Heart Sutra

The Heart Sūtra is a popular sūtra in Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the title translates as "The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom". It is traditionally associated with the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, who is the interlocutor of the sūtra.
The sūtra famously states, "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form." It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan, as well as other source languages.

Summary of the sūtra

In the sūtra, Avalokiteśvara addresses Śaripūtra, explaining the fundamental emptiness of all phenomena, known through and as the five aggregates of human existence : form, feeling, volitions, perceptions, and mind. Avalokiteśvara famously states, "Form is Emptiness. Emptiness is Form", and declares the other skandhas to be equally empty—that is, dependently originated.
Avalokiteśvara then goes through some of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings, such as the Four Noble Truths, and explains that in emptiness, none of these notions apply. This is interpreted according to the two truths doctrine as saying that teachings, while accurate descriptions of conventional truth, are mere statements about reality—they are not reality itself—and that they are therefore not applicable to the ultimate truth that is by definition beyond mental understanding. Thus the bodhisattva, as the archetypal Mahayana Buddhist, relies on the perfection of wisdom, defined in the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra to be the wisdom that perceives reality directly without conceptual attachment, thereby achieving nirvana.

Popularity and stature

The Heart Sūtra is "the single most commonly recited, copied, and studied scripture in East Asian Buddhism." It is recited by adherents of Mahayana schools of Buddhism regardless of sectarian affiliation with the exception of Shin Buddhists and Nichiren Buddhists, apart from being recited by Yiguandao believers, who also worship Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, known as the "Ancient Buddha of the Southern Seas".
While the origin of the sūtra is disputed by some modern scholars, it was widely known throughout South Asia from at least the Pala Empire period and in parts of India until at least the middle of the 14th century. The stature of the Heart Sūtra throughout early medieval India can be seen from its title 'Holy Mother of all Buddhas Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom' dating from at least the 8th century CE.
The long version of the Heart Sūtra is extensively studied by the various Tibetan Buddhist schools, where the Heart Sūtra is chanted, but also treated as a tantric text, with a tantric ceremony associated with it. It is also viewed as one of the daughter sūtras of the Prajnaparamita genre in the Vajrayana tradition as passed down from Tibet.
The text has been translated into many languages, and dozens of English translations and commentaries have been published, along with an unknown number of informal versions on the internet.

Versions

There are two main versions of the Heart Sūtra: a short version and a long version.
The short version as translated by Xuanzang is the most popular version of adherents practicing East Asian schools of Buddhism. Xuanzang's canonical text has a total of 260 Chinese characters. Some Japanese and Korean versions have an additional 2 characters. The short version has also been translated into Tibetan but it is not part of the current Tibetan Buddhist Canon.
The long version differs from the short version by including both an introductory and concluding section, features that most Buddhist sūtras have. The introduction introduces the sūtra to the listener with the traditional Buddhist opening phrase "Thus have I heard". It then describes the venue in which the Buddha promulgate the teaching and the audience to whom the teaching is given. The concluding section ends the sūtra with thanks and praises to the Buddha.
Both versions are chanted on a daily basis by adherents of practically all schools of East Asian Buddhism and by some adherents of Tibetan and Newar Buddhism.

Dating and origins

Earliest Chinese translation

The earliest version of the Heart Sūtra may have been translated by Zhi Qian in 222-250 CE. However, because it was already lost by Xuanzang's time, its contents are unknown. According to Conze, Kumarajiva's translation of the short version of the Heart Sūtra is the earliest translation of the Heart Sūtra; however he believes it should be attributed to one of Kumarajiva's disciples. John McRae and Jan Nattier have argued that this translation was created by someone else, much later, based on Kumārajīva's Mahāprajñāpāramitāupadeśa. The earliest extant copy of Kumarajiva's translation however, dates only to the Jin dynasty (1115–1234). According to Huili's biography, Xuanzang learned the sūtra from an inhabitant of Sichuan, and subsequently chanted it during times of danger on his journey to the West. Xuanzang however did not translate the Heart Sūtra until some years after his return to China in 649 CE. Xuanzang's version of the Heart Sūtra in the Chinese Tripiṭaka is the first extant version to use the title "Heart Sūtra". Fukui Fumimasa has argued that Heart Sūtra may mean dhāraṇī sūtra.
This sūtra is classified by Edward Conze as belonging to the third of four periods in the development of the Prajñāpāramitā canon, although because it contains a mantra, it does overlap with the final, tantric phase of development according to this scheme, and is included in the tantra section of at least some editions of the Kangyur. Conze estimates the sūtra's date of origin to be 350 CE; some others consider it to be two centuries older than that.

