The Heart Sutra

by Anonymous, Red Pine (Translator)

The short text of The Heart Sutra is Buddhism in a nutshell. It has had the most profound and wide-reaching influence of any text in Buddhism. Its full title, Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra, "The Sutra of the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom," explains that this sutra contains the essence of the Buddha’s teaching, the core of perfect enlightenment. It is the source of the famous and puzzling declaration, "form is emptiness, emptiness is form."

For this new translation into English, Red Pine, award-winning translator of Chinese poetry and religious texts, has utilized various Sanskrit and Chinese versions, refining the teachings of dozens of ancient teachers together with his own commentary to offer a profound word-for-word explication. The result is a wise book of deep teaching destined to become the standard edition of this timeless statement of Mahayana truth.

Genres: Buddhism, Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Zen, Poetry

201 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[robin friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Pine's Heart Sutra

The most famous of all Buddhist Scriptures, the Heart Sutra encompasses endless wisdom and spiritual guidance within its enigmatic 35 lines. The Heart Sutra is chanted several times daily at Mahayana Buddhist monasteries and temples throughout the world. It is work that will reward repeated and sustained attention. The Heart Sutra has been the subject of extensive commentary, both ancient and modern. One of the finest modern commentaries is the work of the American scholar and translator Red Pine which I will discuss in this review.

Red Pine's translation and commentary on the Heart Sutra is a worthy successor to Pine's earlier translation and commentary on the Diamond Sutra, a work emanating from the same "Perfection of Wisdom" group of Buddhist teachings as does the Heart Sutra. Both of Pine's studies work carefully and closely with the text, and both helped me in my approach to these difficult teachings.

Pine's study opens with his own translation of the text of the Heart Sutra. This is followed by an introduction in which Pine discusses what is known about the composition, date, and original language of the work. He reviews some of the scholarly controversies over these matters and places the origin of the Sutra in Northwest India in about 150 A.D. He believes that the work was originally written in Sanskrit, in contrast to some recent scholars who believe it of Chinese origin.

Pine follows his historical review with an overview of the text and its purpose. Fundamentally, the Heart Sutra is concerned with teaching wisdom rather than mere knowledge. Specifically, the Sutra is concerned with transcendent wisdom which, as Pine explains it, "is based on the insight that all things, both objects and dharmas, are empty of anything self-existent. Thus, nothing can be characterized as permanent, pure or having a self. And yet, neither can anything be characterized as impermanent, impure, or lacking a self." (p. 21) The wisdom of the Heart Sutra lies beyond mere reasoning and is in the realm of insight and sustained meditation and ethical practice. Pine makes this point eloquently, and it is basic to approaching the Heart Sutra.

Pine divides the Heart Sutra into four sections each of which are explored in the four commentarial sections of his book. Each section includes a line-by-line discussion of the text of the Heart Sutra, beginning with Pine's own comments followed by the comments of other students of the work, both ancient and modern.

The first part of the work (lines 1-11) set the backdrop of the Heart Sutra in the philosophical commentary of earlier Buddhist tradition known as the Abhidharma. Pine finds the Heart Sutra was written to correct the overly rationalistic approach of certain Abhidharmic texts. In this section, Pine describes briefly the nature of Abhidharmic thought and relates it to the protagonists of the Heart Sutra: Avalokiteshvara, the principle bohdisattva of Mahayana Buddhism who is usually seen as the figure of universal compassion, Prajnaparamita, a name both for the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and of the goddess who personifies these teachings, and Shariputra, the Buddha's chief disciple who receives the teaching of Prajnaparamita from Avalokiteshvara in the Heart Sutra.

The second part of the Heart Sutra, (lines 12-20) consists of a discussion of the conceptual categories of the Abhidharma, which the teachings of the Heart Sutra reject (or transform). Pine's commentary expands upon the nature of these categories, allowing the reader a means of approaching the key teaching of the Sutra that "form is emptiness, emptiness is form."

The third part of the Heart Sutra in Pine's study, lines 21-28, discuss the bodhisattva path to wisdom and to the realization of Buddhahood, contrasting these goals with the goals of Arahantship and Nirvana in earlier Buddhist teachings. These lines teach that bodhisattvas are "without attainment" and that they live "without walls of the mind". Pine's commentary casts light on this difficult and suggestive teaching and way of understanding.

