The sound of my teacher’s voice is comforting, and also charged with his emphatic instruction to practice, practice, practice in every instant. I am fortunate to have recorded so many moments sitting with Shifu at his hermitage in the Zhongnan Mountains, including this recitation of the Heart Sutra.
Recently I received an email from a practitioner who was moved by my shifu’s recitation of this scripture in THE MOUNTAIN PATH (@ 15min, 16sec). When the Heart Sutra is recited during the Morning and Evening Liturgy in a Chinese Buddhist monastery, it is recited quickly and in a staccato, monotone style. Here, Shifu recites it in a traditional melody common to Buddhist liturgy that I think is stirring and beautiful.
My teacher is by nature a very creative and expressive person; an artist at heart. We had many conversations about how to capture the hermit life in a film. I asked him to record some recitations for the sound-design of the documentary. The Heart Sutra recitation posted here is one of those recordings. Part of it appears in THE MOUNTAIN PATH, but this is the complete recording including an introduction and a closing. I post it here for others to enjoy and learn from.
For an explanation of this Sutra, its purpose and place in the history of Buddhist thought, I recommend my friend Red Pine’s (Bill Porter) translation and commentary.
Here is a translation of the text by Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh that I also like:
The Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
Avalokiteshvara
while practicing deeply with
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore,
suddenly discovered that
all of the five Skandhas are equally empty,
and with this realisation
he overcame all Ill-being.
“Listen Sariputra,
this Body itself is Emptiness
and Emptiness itself is this Body.
This Body is not other than Emptiness
and Emptiness is not other than this Body.
The same is true of Feelings,
Perceptions, Mental Formations,
and Consciousness.
“Listen Sariputra,
all phenomena bear the mark of Emptiness;
their true nature is the nature of
no Birth no Death,
no Being no Non-being,
no Defilement no Purity,
no Increasing no Decreasing.
“That is why in Emptiness,
Body, Feelings, Perceptions,
Mental Formations and Consciousness
are not separate self entities.
The Eighteen Realms of Phenomena
which are the six Sense Organs,
the six Sense Objects,
and the six Consciousnesses
are also not separate self entities.
The Twelve Links of Interdependent Arising
and their Extinction
are also not separate self entities.
Ill-being, the Causes of Ill-being,
the End of Ill-being, the Path,
insight and attainment,
are also not separate self entities.
Whoever can see this
no longer needs anything to attain.
Bodhisattvas who practice
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
see no more obstacles in their mind,
and because there
are no more obstacles in their mind,
they can overcome all fear,
destroy all wrong perceptions
and realize Perfect Nirvana.
“All Buddhas in the past, present and future
by practicing
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
are all capable of attaining
Authentic and Perfect Enlightenment.
“Therefore Sariputra,
it should be known that
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
is a Great Mantra,
the most illuminating mantra,
the highest mantra,
a mantra beyond compare,
the True Wisdom that has the power
to put an end to all kinds of suffering.
Therefore let us proclaim
a mantra to praise
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore.
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!”
A link to this text is here:
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/thich-nhat-hanh-new-heart-sutra-translation/