Introduction to Buddhism, the Heart Sutra

[@dudeonthasopha]

Kinda wish you had your own channel to have more frequent uploads. Appreciate your work

[@martina2276]

Thank you for taking the time to share you expertise. I appreciate that very much. Greetings from Tyrol/Austria!

[@candacevavra3063]

I agree on the pronunciation of śūnyatá!

[@AliceMako]

Thanks so much for this Aaron, great read. I first heard the heart sutra summer of '95 thereabouts and i did not have the benefit of a ubiquitous internet or learned individuals walking me through the thing i'd just heard that gave me a gut reaction and the hairs on the back of the neck thing. As an aside how gorgeous is that copy you showed, leave it to the good people there to make just about anything look like an amulet unto itself if they wanna. ☸ 📿

[@GroundZeroHiroshima]

やがては誰もが必然的に捨てなければならないものを、自分の意志で捨てるだけなのじゃ。 　そうすれば全てを手に入れ、永遠への道が開かれるのじゃ。 　 　死を恐れる余り、死を考えることを拒否した者はいつか自分が死なないようにさえ思うようになるものじゃ。 　それはもはや現実を見ていないことになるのじゃ。 　幻想の中で生きている狂人と同じなのじゃ。 　自分が死なない前提で金や権力や名声を求めていれば、老病死の苦が迫ってきた時に絶望するのじゃ。Onioshow

[@t11001100]

Your anecdote about being punched by the Zen master reminds me of Samuel Johnson's famous refutation of Bishop Berkeley's theory of immaterialism. "I shall never forget the alacrity with which Johnson answered, striking his foot with mighty force against a large stone, till he rebounded from it,- 'I refute it thus.'"

[@hoshinazen3337]

Thank you for your comments.

[@stephenkiely9012]

You can't "think" "yourself" to enlightenment. Thoughts are like passing clouds in the sky. They arise, they exist and then disapears.Jyst observe until there is no separation between the observer and the observed....until duality disapears.Relax in the ultimate nature of mind.... the dharmadhatu.

[@neonprado9989]

Are you Buddhist?

[@stephenkiely9012]

​@@neonprado9989 I have taken refuge with a Tibetan Lama, Geshe Lobsang Tharchin, Khen Rinpoche in 1978. So to answer your question. Yes "I" am a Buddhist. Some schools of Tibetan Buddhism emphasize the scholarly approach. Other schools of Tibeatn Buddhism emphasize meditation until you get calluses on your ass. There is something to be said about studying the thousands of texts, Lam rim, logic etc.and this should not be dismissed.At some point however the mind, the intellect, the ego clinging, the perception of self must be given a vacation. Once the mind is free from the clinging of thoughts and perceptions, it becomes radiant blissful and expansive. This is your true nature.You have never been separated from it.Its just that the three poisons Hatred, Desire and ignorance have kept you from realizing this. Some analogies might be useful here. If you can imagine your thoughts being waves on the ocean and you are focusing on each wave you will not see that the waves are a part of the expansive ocean. As you observe the waves you will notice that they arise, exist and then recede back into the ocean. If you shift your focus away from the individual waves they become less and less until the ocean becomes flat...and like a mirror it reflects the true nature of your radiant and blissful nature..the Dharmadhatu. When you first start observing your mind, it may become a bit overwhelming (the amount of thoughts). Like a waterfall. Thoughts come one after another cascading endlessly. As you watch the thoughts,they become less and less, your mind perceives the space between the thoughts. As the space/time between the thoughts become longer and longer the radiance of the mind becomes more apparent...like the sun peaking out from behind the clouds. Each moment in this space between thoughts, where there is no longer the observed and the observer, bliss arises, its like being on a really relaxing vacation and you have left "yourself" behind but at the same time consciousness is fully cognizant and aware. You must experience this directly. Words can not fully describe this. You can not think your way to this. I am not a teacher nor am I enlightened and even if I were I would not need to nor tell everyone or anyone. Diligence (which is not my strong point), faith, devotion and compassion are the keys to progress. Prayer is very helpful, heartfelt prayer and reliance on the Buddhas and Bodhisattva makes the path easier to tread. Wisdom without compassion is like trying to walk on one leg. May all beings have happiness and the cause of happiness. May they be free of suffering and the cause of suffering. May they never be disassociated from the supreme happiness which is without suffering. May they remain in the boundless equanimity, free from both attachment to close ones and rejection of others. Maybe this might help a little (the above mentioned). Blessings