The fourth and final part of Pine's analysis deal with lines 29-35 of the Heart Sutra including the obscure mantra with which it concludes: "Gate, gate, paragate,parsangate, bodhi svaha." In his commentary, Pine discusses the meaning and significance of this mantra and its relationship to the rest of the text. According to Pine, this mantra "reminds and empowers us to go beyond all conceptual categories. ... With this incantation ringing in our minds, we thus enter the goddess Prajnaparamita, and await our rebirth as Buddhas". (p. 7)

The study concludes with a useful glossary of terms and of people mentioned in the text and with a translation of a slightly later and longer version of the Heart Sutra.

In its detail and concentration, this book would not be the best choice for the beginning student of Buddhism. But for those readers with some basic grounding in the earlier forms of Buddhism which the Heart Sutra critiques and with the Mahayana tradition this book is invaluable. It is a book to be read and studied. Pine gives a thoughtful, well-organized, and learned account of the Heart Sutra that will help the reader approach this seminal text.

Robin Friedman

[Brett C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whatever is form is emptiness, whatever is emptiness is form.
色即是空，空即是色, line 8 (pg 83)

The Heart Sutra is probably the most famous sutra in Buddhism. The entire sutra is only 35-lines so the author dissected and analyzed each line. This provided explanaination, various reference analysis, and interpretation. There was a lot of meaningful and insightful expressions from the sutra I found interesting to read. I would recommend this to anyone interested in Buddhist sutras. Thanks!

[Akemi G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the huge influence Buddhism has had in Asian history and culture, including the Japanese, not very many people actually read sutras. This might be because, unlike the Christian Bible, there is no official canon for Buddhist scriptures. There is also an issue with tradition; many people find modern translation awkward, but the ancient translation is hard to read, of course.

The Heart Sutra (般若心経) is perhaps the most read, partly because it's so short. You can pretty much memorize it. (One version of the English translation is freely available here.) I read the version traditionally read in Japan (the old Chinese version) with notes.

[Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Heart Sutra is only 35 lines long, yet one of the most important scriptures in Buddhism. We've read it and chanted it many, many times. It's importance equal to what The Lord's Prayer has for Christians. It's essence is "form is emptiness...emptiness is form." People study it a life time. I believe it's important to also know what the Dalai Lama said about the Heart Sutra...it cannot be grasped by intellect alone; it's just as important to practice it. This is a great translation, a study book really. I'll refer to it often.

[Anmol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really don't know how to characterise the Perfection of the Heart of Wisdom Sutra (or, if you want to be fancy, the Prajnaparamitahridayasutra). A part of me believes that it is a radical reinterpretation of what the Buddha actually taught, as recorded in the Pali Canon. Another part believes that it is simply a logical extension of what the Buddha taught: perhaps the things he chose not to teach his disciples.

The radical reinterpretation thesis

The sutra, at some level of abstraction, rejects the importance of the 4 Noble Truths and nirvana, and many other core early Buddhist concepts. Instead, it introduces its own new concepts, central to Mahayana Buddhism, namely the bodhisattva and prajnaparamita. The Buddha, the way I understood what he taught, was very methodical, based on the 4 noble truths and the extension of that core idea of the origin and cessation of suffering. The Heart Sutra, instead, seems to say that nobody suffers, as reality is inherently empty, and therefore the 4 noble truths are meaningless. Nirvana is a delusion and not the ultimate truth: the cessation of suffering does not matter when suffering never originates.

I can't help but feel that there is a historical or material basis in this shift in philosophy. I think that the Heart Sutra is a result of the spread of Buddhism among people who practised Vedic rituals. The Heart Sutra is a mixture of these influences. Therefore, there is an emphasis on the mantra, an emphasis on wisdom beyond knowledge, an emphasis on the mysticism of there being no experiencer, and therefore no need for the removal of experience. The shift from a philosophy to religion is complete, the concept of the bodhisattva being either lay or monastic, and gaining enlightenment even by doing nothing, is always important for a religion to become more popular among the masses.

The logical expansion thesis

The concept of prajna, or wisdom, did not begin with Mahayana Buddhism: it was always present in the Pali Canon. While the Heart Sutra may be an expansion of this concept, it need not be a radically different interpretation. Its idea of consciousness also being a product of volitional formations, ending with ignorance, definitely follows from the Pali Canon.

