
Shariputra,
Therefore, all dharmas have the mark of emptiness.
No emerging, no ceasing.
No defilement, no purity, no increase, no decrease.
For this reason, inside emptiness:
No form,
No sensation, perception, mental formation, or consciousness.
No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind.
No form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharma.
No eye-realm,
then through to no consciousness-realm.
No non-knowledge,
and no end to non-knowledge,
then through to no old age and death,
and no end to old age and death.
No suffering, accumulating, ceasing, or path,
no insight, and so no attainment.
By reason of non-attainment,
Bodhisattvas,
because they depend on the Perfection of Wisdom,
their heart is not ensnared or hindered.
Because it is not ensnared or hindered,
they do not have fear or terror,
distant from confusion and illusion,
fully reaching nirvāṇa.
In the three worlds, all Buddhas,
because they depend on the Perfection of Wisdom,
obtain anuttarāṃ samyaksambodhi [unexcelled correct awakening].
Therefore, know the Perfection of Wisdom is
this great divine incantation,
this great illuminating incantation, this unexcelled incantation,
this unequalled, never equalled, incantation,
which can expel all suffering,
because it is authentic truth, not hollow falsehood.
Express the Perfection of Wisdom incantation.
Precisely express the incantation thus:
gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate
bodhi svāhā
The Perfection of Wisdom Heart Sutra.
般若波羅蜜多心經
The Perfection of Wisdom1 Heart2 Sutra
唐三藏法師玄奘譯
Translated by Tripiṭaka3 Dharma-master Xuánzàng, of the Tang Dynasty.
觀自在菩薩。
Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva,
行深般若波羅蜜多時。
while4 moving5 deeply in6 the Perfection of Wisdom,
照見五蘊皆空。
saw brightly7 that the five aggregates8 are completely empty,9
度一切苦厄。
and crossed over completely from bitter restraints.10
舍利子。
Shariputra,11
色不異空。
Form12 is not different from emptiness.13
空不異色。
Emptiness is not different from form.
色即是空。
Form is precisely such14 emptiness.
空即是色。
Emptiness is precisely such form.
受想行識亦復如是。
Sensations, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness,15 are also, again,16 just like this.
舍利子。
Shariputra,
是諸法空相。
Therefore,17 all dharmas18 have the mark19 of emptiness.
不生不滅。
No emerging,20 no ceasing.21
不垢不淨不増不減。
No defilement22, no purity, no increase, no decrease.
是故空中。
For this23 reason, inside emptiness:
無色。
No form,
無受想行識。
No sensation, perception, mental formation, or consciousness.
無眼耳鼻舌身意。
No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind.
無色聲香味觸法。
No form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharma.
無眼界。
No eye-realm,24
乃至無意識界。
then through25 to no consciousness-realm.26
無無明。
No non-knowledge,27
亦無無明盡。
and no end to non-knowledge,
乃至無老死。
then through to no old age and death,
亦無老死盡。
and no end to old age and death.
無苦集滅道。
No suffering, accumulating, ceasing, or path,28
無智亦無得。
no insight,29 and so no attainment.30
以無所得故。
By reason31 of non-attainment,
菩提薩埵。
Bodhisattvas,32
依般若波羅蜜多故。
because they depend on the Perfection of Wisdom,
心無罣礙。
their heart is not ensnared or hindered.
無罣礙故。
Because it is not ensnared or hindered,33
無有恐怖。
they do not have fear or terror,
遠離顛倒夢想。
distant from confusion and illusion,34
究竟涅槃。
fully reaching nirvāṇa.35
三世諸佛。
In the three worlds, all Buddhas,
依般若波羅蜜多故。
because they depend on the Perfection of Wisdom,
得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
obtain anuttarāṃ samyaksambodhi [unexcelled correct awakening].36
故知般若波羅蜜多。
Therefore, know the Perfection of Wisdom is
是大神咒。
this great divine incantation,37
是大明咒是無上咒。
this great illuminating incantation, this unexcelled38 incantation,
是無等等咒。
this unequalled, never equalled,39 incantation,
能除一切苦。
which can expel all suffering,
眞實不虚故。
because it is authentic truth, not hollow falsehood.40
説般若波羅蜜多咒
Express the Perfection of Wisdom incantation.41
即説咒曰
Precisely express the incantation thus:
掲帝掲帝 般羅掲＊帝 ＊般羅僧掲＊帝
gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate
菩提僧莎訶
bodhi svāhā42
般若波羅蜜多心經
The Perfection of Wisdom Heart Sutra.43
般若/Prajñā: Commonly translated as “wisdom”, refers to the ability to correctly view reality, including emptiness. 波羅蜜多/Pāramitā: Often translated as “perfection” or “perfected”, the Sanskrit term implies the idea of “highest”. As a phrase, translated here according to standard English idiom.↩︎
心: Sometimes translated now as “heart-mind”. It is unclear whether this specifically means that this Sutra is the “heart” of prajñā pāramitā, or the “heart” refers to the idea of “dhāraṇī” or “mantra”, following the idea that such things are the heart of the dharma.↩︎
The three “baskets” of Buddhist scriptures.↩︎
時: Interpreting this as indicating the period of time wherein Avalokiteśvara is performing these actions.↩︎
行: This can mean “practice”, but connotations of seated meditation lose the “movement” meaning of this character. 行 is also, for example, used for “phase” in the “five phases”.↩︎
Unclear whether 深 is an adverb for how Avalokiteśvara is moving, or an adjective for the prajñā pāramitā itself. “Deeply in” retains this ambiguity in English.↩︎
照見: 照 has connotations of beams of light and lighting something, and can be used to describe sunlight and moonlight.↩︎