Earliest extant versions and references to the Heart Sūtra

The earliest extant dated text of the Heart Sūtra is a stone stele dated to 661 CE. It was engraved three years before the death of Tripitaka Master Xuanzang and twelve years after its translation, by patrons from Yueyang County adjacent to Chang'an not far from where Xuanzang was doing his translation work at the time. It is part of the Fangshan Stone Sūtra and located in Yunju Temple nearby Beijing. The second oldest extant dated text of the Heart Sūtra is another stone stele located at Yunju Temple. It is dated to 669 CE. The third earliest extant dated text of the Heart Sūtra is a stone stele dated to 672 CE; formerly believed to be the oldest extant text which now stands in the Beilin Museum, Xian. All of the above stone steles have the same descriptive inscription : " Xuanzang was commanded by Emperor Tang Taizong to translate the Heart Sūtra."
A palm-leaf manuscript found at the Hōryū-ji Temple is the earliest undated extant Sanskrit manuscript of the Heart Sūtra. It is dated to c. 7th–8th century CE by the Tokyo National Museum where it is currently kept.

Authorship of the Heart Sūtra

Nattier's hypothesis

According to Conze, approximately 90% of the Heart Sūtra is derivable from the larger Sanskrit Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, including the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, and the Śatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.
Nattier questions the Sanskrit origins of the Heart Sūtra. Nattier states that there is no direct or indirect evidence of a Sanskrit version before the 8th century, and she dates the first evidence of Chinese versions to the 7th century. Nattier believes that the corroborating evidence supports a Chinese version at least a century before a Sanskrit version.
Nattier further argues that it is unusual for Avalokiteśvara to be in the central role in a Prajñāpāramitā text. Early Prajñāpāramitā texts involve Subhuti, who is absent from both versions of the Heart Sūtra. The Buddha is only present in the longer version of the Heart Sūtra. Nattier claims the presence of Avalokitesvara in the Heart Sūtra could be considered evidence that the text is Chinese in origin as Avalokitesvara was never as popular in India. Nattier also points out that the "gate gate" mantra exists in several variations, and is associated with several different Prajñāpāramitā texts.
According to Nattier, only 40% of the extant text of the Heart Sūtra is a quotation from the Mahāprajñāpāramitāupadeśa, a commentary on the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra written by Nāgārjuna and translated by Kumārajīva; while the rest was newly composed. Based on textual patterns in the extant Sanskrit and Chinese versions of the Heart Sūtra, the Mahāprajñāpāramitāupadeśa and the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, Nattier has argued that the supposedly earliest extant version of the Heart Sūtra, translated by Kumārajīva, that Xuanzang supposedly received from an inhabitant of Sichuan prior to his travels to India, was probably first composed in China in the Chinese language from a mixture of material derived from Kumārajīva's Chinese translation of the Mahāprajñāpāramitāupadeśa, and newly composed text. According to Nattier, Xuanzang's version of this text was later translated into Sanskrit, or properly speaking, back-translated, since part of the sūtra was a translation of a Sanskrit text.
According to Nattier, excluding the new composition, Kumarajiva's version of the Heart Sūtra matches the corresponding parts of Kumārajīva's translation of the Mahāprajñāpāramitāupadeśa almost exactly; the other, Xuanzang's version are missing two lines with a number of other differences, including one different line, and differences in terminology. The corresponding extant Sanskrit texts, while agreeing in meaning, differ in virtually every word.

