Heart Sutra - What is Emptiness?

There is a lot of wisdom in the Heart Sutra, one of the most commonly recited sutra from Mahayana Buddhism. Even though this Sutra is from Buddhism, it explains about life, death, emptiness, the nature of the universe and the connectivity of everything.

There are many people who recite this Sutra but how many people actually understand the meaning? It defeats the purpose to recite or chant a certain mantra or sutra without understanding. The whole purpose for the creation of mantras and sutras are to teach people the way of life, the nature of the universe and how to live a life of liberation. The words of the sutra carry meaning but because it is so condensed that modern people will find it difficult to understand without the guidance of enlightened religious teachers or gurus.

I will attempt to explain the foundation of this sutra based on my understanding though there are deeper teachings which I have yet to realize. Each time when I look into the meaning of the Heart Sutra, my understanding will deepen. But it can quite difficult for some people to grasp because of their personal deep conditionings and addictions to this worldly form. Some explanations that are found in the internet are also misleading.

The entire essence of the Heart Sutra is about Emptiness and Form and the pathway of the Heart.

What is Form?

Form is the manifestations of everything that are found in the entire universe/ multiverses. Form can be detectable or non-detectable, visible or non-visible, audible or non-audible using the five senses of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body/hands in seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching. We are in the world of form.

What is Emptiness?

There are 2 parts to explain about Emptiness:

1) Emptiness means everything is impermanent. Everything changes from minute, every second. There is nothing that is forever or everlasting. Change is the only thing that is constant. Everything is transcient.

2) Emptiness means everything is connected to one another. There is nothing that exists by itself. There is nothing that is independently existing by itself. We were born from our parents, our parents were born from our grandparents. Trees were grown from seeds or transplants and cuttings. The ocean came from rainwater, rivers and eco-system in circulation.

Emptiness does not mean nothing. There is a lot of misconception about what emptiness means.

An extract of the Heart Sutra,

form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form ;

emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form,

the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness.

Here, O Sariputra,

all dharmas are marked with emptiness ;

they are not produced or stopped, not defiled or immaculate, not deficient or complete.

Therefore, O Sariputra,

in emptiness there is no form nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness ;

No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind ; No forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables or objects of mind ; No sight-organ element, and so forth, until we come to :

No mind-consciousness element ; There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and so forth, until we come to : There is no decay and death, no extinction of decay and death. There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path.

There is no cognition, no attainment and no non-attainment.

心经全文 观自在菩萨，行深般若波罗蜜多时，照见五蕴皆空，度一切苦厄。舍利子，色不异空，空不异色， 色即是空，空即是色，受想行识，亦复如是。舍利子，是诸法空相，不生不灭，不垢不净，不增不 减。是故空中无色，无受想行识，无眼耳鼻舌身意，无色声香味触法，无眼界，乃至无意识界，无 无明，亦无无明尽，乃至无老死，亦无老死尽。无苦集灭道，无智亦无得。以无所得故。菩提萨埵 ，依般若波罗蜜多故，心无挂碍。无挂碍故，无有恐怖，远离颠倒梦想，究竟涅盘。三世诸佛，依 般若波罗蜜多故，得阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。故知般若波罗蜜多，是大神咒，是大明咒，是无上咒， 是无等等咒，能除一切苦，真实不虚。故说般若波罗蜜多咒，即说咒曰：揭谛揭谛，波罗揭谛，波 罗僧揭谛，菩提萨婆诃。

Why is Emptiness and Form the same? The world of Form is impermanent and interconnected and interdependent of one another. Hence, Emptiness is Form; Form is Emptiness. Feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness that are derived from our five senses are also Emptiness because they are impermanent and interconnected.

Our five senses are conditioned by the external world. We are conditioned to judge or perceive with our five senses. What is young and old, what is beautiful and ugly, what is tall and short, what is small and large, what is bright and dim, what is good and bad, what is successful and failure, what is happiness and depression, what is loud and noisy, what is fragrant and smelly, what is hot and cold, what is nice and unpleasant, what is clean and filthy, I/me and you/they..........the list goes on. The five senses are attempting to establish the ego identity, trying to find the self. The self that most people identify with, is the ego mind or lower self - I, me, mine. Whatever judgement and perception that we learn are all conditionings that we pick up since young and from past lives. These conditionings will continue to affect us as long as we still hold onto these beliefs.

A lot of conflicts occur because we overly attach a lot of thoughts and feelings with what we encounter in life. We take things very personally as if everything is about us. We assume that others are trying to harm or attack us. It creates a division among people.

When we are able to connect with everything in existences and be one with everything, we will drop the sense of self. This is Emptiness. This is what selfless means.

In the next part of the sutra about emptiness, "there is no form nor feeling". What does it mean? It seems to contradict the above about emptiness is form. In emptiness, when we drop all mind consciousness and judgements / perceptions, we will not perceive differences in the world of form. There will not be polarity, divisions and conflicts. There will not be distinctions between things. It is what it is. There will be no more reactions or feelings. There is nothing to attain, achieve or not achieving. There is no division between enlightenment and samsara. There is no distinction between who is awakened and who is asleep.

If we are able to detach the five sense conditionings in our daily life, there will be inner peace in our heart. This is a pathway towards liberation from suffering.

I am just explaining the main message of the Heart Sutra. There are deeper teachings which I feel I have yet to grasp. Perhaps I will share more if I have new revelations.