I used to consider consciousness the “final frontier”. Defences of materialism (body existing as final truth) seemed to fail when questioned on the basis of identity (“whose body is it?”). Prajnaparamita lets me explore the possibility of consciousness also being empty: this possibility appears daunting, but it is ultimately freeing. I definitely recognise that a belief in essentialism of any experience - the belief that something is immortal (some would say consciousness, in its "true" state without names and forms) - is not conducive to the 4 noble truths.

But I still do not believe that Buddhism (or what I've read of it so far), has presented a coherent response to the problem of annihilationism or materialism, and a lack of rebirths. Does Buddhism hold if we only live once? Denying YOLO is not an option anymore, we really have to work with what we see. "One must imagine Sisyphus happy" may be the 4 noble truths for a world where people only live once.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both this book and The Heart Attack Sutra by Brunnholzl are new translations and excellent expert commentary by life-long scholars of Buddhism--and more importantly translators. Both books have fantastic introductions and then proceed to explain and unpack the short sutra line-by-line. Both are well written and very helpful references to the sutra.

My own thought is that everyone should start with Kazuaki Tanahashi's very comprehensive guide to the Heart Sutra and then, depending on geography and language should read Red Pine for East Asia or Brunnholzl for Tibetan.

[Rivera Sun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Pine's translations crack the diamond of Buddhist wisdom for me. I will forever be grateful to this blessed being for his humorous, thorough translations and commentaries that suit my American palate to the tee. He has a special way of reaching into my mind and pushing the boundaries of my thinking . . . and every now and then, all those lines of logic dissolve entirely, and the wisdom illuminates boundlessly.

[Will Kastner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Valuable for me to always be "Currently Reading" this edition of this sutra.
Sept. 2012/Just re-read this again. Still fabulous.

[Peter Allum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep dive into this core Mahayana text.

Bill Porter, who writes under the name of Red Pine, translates here the Heart Sutra and analyzes its text, line-by-line, drawing on the views of contemporary Buddhologists as well as early Chinese commentators. This is dense stuff, reflecting the transcendent philosophical views encapsulated in the Heart Sutra.

The Heart Sutra has become one of the core texts of Mahayana Buddhism, often chanted by Zen groups. Its origin and author is unknown. The first recorded appearance was in a Chinese translation made by central Asian monks around 200-250 CE. The original was perhaps composed in the first century CE, based on teachings developed in the first or second centuries BCE. Scholars view the Heart Sutra as an interpretation of the Buddha's teachings that challenge and go beyond the views of the early Buddhist sect, the Sarvastivadins, regarding the nature of ever-changing reality. To (over)simplify, if something has no fixed nature, does it inherently exist, or not exist?

This is a valuable reference work for Buddhist practitioners interested in knowing about the core Mahayana texts. By no means an introductory work on Buddhist thinking, though.

Other notes:
--For those interested in pursuing a career in Buddhist studies and translation, take note of Red Pine's acknowledgements. He thanks not only his wife and colleagues, but also the continued support that he and his family have received from the Department of Agriculture's Food Stamp Program and the local Food Bank. Thanks, indeed!

--Wikipedia suggests Red Pine has an interesting family background. His father was a member of an infamous gang of bank robbers; was the only one to escape death in a police shoot-out; served jail time; when released, he bought a hotel with inheritance proceeds and became a millionaire. Red Pine, accordingly, was raised in wealth and had a privileged education. His father eventually divorced and lost his fortune, resulting in a simpler lifestyle which Red Pine welcomed. He studied anthropology and Buddhism, first in the US, then in a Taiwan monastery. He has lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong and traveled extensively in China.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Heart Sutra is a concise 35 line scripture that encapsulates the core of Mahayana Buddhism emptiness and the way of the Bodhisattva.

Red Pine's translation of it provides commentary on each of these lines by weaving together highlights from the commentaries on this scripture throughout the centuries. This book was really well done in explaining the Sutra in a very readable way. I also liked how Red Pine would often give historical explanations of how the different concepts in the sutra were understood and evolved at different points in Buddhist history. Definitely a worthwhile book for those that want to go deep on one of Buddhism's most widely read and cited scripture.

The Heart Sutra appears in full prior to the actual introduction of the book. I could see someone accidentally skipping it by moving straight into the introduction so be careful.

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just way too dense. I stopped reading about 1/3 of the way through. Some very good insight, but just not readible. I'll look at Thich Nhat Hahn's book on the Heart Sutra.

Also, I've moved away from Buddhist meditation to do more contemplative prayer, so just not as interested any more.