[@stephenkiely9012]

@@helloalanframeI do not consider myself a teacher especially when I compare myself to the multitude of teachers that I have met in this life. I can share this with you however;There is something to be said about studying the thousands of texts, Lam rim, logic etc.and this should not be dismissed. Wisdom is important. Knowing what your target is also important.At some point however the mind, ego clinging, the perception of a self must be given a vacation. Once the mind is free from the clinging to thoughts and perceptions, it becomes radiant and blissful and expansive. This is your true nature.You have never been separated from it.Its just that the three poisons Hatred, Desire and ignorance (primarily) have kept you from realizing this. Some analogies might be useful here. If you can imagine your thoughts being waves on the ocean and you are focusing on each wave you will not see that the waves are a part of the expansive ocean (the Dharmadhatu). As you observe the waves you will notice that they arise, they exist exist and then they recede back into the ocean. If you shift your focus away from the individual waves they (the waves) become less and less until the ocean becomes flat...and like a mirror it reflects the true nature of your radiant and blissful nature. When you first start observing your mind, it may become a bit overwhelming (the amount of thoughts). Like a waterfall. Thoughts come one after another cascading endlessly. As you watch the thoughts become less and less, your mind perceives the space between the thoughts. As the space/time between the thoughts become longer and longer the radiance of the mind becomes more apparent...like the sun peaking out from behind the clouds. I am not a teacher nor am I enlightened and even if I were I would not need to nor tell everyone or anyone. Diligence (which is not my strong point), faith, devotion and compassion are the keys to progress. Prayer is very helpful, heartfelt prayer and reliance on the Buddhas and Bodhisattva makes the path easier to tread. May all beings have happiness and the cause of happiness. May they be free of suffering and the cause of suffering. May they never be disassociated from the supreme happiness which is without suffering. May they remain in the boundless equanimity, free from both attachment to close ones and rejection of others. Maybe this might help a little (the above mentioned). Blessings

[@pontefit4447]

Thanks for sharing, I’ll research it

[@jeffcampbel]

I did

[@sendershare7271]

Thank you sir! For sharing! May Buddha bless you! And other who listen this too!

[@AmericanBuddhistStudyCenter]

Namu Amida Butsu. Thank you

[@ultimate_true_happiness]

Thank you for making this translation in great clarity 🙏🙏🙏

[@blu3clown471]

How sure can you be? If you rely on your understanding, it is great indeed, if you dont rely on understanding/knowing, how great can it go? :D

[@ultimate_true_happiness]

@@blu3clown471 true, thanks for reminding :)

[@DuongTran-mh7ci]

Unsurpassed wisdom is the ultimate wisdom or perfection of wisdom which is no wisdom which is letting go of all to reveal the original emptiness!

[@PaulGrunwald]

This is a wonderful translation, ghasso! Is the PDF available?

[@apollosun6268]

8:24 Sky, bright blue limitless cloudless sky.

[@drdostianduma]

Really appreciate your work.

[@AmericanBuddhistStudyCenter]

I am glad you liked it. We will be posting new videos.

[@USA50_]

Thank you so much! 🕉️✡️🇺🇲❤️

[@AmericanBuddhistStudyCenter]

Thank you

[@BAtrogit]

Could you do a video on the Avatamsaka Sutra?

