DESCRIPTION
It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit and Tibetan as well as other source languages. A compelling case has been made by modern scholars that the Heart Sutra is of Chinese origin (see article). Within the context of the complete Mahāprajñāpāramitā this sutra is the version given in 25 lines or verses.
TRANSLATIONS
The Heart Sutra (LUSB Standardized Ed.)CHINESE
Mahāprajñāpāramitā Great Enlightening Spell Sutra 摩訶般若波羅蜜大明呪經. (Kumarajiva translation)T no. 251. Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sutra 般若波羅蜜多心經. Xuanzang 玄 奘, CE 649.
T no. 252. The Storehouse of Omniscience Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sutra 普遍智藏般若波羅蜜多心經. Dharmacandra 法月, CE 741.
T no. 253. Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sutra 般 若 波 羅 蜜 多 心 經. Prajna 般若, CE 790.
T no. 254 Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sutra 般 若 波 羅 蜜 多 心 經 . Prajnacakra 智慧輪, CE 861.
T no. 255. Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sutra 般 若 波 羅 蜜 多 心 經. Fa-ch’eng 法成, CE 856.
T no. 256. Sanskrit Original Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sutra 梵本般若波羅蜜多心經. Attributed to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Xuanzang.
T no. 257. Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on the Holy Mother of Buddhas Prajñāpāramitā 佛 說 聖 佛 母 般 若 波 羅 蜜 多 經. Dānapāla 施 護, ca. CE 1005.
ENGLISH
From Chinese
Fox, Douglas A. Heart of Buddhist Wisdom: A Translation of the Heart Sutra With Historical Introduction and Commentary. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 1985.
Hsüan Hua. The Heart of Prajna Paramita Sutra, With Verses Without a Stand and Prose Commentary. San Francisco: The Buddhist Text Translation Society, 1980.
Hurvitz, Leon. “Hsüan-tsang (602-664) and the Heart Scripture.” in Prajñāpāramitā and Related Systems: Studies in Honor of Edward Conze, ed. Lewis Lancaster, Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series No. 1, 103-21. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977.
Luk, Charles. Bilingual Buddhist Series: Sutras & Scriptures; Vol. I. Kaohsiung, Taiwan: Fu Kuang Publisher, 1962.
McRae, John. “Ch’an Commentaries an the Heart Sūtra: Preliminary Inferences on the Permutation of Chinese Buddhism,” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 11, No. 2. (1988): 87-155.
Nhat Hanh, Thich. The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajñaparamita Heart Sutra. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1988.
The Heart Sutra (Thích Nhất Hạnh, 2014)Shih, Heng-Ching. A Comprehensive Commentary on the Heart Sutra (Prajñāpāramitā-Hrdaya-Sūtra). In collaboration with Dan Lusthaus. Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 2001.
Teiser, Stephen F. “Heart Sūtra.” In Ways With Words: Writing About Reading Texts From Early China, ed. Yu, Pauline, Peter Bol, Stephen Owen, and Willard Peterson, 113-116. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
West, Stephen H. “Heart Sūtra.” In Ways With Words: Writing About Reading Texts From Early China, ed. Yu, Pauline, Peter Bol, Stephen Owen, and Willard Peterson, 116-118. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
From Sanskrit
Conze, Edward. Buddhist Wisdom: The Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra. New York: Vintage Books, 2001.
Dalai Lama and Thupten Jinpa. The Essence of the Heart Sutra: The Dalai Lama's Heart of Wisdom Teachings. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2002.
Hixon, Lex. Mother of the Buddhas: Meditation on the Prajnaparamita Sutra. Wheaton: Quest Books, 1993.
Nattier, Jan. “The Heart Sūtra: A Chinese Apocryphal Text?”, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, vol. 15, no. 2 (1992), 153-223.
From both Chinese and Sanskrit
Red Pine. The Heart Sutra: The Womb of Buddhas. Washington, DC: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2004.
From both Sanskrit and Tibetan
Lopez, Donald S., Jr. Elaborations on Emptiness: Uses of the Heart Sūtra. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1996. -------. The Heart Sūtra Explained: Indian and Tibetan Commentaries. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1988.
Nalanda Translation Committee