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author breaks the Sutra down to a line by line analysis which doesn't make for exciting reading, but it is thorough. He gives detailed Buddhist history and translation notes which can be confusing if the reader doesn't have an extensive background knowledge of the topic.

This book was definitely beyond me at this time but for the serious Buddhist practitioner, I could see this being very insightful and informative for contemplative practice.

For now, I find this sutra most helpful as a mind clearing mantra. Perhaps in time and with study, it will become something more for me.

Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi swaha...

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buddhism at its simplest (yet most paradoxical) is about no-mind, nothingness...form is void!

[Aaron Wood]

Always reading this book

[Liam Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

When i first got this book, it was a real headscratcher. At first I couldn't find the sutra itself. There was a lot of writing by red pind explaining parts of the sutra, but I didnt see anything that was actually the subject of commentary. Then I noticed the section headings were all one or a few lines, apparently taking from the heart sutra. But i didnt see it in whole.

Then I found it, at the very front of the book, before even the introduction. at this point I wondered why I'd spent $15 on a 2 page long poem, and what the hell took up the remaining ≈ 250 pages: i wasn't what I'd have called a sutra, about 50 lines long, without all the usually formalities of a sutra ("it happened that guatama was at x place when y person decided to visit him.") Part of it was left in sanskrit, so I had no idea how to pronounce it, let alone understand it. What I could understand–the middle 90%–was inconcievable. Except for the sanskrit, it read pretty well, and maybe had some meaning the same way the daodejing makes you think about reality.

But Buddhism is a lot more dialectic. You realize there's something deeper under the waters—and argument or idea that is breaking above the surface like the tip of an iceburg. A light background in indian buddhist thought and a few readings of the daodejing are all it really takes to get *something* out of the sutra the first read through. My first dive into the commentary was based around learning the sanskrit words, so I could at least read it with relative comprehension before going full throttle in the main, explanatory body of the work. This took me pretty much across the book before I ever started to read it. After reading the whole final section, on the mantra couched in the very last line (pare pare paragate parasangate etc.,) I still questioned the overall characters and concepts within in the poem.

With a realization of the way the book was formatted and a clear goal in mind (understand the teachings/meanings encoded in this mfer) I was able to begin. And, let me tell you, it was dense. Pine has his work cut out for him, first having to balance the zen teaching of the heart in context of buddhism itself, and next trying to illustrate the realities proposed by the poem in the mind of his reader who is, likelier than not, not an initiate to buddhism as a practice. He hits the target perfectly for my tastes. For one, he's a good writer, which amplifies his second advantage, that he treats the contents of the sutra in a philosophic manner—without sounding like an academic philosopher. At many times it feels like you are reading the personal notes of a very insightful scholar, which essentially you are. And while he couches his annotations in a dialectic or logical seeming form, they effectually lead you on until it clicks in your head. Where you and Pine get mired, there is usually a good helping of traditional commentators all trying, themselves, to explain each passage and drag you out of the muck. Between Pine and the voices he collects from the past 1,500 years, the reader is in good hands, even though the journey is hard.

I felt challenged by this reading. My brain felt like putty after parts. I felt completely full, like i had eaten a thanksgiving dinner multiple nights in a row—euphoria induced sleepiness and all. A book that nourishes you like food is a valuable thing. This is a buffet: if you really want it, you can get far more than your 15$ out of this book.

My recommendation would be to make this your second stop if you are hoping to learn about zen like I am. I would suggest doing Pine's Boddhidharma first, which has a lot in common thematically, but is delivered in a much more spoken, sermonal manner. Besides being a lighter meal, (a snackbar vs. a buffet) you might have the same problem I do, that after reading the heart sutra, other zen/zen-adjacent sutras might seem lackluster in comparison. Whereas the early zen material, still couched in broader mayahana tradition, seem to point vaguely towards the Heart, they don't seem to abandon all—to cut to the core—like the Heart does. The Heart takes no quarters, and says no to everything, even to "No." Everything else, the daimond, the platform, etc. seem to cling to one last little edge...the Heart says "no edge."

tl;dr - Pine is a good guide through the tiny (yet complete) universe contained in the Heart Sutra, would recommend to those who want to learn about buddhism/zen as philosophy like I do.

