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The Heart Sūtra (Sanskrit: प्रज्ञापारमिताहृदय Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya; Chinese: 般若波羅蜜多心經) is a Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtra. Its Sanskrit name Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya literally translates to 'Heart of the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom'.<br/><br/> The Heart Sūtra is often cited as the best known and most popular of all Buddhist scriptures. The core teaching is the remphasis of sunyata / dependent origination as the cardinal doctrine of Buddhism.<br/><br/> The Pāla Empire was one of the major middle kingdoms of India and existed from 750–1174 CE. It was ruled by a Buddhist dynasty from Bengal in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, all the rulers bearing names ending with the suffix Pala (Modern Bengali: পাল pāl), which means protector. The Palas were often described by opponents as the Lords of Gauda. The Palas were followers of the Mahayana and Tantric schools of Buddhism.
The Heart Sūtra, belonging to the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā) category of Mahāyāna Buddhism literature along with the Diamond Sūtra, is perhaps the most prominent representative of the genre. The Heart Sūtra is made up of 14 shlokas in Sanskrit, with each shloka containing 32 syllables. In the standard Chinese translation by Xuanzang, it has 260 Chinese characters. In English it is composed of sixteen sentences.
The Heart Sutra is a member of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) class of Mahayana Buddhist literature, and along with the Diamond Sutra, is the most prominent representative of the genre. The Essence of Wisdom Sutra (Heart Sūtra) is much shorter than the other Perfection of Wisdom sutras but it contains explicitly or implicitly the entire meaning of the longer Sutras. This sutra is classified by Edward Conze as belonging to the third of four periods in the development of the Perfection of Wisdom canon. Conze estimates the sutra's date of origin to be 350 CE. Recent scholarship is unable to verify any date earlier than the 7th century CE. The Chinese version is frequently chanted by the Chan (Zen/Seon/Thien) sects during ceremonies in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam respectively. It is also significant to the Shingon Buddhist school in Japan, whose founder Kūkai wrote a commentary on it, and to the various Tibetan Buddhist schools, where it is studied extensively.
The Heart Sutra is a member of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) class of Mahayana Buddhist literature, and along with the Diamond Sutra, is the most prominent representative of the genre. The Essence of Wisdom Sutra (Heart Sūtra) is much shorter than the other Perfection of Wisdom sutras but it contains explicitly or implicitly the entire meaning of the longer Sutras. This sutra is classified by Edward Conze as belonging to the third of four periods in the development of the Perfection of Wisdom canon. Conze estimates the sutra's date of origin to be 350 CE. Recent scholarship is unable to verify any date earlier than the 7th century CE. The Chinese version is frequently chanted by the Chan (Zen/Seon/Thien) sects during ceremonies in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam respectively. It is also significant to the Shingon Buddhist school in Japan, whose founder Kūkai wrote a commentary on it, and to the various Tibetan Buddhist schools, where it is studied extensively.