The Lion's Rear

I am Currently Reading and studying the Heart Sutra.

The roam:Sutra can be divided in to three sections. The first section talks about the lack of self-existence (and the inverse: a law of connection/inter-dependence between all things) of the Skandhas and all Dharma as realized through the Prajnaparamita meditation. The second part describes the state and mechanism of enlightenment and the Bodhisattva's path, the "mind without walls" of a mind acting without delusion or hindrances. The third part provides a refuge in the form of mind-less mantra.

I have some thoughts about them i've shared below, but first, read the sutra:

Each zendo at Blue Cliff Zen opens with a recitation of the Japanese chant of

Each sentence is broken in to its own line to make SRS flashcards. It

• かん じ ざい ぼ さつ　 The noble Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,

• ぎょう じん はん にゃ は ら みった じ while practicing the deep practice of Prajnaparamita,

• しょう けん ごう おん かい く looked upon the Five Skandhas

• どう いっさい く やく and seeing they were empty of self-existence,

• しゃ り し said, “Here, Shariputra,

• しき ふ い くう form is emptiness,

• くう ふ い しき emptiness is form;

• しき そく ぜ くう emptiness is not separate from form,

• くう そく ぜ しき　form is not separate from emptiness;

• じゅ そう ぎょ しき やく ぶ にょ ぜ　 The same holds for sensation and perception, memory and consciousness.

• しゃ り し　Here, Shariputra

• ぜ しょう ほう くう そう all dharmas are defined by emptiness

• ふ しょ ふ めつ not birth or destruction

• ふ こう ふ じょ　not purity or defilement

• ふ ぞう ふ げん　not completeness or deficiency

• ぜ こ くう ちゅう Therefore, Shariputra, in emptiness there is

• む しき no form,

• む じゅ そう ぎょう しき no sensation, perception, memory, or consciousness

• む げ に び ぜ つ しん い no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body and no mind;

• む しき しょう そう み そく ほう no shape, no sound, no smell, no taste, no feeling and no thought;

• む げん かい no element of perception,

• ない し む い しき かい from eye to conceptual consciousness;

• む む みょ やく む む みょ じん no causal link, from ignorance to old age and death,

• ない し む ろう し やく む ろう し じん and no end of causal link, from ignorance to old age and death;

• む くう しゅ めつ どう no suffering, no source, no relief, no path;

• む ち やく む とく no knowledge, no attainment [and no non-attainment.]

• い む しょ とく こ without attainment,

• ぼ だい さった boddhisatvas

• え はんにゃ は ら みった こ rely on Prajnaparamita, live with

• しん む けい げ a mind without hindrances

• む けい げ こう without hindrances,

• む う く ふ and thus without fears,

• おん り いっさい てん どう む そう they see through delusions

• くう ぎょ ね はん and finally nirvana

• さん ぜ しょ ぶつ All buddhas past, present and future

• え はんにゃはらみった こう also take refuge in Prajnaparamita

• とく あ のく た ら さん みゃく さん ぼだい and realize unexcelled, perfect enlightenment [Anuttara samyak sambodhi]

• こう ち はにゃはらみった ぜ だい じん しゅ Therefore you should know Prajnaparamita the great mantra

• ぜ だい みょ しゅthe mantra of great magic

• ぜ む じょ しゅ the unexcelled mantra

• ぜ む とう どう しゅ the mantra equal to the unequalled,

• の じょ いっさい く which heals all suffering

• しん じつ ふ こ and is true, not false,

• こ せつ はんにゃ はらみた しゅ そく せつ しゅ わつ the mantra in Prajnaparamita spoken thus:

• ぎゃ てい gate

• ぎゃ てい gate

• は ら ぎゃ てい paragate

• は ら そう ぎゃ てい parasangate

• ぼ じ そ わ か bodhi svaha

• はんにゃ しんぎょ the heart sutra

• 1: The noble Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,

• 2: while practicing the deep practice of Prajnaparamita,

• 3: looked upon the Five Skandhas

• 4: and seeing they were empty of self-existence,

• 5: said, “Here, Shariputra,

• 6: form is emptiness, emptiness is form;

• 7: emptiness is not separate from form,

• form is not separate from emptiness;

• 8: whatever is form is emptiness,

• whatever is emptiness is form.

• 9: The same holds for sensation and perception, memory and consciousness.

• 10: Here, Shariputra, all dharmas are defined by emptiness

• 11: not birth or destruction, purity or defilement,

• completeness or deficiency.

