Sunday, March 23, 2014

The Heart Sutra: A Meditation Manual



I recently completed writing a new book, a commentary on the seminal Buddhist text, the Heart Sutra. It's called The Heart Sutra: A Meditation Manual, and as its title suggests, I interpret the sutra to be a meditation manual, rather than an exposition on the fundamental emptiness (sunyata) of all reality, as it is traditionally understood. Here is a sample: 


There is no singular thing called Buddhism; there never has been. To suggest that there is one entity with that name undermines the rich and diverse manifestations we refer to under the generic rubric called “Buddhism.” 

Among Buddhists, there is no consensus about what constitutes “Buddhism.” For some, it’s encapsulated in the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path, for others it’s the universal truth of emptiness or interconnectedness, for still others Buddha Nature or Tathagatagarbha constitutes the Buddha’s Awakening. Let’s not forget the salvific orientation of the Pure Land traditions or the religious devotion of East-Asian “cultural” Buddhists. That’s not even mentioning esoteric or Tantric Buddhism. 

Simply put, there is an enormous variety of viewpoints, interpretations, and priorities in the labyrinth we commonly call Buddhism. So despite what some reductive and legislative pundits claim, there is no orthodox Buddhist doctrine. 

I have read many commentaries on the Heart Sutra, all of which implicitly claim to offer the official approach to understanding the text, as if there were only one way to interpret the sutra.

There isn’t.

Dependent Origination—the teaching that nothing can exist on its own, and therefore all phenomena are empty of self-existence (sunya)—is the traditional lens through which commentators interpret the Heart Sutra. There is, however, another way to approach the text, and Buddhism itself, which I shall offer here.

Nature Origination, derived from such influential texts as the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Awakening of Mahayana Faith, takes a completely different stance. This approach views all phenomena as being empty precisely because their true nature is actually the Absolute, Suchness, or Buddha Mind, the Reality that transcends all dualities and descriptions.
According to Nature Origination, this is what the Heart Sutra communicates through a series of negational commands. "You are not your eyes, ear, nose...so look beyond them to your true nature, the Absolute."

Like many influential spiritual texts, I feel that the Heart Sutra does not explicate, it points. It is not interested in describing Nirvana in the way that the Avatamsaka Sutra does; the Heart Sutra actually offers a series of practices to realize Nirvana for oneself. This is where my reading differs from most other commentators', for I see the text as being prescriptive rather than descriptive. What other interpreters view as an explanation of reality—interdependent and empty—I view as an actual blueprint for practice. In this regard, I regard emptiness as a command or a verb, as in "Empty your mind!" of its contents.

Like many influential spiritual texts, I feel that the Heart Sutra does not explicate, it points. It is not interested in describing Nirvana in the way that the Avatamsaka Sutra does; the Heart Sutra actually offers a series of practices to realize Nirvana for oneself. This is where my reading differs from most other commentators', for I see the text as being prescriptive rather than descriptive. What other interpreters view as an explanation of reality—interdependent and empty—I view as an actual blueprint for practice. In this regard, I regard emptiness as a command or a verb, as in "Empty your mind!" of its contents.

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