SUTRA ON THE ESSENCE OF TRANSCENDENT KNOWLEDGE
Thus have I heard: once the Blessed One was dwelling in the royal domain of
the Vulture Peak Mountain, together with a great gathering of monks and
Bodhisattvas.
At that time the Blessed One entered the samadhi which examines the
dharmas, called "Profound Illumination", and at the same time
noble Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva, looking at the profound
practice of transcendent knowledge, saw the five skandhas and their natural
emptiness.
Then through the inspiration of the Buddha, Shariputra said to
Avalokiteshvara: "How should those noble ones learn, who wish to
follow the profound practice of transcendent knowledge?" And
Avalokiteshvara answered: "Shariputra, whoever wishes to follow the
profound practice of transcendent knowledge should look at it like this,
seeing the five skandhas and their natural emptiness, form is emptiness,
emptiness itself is form; emptiness is no other than form, form is no other
than emptiness; in the same way feeling, perception, concept and
consciousness are emptiness. Thus all the dharmas are emptiness and have no
characteristics. They are unborn and unceasing, they are not impure or
pure, they neither decrease nor increase. Therefore since there is
emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no concept, no
consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no
appearance, no sound, no quality of hearing, no quality of smelling, no
quality of tasting, no quality of sensing, no quality of thought, no
quality of mind-consciousness; there are no nidanas, from ignorance to old
age and death, nor their wearing out; there is no suffering, no cause of
suffering, no ending of suffering and no path; no wisdom, no attainment and
no non-attainment. Therefore since there is no attainment, the Bodhisattvas
abide by means of transcendent knowledge; and since there is no obscurity
of mind they have no fear, they transcend falsity and pass beyond the
bounds of sorrow. All the Buddhas who dwell in the past, present and future
by means of transcendent knowledge fully and clearly awaken to unsurpassed,
true, complete enlightenment. Therefore the mantra of transcendent knowledge,
the mantra of deep insight, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequalled mantra,
the mantra which calms all suffering, should be known as truth, for there
is no deception. In transcendent knowledge the mantra is proclaimed:
Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.
O Shariputra, this is how a Bodhisattva-Mahasattva should learn profound
transcendent knowledge"
Then the Blessed One arose from that samadhi and praised the
Bodhisattva-mahasattva Avalokiteshvara saying: "Good, good, O son of
noble family! Profound transcendent knowledge should be practiced just as
you have taught, and the Tathagatas will rejoice"
When the Blessed One had said this, Shariputra and Avalokiteshvara, that
whole gathering and the world with its gods, men asuras and gandharvas, their
hearts full of joy, praised the words of the Blessed One.
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