• 12: Therefore, Shariputra, in emptiness there is no form,

• 13: no sensation, no perception, no memory and no consciousness;

• 14: no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body and no mind;

• 15: no shape, no sound, no smell, no taste, no feeling and no thought;

• 16: no element of perception, from eye to conceptual consciousness;

• 17: no causal link, from ignorance to old age and death,

• 18: and no end of causal link, from ignorance to old age and death;

• 19: no suffering, no source, no relief, no path;

• 20: no knowledge, no attainment and no non-attainment.

• 21: Therefore, Shariputra, without attainment,

• 22: bodhisattavas take refuge in Prajnaparamita

• 23: and live without walls of the mind.

• 24: Without walls of the mind and thus without fears,

• 25: they see through delusions and finally nirvana.

• 26: All buddhas past, present and future

• 27: also take refuge in Prajnaparamita

• 28: and realize unexcelled, perfect enlightenment.

• 29: You should therefore know the great mantra of Prajnaparamita,

• 30: the mantra of great magic,

• 31: the unexcelled mantra,

• 32: the mantra equal to the unequalled,

• 33: which heals all suffering and is true, not false,

• 34: the mantra in Prajnaparamita spoken thus:

• 35: ‘Gate gate, paragate, parasangate, bodhi svaha.’”

I have a lot of highlights from this Book that I would like to extract and present here.

I like how this one presents a lot of the nuance and I plan to spend more time dealing with my notes on this, particularly his translation of the Bodhisattva's path section and the commentary throughout the whole thing does a great job giving color and context to this somewhat ineffable document.

The sutra is dense in 35 lines. The commentary alongside of it is invaluable. My commentary and ignorant distillation is here. Hey Smell This .

I recently had some shifts of perspectives and my understanding of this text may have changed since this was last revised, there are sections I'm no longer completely satisfied with.

the sutra attempts to describe the state of nirvana, how to get there, and how to stay there safely. maybe. i'm just this guy you know?

in short, "the deep practice of prajnaparamita" is a meditative and spiritual regime which leads to non-attachment/non-clinging and a deep sense of okay-ness, through the application of post-logical understanding/intuition to the mundane world to live in both a state of absolute peace and still engage in the mundane. It mechanistically consists of breaking down the fundamental analytical categories along with so-called "walls of the mind" and leaving nothing to replace them except this application of transcendent/natural/unclouded wisdom in working with the various parts which the sutra claims no self-existence of.

Through intense and careful meditation , it is possible through self-reflection, self-introspection, and ultimately self-less abandoning of all attachments, to dissemble these walls of the mind, to take a sledgehammer through large parts of the ego in the process. In reading Meditation from Cold Start to Complete Mastery , I was really spooked by some of the disclaimers and warnings in the document: this is dangerous stuff to do, mucking about, especially if you have animals hiding in the closet (if you live in CE 2022 or BCE 220 you probably do.)

but the prajnaparamita provides a soft cushion that you can land on when/if you do finally dissolve the walls and find yourself in a dark alley with an angry ego and all the demons in your closet he's teamed up with. And so say you have an opening, an enlightenment experience of sorts, and you find yourself staring back at yourself and wondering how you'll ever go back to living and existing now that you have this unspeakable knowledge.

the framework of this sort of intuitive wisdom, and "ultimate truth", seeing through or around our own biases and delusions and ignorances, intuitively, allows us to apply ourselves to the work of living and liberating others.

It's a careful dance, living in a non-dual state in a dual world, and prajnaparamita is one way this is managed. you don't disclaim the world of dualist knowledge, nor the non-dual buddhist pure land, but live in both, contain both, and play in both worlds, and you diligently practice living in this state until life becomes that practice, intuitively. Basho taught: abide by the rules, then throw them out!

Mahayana philosophies and dharma underlies the "east asian" buddhism and Indo-Tibetan buddhism and is important stuff in Zen . Mahayana's ultimate goal is to be the "great vehicle" to help people walk the path to becoming a buddha. Prajnaparamita is the engine of the great vehicle, perhaps.

open threads i owe this further investigation. The Chance Encounter embodies this, the fuel-injectors for the great vehicle or maybe throttle dampers.

here are some:

• Memories and experiences

• preferences, likes/dislikes

• Mental models

• Cognitive dissonances

• "blocked up" thoughts

• Traumas

• The entire abhidarama

• the idea of enlightenment

I think this conception of "walls of the minds" gives you a perspective that "hindrances" or "delusions" doesn't quite get you. The walls of the mind are more visceral and more obviously constructed -- empty.

