The Heart Sutra An Oral Teaching

by Rinchen, Geshe Sonam; Sonam, Ruth; Sonam, Ruth

• ISBN13: 9781559392013
• ISBN10: 1559392010
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-26
• Publisher: Snow Lion

Summary

Understanding the nature of reality is the key to liberation. The Buddha's teachings on emptiness can lead us to this understanding -- and the Heart Sutra, the most concise of the Perfection of Wisdom sutras, contains the essence of these teachings. This short gem of a book shows how distorted perceptions and disturbing emotions arising from our misunderstanding of reality can be completely uprooted, resulting in freedom from suffering. The author's long experience in teaching Western students at the Dalai Lama's Library of Tibetan Works and Archives makes The Heart Sutra an ideal introduction for Westerners to this important subject. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Geshe Sonam Rinchen was born in Tibet in 1933. He studied at Sera Je Monastery and in 1980 received the Lharampa Geshe degree. He is currently resident scholar at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India, where he teaches Buddhist philosophy and practice Ruth Sonam was born and grew up in Ireland and graduated from Oxford University with an M.A. in Modern Languages. She began studying with Geshe Sonam Rinchen in 1978 and has worked as his interpreter since 1983

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(10)
The Perfection of Wisdom Sutras	11	(6)
The Heart Sutra	17	(10)
The Prologue	27	(8)
The Question	35	(8)
Form Is Empty	43	(8)
The Eight Aspects	51	(4)
No Conventional Phenomena	55	(14)
The Mantra	69	(14)
The Conclusion and Colophon	83	(6)
The Root Text: The Heart Sutra	89	(6)
The Tibetan Text	95	(4)
Notes	99	(28)
Source Readings	127