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Bore bolomiduo xinjing 般若波羅蜜多心經, Bore xinjing 般若心經, Borejing 般若經 or Xinjing 心經 "Heart Sutra" for short, is an essential Buddhist text. The term "heart" is used metaphorically to mean the core, the guiding principle, or the essence. This sutra is regarded as a synopsis of the group of Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras (bore jing 般若經), to which the following texts belong: Fangguang bore jing 放光般若經, Daoxing bore jing 道行般若經, Guangzan bore jing 光贊般若經, Daming du wuji jing 大明度無極經, Dapin bore jing 大品般若經 (also known as Mohe bore jing 摩訶般若經), Xiaopin bore jing 小品般若經 (Daoxing bore jing 道行般若經), and Xuanzang's 玄奘 (602-664) translation of the Da bore bolomiduo jing 大般若波羅蜜多經 (Da bore jing 大般若經).
The most widely used translation of the Heart Sutra from the Sanskrit original, Prajñā-pāramitā-hṛdaya-sūtra, was produced by Xuanzang during the Tang period 唐 (618-907). The older translation Mohe bore boluomi shen zhou 摩訶般若波羅蜜神咒 (also known as Mohe bore boluomi daming zhoujing 摩訶般若波羅蜜大明咒經), made by Kumārajīva (Ch. Jiumoluoshi 鳩摩羅什, 344-413), is lost. Alternative versions were created by Dharmacandra (Ch. Fayue 法月, 653-743; two versions: Bore boluomiduo xinjing 般若波羅蜜多心經, and Pubian zhizang bore boluomiduo xinjing 普遍智藏般若波羅蜜多心經), Yijing 義凈 (635-713; Bore boluomiduo xinjing), Bore 般若 (mid-9th cent.) and Liyan 利言 (same title), Zhihuilun 智慧輪 (same title) and Facheng 法成 (c.800; same title) during the Tang period 唐 (618-907), and by Dānapāla (Ch. Shihu 施護, d. 1017; Fo shuo sheng fomu bore boluomiduo jing 佛說聖佛母般若波羅蜜多經, T0257) during the Song period 宋 (960-1279). Yet another version, titled Tang-Fan fandui ziyin bore boluomiduo xinjing 唐梵翻對字音般若波羅蜜多心經, was discovered among the Dunhuang 敦煌 manuscripts (T2056). This version transcribes the original Sanskrit texts with Chinese characters.
The versions of Xuangzang and the Dunhuang version are usually called the "shorter versions" (xiaoben 小本, or "Smaller Heart Sutra"), while the other translations are called the "larger versions" (guangben 廣本, "Larger Heart Sutra") because they include three parts, namely an introduction (xu 序), the core text (zheng 正, zhengzong 正宗), and a "circulation section" (liutong 流通).
The Heart Sutra expounds Buddhist doctrines such as the Five Aggregates, the Three Categories (sanke 三科, i.e., the Aggregates, the Twelve Centres of Experience, and the Eighteen realms), the Four Noble Truths, and the Twelve Causations of Rebirth, teaching that all are empty.
