THE HEART SŪTRA IN THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST TRADITION AND ITS UKRAINIAN TRANSLATION
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Abstract
The article is devoted to the exploration of the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra (Skt. Prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya-sūtra, Tib. Shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i snying po), popularly known as the Heart Sūtra, in the context of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The Heart Sūtra is one of the most well-known Mahāyāna texts that expounds the philosophical doctrines of emptiness (Skt. śūnyatā) and wisdom (Skt. prajñā) that transcend dualistic concepts of the three spheres – subject, object, and action. The Heart Sūtra occupies a special place within the spiritual space of Tibet where it is treated as buddhavacana – Words of the Buddha, and is part of all the Tibetan canonical collections (Tib. bka’ ’gyur). It is also used for other purposes: as a dhāraṇī, the method to retain the meaning of the perfection of wisdom teachings, as a key element of the ritual for expulsion of negativity (Tib. zlog pa), and as a basis for the Tantric practices of Prajñāpāramitā in a role of a Tantric deity – Mother of all the buddhas. Such a multiplicity of its roles may seem contradictory, which, in turn, may lead to questions regarding the genre of the text. However, within the Tibetan tradition, the understanding of the text’s genre is rather straightforward – it is a sūtra, but a sūtra of an extraordinary spiritual power created by the profundity of the exposition of emptiness, the absolute true nature of all phenomena. It is primarily through this power of the words of truth that the sūtra is able to perform its other functions.
The article is complemented by an annotated Ukrainian translation of the Heart Sūtra from the Tibetan language.
How to Cite
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Heart Sūtra, Mahāyāna, Prajñāpāramitā, Tibet, Tibetan Buddhist tradition, sūtra, emptiness, dhāraṇī
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