One of the best commentaries on the Heart Sutra

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	• Essence of the Heart Sutra: The Dalai Lama's Heart of Wisdom Teachings The Dalai Lama Wisdom Publications, 2005 - 192 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Dalai Lama on the Heart Sutra

In its enigmatic 25 lines, the Heart Sutra is one of the most difficult of Buddhist Scriptures but also one of the most rewarding. It is a basic text of Mahayana Buddhism and recited daily in monasteries and by practicing Buddhists throughout the world.

There are many commentaries, ancient and modern, on this text, but I found this recent book by the Dalai Lama, "Essence of the Heart Sutra" an outstanding place for the beginner to start. The Dalai Lama's book also will reward study by those having great prior familarity with the text. The book is based on a series of lectures that the Dalai Lama gave at the Land of Medicine Buddhist center in California and at the Three Rivers Dharma in Pittsburg.

This work is much more than a commentary on the Heart Sutra. It is equally valuable as an introduction to Buddhism and as a compendium of the teachings of the Dalai Lama. It is instructive to see how the Dalai Lama weaves his broad material together into a coherent whole. Thus, in the first part of the book, the Dalai Lama offers broad-based comments on the spiritual dimension of life, of the relationship between Buddhism and other religions, and of the fundamentals of Buddhist teachings. It is inspiring to hear words of ecumenicism, tolerance, and willingness to learn from others. It is also important to read the Dalai Lama's exposition of the basic Buddhist teaching of Dependent Origination, which is, in later sections of the book, tied masterfully to the interpretation of the Heart Sutra.

The second part of the book offers a translation and commentary on the Heart Sutra. Consistent with his opening chapters, the Dalai Lama stresses the continuity between this Mahayana text and its earlier predecessors in Theravada Buddhism. (Many other commentaries emphasize how the Heart Sutra departs from and differs from its predecessors.) In addition, in a few brief pages the Dalai Lama offers great insight into the fundamental teaching of emptiness --- that reality is "empty of intrinsic existence." He points out clearly that the Sutra does not teach that nothing exists -- a nihilistic doctrine. Instead, the Dalai Lama relates the teaching of the Sutra to the doctrine of Dependent Origination -- stressing the lack of independent existence, substantiality, and ego. He discusses different ways in which various Buddhist schools interpret the doctrine of emptiness -- including the "mind-only" school and two variants of the "middle-way" school. This material is difficult but important and not stressed in various other commentaries that I have read.

The final part of the Dalai' Lama's study discusses the Bodhisattva path of Mahayana Buddhism -- the decision to dedicate oneself to the welfare of others -- and relates it to the text of the Heart Sutra. There are teachings and practices here on learning to practice lovingkindness, also set forth in other writings of the Dalai Lama, but informed here by the discussion of emptiness and nonclinging in the Heart Sutra. This discussion, and the short epilogue, tie together the ecumenical material in the book with the elucidation and analysis of the Heart Sutra.

This book presents difficult, profound teachings in an accessible readable way. It is ideal for the beginning student or for those who want to explore the Heart Sutra to see what it might offer. It also presents an exposition of this text by the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. For those who want to read further and compare and contrast other approaches to this inexhaustible text, I recommend Red Pine's study "The Heart Sutra" and Donald Lopez' "Elaborations of Emptiness", a detailed and difficult analysis of the Heart Sutra in light of its earliest Indian and Tibetan commentaries.

Robin Friedman

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One of the best commentaries on the Heart Sutra

The Heart Sutra is one of the shortest, yet one of the most complex and difficult to interpret buddhist sutras. In his typical clear, organized, analytical style, HHDL provides the reader with an excellent, understandable commentary. I have read several commentaries on this sutra over the years, and I hold this book as one of the treasures in my library.

I also appreciate the commentary The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra by Thich Nhat Hanh. Although his is more analytically simple, and he and HHDL are from very different backgrounds, it is very rewarding to compare the similarities.

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Wonderful introduction to Buddhist thought

The Dalai Lama does an excellent job of explaining the place of the Heart Sutra within Buddhist thought and of explicating the Sutra itself. Even the rather challenging concept of shunyata (emptiness, voidness of inherent existence) is rendered straightforwardly and clearly. Not just a good commentary on the Heart Sutra, but also a good book to start with if you want to know more about Buddhism.

I might suggest reading this book after, say, Chogyam Trungpa's Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. If you find this book useful and want to know more about shunyata in particulary (VERY important in Mahayana Buddhism), I would suggest going on to Mu Soeng's commentary on the Diamond Sutra (in spite of a few minor flaws) and then to Jay Garfield's translation of Nagarjuna's Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way.
This book is a keeper.

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Get to the heart of Buddhism

This book is wonderful. The Dali Lama may be the greatest person currently with us who can expound great Buddhist truths so that we can all understand. This book will give you a powerful and deep perspective on the brief writing of the heart sutra and on Buddhism as a whole. The biggest key learning for me was to finally understand the saying the form is emptiness and emptiness is form. This book explained that all things are empty of non conditional existence. All things are impermanent and continuously change. This includes what we perceive to be ourselves. All things are dependant on other things for there existence, they have no reality in and of themselves.
The last chapter explains the way of the Bodhisattva (saint) which is to show loving-kindness to all beings by cultivating an image of everyone being your mother or Buddha or someone very close to you. Love thy neighbor as thyself. Buddha and Jesus are in complete agreement.

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A Classic

The best exposition of the Heart Sutra anywhere. It pays to understand the foundation and seed from which something so important and profound grows. The Dalai Lama tackles the profundity in a clear, thorough and easy to understand fashion. Until reading this book I thought I understood. I now realize that my grasp was seriously flawed. I am grateful to the author and all who participated in making this book available to the reading public.

reviews: page 1, 2

For more than 2,000 years, the Heart Sutra has been of central importance to millions of Buddhists. Whether memorized, chanted, or studied, this sacred text is often looked to for inspiration. Based on talks the Dalai Lama gave in the spring of 2001, Essence of the Heart Sutra is a masterful translation of the Dalai Lama's teachings and reflections on the Heart Sutra, teachings that provide fresh insights on a mainstay of Buddhist practice. In addition to providing the words of the Dalai Lama, this book also brings together an overview of Buddhism, background material, and complete commentaries to elucidate the teachings and place them in their proper context. These bonus materials make Essence of the Heart Sutra a book that can be valued by beginners as well as one that provides seasoned Buddhists with many delightful new facts and ideas. A deeply profound and powerful book, Essence of the Heart Sutra provides precious thoughts on how to appreciate life's endeavor.

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