[Daniel Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you have no interest in the prajna of emptiness, the history of the heart sutra and its MASSIVE effect on the world is insanely interesting. For example have you heard of "Journey to the West"? The ancient Chinese epic about the Monkey King? That's a legend based on how the heart sutra came to China. I'll give a rough summary...
As Buddhism was dying in India (which was known as 'The West' to the ancient Chinese) it found a place to flourish in China, where Taoism and Confucianism had perfectly fertilized the Chinese mind for Buddhism to grow into. Well, the heart Sutra came from a monk who walked on foot from China to India with nothing but his robe and bowl and got this particular Sutra, and brought it back to the east; the Heart Sutra is called such because it is seen as the most concentrated essence of all of Buddhism, despite it being only about 1 page long.

The Journey to the west isn't just about the Monkey King per se, but the monk whom he is accompanying (to retrieve the teachings from India) -- the Monkey King is supposed to represent our mind, our delusional, powerful, monkey-mind of which Buddhism is a method of trying to turn from our perceived nuisance to our powerful ally. (Have you seen Dragonball? Son Goku is a version of Son-Woku, the Monkey King with his magic flying cloud and ever expanding magic staff; of course Goku was sent to Earth to turn into a giant monkey and conquer the planet, until he was hit on the head and learned compassion instead. These are all metaphorical assets of a great legend)

Anyways, the much beloved Red Pine gives a great translation, interpretation, and background to this sutra.

Aren't you curious about that page of text that can have this enormous influence on the world?! Here it is. If it makes sense, you might be ready to wake up. If it doesn't but you feel the mystery, you might be ready to find a new path of consciousness.

The noble Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,
while practicing the deep practice of Prajnaparamita,
looked upon the five skandhas
and seeing they were empty of self-existence,
said, “Here, Shariputra,
form is emptiness, emptiness is form;
emptiness is not separate from form,
form is not separate from emptiness;
whatever is form is emptiness,
whatever is emptiness is form.
The same holds for sensation and perception,
memory and consciousness.
Here, Shariputra, all dharmas are defined by emptiness
not birth or destruction, purity or defilement,
completeness or deficiency.
Therefore, Shariputra, in emptiness there is no form,
no sensation, no perception, no memory and no
consciousness;
no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body and no mind;
no shape, no sound, no smell, no taste, no feeling
and no thought;
no element of perception, from eye to conceptual
consciousness;
no causal link, from ignorance to old age and death,
and no end of causal link, from ignorance to old age and death;
no suffering, no source, no relief, no path;
no knowledge, no attainment and no non-attainment.
Therefore, Shariputra, without attainment,
bodhisattvas take refuge in Prajnaparamita
and live without walls of the mind.
Without walls of the mind and thus without fears,
they see through delusions and finally nirvana.
All buddhas past, present and future
also take refuge in Prajnaparamita
and realize unexcelled, perfect enlightenment.
You should therefore know the great mantra of Prajnaparamita,
the mantra of great magic,
the unexcelled mantra,
the mantra equal to the unequalled,
which heals all suffering and is true, not false,
the mantra in Prajnaparamita spoken thus:
“Gate, gate, paragate, parasangate, bodhi svaha.”

[David Chess · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Heart Sutra itself is just a page long, and contains the heart of Prajñāpāramitā teachings. And among other things, as Jan Nattier notes, "in contemporary Japan, the Heart Sutra has been printed on more teacups, hand towels and neckties than has any other Buddhist scripture".

In this readable translation and commentary, Red Pine gives us the thoughtful and scholarly treatment that he is so good at. Considering the sutra in its historical context, the analysis considers it largely as a response to, or a refutation of, the teachings of earlier Buddhist sects, where the light of the Prajñāpāramitā shows all the more or less complex conceptual structures of those earlier teachings, the Four Whatsits and Eight Thingamys and Twelve Whathaveyous, to be not just empty of self or of independent origination, but to be exactly emptiness.

Not that that's a bad thing.

Line by line, he gives both his own formulations of the teachings involved, and pithy quotes from various writers and thinkers and teachers across the centuries; it's a rich and nourishing stew.

As a matter of dharma, I would say that the sutra itself is adequate and complete; you don't need to read commentaries on the Heart Sutra in order to attain the non-attainment that you may be not striving to not-strive for. But who knows, it also couldn't hurt; sometimes you get nothing from the dharma talk in the evening, but enlightenment comes when the bottom falls out of your bucket while the water was reflecting the moon.

And in terms of an enjoyable historical treatment, it's an interesting and informative tour through thought and history that even if not strictly speaking necessary in order to (not) achieve anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, is still a good read.