I'm drawn by this phrasing to the visual metaphor inside of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring : The doors without walls inside the monastery which represent a mind unclouded by dissonances, but still held up with moral living as sketched in The Noble Eightfold Path or the Zen Precepts .

Hui-chung says:

The sutras say, "Subduing demons is the place of enlightenment"

(https://www.cttbusa.org/shurangama1/shurangama1_3.asp.html)

When the nature is in samadhi, demons are subdued and every day is blissful; When false thoughts do not arise everywhere is peaceful.

Specific delusions, at that:

The word viparyasa refers to what is upside-down, what is contrary to the way things are.

In Buddhism this refers specifically to four delusions:

• claiming something is permanent that is not permanent,

• claiming something is pleasurable that is not pleasurable,

• claiming something is self-existent that is not self-existent

• and claiming something is pure that is not pure

So while it is fairly mundane to understand that breaking down the walls is a path to nirvana, true wisdom and enlightenment is in realizing that nirvana is also subject to delusional thinking. Even in nirvana there is no attainment!

"nirvana is, simply, the final delusion"

the key insight is that to enter nirvana is to step in to a space with no... concepts. nothing. no lack of thing. a state probably akin to ego death, an animalistic state, perhaps even psychotic or noncommunicative. one has to realize that this, too, is a construction and will not last eternally, and thus be willing to step back in to the real world -- in to sansara, the suffering, the dust, the muck -- and pass this knowledge and framework on to others, to become a teacher like the buddha, in whatever way you can.

Longer forms of the perfection of wisdom talk about this:

stating that Bodhisattvas "wander without a home" (aniketacārī); "home" or "abode" meaning signs (nimitta, meaning a subjective mental impression) of sensory objects and the afflictions that arise dependent on them. This includes the absence, the "not taking up" (aparigṛhīta) of even "correct" mental signs and perceptions such as "form is not self", "I practice Prajñāpāramitā", etc

it seems like a very careful balance, but the solution which got you there (Meditation /zazen) can keep you there.

Buddha taught like a doctor, not a scientist. He did not seek to teach the "spiritual pharmacology" instead performed it. His later disciples were left to figure these things out.

These disciples saw the Abhidharma as a matrix of dharmas, fundamental entities of the mind. our reality was seen as a conceptual construct fashioned out of dozens of them.

Much of the sutra is contextualized around early Buddhist Abhidharma tradition, specifically the Sarvastivadi tradition.

started in 3rd century BCE to 7th century CE, one of the most influential sects and was prominent during Buddhism's slow work in to Asia through roam:Kushan Empire period. Their rigorous dharma teaching forms the basis of much of Mahayana and Theravada buddhism today.

and much of the sutra's "digging in" to the various dharmas pointing out that theses fundamantal constructs themselves are also conceptual constructs. Red Pine argues this specifically:

On this basis, Red Pine has argued that the Heart Sūtra is specifically a response to Sarvastivada teachings that, in the sense "phenomena" or its constituents, are real. Lines 12–13 enumerate the five skandhas. Lines 14–15 list the twelve ayatanas or abodes. Line 16 makes a reference to the 18 dhatus or elements of consciousness, using a conventional shorthand of naming only the first (eye) and last (conceptual consciousness) of the elements. Lines 17–18 assert the emptiness of the Twelve Nidānas, the traditional twelve links of dependent origination, using the same shorthand as with the eighteen dhatus. Line 19 refers to the Four Noble Truths.

Wikipedia writes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhidharma#Sarv%C4%81stiv%C4%81da_Abhidharma

Despite numerous variations and doctrinal disagreements within the tradition, most Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣikas were united in their acceptance of the doctrine of "sarvāstitva" (all exists), which says that all phenomena in the three times (past, present and future) can be said to exist.[95] Another defining Vaibhāṣika doctrine was that of simultaneous causation (sahabhū-hetu).

The ayatana divide up the Skandhas differently to provide

• six roots of sensation

• six "domains" which senses reside

These pair.

• no eye, no shape

• no ear, no sound

• no nose, no smell

• no tongue, no taste

• no body, no feeling

• no mind, no thought/mental objects/dharma

The Buddha notes in the Four Noble Truths and Twelve Links of Dependent Origination that suffering comes from contact with the these sense-bases through sensation.

A lot of this talks about existence and non-existence.

It's not a sort of ... "oh if i close my eyes the thing is not there" nor does it imply that there is no other people or creatures or anything that this is all some play being fed to "us" through our senses. It's a layer or two further down saying that the current physical existence of a thing is value-less. without values. animalistic. natural.

