Paper: Origin of the Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra
From Dharmaweb
PRAJNAPARAMITA-HRDAYA SUTRA
Gary L. Ray
To begin by looking at the Prajnaparamita-hrdaya-sutra (or Heart Sutra) by itself would be a grave mistake. The "Wisdom sutras" as a whole, must be analyzed to obtain an accurate perspective of how the Heart Sutra fits into the Prajnaparamita puzzle. After determining the place of the Heart Sutra, it's various translations can be discussed.
The collection of Prajnaparamita Sutras, over 40 in number, originate in India and were written in an Indic or Central Asian language other than Sanskrit. The first sutra was the Prajnaparamita Sutra in 8,000 lines in 32 chapters. The development of this particular version, and subsequent versions, can be divided into four distinct phases of development:
1. Development of the basic 8,000 line version (ca. 100 BC to 100 AD)
2. Enlargement of the basic text (ca. AD 100 to 300)
3. Development of shorter sutras and "versified summaries" (ca. 300-500)
4. The influence of Tantra and the writing of commentaries (ca. 500-1200)
The Heart Sutra was created in the third stage of development and is "the best known of all Prajnaparamita texts." It is recited daily by almost every Buddhist school, except for Pure Land and Nichiren. The Heart Sutra contains the essence of Mahayana Buddhism (the essence of Buddhism itself if you ask a Mahayana Buddhist master), including the four noble truths, the five skandhas, and the method for realizing enlightenment. The most important and often cited quote from the Heart Sutra is: "form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form..." This essential Mahayana doctrine is the Madhyamika philosophical affirmation that all dharmas (fundamental elements of reality) are impermanent, and that this impermanence is the basis for all dharmas.
If you exclude the Tibetan sutra "Perfect Wisdom in One Letter", which Edward Conze considers in a class by itself, the Heart Sutra is the smallest sutra of the prajnaparamita collection. The Heart Sutra is made up of 14 slokas in Sanskrit; a sloka composed of 32 syllables. In Chinese, it is 262 characters, while in English it is composed of only sixteen sentences.
Not much is known of the history of the Prajnaparamita sutras in India, but the first translations into Chinese were made by Lokakshema (AD 147-85), a translator from Northwestern India. Lokakshema travelled to China, where he translated the Wisdom Sutra In Eight Thousand Lines (Prajnaparamita-Ratnagunasamcayagatha, or Rgs). It is from his peculiar translation, which includes the transliteration of non-Sanskrit terms, that it is believed the Prajnaparamita Sutra was originally in a non-Sanskrit language. The prajnaparamita-hrdaya-sutra was not included in Lokakshema's translations, but would be translated shortly thereafter by Hsuan- tsang.
The first translation of the Prajnaparamita-hrdaya-sutra was made (CE 662-663) by the famous Chinese translator and Buddhist master, Hsuan-tsang. After completing his translation of the prajnaparamita-sutra in 8,000 lines and the Prajnaparamita-hrdaya- sutra, Hsuang-tsang said:
"This sutra has a deep bond with China. I came to Yu-hua
Palace because of the power of the sutra. Earlier, in
the capital, where I was occupied with unrelated tasks,
I could do nothing, but now I have finally managed to
finish the translation. This is due only to the divine
protection of the buddhas and the help of heavenly
beings. This Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra is the
scripture that brings peace to and protects the country
and is the greatest treasure of human beings and
heaven."
Shortly after this four year translation project, Hsuan-tsang died quietly.
After Hsuan-tsang, many translators worked with the Heart Sutra in Chinese, Sanskrit and Tibetan manuscripts. The most notable Chinese works follow, with reference to their place in the Taisho collection:
1. Translated by Kumarajiva (402 AD) Taisho Tripitaka, ed. at Tokyo, 1924-1934 (TTP). No. 250; vol. III, p. 847.
2. Translated by Hiouen-thsang, Hiouen-chuang. (649 AD) TTP. No. 251; vol. VIII, p. 848.
3. Translated by Dharmacandra from Eastern India (738 AD). TTP. No. 253; vol VIII, p. 849.
4. Translated by Prajna from Northern India with Li- yen (790 AD). TTP. No. 253; vol VIII, p. 849.
5. Translated by Jnanacakra from "The Western Countries" (847-859 AD) TTP. No. 254; vol. VIII, p. 850.
6. Translated by Fa-Cheng (Gos-chos-grub in Tibetan) from Tibet (847-859 AD) TTP. No. 255; vol VIII, p. 850.
7. Translated by Shih-hu (982 AD). TTP. No. 257; vol VIII, p. 852.
8. Prajnaparamita-hrydaya-sutra transcribed in Chinese characters, found from Tun-huang; TTP. No. 256; vol VIII, p. 851.
After this period of scholarship, lasting from the fifth to the tenth century, the next translation was created in Japan. From a preserved Sanskrit text, by Max Muller and Bunio Nanjio, in: Anecdota Ox. Aryan Series I, 3, Oxford, 1884. Cf. L. Feer, L'Essence de la Science Transcendante en trois langues, Tib., Sk., Mongol, Paris, 1866, translated the Heart Sutra with funding from the Oxford University Press.
There is also a version of the Prajnaparamita-hrydaya sutra in the Tibetan Canon, with extensive commentary. The Heart Sutra played an extremely important role in Tibetan Buddhism, especially in its influence on the ontological disputes between the Yogacara and Madhyamaka schools.
Modern translations from the Chinese of the Heart Sutra are usually taken from the Taisho Edition, especially Hiouen-thsang and Hiouen-chuang's translation (649 AD), Number 251 of the Taisho Shinshu Daizokyo (85 volumes, Tokyo: Taisho Issaikyo Kankokai, 1924-1933). Translations from both Sanskrit and English are usually taken from Edward Conze's translations, the best of which is Buddhist Wisdom Books (1972, New York: Harper. 77-107), which includes a commentary and an English translation. Edward Conze documents his Sanskrit sources by citing the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1948, pages 34-37. I have not been able to document his sources beyond this obscure reference.
Since Conze's ground-breaking translation, there have been many English translations of the Heart Sutra. Since the Heart Sutra is so small, many Buddhist teachers and scholars have made numerous translations, including Donald Lopez, Alan Watts, Robert Aitken and Eido Shimano, Thich Nhat Hanh, Master Hsuan Hua and many others. Despite Edward Conze's belief that the Prajnaparamita sutras "have little significance for the present age," they continue to be a primary teaching tool for many students of Mahayana Buddhism.
