March 13, 2006
Heart Sutra in English
On Chanting Meditation
Wisdom Cultivation
As I mentioned in an earlier entry, in my own life and praxis, I am gradually replacing SGI training with the traditional samatha practices of Buddhism. This left me with somewhat of a dilemma, since there are several chanting meditations that I enjoy, but are probably Insight-Wisdom genre, rather than samatha cultivation. This includes some of the esoteric mantras. I want to be clear in my own mind what I am doing. As I advise others: For best resuts, I recommend learning the meaning & purpose of each chant, and matching it with the proper mandala, honzon, or other visualization.
The distinction between calming & concentrtion {Samatha} meditation and insight-wisdom-midfulness {vipassana} cultivation is subtle. One difference is a shift from cultivations {bhavana} toward meditation on "the three signs" in traditional Vippassana; or in the Prajna-Paramitta, on the Emptiness of all Phenomenon.
Another is that Samatha Bhavana still assumes a substance to self & others; while Insight Meditations transcend the Realm of Form. Also, in the former the idea is to overcome the Five Hindrances; in the latter, the goal is the eradicaton of the Five Kleshas -- or in the Vajra, perhaps transmutation of them.
Of all the chants in these wisdom/vajra genres, there is one short sutra and one vajra [or two] mantras I indulge in. The Sutra, is of course, the short version of the Heart Sutra. It is known as Bhagavata Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra in Sanskrit, and Hannya Haramitta Shingyo in Japan. There are sound files of Japanese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean & Tibetan readings available. I prefer the English & Hybrid Sanskrit versions.
There is no mandala per se, that I know of, specific to the Heart Sutra, or its mantra. I think the Japanese Zen schools that stress the Heart Sutra might enshrine the historical Shakyamuni on the altar?
.................Heart Sutra English Real Player version .......................................................... Heart Sutra English MP3
Click sound links to play, right click to either download or open in a new window. {If sound file links are blocked, try again later.} Or if you join dharmapix with a yahoo ID, or are already a member there, you can access the mp3 here dpxhs1a.mp3 or the .ram here dpxhs1.mp3
The original host site is The Kwan Um School of Zen. Scroll down, they have a Korean reading too.
Jesus on Emptiness & Awakening to the Deathless
"Jesus said: He who uncovers The significance of these words Shall not taste death. ... Know what is before you. That which is hidden will be revealed. ... This Heaven shall pass away and that above shall pass away. The dead no longer live. The living no longer die. ... When you were one You were made two, but when you are two, what are you going to do? ... I shall give you what no eye has seen, No ear heard, no hand touched nor any heart received." -- from The Gospel of Thomas as Translated by Nancy Johnson
If you need Real Player: Free Real Player For Real Player presentations (.ram) Real Audio/Real Video (.rm) Search VERY CAREFULLY for the link on their the link on their page that will read say something like "FREE Real Player" or "DOWNLOAD our FREE PLAYER".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Comments Follow: New Comments may be added if open ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Robin:I (we) will all be very interested in your reporting on the nuances of other meditational methods and states of consciousness. You are adept at Daimoku samadhi and it will be fascinating to read of the various subtleties of the various trance states. We need an evolved lingo for descriptions of these levels and other nonlocal events. I believe this site is making a significant contribution to that process.
Charles
Posted by: Charles at August 8, 2005 04:46 PM
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Charles,
My head is intact, so far.
By the way, the Heart Sutra is a good way to learn to chant in English and Sanskrit. That is one reason that it attracted me. I might also later on link versions in several dialects -- Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, & Cantonese.
I am now using my own remote file sharing and
storage sites for sound files & pix.
In the entry, there is a link to the only sanskrit version I have heard. The source is unknown.
Also an English version from a Korean Group that has been shared around the web for a while. I finally found & have linked the orginal source.
Posted by: robin at August 8, 2005 06:12 PM
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Robin
I was wondering why you added quotes from the Gospel of Thomas to your post. The reason I ask is that prior to becoming a Sokka Gakkai Buddhist in Tokyo 18 years ago I was a catholic. Over the last 2 years I decided to take a very long hard look at Catholicism from the Buddhist perspective and from the perspective of the form of Buddhism I have been taught here in Japan. I recently read the Gospel of Thomas, along with the entire finding from the Nag Hammadi find. I was very taken with the strong parallels between it and Buddhist writings. On the basis of this, I read a book called The Secret Years of Christ, which talks about Christ's journeys in Kashmir prior to returning for his Crucifixion. I was amazed at all the Buddhist documentation that exists to support these journeys and the fact that he studied many form of Buddhism in the region. As you can guess, I am also currently working through the PR, facts, and misleading information I have been taught. Thanks for a very informative Blog. Keep up the good work.
