Heart Sutra Essay

The significance of the Buddhist teachings has impacted the everyday lives of Buddhist adherents as it provides a set of guidance, in which the goal of individuals is to improve themselves through effort and ultimately reach Nirvana, enlightenment. Through the Four Noble truths; The existence of Dukkha (Suffering),

Some evident transitions include, “the weakening of state control and the institutionalization of Buddhism as a distinct “corporate entity” in administration, taxation, and economic activities; the influence of enlightenment thinking and modernist scientific rational- ism, which is evident in Buddhist monastic reforms and in Buddhist publications for public consumption; a decline followed by a modest recovery of both monastic and lay Buddhism, in parallel with a growth in the enhanced status of women as nuns or lay practitioners in East and Southeast Asia; engagement with social and political causes in the form of Buddhist reform movements, hospitals, NGO’s, and social services; the commercialization of ritual services, especially in the form of “funerary Buddhism”; increasing lay interest in Buddhism as a “self-help” movement, accompanied by broader participation in activities once limited exclusively for monastics: meditation classes, retreats, study groups, and the like; and the expansion of Tibetan Buddhism throughout Asia and the world since 1959, as a consequence of the Tibetan exile. The modernization of Buddhism influenced some of the well regarded authors in American Literature. The Heart Sūtra (a foundational scripture of Mahāyāna Buddhism) was translated by Henry David Thoreau. However, Buddhist modernism is mostly “lay-based” and individualistic. It is focused on meditation and psychological introspection. Furthermore, in 1960’s America, a highly romanticized view of Buddhism began to form. This view of Buddhism in the modern age was inspired by the countercultural movements and by a few “cosmopolitan Asian intellectuals who have lectured and published in the West.” More importantly, One of the most significant social and institutional developments in

In The Heart of Understanding, Thich Nhat Hanh’s uses simple but powerful words and real world examples to illustrate the profound Buddhist philosophy from the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, an important representative of Mahayana Buddhist literature. The Mahayana school of Buddhist teachings emphasizes the doctrine of Sunyata- emptiness. The doctrine of emptiness, one of the most important Mahayana innovations, focuses on the relational aspect of existence. Thich Nhat Hanh coins and introduces a new word- interbeing to explain the state of emptiness. This idea of interbeing not only illustrates emptiness well but also provides understanding of other fundamental Buddhist ideas such as No-Self, impermanence and non-duality.

Buddhism originated in the early Fifth century BCE, from the teachings of Siddhartha Buddha (Fisher, 2005). Plagued by the desire to help end human suffering, Buddha reached a state of pure enlightenment showing him the way to end earthly suffering. Through meditation, people can control the desires of their human nature. By gaining control of our desires we can end our suffering. He taught his wisdom to all that wanted to learn. After his death, three main forms of Buddhism emerged; there was the Theravada’s, the Mahayana’s, and the Zen Buddhists (Fisher, 2005). For the sake of this report, the local Buddhist

“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draw it. Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.” (Siddhartha Guatamma) This is one of the many wise words spoken from the kindhearted Buddha. After my brief study of Buddhism I feel that these words, as well as my experience, have opened up my heart to a better understanding of the power within me. I think it is fascinating to really comprehend that it is us alone through our mindset and habit that essentially can control how we chose to live out our days on Earth. This teaching and the story of Buddha begins with the son of a king named Siddhartha Gautama which lays the basic foundation of Buddhism. While growing up and being raised to be the next king, Siddhartha, was never exposed to religion nor human suffering. He lived this sheltered life until he was 29 years old when he finally ventured passed his palace walls only to become exposed to the poverty and disease of the people living beyond the walls that shielded him for so long. After his experience he became fixated on escaping the world of suffering. Through the study of different religions, teachings, and passages he discovered meditation which he practiced for six

The Sutra Pitaka is made up of dialogues between the Buddha and his people and consists of five different texts. The first is the Digha Nikaya, then the Mijjhima Nikaya, the Samyutta Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya and the Khuddaka Nikaya.

He would teach his followers what they should do to themselves in order to become enlightened and he would also correct his followers if they did something wrong. The Buddha did not believe that one has to make themselve suffer in order to obtain spiritual truth, but to get rid of bad habits and attachments. The Buddha believed that one should not have bad habits like, for example, being lazy. Not only The Buddha tells us to get rid of the bad habits and feelings, but the good ones as well like love. He also believed that you should not have any worldly or spiritually attachments to anything.

