ZEN WATERLOO
At the core of Zen Buddhism is the Heart Sutra. The Heart Sutra is one of the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. In monasteries, ceremonies, and different instances in general, other sutras are chanted as well.
Powerful, majestic, and towering among other Sutras, yet mesmerizing, contradictory, criptic, and at times simply crazy at a first read, the Heart Sutra peels off like an onion over and over. Is just banging one's head against the wall uselessly by trying to get through it, or is that one's understanding and perception change constantly every time one attacks this innefable message?
The Heart Sutra assaults mercilessly and furiously all structures and conceptions harboured in our imperfect minds. It destroys all reference frames reducing them to dust. What do you mean with "No Birth no Death,
no Being no Non-being"?
Being originally in Sanskrit, then morphed into other old languages (Pali, old Japanese and Chinese, etc), these sutras have been translated to many current languages by many different people. Below is the Heart Sutra accompanied by an English translation from master Deshimaru (through the New Orleans' Sangha).
At last, remember that different schools, monasteries, and centers add their own idiosyncrasies to the chanting, resulting in different intonation, rhythm, speed, and a big etc. Nevertheless, all in all, the following version should give you a mainstream idea of how it sounds:
The Great Sutra of Profound Essential Wisdom and Beyond
The Bodhisattva of true compassion,
Through deep practice in Great Wisdom,
Understands that the body and the five skandas are only emptiness.
And with this understanding, he helps all who suffer.
Oh Sariputra,
Phenomena is no different than ku, ku no different from phenomena.
Phenomena becomes ku, ku becomes phenomena.
The five skandas too are only phenomena.
Oh Sariputra,
All things are ku.
There is no birth, no death,
No purity, no impurity,
No increase, no decrease.
This is why in ku there is no form, no skandas,
No eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind.
There is no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no thought.
There is no knowing, no ignorance, no illusion, no cessation of illusion.
No withering, no death, no end to withering and death.
There is no beginning to suffering, no end to suffering.
There is no knowledge, no profit, no non-profit.
Because of this wisdom which leads beyond, the Bodhisattva is fearless.
All illusion and all attachment are dropped off, and he can grasp the final end to life, nirvana.
All Buddhas of the past, of the present and of the future,
Through this incomparable, unparalleled and authentic incantation,
Can attain understanding of this supreme wisdom which frees us from suffering
As it does away with all suffering, it allows us to find reality, true ku.
Go, go, go together, beyond, fully beyond, to the shore of satori.
Maka Hannya Haramita Shingyo
Kan ji zai bo za tsu
Gyo jin han ya ha ra mi ta
Ji sho ken go on kai ku
Do i sai ku
Yaku sha ri shi
Shiki fu i ku
Ku fu i shiki
Shiki soku ze ku
Ku soku ze shiki
Ju so gyo shiki
Yaku bu nyo ze
Sha ri shi
Ze sho ho ku so
Fu sho fu metsu
Fu ku fu jo
Fu zo fu gen
Ze ko ku chu
Mu shiki mu ju so gyo shiki
Mu gen ni bi ze shin i
Mu shiki sho ko mi soku ho
Mu gen kai nai shi mu i shiki kai
Mu mu myo yaku mu mu myo jin
Nai shi mu ro shi yaku mu ro shi jin
Mu ku shu metsu do mu chi yaku mu toku i
Mu sho toku ko bo dai sa ta e
Han ya ha ra mi ta ko
Shin mu ke ge mu ke ge ko
Mu u ku fu on ri i sai ten do mu so ku gyo ne
Han san ze sho butso e
Han ya ha ra mi ta ko
Toku a noku ta ra san myaku san bo dai
Ko chi han ya ha ra mi ta
Ze dai jin shu ze dai myo shu
Ze mu jo shu ze mu to do shu
No jo i sai ku shin jitsu fu ko
Ko setsu han ya ha ra mi ta shu
Soku setsu shu watsu
Gya tei gya tei
Ha ra gya tei
Hara so gya tei
Bo ji so wa ka
Hannya Shingyo