Heart of Wisdom Sutra

Repeat this sutra to the point where you have memorized the words in either Japanese or English. The "all caps" column is the Japanese, and the "lower case" column is the English. The English will seem oddly "stylized" - but it is presented that way so that it can match the number of syllables and monotone consistent beat rhythm of the classical Japanese.

MA-KA HAN-NYA HA-RA MI-TA SHIN-KYO - - “Heart” of Transcendental Wisdom Teaching

KAN-JI-ZAI BO-SA-(TSU) - - Kannon bodhisattva

GYO JIN HAN-NYA HA-RA-MI-TA - - steeped in transcendental wisdom

JI SHO KEN GO UN KAI KU - - saw five “heaps” as empty, (5 skhandas)

DO ISSAI KU YAKU - - knew this ended suffering.

SA-RI-SHI SHIKI FU I KU - - Shariputra, form is empty.

KU FU I SHIKI - - Emptiness is form.

SHIKI SOKU ZE KU - - Form’s nothing but void.

KU SOKU ZE SHIKI - - Void’s nothing but form.

JU SO GYO SHIKI YAKU BU NYO ZE - - Feel, see, think, mind are the same.

SHA-RI-SHI ZE SHO HO KU SO - - Shariputra, empty aspects,

FU SHO FU METSU - - birthless, endless,

FU KU FU JO - - no “spoiled”, no “pure”, (no samsara or nirvana)

FU ZO FU GEN - - no gain, no loss.

ZE KO KU CHU - - Emptiness has

MU SHIKI MU JU SO GYO SHIKI - - no form, feel, see, think, nor mind, (5 skhandas)

MU GEN NI BI ZETSU SHIN NI - - no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind (6 senses)

MU SHIKI SHO KO MI SOKU HO - - no color, sound, smell, taste, touch, thing.

MU GEN KAI NAI SHI - - No vision on to

MU I SHIKI KAI - - no mind to think. (18 sense constituents)

MU MU-MYO YAKU MU MU-MYO JIN - - No delusion, no making bright,

NAI SHI - - so forth to

MU RO SHI - - no age and death, (12 interdependent links).

YAKU MU RO SHI JIN - - No conquering age and death.

MU KU SHU METSU DO - - No pain, cause, cure, path (4 Noble Truths)

MU CHI YAKU MU TOKU - - No wisdom to gain.

I MU SHO TOK-KO - - Nothing to attain,

BO-DAI-SAT-TA E - - Enlightened ones know

HAN-NYA HA-RA-MI-TA KO - - transcendent wisdom is key.

SHIN MU KE GE - - Mind is no block.

MU KE GE KO MU U KU FU - - With no blocks there are no more fears.

ON RI IS-SAI TEN DO MU SO - - On beyond delusion’s pull,

KU GYO NE-HAN - - to enlightenment.

SAN ZE SHO BUTSU E - - All Enlightened Ones (of 3 worlds and times)

HAN-NYA HA-RA-MI-TA - - grasp transcendent wisdom,

KO TOKU - - so attain

A-NOKU-TA-RA SAN-MYAKU SAN BO DAI KO - perfect supreme unsurpassed enlightenment

CHI HAN-NYA HA-RA-MI-TA - - Perfect wisdom is found in the

ZE DAI JIN SHU - - great divine phrase,

ZE DAI MYO SHU - - great bright mantra,

ZE MU-JO SHU - - unsurpassed phrase,

ZE MU-TO-DO SHU - - matchless mantra phrase,

NO JO IS-SAI KU - - that ends all suffering

SHIN-JITSU FU KO KO - - All truth, nothing false.

SETSU HAN-NYA HA-RA-MI-TA SHU - - Transcendental wisdom mantra

SOKU SETSU SHU WATSU -- is the mantra that goes:

GYA-TEI GYA-TEI HA-RA GYA-TEI - - "Go-ing, go-ing, go-ing be-yond,

HA-RA SO GYA-TEI BO-JI SO-WA-KA - - go-ing on beyond, awakened to all."

HAN-NYA SHIN KYO - - Heart of Wisdom

Download a Microsoft Word Document version of the Heart Sutra to be printed out

Miami Valley Meditation ~ a 501 (c)(3) Non-Profit Organization