Criticism of Nattier

Nattier's hypothesis has been rejected by several scholars, including Harada Waso, Fukui Fumimasa, Ishii Kōsei, and Siu Sai Yau, on the basis of historical accounts and comparison with the extant Sanskrit Buddhist manuscript fragments. Harada and Ishii, as well as other researchers such as Hyun Choo and Dan Lusthaus, also argue that evidence can be found within the 7th-century commentaries of Kuiji and Woncheuk, two important disciples of Xuanzang, that undermine Nattier's argument.
Li states that of the Indic Palm-leaf manuscript or sastras brought over to China, most were either lost or not translated. Red Pine, a practicing American Buddhist, favours the idea of a lost manuscript of the Large Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra with the alternate Sanskrit wording, allowing for an original Indian composition, which may still be extant, and located at the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.
Harada rejects Nattier's claims that the central role of Avalokiteśvara points to a Chinese origin for the Heart Sūtra. Harada notes that the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, one of the two oldest prajñāpāramitā sūtras, also has other speakers than the Buddha, namely Subhuti, Saripūtra as well as Ananda. Harada also notes the blending of Prajñāpāramitā and Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhist belief beginning from at least Faxian and Xuanzang's time ; and therefore Avalokiteśvara's presence in the Heart Sūtra is quite natural. Siu also notes that Avalokitesvara's presence as the main speaker in the Heart Sūtra is justifiable on several bases.
However, the question of authorship remains controversial, and other researchers such as Jayarava Attwood continue to find Nattier's argument for a Chinese origin of the text to be the most convincing explanation.

Philological explanation of the text

Title

Historical titles

The titles of the earliest extant manuscripts of the Heart Sūtra all include the words "hṛdaya" or "heart" and "prajñāpāramitā" or "perfection of wisdom". Beginning from the 8th century and continuing at least until the 13th century, the titles of the Indic manuscripts of the Heart Sūtra contained the words "bhagavatī" or "mother of all buddhas" and "prajñāpāramitā".
Later Indic manuscripts have more varied titles.

Titles in use today

In the western world, this sūtra is known as the Heart Sūtra. But it is also sometimes called the Heart of Wisdom Sūtra. In Tibet, Mongolia and other regions influenced by Vajrayana, it is known as The Mother of all Buddhas Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom.
In the Tibetan text the title is given first in Sanskrit and then in Tibetan: , ;.
In other languages, the commonly used title is an abbreviation of Prajñāpāramitāhṛdayasūtraṃ. For example, Korean: Banya Shimgyeong ; Chinese: Bore Xinjing ; Japanese: ; .

Content

Various commentators divide this text into different numbers of sections.

Opening

In the longer version, there exists the traditional opening "Thus have I heard" and Buddha along with a community of bodhisattvas and monks gathered with the bodhisattva of great compassion, Avalokiteśvara, and Saripūtra, at Gridhakuta. Through the power of Buddha, Saripūtra asks Avalokiteśvara for advice on the practice of the Perfection of Wisdom.
The longer sūtra then describes, while the shorter opens with, the liberation of Avalokiteśvara, gained while practicing the paramita of prajña, seeing the fundamental emptiness of the five skandhas: form, feeling, volitions, perceptions, and consciousness.

Form is emptiness

Avalokiteśvara addresses Śaripūtra, who was the promulgator of abhidharma according to the scriptures and texts of the Sarvastivada and other early Buddhist schools, having been singled out by the Buddha to receive those teachings. Avalokiteśvara famously states, "Form is empty. Emptiness is form", and declares the other skandhas to be equally empty of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings such as the Four Noble Truths and explains that in emptiness none of these notions apply. This is interpreted according to the two truths doctrine as saying that teachings, while accurate descriptions of conventional truth, are mere statements about reality—they are not reality itself—and that they are therefore not applicable to the ultimate truth that is by definition beyond mental understanding.
The specific sequence of concepts listed in lines 12–20 is the same sequence used in the Sarvastivadin Samyukta Agama; this sequence differs in comparable texts of other sects. On this basis, Red Pine has argued that the Heart Sūtra is specifically a response to Sarvastivada teachings that, in the sense "phenomena" or its constituents, are real. Lines 12–13 enumerate the five skandhas. Lines 14–15 list the twelve ayatanas or abodes. Line 16 makes a reference to the 18 dhatus or elements of consciousness, using a conventional shorthand of naming only the first and last of the elements. Lines 17–18 assert the emptiness of the Twelve Nidānas, the traditional twelve links of dependent origination, using the same shorthand as with the eighteen dhatus. Line 19 refers to the Four Noble Truths.

