The Heart Sutra is heard and seen everywhere in Japan. Some of the kanji however, are a little archaic. Also, as I have found, the text is full of long strings of kanji used purely phonetically to represent Buddhist names and terms from Sanskrit. Also, it would appear that this whole text is actually Chinese, from around the year 600.
This is my attempt to decipher and memorize the whole thing.
Once that is completed, I will post a nice PDF where you can trace the Sutra as you do at many temples.
This will be a work in progress over the next few weeks.
I have found a few good videos. The one below is romaji, but I will post some with kanji and hiragana
First, here is a list of the kanji and what they mean, with some notes. I used カタカナ for purely phonetic kanji. I will be working on this document a little more.
佛 ぶっ Buddha Buddha Usually 佛 in Heart Sutra, but commonly 仏.
説 せつ theory 佛説 Buddha’s teaching
摩 マ chafe
訶 か scold マハ great
般 ハン generally
若 二ゃ young
波 ハ wave
羅 ラ spread out
蜜 ミッ honey is 密 an alternative?
多 タ many ハン二ゃハラミッタ Prajnaparamita , the perfection of wisdom. This whole text is a discourse on this concept of the essential emptiness of existence.
心 しん heart heart
経 ぎょう passage of time sutra
That is the title, now it starts. Some times I hear the chanting start on the “まか” above, and sometimes on the “はんにゃ”, but usually it starts on the line below.
観 カン view
自 ジ self
在 ザイ exist -Avalokita – 観音, かんのん in Japan. This is Kannon speaking!
菩 ぼ sacred tree
薩 さつ salvation, Buddha 菩薩 bodhisattva
行 ぎょう go practice
深 じん deep
般 ハン
若 二ゃ
波 ハ
羅 ラ
蜜 ミッ
多 タ
時 じ time now
照 しょう illuminate clearly
見 けん see sees
五 ご five five
蘊 うん pile up 五蘊 the five aggregates the 五蘊 are 色, 受,想,行,識. Suffering arises when a being clings to these aggregates.
皆 かい all all
空 くう sky empty
度 ど degrees free from
一 いっ one
切 さい cut all
苦 く suffering suffering
厄 やく unlucky unhappiness
舎 シャ cottage
利 り profit
子 シ child Sariputra one of the Buddhas two main disciples. Usually written as 舎利弗 , しゃりほつ. 舎利仏 is receiving this teaching.
色 しき color form
不 ふ not not
異 い differ different
空 くう sky emptiness
空 くう sky emptiness
不 ふ not not
異 い differ different
色 しき color form
色 しき color form
即 そく instant then
是 ぜ absolutely is
空 くう sky emptiness
空 くう sky emptiness
即 そく instant then
是 ぜ absolutely is
色 しき color form
受 じゅ accept feeling
想 そう concept perception
行 ぎょう go volition
識 しき discerning consciousness
亦 やく also also
復 ぶ restore again
如 にょ likeness same
是 ぜ absolutely are
舎 シャ
利 リ
子 シ Sariputra
是 ぜ absolutely are
諸 しょ various all
法 ほう method dharmas Dharma is a complex term, difficult to define or translate. The common definition of “cosmic law” works fine here.
空 くう sky empty
相 そう mutual appearances
不 ふ not not
生 しょう life born
不 ふ not not
滅 めつ destroy destroyed
不 ふ not not
垢 く dirt dirty
不 ふ not not
浄 じょう cleanse clean
不 ふ not not
増 ぞう increase increasing
不 ふ not not
減 げん decrease decreasing
是 ぜ absolutely
故 こ circumstance is
空 くう sky emptiness
中 ちゅう middle within
無 む nothing no
色 しき color form
無 む nothing no
受 じゅ accept feeling
想 そう concept perception
行 じょう go volition
識 しき discerning consciousness
無 む no no
眼 げん eyeball eye
耳 に ear ear
鼻 び nose nose
舌 ぜっ tongue tongue
身 しん somebody body
意 い idea mind
無 む no no
色 しき color color
聲 しょう voice sound 声 in WK
香 こう fragrance smell
味 み flavor taste
触 そく touch touch
法 ほう method dharma
This next section is where I officially leave the realm of easy translation. I have been freely borrowing from a variety of translations from the internet. So far, I have understood the logic of the translations well enough to be confident in them without turning this into a major research project. The 限界 and the 識界 are the first and last of the Eighteen Dhatus, 18 classifications of all knowable things. So the 乃至 is used here (and other places) as “etc.” “and so on.” The Sutra presumes we just understand this because of our extensive training Buddhism. I don’t know what these terms are in Japanese, or even if there are any, and it is well beyond the scope of this project.