In The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh provides a citation from the Buddha, which gives insight into the cure of our distress. “I teach only suffering and the transformation of suffering” (Thich Nhat

Zenju argues for a different interpretation of Heart Sutra’s emptiness. Liberatory emptiness for Zenju is that which allows for our hearts to hold no ideas regarding others or the world in which we live (2015, 105). The emptiness of hearts will allow for one to view and treat others, as well as ourselves, with compassion. The illusions and distortions spoken of by the Buddha can be viewed as false from a heart of emptiness. Rather, our hearts will be empty of these illusions freeing us from the suffering caused by the internalization of inferiority and superiority (2015, 106). When our hearts are filled with these illusions we not only cause harm and suffering to ourselves, but we reproduce and reinforce the harm and suffering of

Buddhism is considered the world’s fourth largest religion, but is it really? Although a large bulk of society rules Buddhism as a religion, its basic structure and teachings proves that it does not fit in the religious category. Many people argue that it is a religion, mainly because of the unique belief in the afterlife and various realms of existence within Buddhism. However, there is no god in Buddhism, as anyone who follows the first Buddha’s teachings may become a Buddha themselves. It is the only “religion” that has no supreme spiritual being. It is instead a quest for enlightenment, for supreme wisdom and intelligence, and to reach Nirvana as a result. It is a quest of self discovery that bypasses the concept of faith. Buddhism cannot be a religion if it does not meet the criteria to be one.

The teachings were passed down orally for around 200 years after the Buddha’s death before they were finally written down by Buddhist monks.

The four Noble Truths are also emptiness. With the great prajñā, or wisdom, Avalokiteśvara understands all the emptiness, and overcomes all dukkhas, or sufferings. In the emptiness, he has no worries, no fear, and no sorrow. Emptiness in Buddhism has various meanings, depending on the context and the school of Buddhism. Emptiness can be considered as anicca, or impermance.

A few hours into conversation with the Buddhist nun was still not enough to grasp and comprehend every teaching of the Buddha. She just came to America and the dialogue was strictly in Vietnamese. I had a hard time trying to understand Vietnamese Buddhist terminology. She discussed Buddha teachings regarding the Samsara, the Eightfold Path, and the Five Precepts. She particularly emphasized on the Tripitaka (Sanskrit for "three baskets"; "Tipitaka" in Pali). The Tripitaka/Tipitaka consists of three sections/baskets of the Buddha's Teachings. They are the Vinaya Pitaka/Discipline Basket, the Sutra Pitaka/Basket of Discourses, and the Abhidharma Pitaka/ Basket of Discourses. I went home and searched for the English version of these Baskets and read about it for a deeper understanding of her sharing. I learned that the first basket the Vinaya Pitaka/Discipline basket contains hundreds of monastic rules for monks and nuns. It consists of five books: Parajika Pali, the Major Offences; Pacittiya Pali, the Minor Offences; Mahavagga Pali , the Creater Section; Cullavagga Pali, the Smaller Section; Parivara Pali, the Epitome of the Vinaya.

I enjoyed reading the readings of the Lotus Sutra, the author gave an in dept. understanding of the Lotus Sutra. Overall, the aspect of the Lotus Sutra was fascinated. The book itself drew readers, as you read the text it provided the reader with knowledge that may not be found in any other doctrines. As I read the Lotus Sutra I found it very useful that the author also included the origin of the Buddhist text and the tremendous impact it had on Asian countries. It was interesting to learn that Buddhism didn’t take the form of doctrines and arts until centuries later after the Buddha had left this world. The Buddha teachings was passed down orally by his followers. According, to the text bodhisattvas are the true followers of the Buddha. The bodhisattva was responsible for assuring that all myriad beings could receive the words of the Buddha. Although the text was very popular among the new Chinese Buddhists, no one knew the author of the Lotus Sutra. According, to tradition, many Buddhists accepted the sutra as the received words of the Buddha, but no one ever did question the authorship of the text.

From the lavish beginnings in a wealthy kingdom nestled within the Himalayan foothills of Nepal, Siddhartha Gautama’s transformation into the Buddha and the start of Buddhism was based off of and due to confronting constant human suffering in everyday life. Abandoning his regal life in pursuit of spiritual insight, Siddhartha sought to understand the problem of human suffering and propose remedies, if any, to such a condition. Verses, lectures, and sutras transcribed in scriptures by Buddha’s followers offer an other worldly perspective to endure the hardships and how to conduct oneself harmoniously in society especially with the concept of Inner Peace. The truth goal of Buddhism is to attain peace within oneself, detaching oneself from worldly suffering, attaining enlightenment, and eventually reaching a state of escaping the cycle of suffering, the state of Nirvana. Even though there are many sects of the Buddhist faith, this essay focuses on the shared peace practices and beliefs Buddhism promotes, especially the concept of inner peace through reflection. Buddhism is known widely as a religion of peace and non-violence, though there are outlying examples contrary to the point such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, and etc., the concept of achieving inner peace and living harmoniously no matter what views one has can promote a positive society.