Reliance on the prajnaparamita

The bodhisattva, as the archetypal Mahayana Buddhist, relies on the perfection of wisdom, defined in the Mahaprajnaparamita Sūtra to be the wisdom that perceives reality directly without conceptual attachment thereby achieving nirvana. All Buddhas of the three ages rely on the Perfection of Wisdom to reach unexcelled complete Enlightenment.

Unsurpassed knowledge

The final lines of the Heart Sūtra can be read in two different ways, depending on the interpretation of the character 咒, zhòu, meaning either mantra, or "a superlative kind of practical knowledge or incantation. According to Attwood, vidyā may be misunderstood, and the concluding mantra may have been a later addition.
Therefore, the Perfection of Wisdom is the all powerful mantra/knowledge, the great enlightening mantra/knowledge, the unexcelled mantra/knowledge, the unequalled mantra/knowledge, able to dispel all suffering. This is true and not false.

Conclusion

The shorter sūtra concludes with the following mantra:
This mantra has been recorded and transliterated into many languages, including:

Sanskrit as recorded in Siddham script of the era:
Sanskrit as recorded in modern Devanagari script: गते गते पारगते पारसंगते बोधि स्वाहा

Translations of this mantra vary, but include:

Max Müller - Gone, gone, gone to the other shore, landed at the other shore, 'O Wisdom Svaha!'
D.T. Suzuki - O Bodhi, gone, gone, gone to the other shore, landed at the other shore, Svaha!
Edward Conze - Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, O what an awakening, all-hail!
Tanahashi and Halifax - Arriving, arriving, arriving all the way, arriving all the way together: awakening Joy!

In the longer version, Buddha praises Avalokiteśvara for giving the exposition of the Perfection of Wisdom and all gathered rejoice in its teaching. Many schools traditionally have also praised the sūtra by uttering three times the equivalent of "Mahāprajñāpāramitā" after the end of the recitation of the short version.

Buddhist exegetical works

China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam

Two commentaries of the Heart Sūtra were composed by pupils of Xuanzang, Woncheuk and Kuiji, in the 7th century. These appear to be the earliest extant commentaries on the text. Both have been translated into English. Both Kuiji and Woncheuk's commentaries approach the Heart Sūtra from both a Yogācāra and Madhyamaka viewpoint; however, Kuiji's commentary presents detailed line by line Madhyamaka viewpoints as well and is therefore the earliest surviving Madhyamaka commentary on the Heart Sūtra. Of special note, although Woncheuk did his work in China, he was born in Silla, one of the kingdoms located at the time in Korea. The chief Tang dynasty commentaries have all now been translated into English.
Notable Japanese commentaries include those by Kōbō Daishi, who provides a Shingon commentary by treating the text as a tantra, and Hakuin, who gives a Zen commentary.
There is also a Vietnamese commentarial tradition for the Heart Sūtra. The earliest recorded commentary is the early 14th century Thiền commentary entitled 'Commentary on the Prajñāhṛdaya Sūtra' by Pháp Loa.
All of the East Asian commentaries are commentaries of Xuanzang's translation of the short version of the Heart Sūtra. Kōbō Daishi's commentary is purportedly of Kumārajīva's translation of the short version of the Heart Sūtra; but upon closer examination seems to quote only from Xuanzang's translation.

