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| The Heart Sutra | 
 enlarge | Creator: Bill Porter
Publisher: Shoemaker & Hoard
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95 (35.19 RON)
Buy New: $10.17 (23.94 RON)
You Save: $4.78 (11.25 RON) (32%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 84396
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 5 x 0.7
ISBN: 1593760825
Dewey Decimal Number: 294
EAN: 9781593760823
ASIN: 1593760825
Publication Date: August 9, 2005
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Heart Sutra is Buddhism in a nutshell. It has had the most profound and wide-reaching influence of any text in Buddhism. This short text covers more of the Buddha’s teachings than any other scripture, and it does so without being superficial or hurried. Although the original author is unknown, he was clearly someone with a deep realization of the Dharma.
For this new English translation, Red Pine, award-winning translator of Chinese poetry and religious texts, has utilized various Sanskrit and Chinese versions, refining the teachings of dozens of ancient teachers together with his own commentary to offer a profound word-for-word explication. Divided into four parts and broken into thirty-five lines to make it easier to study or chant, and containing a glossary of names, terms, and texts, The Heart Sutra is a wise book of deep teaching destined to become the standard edition of this timeless statement of Mahayana truth.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
Just including my full recommendation March 25, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The detail and focus of this work is considerable. The Heart Sutra is only 2 pages, but this book goes on for 208 pages. Red Pine goes through the Sutra, word for word at times, helping to explain the nuances, the rich connotations of the words. Without all of this detail, it is difficult to understand completely the approach used. Because of this work, I went out and got Red Pine's The Diamond Sutra: The Perfection of Wisdom.
Prajnaparamita March 21, 2007
Red Pine's exposition of the Heart Sutra is an open invitation to dive deep into the mysteries of our very Being; right into the Heart of Emptiness. Prajnaparamita indeed; the wisdom before knowing, beyond words and concepts, beyond the limits of 'self'. Right now as it is! Yes!!
The Essence of the Teaching February 26, 2007
Red Pine is a translator, historian, scholar and Zen practitioner. His clear writing demonstrates that he knows his own mind....the essence of the sutra's teaching. Besides, he has a great sense of humor.
Quick and to the point October 25, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Heart Sutra is quick and to the point. It sounds to me as if it was a direct transmission of knowledge from one master to another passed on for a few thousand years. Although it is tough to understand (still trying to figure it out), and should be read a few times, I love the Heart Sutra!
A Thorough and Enlightening Exegesis of the Heart Sutra May 9, 2006
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
In The Heart Sutra: The Womb of Buddhas, Pine presents a very thorough, rigorous, and enlightening exegesis of the Heart Sutra. First, he introduces his own translation of the Heart Sutra, which is, by far, the best English translation available, which is easy and helpful to commit to memory. Then, he provides a very informative historical background of the Heart Sutra, where he introduces the idea that the Heart Sutra is a rejection of the Sarvastivadin Abhidharma, an idea he returns to throughout the book, so much so, that it seems to be his main thesis. Next, he goes through the four parts of the Heart Sutra line by line, where he also details the Sarvastivadin concepts of skandhas, abodes, elements, causal connections, the Chain of Dependent Origination, the Four Truths, and much more. After providing an exegesis of each line, each section is punctuated by quotes from other various commentaries. Finally, there is a helpful index of names, terms, and texts.
This book is a good read for philosophers (especially existentialists), psychologists (especially those interested in meta-cognition), historians, and, of course, Buddhists or anyone interested in Buddhism. This book is a great introduction to Buddhism, with more substance than any "for dummies" book could offer, but the depth of this book will also appeal to Buddhist scholars. The reading can be abstract-sometimes too abstract. There are few concrete examples, so the reader needs to be comfortable with abstract concepts. Pine makes a good faith effort at citing sources, which is helpful for further research. I wish he included more content about the concept of dharma matrixes, which Pine only mentions in passing.
After reading this book, the reader will have gained, first, a deeper appreciation overall for the Heart Sutra, and second, a fresh perspective and a new way of looking at things, perhaps viewing the world "in the light of prajnaparamita" and even expanding one's worldview.
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