A bear or a tree doesn't give a fuck about the abhidharma or enlightenment, she is simply light.

Edward Conze writes in "The Ontology of Prajnaparamita"

It is now the principal teaching of Prajñāpāramitā with regard to own-being that it is "empty." The Sanskrit term is svabhāva-śūnya. This is a tatpuruṣa compound (one in which the last member is qualified by the first without losing its grammatical independence), in which svabhava may have the sense of any oblique case. The Mahayana understands it to mean that dharmas are empty of any own-being, i.e.,that they are not ultimate facts in their own right, but merely imagined and falsely discriminated, for each and every one of them is dependent on something other than itself. From a slightly different angle this means that dharmas, when viewed with perfected gnosis, reveal an own-being which is identical with emptiness, i.e in their own-being they are empty.

gate gate, paragate, parasangate bodhisvaha

what is goign on here

bodhisattva

bodhi - Enlightenment

roam:Shariputra

advantage; benefit; profit; interest​

き.く

リ

child

• こ

• ね

• シ

• ス

• ツ

inverted, reversed, upside down

• たお.れる

• -だお.れ

• たお.す

• さかさま

• さかさ

• さかしま

トウ

monk, priest

ソウ

unlucky, misfortune, bad luck, disaster

ヤク

accept, undergo, answer (phone), take, get, catch, receive, "sensation" or "feeling"

to receive/get/catch:

• う.ける

• -う.け

• う.かる

ジュ

"sensation" or "feeling" /vedanā

Buddhist tathata / "suchness"

likeness, like, such as, as if, better, best, equal

ごと.し - adverb "as if"/"the same"

ジョ - archaic ニョ - Buddhist tathata / "suchness"

old woman, grandma, wet nurse

ばば ばあ

バ

reality, truth, seed, fruit, nut

• み - fruit, nut, seed

• みの.る - (verb) ripening

• まこと - truth, reality, honesty, fidelity, "that's right"

• みの - ripening

• みち.る

ジツ シツ

one

ひと- ひと.つ

イチ イツ

three

み み.つ みっ.つ

サン ゾウ

on top of, on above, up,

• うえ - above, up, elder, top, summit, surface, emperor, honorable

• うわ- - pointing upward, trending up

• かみ - upstream, uppoer half, long ago, beginning, first, capital region

• あ.げる - (v.) to raise, to elevate, to launch, to improve, etc

• あ.がる - (v.) to rise, to go up, to ascend, to be raised, to increase

• あ.がり - rise, increase, income, takings, earnings, proceeds

• のぼ.る - to ascend, to go up, to climb, to swim upstream

• のぼ.り - ascent, climbing, ascending (path), climb, "inbound" train

• のぼ.せる - to feel dizzy, blood rushing to head, lose your cool, be upset

• のぼ.す - to raise, to record, to bring up a matter, to serve food

• たてまつ.る

• ジョウ

• ショウ

• シャン

negative, non-, bad, ugly, clumsy

フ ブ

world, society, lifetime, age, era, generation

よ

セイ セ ソウ

Buddha /Buddhism

ほとけ

ブツ フツ

multi- , many, a lot, common

おお.い

まさ.に まさ.る

タ (た/ta)

dirt, filth, grime, dust

あか はじ

コウ dirty/unclean ク (polluting thought, delusion)

increase

• ま.す - to increase

• ま.し - better, preferable, more

• ふ.える - to increase, multiply

• ふ.やす - to increase, add to, to augment

ゾウ

voice, sound, tone

こえ - voice, hoot, chirp, birdsong, opinion, etc こわ-

セイ ショウ

with, by means of, because of, on account of,

もっ.て

イ

belonging to from ... to

の - 's, of, belonging to すなわ.ち - "that is" "namely" "i.e." なんじ

• ナイ - "from ... to" "between ... and"

• ダイ

• ノ

• アイ

last day, expended, exertion

• つ.きる - to be used up, to be run out, to come to an end

• つ.くす - to use up, to exhaust, to run out of, to devote oneself to

• つ.かす - to use completely, to use up, to exhaust, to give up (on someone)

• ことごと.く - altogether

-づ.く -ず.く

ジン サン

instantly, immediately, is, at once, equals, oneness to be hired, to commence, to take (seat, office, etc)

• つ.く - to take (seat office, etc), to start, to commence

• つ.ける - to install (a king, emperor, etc), to appoint, to promote, to assign

• すなわ.ち - that is, namely, i.e.