Earlier, we had the five aggregates, form, feeling, volition, perception, and consciousness listed out in entirety. Later, we will have more lists not entirely spelled out.
無 む no no
眼 げん eyeball sensory
界 かい world realms
乃 ない from
至 し attain
無 む no
意 い idea
識 しき discerning consciousness
界 かい world realm
無 む no no
無 む no no
明 みょう bright wisdom as a word 明 is みょう, wisdom. The beginning of another list.
亦 やく also also alternate form of 又
無 む no no
無 む no no
明 みょう bright wisdom
盡 じん 不 exhaust jinmeiyo kanji
乃 ない from and so on
至 し attain until
無 む no no
老 ろう elderly
死 し death
亦 やく also
無 む no
老 ろう elderly
死 し death
盡 じん exhaust Here is the end of our next non-elucidated list. The first of the 12 links of dependent origination is ignorance, the last is old age and death. This passage negates all of them.
無 む no no
苦 く suffering suffering
集 しゅう collect origin
滅 めつ destroy cessation
道 どう road path My copy of The Teaching of the Buddha gives 苦諦, 集諦, 滅諦, and 道諦 as the four noble truths.
無 む no no
智 ち wisdom wisdom
亦 やく 不 also
無 む no no
得 とく gain attainment
以 い from because
無 む no no
所 しょう place
得 とく acquire
故 こ circumstance
菩 ぼ 不
提 だい present
薩 さっ 不
埵 た 不
依 え reliant
般 ハン
若 二ゃ
波 ハ
羅 ラ
蜜 ミッ
多 タ
故 こ circumstance
心 しん heart
無 む no no
罣 けい 不 hinder
礙 げ 不 obstruct
無 む no no
罣 けい 不 hinder
礙 げ 不 obstruct
故 こ circumstance
無 む no no
有 う have
恐 く fear
怖 ふ scary
遠 おん scooter
離 り detach
一 いっ one
切 さい cut
顚 てん 不 peak now written as 顛 or 転
倒 どう overthrow
夢 む dream
想 そう concept
究 く research
竟 きょう 不 end 究竟 after all, in the end
涅 ネ 不 black soil
槃 ハン 不 tub ネハン = nirvana
三 さん three
世 ぜ world
諸 しょ various all
佛 ぶつ Bhudda Buddhas
依 え reliant follow
般 ハン
若 二ゃ
波 ハ
羅 ラ
蜜 ミッ
多 タ
故 こ circumstance
得 とく acquire
阿 アノ
耨 ク
多 タ
羅 ラ
三 サン
藐 ミャ
三 サン
菩 ボ
提 ダイ Anuttara samyaksambodhi, nirvana
故 こ circumstance
知 ち know
般 ハン
若 二ゃ
波 ハ
羅 ラ
蜜 ミッ
多 タ
是 ぜ absolutely
大 だい big
神 しん god
咒 しゅ curse mantra 呪 in WK
是 ぜ absolutely
大 だい big
明 みょう bright
咒 しゅ mantra
是 ぜ absolutely
無 む no
上 じょう above higher
咒 しゅ mantra
是 ぜ absolutely
無 む no
等 とう equal
等 どう equal what a great japanese word to find in an essentially Chinese text. 等々 is usually とうとう.
咒 しゅ mantra
能 のう ability
除 じょ exclude
一 いっ one
切 さい cut 一切 all
苦 く suffering
真 しん reality
實 じつ truth
不 ふ not
虚 こ void
故 こ circumstance
説 せつ theory
般 ハン
若 二ゃ
波 ハ
羅 ラ
蜜 ミッ
多 タ
咒 しゅ mantra
即 そく instant
説 せつ theory
咒 しゅ mantra
曰 わつ say not in WK
羯 ギャ
諦 テイ
羯 ギャ
諦 テイ
波 ハ
羅 ラ
羯 ギャ
諦 テイ
波 ハ
羅 ラ
僧 ソウ
羯 ギャ
諦 テイ
菩 ボ
提 ジ
薩 ソ
婆 ワ
訶 カ
般 ハン
若 ニャ
心 しん
經 ぎょう Next, here are the paper flashcards, done for now. Three of the kanji do not have stroke order, because they do not exist in stroke order font. Just use your normal rules …
Finally, here is the \LaTeX code if your are interested:
I use the flacards class because it is super simple. The xeCJK package is the way to go to typeset kanji.
Finally, here is a printout to trace (it reads in columns, right to let):
Please print it out and give it a try!
Still to do:
- further kanji research
- compose banjo accompaniment
- write up tablature for banjo
- record