| The Five Aggregates (pañca skandha, Ch. wuyun 五蘊) | ||
|---|---|---|
| rūpa | seyun 色蘊 | form |
| vedanā | shouyun 受蘊 | sensation |
| samjñā | xiangyun 想蘊 | perception |
| samskāra | xingyun 行蘊 | mental formations |
| vijñāna | shiyun 識蘊 | consciousness |
| The Four Noble Truths (catvāri āryasatyāni, Ch. sidi 四諦) | ||
| dukkha | kudi 苦諦 | suffering |
| samudaya | jidi 集諦 | aggregation of causes |
| nirodha | miedi 滅諦 | cessation |
| marga | daodi 道諦 | ways [to salvation] |
| The Twelve Causations (dvādaśāṅgika-pratītyasamutpāda, Ch. shi'er yinyuan 十二因緣) | ||
| avidyā | wuming 無明 | ignorance |
| saṃskāra | xing 行 | fabrications |
| vijñāna | shi 識 | consciousness |
| nāmarūpa | mingse 名色 | name and form |
| ṣaḍāyatana | liuru 六入 | six sense bases |
| sparśa | chu 觸 | contact |
| vedanā | shou 受 | feeling |
| taṇhā | ai 愛 | desire |
| upādāna | qu 取 | clinging |
| bhava | you 有 | existence |
| jāti | sheng 生 | rebirth |
| jarāmaraṇa | laosi 老死 | age and death |
| The Twelve Centres of Experience (dvādaśa āyatanani, Ch. shi'er chu 十二處) | ||
| The Six Roots (ṣaḍ-indriya, Ch. liugen 六根) or "Six Inner Experiences (ajjhattikāni āyatanāni, Ch. liu neichu 六內處) | ||
| cakṣur | yan 眼處, 眼根 | eyes |
| śrotra | er 耳處, 耳根 | ears |
| ghrāṇa | bi 鼻處, 鼻根 | nose |
| jihvā | she 舌處, 舌根 | tongue |
| kāya | shen 身處, 身根 | body |
| mano | yi 意處, 意根 | mind |
| The Six Regions (ṣaḍ-viṣaya, Ch. liujing 六境, liuchen 六塵 "dusts") or "Six Outer Experiences" (bāhirāni āyatanāni, Ch. liu waichu 六外處) | ||
| rūpa | se 色處, 色境 | colour |
| śabda | sheng 聲處, 聲境 | sound |
| gandha | xiang 香處, 香境 | smell |
| rasa | wei 味處, 味境 | taste |
| spraṣṭavya | chu 觸處, 觸境 | touch |
| dharma | fa 法處, 法境 | thought |
| The Eighteen Realms (aṣṭādaśan dhātavaḥ, Ch. shiba jie 十八界) are the Six Roots, the Six Regions, and the Six Consciousnesses (ṣaḍ-vijñāna, Ch. liu shijie 六識界) related to the Six Roots ("consciousness of the eyes, ears, etc.") | ||
The sutra ultimately returns to the principle of "no attainment" (nothing that can be obtained, wu suo de 無所得). It holds that prajñā (Ch. bore 般若, "wisdom") can ferry all beings across all suffering, leading to ultimate nirvāṇa (Ch. niepan 涅槃) and the realisation of the fruit of enlightenment (bodhi, Ch. puti 菩提). Because the text is brief yet distilled in meaning, it is convenient for recitation and has been widely popular in East Asia.
Quite a few commentaries was written on the Heart Sutra, with a number of more than 40 in China alone. The most important ones are Mingkuang's 明曠 (d. 623) Xinjing lüeshu 心經略疏, Huijing's 慧淨 Xijing shu 心經疏 (found in Dunhuang), Kuiji's 窺基 (632-682) Xinjing youzan 心經幽贊, Fazang's 法藏 (643-712) Xinjing lüeshu 心經略疏 and Zhiyuan's 智圓 (976-1022) Xinjing shu 心經疏.
Japanese commentaries include Kūkai's 空海 (774-835) Xijing mijian (Japanese reading Hankyō hiken) 心經秘鍵, Saichō's 最澄 (767-822) Xinjing shi (Hankyō shaku) 心經釋, Shinkō's 真興 (c. 1000) Xinjing lüeshi (Hankyō ryakushaku) 心經略釋 and Sōjun's 宗純 (1394-1481) Xinjing zhu (Hankyō chū) 心經注.
English translations of both versions of the Heart Sutra were published by Müller, F. Max. 1894. The Sacred Books of the East, Translated by Various Oriental Scholars. Vol. XLIX, "The Larger Pragñâ-Pâramitâ-Hridaya-Sûtra", vol. 2, 145-150; and "The Smaller Pragñâ-Pâramitâ-Hridaya-Sûtra", vol. 2, 151-158. Oxford: Clarendon.