#	English title	Tripitaka No.	Author	Date	School
1.	Comprehensive Commentary on the Prañāpāramitā Heart Sūtra	T1710	Kuiji	632–682 CE	Yogācāra Buddhism
2.	Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra Commentary	T1711	Woncheuk	613–692 CE	Yogācāra Buddhism
3.	Brief Commentary on the Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra	T1712	Fazang	643–712 CE	Huayan Buddhism
4.	A Commentary on the Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra	M522	Jingmai	c. 7th century
5.	A Commentary on the Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra	M521	Huijing	715 CE
6.	Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra	T2203A	Kōbō Daishi	774–835 CE	Shingon Buddhism
7.	Straightforward Explanation of the Heart Sūtra	M542	Hanshan Deqing	1546–1623 CE	Chan Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism
8.	Explanation of the Heart Sūtra	M1452	Zibo Zhenke	1543–1603 CE	Chan Buddhism
9.	Explanation of the Keypoints to the Heart Sūtra	M555	Ouyi Zhixu	1599–1655 CE	Pure Land Buddhism and Tiantai Buddhism
10.	Explanation of the Contemplation of Phenomena of the Heart Sūtra	X26n0559	Baiting Xufa	1641-1728 CE	Huayan Buddhism
11.	Explanation of the Absolute Nature of the Heart Sūtra	X26n0560	Baiting Xufa	1641-1728 CE	Huayan Buddhism
12.	Zen Words for the Heart	B021	Hakuin Ekaku	1686–1768 CE	Zen Buddhism

India

Eight Indian commentaries survive in Tibetan translation and have been the subject of two books by Donald Lopez. These typically treat the text either from a Madhyamaka point of view, or as a tantra. Śrī Mahājana's commentary has a definite "Yogachara bent". All of these commentaries are on the long version of the Heart Sūtra. The Eight Indian Commentaries from the Kangyur are :

#	English title	Peking Tripitaka No.	Author / Dates
1.	Vast Explanation of the Noble Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom	No. 5217	Vimalamitra
2,	Atīśa's Explanation of the Heart Sūtra	No. 5222	Atīśa
3.	Commentary on the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom	No. 5221	Kamalaśīla
4.	Commentary on the Heart Sūtra as Mantra	No. 5840	Śrīsiṃha
5.	Explanation of the Noble Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom	No. 5218	Jñānamitra
6.	Vast Commentary on the Noble Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom	No. 5220	Praśāstrasena
7.	Complete Understanding of the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom	No. 5223	Śrī Mahājana
8.	Commentary on the Bhagavati Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra, Lamp of the Meaning	No. 5219	Vajrāpaṇi
9.	Commentary on the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom	M526	Āryadeva c. 10th century

There is one surviving Chinese translation of an Indian commentary in the Chinese Buddhist Canon. Āryadeva's commentary is on the short version of the Heart Sūtra.

Other

Besides the Tibetan translation of Indian commentaries on the Heart Sūtra, Tibetan monk-scholars also made their own commentaries. One example is Tāranātha's A Textual Commentary on the Heart Sūtra.
In modern times, the text has become increasingly popular amongst exegetes as a growing number of translations and commentaries attest. The Heart Sūtra was already popular in various East Asian Buddhist traditions such as Chan, Zen, Shingon and Tendai Buddhism, but it has also become a staple for Tibetan Buddhist Lamas as well.

Selected English translations

The first English translation was presented to the Royal Asiatic Society in 1863 by Samuel Beal, and published in their journal in 1865. Beal used a Chinese text corresponding to T251 and a 9th Century Chan commentary by Dadian Baotong . In 1881, Max Müller published a Sanskrit text based on the Hōryū-ji manuscript along an English translation.
There are more than 40 published English translations of the Heart Sūtra from Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan, beginning with Beal. Almost every year new translations and commentaries are published. The following is a representative sample.

