The Sutra of My Heart (送你一首渡河的歌)

from left to right: Chen Li-an (陳履安), 施寄青, and Hong Chi-sung (洪啟嵩老師).

(To be continued…)

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Teacher Hong Chi-sung’s (洪啟嵩) new book, “The Sutra of My Heart” (“送你一首渡河的歌“), translated the famous “Heart Sutra” (“心經“) as follows:

This sutra is the hear of great wisdom which transcends everything. (觀自在菩薩，)
The freeness-of-vision Bodhisattva enlightens all and saw through the five skandhas which were empty, (行深般若波羅蜜多時，)
while living the complete transcendental wisdom. (照見五蘊皆空，)
And, so, was beyond suffering. (度一切苦厄。)
Listen. Sariputra! (舍利子!)
Substance is not different from emptiness; (色不異空，)
emptiness is not different from substance. (空不異色，)
And substance is the same as emptiness; (色即是空，)
emptiness is the same as substance. (空即是色。)
Feeling, thinking, willing, awareness, (受想行識，)
are also like this: empty. (亦復如是。)
Listen. Sariputra! (舍利子!)
All are empty; (是諸法空相，)
non-beginning, non-ending, (不生不滅，)
non-impurity, non-purity, (不垢不淨，)
non-increasing, non-decreasing, (不增不減。)
So, in emptiness, there is no substance, (是故空中無色，)
feeling, thinking, willing, or awareness. (無受想行識，)
There are no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or awareness. (無眼耳鼻舌身意，)
There is no substance, sound, smell, taste, feeling of touching, or thought. (無色身香味觸法，)
There is no realm for the sense of eyes or other senses, (無眼界，)
nor even a realm of awareness. (乃至無意識界，)
There is no unawareness, (無無明，)
nor cessation of unawareness. (亦無無明盡，)
Also no senility or death; (乃至無老死，)
no cessation of senility or of death. (亦無老死盡，)
There is no suffering, no cause of suffering, no cessation of suffering, no cessation of suffering path. (無苦集滅道，)
There is no wisdom and no achievement. (無智亦無得，)
Because there is no achievement. (以無所得故。)
Bodhisattva, (菩提薩埵，)
transcending perfect wisdom, (依般若波羅蜜多故，)
is not mind-clouded; (心無罣礙，)
Mind unclouded, (無罣礙故，)
is liberated from existence and fears; (無有恐怖，)
free of confusion, (遠離顛倒夢想，)
attains complete, high Nirvana. (究竟涅槃。)
All Buddhas, past, present and future, (三世諸佛，)
transcend perfect wisdom and are supremely, (依般若波羅蜜多故，)
completely and perfectly enlightened. (得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，)
So Prajñāpāramitā, (故知般若波羅蜜多是大神咒，)
the insight of emptiness, (是大明咒，)
is the great holy verse, the wisdom of enlightenment, (是無上咒，)
unequalled and incomparable, (是無等等咒，)
It eliminates suffering. (能除一切苦，)
This is true and not false. (真實不虛，)
So, we speak aloud (故說般若波羅多咒，)
and recite the Prajñāpāramitā: (即說咒曰：)
Gate Gate (Gone, gone, gone beyond.) (「揭諦，揭諦，)
Pāra-gate (All things to the other shore.) (波羅揭諦，)
Pāra-saṃgate (Gone completely beyond all, to the other shore.) (波羅僧揭諦，)
Bodhi Svāhā (Enlightening wisdom. All perfect.) (菩提薩婆訶。」)