Homage to the Noble
Goddess, the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom!
Thus I have heard: at one time, the Blessed One was dwelling in Rajagriha on
Massed Vultures Mountain, together in one method with a great assembly of monks
and a great assembly of bodhisattvas. At that time the Blessed One was absorbed
in the concentration of the countless aspects of phenomena called Profound Illumination.
At that time also, Superior Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva, the great being,
was looking perfectly at the practice of the profound perfection of wisdom,
perfectly looking at the emptiness of inherent existence of the five aggregates
also.
Then, through the power of Buddha, the venerable Shariputra said to the Superior
Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva, the great being, "How should a son of
the lineage train who wishes to engage in the practice of the profound perfection
of wisdom?"
Thus he spoke, and the Superior Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva. the great
being, replied to the venerable Shariputra as follows: "Shariputra, whatever
son or daughter of the lineage wishes to engage in the practice of the
profound perfection of wisdom should look perfectly like this: subsequently
looking perfectly and correctly at the emptiness of Inherent existence of the
five aggregates also.
"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form:
form also is not other than emptiness. Likewise, feeling, discrimination, compositional
factors and consciousness are empty. Shariputra, like this all phenomena are
merely empty, having no characteristics. They are not produced and do not cease.
They have no defilement and no separation from defilement. They have no decrease
and no increase.
"Therefore, Shariputra, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no discrimination,
no compositional factors, no consciousness. There is no eye, no ear, no nose,
no tongue, no body, no mind; no form, no sound, no smell, no taste, no tactile
object, no phenomenon. There is no eye element and so forth, up to no mind element,
and also up to no element of mental consciousness. There is no ignorance and
no exhaustion of ignorance, and so forth up to no
ageing and death and no exhaustion of ageing and death. Likewise, there is no
suffering, origin, cessation or path; no exalted wisdom, no attainment and also
no non-attainment.
"Therefore, Shariputra, because there Is no attainment, all bodhisattvas
rely on and abide in the perfection of wisdom: their minds have no obstructions
and no fear. Passing utterly beyond perversity, they attain the final state
beyond sorrow. Also, all the buddhas who perfectly reside in the three times,
relying upon the perfection of wisdom, become manifest and complete buddhas
in the state of unsurpassed, perfect and complete enlightenment.
"Therefore the mantra of the perfection of wisdom, the mantra of great
knowledge, the unsurpassed mantra, the equal-to-the-unequalled mantra, the mantra
that thoroughly pacifies all suffering, since it is not false, should be known
as the truth. The mantra of the perfection of wisdom is proclaimed:
TA YA THA: GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SOHA
"Shariputra, a bodhisattva, a great being, should train in the profound
perfection of wisdom like this."
Then the Blessed One arose from that concentration and said to the Superior
Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva, the great being, that he had spoken well.
"Good, good, O son of the lineage. It is like that. Since it is like that,
just as you have revealed, the profound perfection of wisdom should be practised
in that way, and the tathagatas will also rejoice." When the Blessed One
had said this, the venerable Shariputra, the Superior Avalokiteshavara, the
bodhisattva, the great being, that entire assembly of disciples as well as the
worldly beings - gods, humans, demigods and spirits, were delighted and highly
praised what had been spoken by the Blessed One.