Peter Kearney (Tokyo)
Posted by: Peter Kearney at August 9, 2005 02:43 AM
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Hi Peter,
I was taken by the fact, that if excerpts are taken from the GoT, then it looks like a non-dualist, innate anlightenment text. Moreover, the excerpts I chose read like the Heart Sutra.
In the entry on Mikkyo & the Samaya, what Jesus is quoted as saying about the Pharisees reminds me of Saicho's and Nichiren's critique of Shingon Elitism. If I recall correctly, Nichiren spoke of 'Thieves of the Dharma.'
Even if there was no Buddhist influence on Jesus, or any cross pollination, there is clearly a similar feel to the wisdom teachings attributed to him, and the Wisdom {Prajna/Hannya} teachings of Buddhism.
I do think the 'no connection' theory is less likely than the 'direct connection' theory. But the latter is best viewed with some skepticism.
Thanks for the comments,
With Metta/Maitri/Apage,
robin
Posted by: robin at August 9, 2005 03:28 AM
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Hi Robin,
Thanks for your blog, it is a great resource for us. This entry brings to mind Roshi Glassman's commentary on the Heart Sutra in his book "Infinite Circle" - I'd like to share an excerpt which as a Nichiren practitioner has helped me to understand that we really have much more in common with other Buddhist schools - particularly Zen, that we think.
Roshi Glassman:
Some people say it's not necessary to read the Heart Sutra in its English translation, that the essence of this Wisdom literature can be achieved by just chanting it in the original Sanskrit. Before I review the meaning of the title [daimoku], let me say that when you truly just chant the Heart Sutra, all of it is contained in the act of just chanting. When we chant in such a way that nothing else is happening, all our mental and physical energies are are condensed into just being the sound...If we put all our energy into just chanting in this manner, there is no separation, and that state of no separation is the state of sunyata, or "emptiness," or what I also call not-knowing... In a way, the whole text - as well as all of Zen teaching - is summed up in this title.
Posted by: tropicalotus at August 9, 2005 09:24 AM
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For Peter:
You mentioned that you read "The Secret Years of Christ,"
There is another book along the same lines, but may be out of print now called, "Jesus Lived in India: His Unknown Life Before and After The Crucifixaion," by Holger Kersten, Element Books, Great Britain, 1994, ISBN# 1852305509. This book has been severely bolasted by critics (traditionalist Christians), but this has the ring of truth to it like one of those big kaikan bells.
It goes into depth about how the magi found Jesus, just like the Tibetan Monks find reicarnated lamas. It delevs very deeply into the "missing years," where he recieved extensive religious training in Buddhism and the Vedic traditions in India. And goes so far as to give precise details supported by very compelling evidence that Christ actually survived the crucifixtion, and was later, after meeting with his disciples behind closed doors, returned to India with his mother and Mary Magdeline to continue his life, where he died at around 80 years old. There is actually a shrine there surrounding his coffin. Oh, and there is sooooo much more on it. If you can find this book, it will surely fill in some gaps in your research.
Charles
Posted by: Charles at August 9, 2005 03:45 PM
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From an earlier thread:
Comments
Hi, Robin - thanks for the links. Ir 3ecently bought myself a CD of some very melodic and beautiful chanting of the Heart Sutra - picked it up at the Hsi Lai Temple here in LA ( the temple famed for Al Gore's fundraising gaffe in 2000). Anyway, what I really enjoyed about your links and my new CD is the melodic and musciaol quality of the chanting. After 20 years of droning at the same pitch, anf believing that was the "only" way to do things - this is very refreshing. I look forward to more from you. Best, Byrd in LA
Posted by: Byrd in LA at March 15, 2005 01:11 PM
Hi Byrd,
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Thank you for the comments. We have a mettawaves yahoo group that has some research & screening samples of the Heart Sutra in several languages. I chant it some in English and am learning a sanskrit version.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dharmapix/
Posted by: robin at March 15, 2005 09:43 PM