The Heart Sutra (Prajnaparamita-hridaya-sutra in Sanskrit), a 260-character condensation in its Chinese version, originates from the Mahaprajna-paramita-sutra, which has 600 volumes. Among the many Chinese translations, the more popular ones are the Mahaprajnaparamita-six syllable charm-sutra translated by Kumarajiva during the Eastern Jin/Later Qin period, and the Prajnaparamita-hridaya-sutra translated by Master Xuan Zang of the Tang Dynasty. This book is a commentary of Xuan Zang’s translation of the Prajnaparamita-hridaya-sutra.

“Do no evil
Practise all wholesome deeds
Purify one’s own mind
This is the teaching of all Buddhas”

The above is a simple and concise encapsulation of Buddha’s teaching. Based on this description, it is not difficult to find that different Buddhist scriptures have different starting points. Those emphasising “do no evil, practise all wholesome deeds” use precepts as the starting point, building on the concept of “distinctly differentiating between evil and wholesome deeds, and performing wholesome deeds and doing no evil”. Those emphasising “purify one’s own mind” use concentration and wisdom as starting points. In concentration, purity is attained through the maintenance of mindful awareness, whereas in wisdom, it is attained by discerning and transcending evil and virtue. The Heart Sutra belongs to the category of scriptures that emphasise “purify one’s own mind”, and uses concentration and wisdom as starting points.

Generally, scriptures are written for one or both of the purposes of imparting knowledge and teaching the methods of practice. The Prajnaparamita-hridaya-sutra meets these two objectives. The sutra imparts the knowledge that while both our mind and body exist, at the same time, they are “empty of self-existence” (while they exist in form, there is no real substance in their existence). Its method of practice is to live in our awareness, watching and thinking about the five aggregates, and realise that they are empty of self-existence. This book attempts to explain the Prajnaparamita-hrdaya-sutra along this line of thinking.

The writing of this book is not for the purpose of academic discussion, neither is it intended for the spawning of debates. It explores the practical aspects of the sutra with the view of uncovering an approach to the method of practice.

Finally, may I present this book to all fellow learners for mutual encouragement in the journey of learning the Dharma.

Shi Fa Liang
The fifth day of the tenth month of Jiawu year (2014)
of the lunar calendar (农历甲午年十月初五日)