Translated as the “Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom”, this sutra is chanted and meditated on throughout the world. It is considered a summary of all Buddhist thought and teachings and is often said to contain the entire meaning of all of the longer Sutras.
In this sutra,
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is speaking to Shariputra, a Buddha disciple. The sutra discusses the
five skandhas — form, sensation, conception, discrimination, and consciousness. The bodhisattva has seen that the skandhas are
empty, and thus has been freed from suffering.
Shariputra, form is no other than emptiness; emptiness no other than form. Form is exactly emptiness; emptiness exactly form. Sensation, conception, discrimination, and consciousness are also like this.
Students seeking to go deeper and open more fully to the experience of how sutras unlock conciousness will want to take this workshop. In this 90 min lab, we will dissect the Heart Sutra line by line revealing its wisdom. Although analysis is helpful, people also keep the words in their hearts so that understanding continues to unfold through practice and chanting.