Author	Title	Publisher	Notes	Year	ISBN
Geshe Rabten	Echoes of Voidness	Wisdom	Includes the Heart Sūtra with Tibetan Buddhist commentary	1983
Donald S. Lopez Jr.	The Heart Sūtra Explained	SUNY	The Heart Sūtra with a summary of Indian Buddhist commentaries	1987
Thich Nhat Hanh	The Heart of Understanding	Parallax Press	The Heart Sūtra with a Vietnamese Thiền commentary	1988
Norman Waddell	Zen Words for the Heart: Hakuin's Commentary on the Heart Sūtra	Shambhala Publications	Hakuin Ekaku's Japanese Zen commentary on Heart Sūtra	1996
Donald S. Lopez Jr.	Elaborations on Emptiness	Princeton	The Heart Sūtra with eight complete Indian and Tibetan Buddhist commentaries	1998
Edward Conze	Buddhist Wisdom: The Diamond Sūtra and The Heart Sūtra	Random House	The Diamond Sūtra and The Heart Sūtra, along with commentaries on the texts and practices of Buddhism	2001
Chan Master Sheng Yen	There Is No Suffering: A Commentary on the Heart Sūtra	Dharma Drum Publications	English translation of the Heart Sūtra with a Chinese Chan commentary	2001
Tetsugen Bernard Glassman	Infinite Circle: Teachings in Zen	Shambhala Publications	Translations and commentaries of The Heart Sūtra and The Identity of Relative and Absolute as well as Zen precepts	2003
Geshe Sonam Rinchen	Heart Sūtra: An Oral Commentary	Snow Lion	Concise translation and commentary from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective	2003
Red Pine	The Heart Sūtra: the Womb of Buddhas	Counterpoint	Heart Sūtra with commentary	2004
14th Dalai Lama	Essence of the Heart Sūtra	Wisdom Publications	Heart Sūtra with commentary by the 14th Dalai Lama	2005
Geshe Tashi Tsering	Emptiness: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought	Wisdom Publications	A guide to the topic of emptiness from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective, with English translation of the Heart Sūtra	2009
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso	The New Heart of Wisdom: An explanation of the Heart Sūtra	Tharpa Publications	English translation of the Heart Sūtra with commentary	2012
Karl Brunnholzl	The Heart Attack Sūtra: A New Commentary on the Heart Sūtra	Shambhala Publications	Modern commentary	2012
Doosun Yoo	Thunderous Silence: A Formula For Ending Suffering: A Practical Guide to the Heart Sūtra	Wisdom Publications	English translation of the Heart Sūtra with Korean Seon commentary	2013
Kazuaki Tanahashi	The Heart Sūtra: A Comprehensive Guide to the Classic of Mahayana Buddhism	Shambhala Publications	English translation of the Heart Sūtra with history and commentary	2015

Recordings

The Heart Sūtra has been set to music a number of times. Many singers solo this sūtra.

The Buddhist Audio Visual Production Centre produced a Cantonese album of recordings of the Heart Sūtra in 1995 featuring a number of Hong Kong pop singers, including Alan Tam, Anita Mui and Faye Wong, and composed by Andrew Lam Man Chung to raise money to rebuild the Chi Lin Nunnery.
Malaysian Imee Ooi sings the short version of the Heart Sūtra in Sanskrit accompanied by music entitled 'The Shore Beyond, Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sūtram', released in 2009.
Composer and recording artist Robert Gass, with his group On Wings of Song, released Heart of Perfect Wisdom in 1990, with two long pieces prominently featuring the "Gate Gate" mantra. This is now available as .
Hong Kong pop singers, such as the Four Heavenly Kings, sang the Heart Sūtra to raise money for relief efforts related to the 1999 Jiji earthquake.
A Mandarin version was first performed by Faye Wong in May 2009 at the Famen Temple for the opening of the Namaste Dagoba, a stupa housing the finger relic of Buddha rediscovered at the Famen Temple. She has sung this version numerous times since and its recording was subsequently used as a theme song in the blockbusters Aftershock and Xuanzang.
Shaolin monk Shi Yan Ming recites the Sūtra at the end of the song "Life Changes" by the Wu-Tang Clan, in remembrance of the deceased member ODB.
The outro of the b-side song "Ghetto Defendant" by the British first wave punk band The Clash also features the Heart Sūtra, recited by American beat poet Allen Ginsberg.
A slightly edited version is used as the lyrics for Yoshimitsu's theme in the PlayStation 2 game Tekken Tag Tournament. An Indian styled version was also created by Bombay Jayashri, titled Ji Project. It was also recorded and arranged by Malaysian singer/composer Imee Ooi.
An Esperanto translation of portions of the text furnished the libretto of the cantata La Koro Sutro by American composer Lou Harrison.
The Heart Sūtra appears as a track on an album of sūtras "performed" by VOCALOID voice software, using the Nekomura Iroha voice pack. The album, Syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism by VOCALOID, is by the artist tamachang.
Toward the end of the opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs by Mason Bates the character inspired by Kōbun Chino Otogawa sings part of the Heart Sūtra to introduce the scene in which Steve Jobs weds Laurene Powell at Yosemite in 1991.
Part of the Sūtra can be heard on Shiina Ringo's song Gate of Living, from her studio album Sandokushi