Like the rest of this translation, I am trying to avoid Sanskrit concepts. I choose “aggregates” here for skandhas.↩︎
皆: ‘Completely’ or ‘altogether’. 空: The usual Chinese character for the philosophical concept of śūnyatā.↩︎
苦厄: Translating this compound as two words, respectively: “bitter” (as in taste) and “restraints”, as the character indicates a yoke placed on horses and oxen. 苦 is the usual character for duḥkha, and will be translated as “suffering” elsewhere, but also means bitter taste.↩︎
There is no equivalent character to “Hear,” or “O,”, in Xuánzàng’s translation.↩︎
色: Translates the Sanskrit rūpa.↩︎
I am translating 空 as “emptiness”, rather than providing a synonym for emptiness or philosophical explanation, to maintain conciseness and continuity with Buddhist studies.↩︎
Translating 即是 as a two phrase term “precisely such”, rather than “is”.↩︎
The four remaining skandhas, after form. In Sanskrit, these are: Vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra, and vijñāna. I have used typical English translations for these.↩︎
A double affirmation here as Xuánzàng uses 復如, two different characters for “also”.↩︎
Following Tanahashi’s suggestion that the 是 here is best understood as a conjunctive.↩︎
This is the only Sanskrit concept I will leave untranslated, as the connotations of “dharma” are very broad.↩︎
相: Translates the Sanskrit lakṣaṇa, which refers to the defining characteristics of an entity. Lakṣaṇa is used in the context of the “marks” of a Buddha, for example.↩︎
生: One of the more challenging terms to translate. It can mean “birth” and “life”, but also the production, emergence, or creation of something. Given that the final character does not mean “death”, I translate this as referring to emerging and passing away generally.↩︎
滅: Extinguishment and passing away, and can translate the Sanskrit nirvāṇa, although the Sanskrit versions of the Heart Sutra do not use “nirvāṇa” here, but instead “aniruddhā”, which Tanahashi glosses as “not not risen”.↩︎
垢: Can refer to literal dirt and filth.↩︎
Again translating 是 as a connective.↩︎
界: Translates dhātu, which can refer to basic elements of existence, but also “realms” or “worlds”, and the Chinese character generally means a bounded area, such as a field or territory, and by extension a “world” or realm.↩︎
乃: References a sequential relation between the previous phrase and the following one, and 至 is defined primarily by Kroll as “arrive at, reach; get all the way to”.↩︎
The implication being that this also applies to all the other realms that have been skipped over.↩︎
無明: Generally translated as “ignorance”, as in the first step in the chain of dependent origination. However, translating 明 as “knowledge” maintains the double negative euphony in the Chinese.↩︎
These are the “Four Noble Truths”, translated as the connotations of the Chinese characters, rather than usual English terminology for those concepts, or Sanskrit equivalents.↩︎
智: dhyāna in the Sanskrit, translated here as insight to distinguish it from prajñā.↩︎
亦: Challenging to translate here, taken as “and so”.↩︎
Glossing 以 as “by” and 故 as “reason”.↩︎
The Sanskrit versions, according to Tanahashi, refer to a singular bodhisattva, perhaps as an example. I choose to translate this as a plural in order to make it easier to illustrate that this is what bodhisattvas do in general. There is no distinction between singular or plural in the Chinese.↩︎
Taking 故 to indicate this phrase being the cause for what is described in the following phrase.↩︎
Following Tanahashi’s reading of characters here being compounds, rather than indicating separate nouns, such as “dream” and “thought” for the final two.↩︎
The final two characters here transliterate the Sanskrit term.↩︎
Xuánzàng transliterates the Sanskrit here, which I translate here following the commentary on the Sanskrit by Tanahashi.↩︎
咒: Usually translates the Sanskrit dhāraṇī, it is used in other contexts in Chinese for spells and chants, and the Sanskrit of the Heart Sutra has mantro in this position. Rather than choosing between two Sanskrit terms, I translated the term as “incantation”.↩︎
無上: Reading as “unexcelled”, following how I translated anuttarāṃ above.↩︎
The double 等等 carries a weight in the Chinese I attempt to replicate here by doubling the use of “equal”, although there is no double negation.↩︎
眞實: Translating as “authentic” and “truth”. 虚: Falsehood, but interestingly, also something being “empty”. I have chosen “hollow falsehood” here, translating one character as two words, to avoid “emptiness” causing confusion with śūnyatā, and for euphony.↩︎
説: Translated as “express”, as the character implies talking about something, not just saying it. This character can mean to explain, discuss, argue, and so on. Express is listed by Kroll as one gloss, and I choose it here as it gives a subtle implication that the Perfection of Wisdom is expressed by the bodhisattva, beyond just speech.↩︎
The Chinese is a transliteration of the Sanskrit, so I have used the Sanskrit versions here as collated by Tanahashi.↩︎
The title of the text is repeated at the end, a tone to the effect of “thus, the sutra is completed” is implied.↩︎
