Heart Sutra Applied

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bodhiye
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Heart Sutra Applied

Post by bodhiye »

Is the Heart Sutra used as a meditation guide by anyone or utilized in some practical way? Are there any books/commentaries about applying the Heart Sutra's teachings in everyday life?
Kjigme
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by Kjigme »

I recite it every day in the morning, and most of the time i feel blessings coming in forms of subtle energies in my Crown and frontal chakras. Not everyone will feel this but for some reason I do. Maybe I received this merit because of my very difficult stubborn personality :twisted: ... Anyway the experience helps me to have faith and to understand how divine this sutra is. I know this is not helping to answer your question, but a practice is surely a good way to receive the many blessings it contains.

:namaste:
muni
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by muni »

One commentary Heart Sutra inspiration. To apply need practice.



There is as well teaching by H H Dalai Lama on the internet.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

There is the book, Essence of the Heart Sutra by HH Dalai Lama. I would recommend reading that to get a very good understanding of its meaning in context, and about why studying it matters.

If one is talking about “practical application” in the way that inspirational quotes would be used, like you would read “form is emptiness / emptiness is form” to help deal with anger or whatever, I don’t think you will find too much specific application, or instructions on how to do that.

The Diamond Sutra, by contrast, repeats over and over again how we mistakenly think that things are fixed entities simply because we label them as such. One can contemplate that teaching, and then look at events going on in life, see if what the sutra says applies or not, and realize, “Aha! I’m just solidifying some problem because I’m labeling it as such!” (There’s a lot more to the sutra than that, of course).

The Heart Sutra is a little bit more of a challenge in that regard. It really looks at the totality of our experience, the ‘big picture’ you might say, of how everything is interconnected, and how that vast interconnectedness is itself the essential nature of each individual thing. But I think, in studying that, one gradually finds it applies to everyday life directly. It may be that, being vast in its application, it takes a little longer to filter down to each and every moment that pops up.
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
narhwal90
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by narhwal90 »

I like the bit where one can recognize fear as an indication of defilement (or delusion or hindrance or obstruction). I add anger, lust, resentment and so on to the list. Sometimes, in the moment, instead of being dragged around by that stuff I remember it, and what the sutra is suggesting I do.
Jesse
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by Jesse »

bodhiye wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:47 pm Is the Heart Sutra used as a meditation guide by anyone or utilized in some practical way? Are there any books/commentaries about applying the Heart Sutra's teachings in everyday life?
Reading and writing the heart sutra is a meditation.

I have memory issues, so It's difficult for me to commit things to memory, but I've read it at least 60 times, and I've written probably half that many times. Doing this right before sitting meditation seems to be extremely powerful as a practice.
Image
Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
muni
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by muni »

The Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
Avalokiteshvara
while practicing deeply with
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore,
suddenly discovered that
all of the five Skandhas are equally empty,
and with this realisation
he overcame all Ill-being.

“Listen Sariputra,
this Body itself is Emptiness
and Emptiness itself is this Body.
This Body is not other than Emptiness
and Emptiness is not other than this Body.
The same is true of Feelings,
Perceptions, Mental Formations,
and Consciousness.

“Listen Sariputra,
all phenomena bear the mark of Emptiness;
their true nature is the nature of
no Birth no Death,
no Being no Non-being,
no Defilement no Purity,
no Increasing no Decreasing.

“That is why in Emptiness,
Body, Feelings, Perceptions,
Mental Formations and Consciousness
are not separate self entities.

The Eighteen Realms of Phenomena
which are the six Sense Organs,
the six Sense Objects,
and the six Consciousnesses
are also not separate self entities.

The Twelve Links of Interdependent Arising
and their Extinction
are also not separate self entities.
Ill-being, the Causes of Ill-being,
the End of Ill-being, the Path,
insight and attainment,
are also not separate self entities.

Whoever can see this
no longer needs anything to attain.

Bodhisattvas who practice
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
see no more obstacles in their mind,
and because there
are no more obstacles in their mind,
they can overcome all fear,
destroy all wrong perceptions
and realize Perfect Nirvana.

“All Buddhas in the past, present and future
by practicing
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
are all capable of attaining
Authentic and Perfect Enlightenment.

“Therefore Sariputra,
it should be known that
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
is a Great Mantra,
the most illuminating mantra,
the highest mantra,
a mantra beyond compare,
the True Wisdom that has the power
to put an end to all kinds of suffering.
Therefore let us proclaim
a mantra to praise
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore.

Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!”

https://plumvillage.org/nl/about/thich- ... anslation/
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Aemilius
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by Aemilius »

In Elaborations on Emptiness, Donald Lopez explores for the first time the elaborate philosophical and ritual uses of the Heart Sutra in India, Tibet, and the West.
Included here are full translations of the eight extant Indian commentaries. Interspersed with the translations are six essays that examine the unusual roles the Heart Sutra has played: it has been used as a mantra, an exorcism text, a tantric meditation guide, and as the material for comparative philosophy. Taken together, the translations and essays that form Elaborations on Emptiness demonstrate why commentary is as central to modern scholarship on Buddhism as it was for ancient Buddhists. Lopez reveals unexpected points of instability and contradiction in the Heart Sutra, which, in the end, turns out to be the most malleable of texts, where the logic of commentary serves as a tool of both tradition and transgression.