[Lon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't ready for a deep dive when I first encountered Red Pine's commentary. To be honest, I bought the book because Pine's is among my favorite translations of the Prajnaparamita-Hridaya Sutra, but I sorely needed to lay some groundwork before I could follow each chapter's phrase-by-phase exegesis. A few years along now, and I've had the experience of chanting the Heart Sutra in Buddhist monasteries and at retreats, and I'm becoming slightly less confounded by key terms such as the Five Skandhas, the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, and of course, the central concept of Emptiness. So when student was more ready, the book reappeared.

More and more I can appreciate why this sutra is one of the most central and beloved (if also utterly bewildering and elusive) texts in the Zen tradition.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've rated this as 5⭐, but could just as easily have rated it 1, being the difference between what it probably means and what I understand of its meaning. I found it interesting while elusive, engaging while tiring.

I definitely gleaned some things from it, on an intellectual rather than a spiritual level, but as others have mentioned Red Pine's commentary is dense and certainly beyond my severely limited understanding of Buddhist thought.

However, if there's one thing I've taken from it, it's that the meaning of the sutra and the mantra are beyond intellectual understanding, but if I've understood this I can't have really understood it, so I seem to have got myself into something of a state of spiritual indeterminacy (I don't understand quantum physics either, but then if I said I did ...)

[CuongVM · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book provide reader with some historical background of Buddhism and the author also made a little different translation of the most famous scripture of Buddha's teaching. I like his version of the sutra and the way he explained about emptiness - one of the most important concepts of Buddhism. Although there're some points I disagree with Red Pine, for example, his explaination about sva and atman, but I enjoyed the book overall. It did a good job helping me knowing about buddhism and history.

I like this book so much that I made a translation into Vietnamese as a gift for my friends who can't read English.

[Dara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m giving four stars for the sutra itself. How Red Pine turned a sutra no more than 50 lines long into a 200 page book I’ll never understand. It’s thorough, yes, but it’s so overpacked it just comes off as yapping. Maybe I’m just impatient but it was PAINFUL to stop on every single line of the sutra and sit through dense paragraphs of explanation. Like by the time the author finally moved along onto the next line, I’d entirely forgotten what the last one said. With these kinds of ancient translated text I feel it’s better to read in it’s entirety on your own, and if you need more help understanding this kind of book would be helpful.

[Dan Eickmeier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was recommended to me by a Buddhist lay minister that I respect as one of the better and more accessible translations and commentaries of the Heart Sutra. I still don’t think I really « get » the sutra but I do think I am a bit closer than I was when I started and I feel like I have a better understanding of how to work on my own existence after reading it. I guess that’s the goal, so it’s a success.

[Koyote the Blind · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book with heart and erudition, at the same time. The Heart Sutra is presented with an outstandingly poetic translation, and each verse is presented with helpful and intriguing historical annotations. The journey through the Heart Sutra is magnified and nuanced by cultural references and the valuable comparisons to other texts. I highly recommend this version.

[Jackson Hager · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, deeply insightful, and deeply beautiful translation of one of the most important Buddhist texts. Not only does Red Pine go line by line explaining the meaning of each word, he also takes the time to explain general Buddhist teachings. I would recommend this book to those familiar and unfamiliar to the words of the Buddha.

[Dominic · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent close reading of the Heart Sutra, providing Red Pine's insights and a great deal of historical and philosophical context. Red Pine also does a good job collecting the analyses of other commentators on particular lines or topics. This book has really changed how I read the Heart Sutra and better crystallized my understanding of Dharma.

[Tom Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new translation of and commentary on the Heart Sutra. Red Pine relies on around five commentators from the Mahayana across time. It gives the reader a fundamental understanding that the sutra was created in response to the Abhidharma and is really the start (and maybe end) of Mahayana. There are some novel translations and consequent insights.

Because of emptiness, all things are possible.

[REID NUTTING · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fresh as a babbling brook.....

A snuggle on a cold winters morning... under a bright handmade comforter....Red Pine sets the mood for a brisk learning opportunity with an old friend!

[DTuxford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite a dense commentary, but well worth it for the richness of content. Breaks down every line, often word-by-word, providing historical and religious context along with notable comments from other translators.
A great resource for anyone wanting to study Prajnaparamita.

[Jackiepeters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome translation!

[Shabana · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books in the category. A line by line teaching helps even a basic reader grasp the gist of this beautiful sutra. You can't miss this one if you are reading up on the Heart sutra.