The Heart Sutra ─ A Comprehensive Guide to the Classic of Mahayana Buddhism

An illuminating in-depth study of one of the most well-known and recited of all the Buddhist texts—by the renowned modern translator. Now in paperback.


The first-century classic Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra may be the best known of all the Buddhist scriptures. It's a key Zen text, chanted daily by many, but it is studied extensively in the Tibetan tradition too. In just forty-two lines, it expresses the truth of impermanence and the release of suffering that results from the understanding of that truth with a breathtaking economy of language. Kazuaki Tanahashi's guide to theHeart Sutra is the result of a life spent working with it and living it. He outlines the history and meaning and then analyzes the text line by line in its various forms (Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, Mongolian, and various key English translations), providing a deeper understanding of the history and etymology of the elusive words than is generally available to the nonspecialist, yet with a clear emphasis on the relevance of the text to practice. It includes a fresh, modern translation of the text by the author and Roshi Joan Halifax.

KAZUAKI TANAHASHI is the translator and editor of numerous works by the great Japanese Zen master Eihei Dogen. He is also a renowned calligrapher, a pioneer of the genre of "one-stroke painting," and the creator of multicolor enso (Zen circles). His brushwork has been shown in solo exhibitions in galleries, museums, and universities all over the world.