Image
Elaborations on Emptiness: Uses of the Heart Sūtra; Donald S. Lopez Jr.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
Malcolm
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by Malcolm »

bodhiye wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:47 pm Is the Heart Sutra used as a meditation guide by anyone or utilized in some practical way? Are there any books/commentaries about applying the Heart Sutra's teachings in everyday life?
You should obtain
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Dan74
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by Dan74 »

I find the assertions of the Heart Sutra to be a great starting point of investigating. "Form does not differ from emptiness". What does this mean to me right now? Right this moment, how does this apply? This cup next to me I grasp with my senses, with my hand, with my cognition, this form, how is it empty? I grasp it as an object, a thing out there, separate to me and to other objects, but how can this be so, since it is unable to be except in relation to others. The table supports it. Light travels from it to my eyes and the signal is then relayed to the brain. It hold my coffee, which gives it its identity as a cup - its function of holding a liquid. Etc Etc... When I start experiencing the world around me, not as a collection of discrete entities separate to me , myself separated from the world of things, but rather a flow of relationships, of phenomena, the grasping loosens a little.

"No form, no feeling..." How can there be no feeling? That pushes me to investigate feeling. What is it? Does it arise, does it change? Does it cease? What is it before I label it this or that? Pay careful attention to it. Are there different kinds? Etc..
Archie2009
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by Archie2009 »

Jesse wrote: Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:06 pm
bodhiye wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:47 pm Is the Heart Sutra used as a meditation guide by anyone or utilized in some practical way? Are there any books/commentaries about applying the Heart Sutra's teachings in everyday life?
Reading and writing the heart sutra is a meditation.
This might be of interest to some people.
Paul G. Hackett's recent Learning Classical Tibetan: A Reader for Translating Buddhist Texts opens with the Heart Sūtra and Jñānamitra's Explanation of the Heart Sūtra. Both are considered introductory level texts. The book is intended as a companion volume to Joe Wilson's Translating Buddhism from Tibetan.
Image
https://www.shambhala.com/learning-clas ... betan.html
https://en.calameo.com/read/000039257a207b5676762

Designed for both classroom use and independent study, Learning Classical Tibetan is a modern and accessible reader for studying traditional Buddhist texts. Unlike other readers of Classical Tibetan, this is a comprehensive manual for navigating Tibetan Buddhist literature drawing on a monastic curriculum. Utilizing the most up-to-date teaching methods and tools for Tibetan language training, students learn to navigate the grammar, vocabulary, syntax, and style of Classical Tibetan while also engaging the content of Buddhist philosophical works.

Chapters consist of a contextual introduction to each reading, a Tibetan text marked with references to annotations that provide progressive explanations of grammar, cultural notes on vocabulary, translation hints, notes on the Sanskrit origins of Tibetan expressions and grammatical structures, as well as a literal translation of the text. The reader also includes study plans for classroom use, discussion of dictionaries and other helpful resources, a glossary of English grammatical and linguistic terms, and much more.
Malcolm
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by Malcolm »

Dan74 wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 3:18 pm I find the assertions of the Heart Sutra to be a great starting point of investigating. "Form does not differ from emptiness". What does this mean to me right now? Right this moment, how does this apply? This cup next to me I grasp with my senses, with my hand, with my cognition, this form, how is it empty? I grasp it as an object, a thing out there, separate to me and to other objects, but how can this be so, since it is unable to be except in relation to others. The table supports it. Light travels from it to my eyes and the signal is then relayed to the brain. It hold my coffee, which gives it its identity as a cup - its function of holding a liquid. Etc Etc... When I start experiencing the world around me, not as a collection of discrete entities separate to me , myself separated from the world of things, but rather a flow of relationships, of phenomena, the grasping loosens a little.

"No form, no feeling..." How can there be no feeling? That pushes me to investigate feeling. What is it? Does it arise, does it change? Does it cease? What is it before I label it this or that? Pay careful attention to it. Are there different kinds? Etc..
It's material aggregate actually, the rūpaskandha; not form, the object of the eye, rūpāyatana.
bodhiye
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by bodhiye »

Kjigme wrote: Thu Aug 05, 2021 3:50 am I recite it every day in the morning, and most of the time i feel blessings coming in forms of subtle energies in my Crown and frontal chakras. Not everyone will feel this but for some reason I do. Maybe I received this merit because of my very difficult stubborn personality :twisted: ... Anyway the experience helps me to have faith and to understand how divine this sutra is. I know this is not helping to answer your question, but a practice is surely a good way to receive the many blessings it contains.