ソク

spell, curse, mantra

まじな.う - to pray, to curse, to recite a mantra のろ.い - curse, spell, etc まじな.い - charm, incantation, spell, curse のろ.う - to curse, to cast a spell on, to detest intensely

ジュ シュ シュウ ズ

bright, light, insight, discernment

• あ.かり - light, illumination, glow

• あか.るい - well-light, brightly-colored, sunny, promising, well-versed in

• あか.るむ - to brighten, to grow light

• あか.らむ - to become luminous at dawn (sunrise)

• あき.らか - clear, obvious, plain, definite

• あ.ける - to open, to unwrap, to empty, to remove

• あ.く - to open door, to open business, to be vacant, to be free

• あ.くる - next (day, morning, etc), following

• あ.かす - to pass (the night), to spend, to reveal, to expose, to prove

-あ.け

• メイ - brightness, discernment, insight, eyesight, vision

• ミョウ - mantra, wise "discernment", bright light, hope, bright future, light emanating from a buddha symbolizing their wisdom

• ミン - Ming dynasty of China

righteousness, justice, correct

これ この ここ

ゼ シ

also, again, once again, some other time

see also 又 .

また

エキ ヤク

empty air, sky, roam:Shunyata , meaninglessless

• そら - sky, air, heavens, etc

• あ.く - to open, to be empty, to be vacant, to be free

• あ.き - space, room, gap, emptiness, opening, empty seat, free time

• あ.ける - to open (a door, for business, etc), to unwrap, to unlock, to clear out, to leave temporarily

• から - emptiness, vacuum, blank

• す.く - to become less crowded, to thin out

• す.かす - to feel hungry, to get hungry

• むな.しい - empty, void, vacant, vain, fruitless, futile

クウ

color, hue, tint, "form" or "matter"

いろ

ショク シキ

to attain, to arrive at

いた.る

シ

"The Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore"

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  • Thay's explanation

Thay’s only regret is that the patriarch who recorded the Heart Sutra did not add the four words 'no being, no non-being' immediately after the four words 'no birth, no death,' because these four words would help us transcend the notion of being and non-being, and we would no longer get caught in such ideas as 'no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue…' The nose of the novice monk is still sore, even today. Do you understand?

Just as the birds enjoy the sky, and the deer enjoy the meadow, so do the wise enjoy dwelling in nirvana. This is a very beautiful sentence in the Nirvana Chapter of the Chinese Dharmapada.

All phenomena are products of dependent arising: that is the main point of the prajñāpāramitā teaching.

Form is emptiness, emptiness is form, is a skillful means created temporarily by the Buddhas of the three times.

Contra TNH, I take the second phrase with śūnyatāyām to be a reference to śūnyatāvihāra or śūnyatāsamādhi, i.e., a (meditative) state of emptiness, described in the Pāḷi Suttas (MN 121, 122) as one in which no experiences arise. The skandhas are the processes by which experience arises. In the state of emptiness these processes seem to be suspended. In emptiness, therefore, there is literally no rūpa, no vedanā, no saṃjñā, no saṃskāra, and no vijñāna. There's no paradox here. It is a simple description of a meditative state. And note that if rūpa meant "body", then the traditional interpretation would suggest that the body disappears in śūnyatāvihāra. Of course, from the point of view of the meditator their body does disappear. But this is not an objective fact. The meditator in emptiness has no way of stepping outside the experience to be objective, because "outside" and "inside" cease to have any meaning in samādhi.

So, my solution to the problem is very different to that proposed by TNH. I take "form is emptiness" to be nonsense created by a zealot who mindlessly mangled a perfectly good simile that can be found intact in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā. And I take "in emptiness there is no form" to be descriptive of what goes on in the (meditative) state of emptiness. This is unconventional, since most commentators find little connection between the Pāḷi word suññatā, which usually means something like "absence", as in the absence of experience, while the Sanskrit word śūnyatā is a quality ascribed to dharmas, e.g., sarvadharmāḥ śūnyatālakṣaṇā, "all dharmas are characterised by emptiness", though it can also refer to the absence of essence or svabhāva. I suspect that allegiances will play a major role in deciding what facts are most salient to this issue, and that this will determine which solution sounds more plausible.

Thay believes that Hui-neng is wrong in the conception of his poem expressing the core of the precepts.

Edward Conze, in A Short History Of Buddhism, says "'Skill in means' is the ability to bring out the spiritual potentialities of different people by statements or actions which are adjusted to their needs and adapted to their capacity for comprehension."

question for My Sanzen some day, perhaps...