After twelve years of research and a year-long editorial process, my revised editions of the Heart Sutra in Chinese and Sanskrit have now been published in Asian Literature and Translation along with translations (and copious notes) that reflect how I think it should be understood. I thank people in the article, but I also want to thank the editor, Ian Rapley, for his heroic patience with me.
Attwood, Jayarava. (2024). "Revised Editions of the Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya and Bānrěbōluómìduō xīn jīng «般若波羅蜜多心經»." Asian Literature and Translation 11(1): 52-92. https://alt.cardiffuniversitypress.org/articles/10.18573/alt.63.
Since 2012, when I first noticed errors in Conze's Sanskrit, I have wanted to take this step of publishing revised editions. On the other hand, I have dreaded having to commit to a translation that would then be the subject of criticism from all sides. But the moment to take this step has arrived. So here are the "official" Jayarava texts and translations.
With help from many other scholars, I have at least identified the major issues with the existing editions and shown how I think they should be corrected. To the best of my ability, the Sanskrit text is now fully parseable as Sanskrit and, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time in history that a Sanskrit Heart Sutra text can stake this claim. All the current Sanskrit editions have numerous grammatical errors and thus all existing translations based on those editions are also full of errors.
The revised Chinese text is less drastically changed and my revisions are mainly concerned with integrating insights from Huifeng (2014) into the structure of the text. Explanations for the changes can be found in the main article.
Please note that despite widespread beliefs to the contrary, the Heart Sutra is entirely in prose. So I avoid the faux-poetic arrangement of the text into disconnected short lines (that often ignore sentence breaks). I have added paragraphs to make reading/studying easier.
The Chinese Heart Sutra
Revised Chinese Text
般若波羅蜜多心經。
觀自在菩薩行深般若波羅蜜多時，照見五蘊皆空，度一切苦厄。
舍利子，色不異空，空不異色，色即是空，空即是色。受想行識亦復如是。
舍利子，是諸法空相不生不滅不垢不淨不增不減。
是故空中無色無受想行識，無眼耳鼻舌身意，無色聲香味觸法，無眼界乃至無意識界，無無明亦無無明盡乃至無老死亦無老死盡，無苦集滅道，無得無現觀，以無所得故。
菩提薩埵依般若波羅蜜多故心無罣礙，無罣礙故無有恐怖遠離顛倒夢想究竟涅槃。三世諸佛依般若波羅蜜多故得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
故知般若波羅蜜是大明呪無上明呪無等等明呪。能除一切苦真實不虛。
故說般若波羅蜜多咒即說呪曰 揭帝 揭帝 般羅揭帝 般羅僧揭帝 菩提 薩婆訶。
Translation
On the Essence of Perfect Insight.
Practising the deep perfection of insight, Guanyin bodhisattva observed the branches of experience, all were absent and he transcended all suffering.
Śāriputra, appearance is not different from absence and absence is not different from appearance; appearance is only absence and absence is only appearance. Valence, recognition, intention, and objectification are the same.
Śāriputra, all phenomena are characterised by absence that does not arise or cease, is not defiled or pure, and is not declining or growing.
In that state of absence—there is no appearance, valence, recognition, intention, or objectification; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mental sense; no appearance, sound, smell, taste, touch, or percepts; no eye-sphere etc up to no mental cognition sphere; no ignorance or cessation of ignorance etc up to no ageing and death or the cessation of ageing and death; no dissatisfaction, no origin, no cessation, no path; no attainment and no realisation—due to practising nonapprehension.
Since the bodhisatva relies on perfect insight their mind is not attached anywhere; being detached they are not afraid, transcend illusions and delusions, and attain final extinction. Relying on perfect insight, the buddhas of the three times attained full and perfect awakening.
Understand that perfect insight is great know-how, unexcelled know-how, and unequalled know-how. It can remove all suffering; it is true and not false.
Therefore recite the incantation of perfect insight, the incantation that goes: jiēdì jiēdì bānluójiēdì bānluósēngjiēdì pútí sàpóhē.
~o~
The Sanskrit Heart Sutra
Revised Sanskrit Text
āryāvalokiteśvaro bodhisatvo gambhīrāṃ prajñāpāramitācaryāṃ caramāṇo vyavalokayati sma pañcaskandhāṃs tāṃś ca svabhāvaśūnyān paśyati sma ||
iha śāriputra rūpam eva śūnyatā śūnyataiva rūpaṃ rūpān na pṛthak śūnyatā śūnyatāyā na pṛthag rūpaṃ | evam eva vedanā-saṃjñā-saṃskāra-vijñānaṃ ||
iha śāriputra sarvadharmāḥ śūnyatālakṣaṇā anutpannā aniruddhā amalā avimalā anūnā aparipūrṇāḥ ||
tasmāc chāriputra śūnyatāyāṃ na rūpaṃ na vedanā na saṃjñā na saṃskārāḥ na vijñānaṃ, na caksuḥ-śrotra-ghrāṇa-jihvā-kāya-manāṃsi na rūpa-śabda-gandha-rasa-spraṣṭavya-dharmāḥ na cakṣurdhātur yāvan na manovijñānadhātur nāvidyā nāvidyākṣayo yāvan na jarāmaraṇaṃ na jarāmaraṇakṣayo na duḥkha-samudaya-nirodha-mārgā na jñānaṃ na prāptiḥ ||
tasmāc chāriputra aprāptitvād bodhisatvaḥ prajñāpāramitām āśritya viharaty acittāvaraṇaś cittāvaraṇanāstitvād atrasto viparyāsātikrānto niṣṭhanirvāṇaḥ | tryadhvavyavasthitāḥ sarvabuddhāḥ prajñāpāramitām āśritya anuttarāṃ samyaksambodhim abhisambuddhāḥ ||
tasmāj jñātavyaḥ prajñāpāramitā mahāmantro mahāvidyāmantro ‘nuttaramantro ‘samasamamantraḥ sarvaduḥkhapraśamanaḥ satyam amithyātvāt ||
prajñāpāramitāyām ukto mantraḥ tadyathā | gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā ||
iti prajñāpāramitāhṛdayaṃ samāptam ||
Translation
Practising the deep practice of perfect insight, noble Avalokiteshvara bodhisattva, examined the five branches of experience and saw that they lacked self-existence.
Obviously, Śāriputra, appearance only is absence; absence is only appearance. Absence is not different from appearance; appearance is not different from absence. The same applies to valence, recognition, intention, and objectification.
Obviously, Śāriputra all dharmas are characterised by absence that does not arise or cease, is not defiled or pure, and is not deficient or complete.
Therefore, Śāriputra, in that state of absence there is no appearance, valence, recognition, intention, or objectification; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mental sense; no appearance, sound, smell, taste, touch, or percepts; no eye-sphere, and so on up to, no mental-cognition-sphere; no ignorance or destruction of ignorance, and so on up to, no ageing and death or the destruction of ageing and death; no dissatisfaction, no origin, no cessation, no path; no knowledge and no attainment.
Therefore, Śāriputra, in the absence of attainment, the bodhisattva who is without mental obstructions dwells having relied on perfect insight, [and] being free of mental obstructions he is unafraid, has overcome delusions, and his extinction is complete. Having relied on perfect insight, all the buddhas appearing in the three times fully awakened to the unexcelled perfectly complete awakening.
Therefore, know that perfect insight is a great mantra, a great mantra of mastery, an unexcelled mantra, an unequalled mantra that allays all suffering and it is true and without wrongness.
Concerning perfect insight, a mantra goes like this: gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā.
This Epitome of Insight is complete.
~~oOo~~
