The Heart Sutra

The Heart Sutra or Prajnaparamita Sutra is one of the most important texts in all of Buddhism. Prajna means wisdom and paramita is variously translated as “perfected” or “transcendent.” So this text is about the ultimate wisdom. In a way that is both direct and inscrutable, it lays out the path to liberation from suffering. 

Though I’ve recited it for close to 30 years, I’m not sure I understand it today any better than I did when I first read it—but my relationship to it grows deeper and deeper in ways I can’t describe. It exerts a kind of magic.

If you’re interested in learning more and considering how you might incorporate it into your personal practice, please listen to this free one-hour talk about it all. In it I look at the text line by line, discuss how it is practiced, and offer suggestions on how to bring it into your own practice. 

The version that is discussed is here. You’ll see that it’s not particularly long.

There is nothing I can say to accurately convey the importance of this text. It points the way to enlightenment. It explains emptiness. In a very concise way, it shows us what to do to be fully alive. 

One of my favorite lines is this: “Since there is no obscuration of mind, there is no fear.” The Heart Sutra points the way to clarifying the confusion that underlies all our fears. 

When it comes to this text, it’s not so useful to wonder what does it mean. It is, however, extremely useful to ask what does it mean…to me?

Please look for a new book from me, Inexplicable Joy: on the Heart Sutra. Coming December 2025.