:namaste:
Thanks. :namaste:
bodhiye
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by bodhiye »

muni wrote: Thu Aug 05, 2021 9:07 am One commentary Heart Sutra inspiration. To apply need practice.



There is as well teaching by H H Dalai Lama on the internet.
I'll listen to the teachings.
Thank you.
bodhiye
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by bodhiye »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Thu Aug 05, 2021 12:50 pm There is the book, Essence of the Heart Sutra by HH Dalai Lama. I would recommend reading that to get a very good understanding of its meaning in context, and about why studying it matters.

If one is talking about “practical application” in the way that inspirational quotes would be used, like you would read “form is emptiness / emptiness is form” to help deal with anger or whatever, I don’t think you will find too much specific application, or instructions on how to do that.

The Diamond Sutra, by contrast, repeats over and over again how we mistakenly think that things are fixed entities simply because we label them as such. One can contemplate that teaching, and then look at events going on in life, see if what the sutra says applies or not, and realize, “Aha! I’m just solidifying some problem because I’m labeling it as such!” (There’s a lot more to the sutra than that, of course).

The Heart Sutra is a little bit more of a challenge in that regard. It really looks at the totality of our experience, the ‘big picture’ you might say, of how everything is interconnected, and how that vast interconnectedness is itself the essential nature of each individual thing. But I think, in studying that, one gradually finds it applies to everyday life directly. It may be that, being vast in its application, it takes a little longer to filter down to each and every moment that pops up.
Thank you!
(I have to read the Diamond Sutra.)
bodhiye
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by bodhiye »

narhwal90 wrote: Thu Aug 05, 2021 5:56 pm I like the bit where one can recognize fear as an indication of defilement (or delusion or hindrance or obstruction). I add anger, lust, resentment and so on to the list. Sometimes, in the moment, instead of being dragged around by that stuff I remember it, and what the sutra is suggesting I do.
I'll try to practice in this way :thumbsup:
bodhiye
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by bodhiye »

Jesse wrote: Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:06 pm
bodhiye wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:47 pm Is the Heart Sutra used as a meditation guide by anyone or utilized in some practical way? Are there any books/commentaries about applying the Heart Sutra's teachings in everyday life?
Reading and writing the heart sutra is a meditation.

I have memory issues, so It's difficult for me to commit things to memory, but I've read it at least 60 times, and I've written probably half that many times. Doing this right before sitting meditation seems to be extremely powerful as a practice.
This is a nice way to learn the Sutra. I'll incorporate this practice. :thanks:
bodhiye
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by bodhiye »

Aemilius wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 1:31 pm In Elaborations on Emptiness, Donald Lopez explores for the first time the elaborate philosophical and ritual uses of the Heart Sutra in India, Tibet, and the West.
Included here are full translations of the eight extant Indian commentaries. Interspersed with the translations are six essays that examine the unusual roles the Heart Sutra has played: it has been used as a mantra, an exorcism text, a tantric meditation guide, and as the material for comparative philosophy. Taken together, the translations and essays that form Elaborations on Emptiness demonstrate why commentary is as central to modern scholarship on Buddhism as it was for ancient Buddhists. Lopez reveals unexpected points of instability and contradiction in the Heart Sutra, which, in the end, turns out to be the most malleable of texts, where the logic of commentary serves as a tool of both tradition and transgression.

Image
Elaborations on Emptiness: Uses of the Heart Sūtra; Donald S. Lopez Jr.
I did not know about these diverse applications of the Heart Sutra. Thank you!
bodhiye
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by bodhiye »

Malcolm wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 2:14 pm
bodhiye wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:47 pm Is the Heart Sutra used as a meditation guide by anyone or utilized in some practical way? Are there any books/commentaries about applying the Heart Sutra's teachings in everyday life?
You should obtain
Thank you for recommending this commentary. I'll read it.
bodhiye
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Re: Heart Sutra Applied

Post by bodhiye »

Dan74 wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 3:18 pm I find the assertions of the Heart Sutra to be a great starting point of investigating. "Form does not differ from emptiness". What does this mean to me right now? Right this moment, how does this apply? This cup next to me I grasp with my senses, with my hand, with my cognition, this form, how is it empty? I grasp it as an object, a thing out there, separate to me and to other objects, but how can this be so, since it is unable to be except in relation to others. The table supports it. Light travels from it to my eyes and the signal is then relayed to the brain. It hold my coffee, which gives it its identity as a cup - its function of holding a liquid. Etc Etc... When I start experiencing the world around me, not as a collection of discrete entities separate to me , myself separated from the world of things, but rather a flow of relationships, of phenomena, the grasping loosens a little.

"No form, no feeling..." How can there be no feeling? That pushes me to investigate feeling. What is it? Does it arise, does it change? Does it cease? What is it before I label it this or that? Pay careful attention to it. Are there different kinds? Etc..
Yes, have to reflect on these.
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