Popular culture

In the centuries following the historical Xuanzang, an extended tradition of literature fictionalizing the life of Xuanzang and glorifying his special relationship with the Heart Sūtra arose, of particular note being Journey to the West, which was written in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty. In chapter nineteen of Journey to the West, the fictitious Xuanzang learns by heart the Heart Sūtra after hearing it recited one time by the Crow's Nest Chan Master, who flies down from his tree perch with a scroll containing it, and offers to impart it. A full text of the Heart Sūtra is quoted in this fictional account.
The 1782 Japanese text "The Secret Biwa Music that Caused the Yurei to Lament", commonly known as Hoichi the Earless, because of its inclusion in the 1904 book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, makes usage of this sūtra. It involves the titular Hoichi having his whole body painted with the Heart Sūtra to protect against malicious spirits, with the accidental exception of his ears, making him vulnerable nonetheless. A filmed adaptation of this story is included in the 1964 horror anthology Kwaidan.
In the 2003 Korean film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring, the apprentice is ordered by his Master to carve the Chinese characters of the sūtra into the wooden monastery deck to quiet his heart.
The Sanskrit mantra of the Heart Sūtra was used as the lyrics for the opening theme song of the 2011 Chinese television series Journey to the West.
The 2013 Buddhist film Avalokitesvara tells the origins of Mount Putuo, the famous pilgrimage site for the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara in China. The film was filmed onsite on Mount Putuo and featured several segments where monks chant the Heart Sūtra in Chinese and Sanskrit. Egaku, the protagonist of the film, also chants the Heart Sūtra in Japanese.
In the 2015 Japanese film I Am a Monk, Koen, a twenty-four year old bookstore clerk, becomes a Shingon monk at the Eifuku-ji after the death of his grandfather. The Eifuku-ji is the fifty-seventh temple in the eighty-eight temple Shikoku Pilgrimage Circuit. He is at first unsure of himself. However, during his first service as he chants the Heart Sūtra, he comes to an important realization.
Bear McCreary recorded four Japanese-American monks chanting the entire Heart Sūtra in Japanese in his sound studio. He picked a few discontinuous segments and digitally enhanced them for their hypnotic sound effect. The result became the main theme of King Ghidorah in the 2019 film ''Godzilla: [King of the Monsters (2019 film)|Godzilla: King of the Monsters].''

Influence on western philosophy

, in the final words of his main work, compared his doctrine to the Śūnyatā of the Heart Sūtra. In Volume 1, § 71 of The World as Will and Representation, Schopenhauer wrote: "...to those in whom the will has turned and has denied itself, this very real world of ours, with all its suns and Milky Ways, is — nothing." To this, he appended the following note: "This is also the Prajna-Paramita of the Buddhists, the 'beyond all knowledge,' in other words, the point where subject and object no longer exist."

Documentary

Produced by Ravi Verma

Translations

Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, and English versions of The Heart Sūtra in sentence-by-sentence reading format; facilitating easy comparison.
A guide to some of the important translations and commentaries.
From the Chinese version attributed to Xuanzang.
From the Chinese version attributed to Kumārajīva.
From the Chinese translation by Prajñā.
Conze's translation from his Sanskrit edition.
From the Tibetan text.
. Translation from Chinese, Kaoshiung, Taiwan, 1971.
, with extensive notes