[@AmericanBuddhistStudyCenter]

Thank you, that is a very good suggestion.

[@mtadamsbuddhisttemple]

Dr Proffitt, I think you presented an excellent view into the essence of the Heart Sutra. Thank you for bringing it into english/western culture. In metta, Thich Minh Tinh

[@AmericanBuddhistStudyCenter]

We are deeply grateful to Dr. Proffitt for having his talks on our KZbin. I will let him know your appreciation. Thank you.

[@LordLilu]

@@AmericanBuddhistStudyCenter Can someone suggest to Proffit give us a video with a list of all the sutras and texts for Buddhist canon?

[@Duxzen_ji]

I’d have loved to have taken your class 😂

[@subhanusaxena7199]

Thank you for the interesting video! If I may, the correct Sanskrit pronunciation of Shūnyatā is “shoonyataa “, with the last syllable elongated and emphasised, not the “a” in “ya”. That is a short “a”. In Devanagari it is spelt as follows: शून्यता. Also, the jñ in prajñā is actually pronounced closer to ngya (hard one this!). The Devanagari is ज्ञ. There is no actual “ja” sound. Think of a nasalized “gya” . Hope this helps

[@gphanisrinivasful]

Fellow Indian here. I could be wrong on this but the "ngya" sound is how it's usually pronounced in Hindi and other modern Indian languages. Classical Sanskrit actually pronounces it as "jña". The character ज्ञ is a mix (sandhi) of ज and ञ

[@niteengupte]

Excellent translation and teaching ❤ Ultimately what Buddha taught was far from such purist insistance on perfection of pronunciation rather the importance of perfection of wisdom - undestanding the meaning through direct practice both in and out of meditative consciousness. Which is why his teachings were in Pali the common parlance so common people got the intent without the brahmin middlemen.

[@barnabuskorrum4004]

I can't help but feel silly chanting to myself but I'm trying to improve.

[@AmericanBuddhistStudyCenter]

The universe is listening to you.

[@nickhoward7419]

Is there a place where we could get your translation of the heart sutra online?

[@AmericanBuddhistStudyCenter]

Sorry for the delay; just Google the Heart Sutra, and you will find many translations.

[@VolkerRacho-uv2rs]

In which language are you chanting at the beginning

[@verylahmuddin9414]

Japanese version

[@derbdep]

@@helloalanframe ah, close but not exactly. It’s the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese. The Middle Chinese itself used certain combinations of characters to preserve some of the Sanskrit terms like “Prajña Paramita Hridaya Sutra” and the original “Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha”but ultimately was a direct translation (not transliteration) from Sanskrit. :)

[@danielpincus221]

I would like to acquire the text as shown on the screen.

[@AmericanBuddhistStudyCenter]

I will let Prof. Aaron Proffitt know you are interested in the text.

[@MassiveLib]

Unless you meditate and contemplate on the meaning of emptiness in this sutra, you might as well chant a cook book.

[@aashishshrestha4227]

Killing Buddha means remove every obstacles that comes in your path. Either it may be Buddha himself.

[@AmericanBuddhistStudyCenter]

Hmm...

[@medialords8647]

Correct word is sutta not sutra...all the suttas are in pali nt sanskrit,..pali is mother of buddhist sanskrit which is evolved form pali after 5th AD and after 8th AD Brahmins ( hindus) picked and further evolved buddhist hybrid sanskrit into classical in Devnagri script...so people get confused abt sanskrit. Brahmins of india distroyed buddhism in india with the help of mughals they first distroyed all buddhist universities first.

[@gphanisrinivasful]

Pali is the language of the Theravada canon, the oldest surviving Buddhist texts. There were other versions of the Sutras, which were possibly originally in Sanskrit (or other Indian languages). The Chinese canon is a traslation of those versions. The Heart Sutra itself is a much later composition, originally in Sanskrit (though, some have suggested it is of Chinese origin).