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Thus I have heard. At one time the Lord was sitting on Vulture's
Peak near the city of Rajgir. He was accompanied by a large community
of monks as well as a large community of bodhisattvas. On that occasion
the Lord was absorbed in a particular concentration called the profound
appearance. Meanwhile the bodhisattva, the great being, the noble
Avalokiteshvara was contemplating the profound discipline of the
perfection of wisdom. He came to see that the five aggregates were void
of any inherent nature of their own.
Through the power of the Buddha, the venerable Shariputra approached
the noble Avalokiteshvara and asked him, "How should a son of the noble
lineage proceed when he wants to train in the profound discipline of
the perfection of wisdom?"
The noble Avalokiteshvara replied to the venerable Shariputra,
"Whatever son or daughter of the noble lineage wants to train in the
profound discipline of the perfection of wisdom should consider things
in the following way. First, he or she should clearly and thoroughly
comprehend that the five aggregates are void of any inherent nature of
their own. Form is void, but voidness is form. Voidness is not other
than forms and forms are not other than voidness. Similarly, feelings,
discernments, formative elements and consciousness are also void.
Likewise, Shariputra, are all phenomena void. They have no defining
characteristics; they are unproduced; they do not cease; they are
undefiled, yet they are not separate from defilement; they do not
decrease, yet they do not increase. This being the case, Shariputra, in
terms of voidness there exist no forms, no feelings, no discernments,
no formative elements, no consciousness; no eyes, no ears, no noses, no
tongues, no bodies, no minds; no visual-forms, no sounds, no smells, no
tastes, no tactile sensations, no mental elements, and no elements of
mental consciousness. There exist no ignorance and no exhaustion of
ignorance, no aging and death and no exhaustion of aging and death. In
the same way there exist no suffering, no origin of suffering,no
cessation, no path, no wisdom, no attainment and no lack of attainment.
Therefore, Shariputra, since bodhisattvas have no attainment, they
depend upon and dwell in the perfection of wisdom; their minds are
unobstructed and unafraid. They transcend all error and finally reach
the end-point: nirvana.
All the buddhas of the past, present and future have depended, do and
will depend upon the perfection of wisdom. Thereby they become, are
becoming and will become unsurpassably, perfectly and completely
awakened buddhas.
Therefore, the mantra of the perfection of wisdom is a mantra of great
knowledge; it is an unsurpassable mantra; it is a mantra that totally
pacifies all suffering. It will not deceive you, therefore know it to
be true!
I proclaim the mantra of the perfection of wisdom:
TAYATHA GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA
Shariputra, it is in this way that the great bodhisattvas train themselves in the profound perfection of wisdom."
At that moment the Lord arose from his concentration and said to the
noble Avalokiteshvara, "Well said, well said. That is just how it is,
my son, just how it is. The profound perfection of wisdom should be
practiced exactly as you have explained it. Then the Tathagatas will be
truly delighted."
When the Lord had spoken these words, the venerable Shariputra and the
bodhisattva, the great being, the noble Avalokiteshvara, and the entire
gathering of gods, humans, asuras and gandharvas were overjoyed, and
they praised what the Lord had said.
From "Echoes of Voidness" by Geshe Rabten
Translation by Stephen Batchelor
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