Thu, 29 Apr 2010
Gone, Gone, Gone Beyond
So now we come to the end of the Heart Sutra, the Prajnaparamita mantra:
Recite it like this: Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha!
The mantra recapitulates the path. Gate (Gone) means to follow the path, Paragate (Gone beyond) means to reach awakening, and Bodhi (enlightenment) means to achieve the full enlightenment of a buddha. Yet, as any student of emptiness knows, coming or going are dependent phenomena and thus empty. So there is an implied paradox, a restatement of the attainment through non-attainment that was mentioned earlier in thus sutra. So the mantra boils down the already short sutra to its very essence.
So that is all I have to say about the Heart Sutra. Some parts of my explanation are pretty shakey, but I hope it has some value and helps people appreciate the sutra a little more.
