The History of the Core Sutra of Perfect Wisdom and the Aesthetics of Prayer
Written in India in the third century and, despite earlier versions, definitively translated into Chinese by Xuanzang in 649, what is commonly known as the Heart Sutra is, according to Iijima Tachio in this magnificent book, more accurately referred to as the 'Core Sutra'. However, without its more popular title, Tachio readily conceeds, its "history would have been very different indeed from the one we know".
It is a history this stunning work lavishly illustrates with colour reproductions of historic copies of the sutra, the author's own reconstructions, and ancient sutra drawings given fresh life through the adorable addition of colour by Kikuchi Hitomi. The author, Iijima Tachio, is an expert on the history of the sutra and a skilled artist, and one chapter features his Core Sutra composed from Sho originally written by Saicho, founder of the Tendai sect.
Saicho travelled to China and brought back copies of the Heart Sutra to Japan, but no copy made by him is known to exist. So Tachio, supported by temples connected to Saicho, re-created the sutra exactly how Saicho himself would have made and written it. The sutra is written with gold dust on indigo paper, is incredibly beautiful, and I was amazed to read that 100 kilograms of dried indigo grass was used to create paper weighing just 25 grams.
"We were doing our best, trying to make it as glorious, as beautiful as possible," Tachio writes, "finally our sutra was finished." His team made three of them, dedicating the first to Chusonji Temple in 2001, the second to Hieizan Enryakuji, the temple founded by Saicho, and the third to Jikoji, founded by Dochu, which has a special hall called 'the Hall of the Core Sutra of Perfect Wisdom' in which historically important copies of the sutra are displayed.
The oldest existing Core (Heart) Sutra in Sanskrit was written on palm leaves and brought from China to Japan in 609 according to tradition (during the 8th century according to scholars) and is preserved in Horyuji, the oldest temple in Japan. It is the first Heart Sutra reproduced in the book, the close-up images of the brush strokes are really amazing, and Tachio explains how it was not written as a sutra at all, but as a mantra or dharani.
The oldest Heart Sutra produced in Japan dates from the 8th century and is known as the Sumidera Shingyo as it is thought to have been written by a priest at Sumidera Temple. Not only is it incredibly beautiful, and still used as a model for those wishing to make copies of the sutra, it is also, like the Sanskrit version, a prayer in itself. If you chant the mantra to Avalokitesvara, it says, it will destroy evil and the Buddhas will grant you protection.
Any history of the Heart Sutra will also be a history of the popular practices of Buddhism and Tachio looks at the techniques and aesthetics of copies of the sutra through history and relates the way they were made to the beliefs of those who created them. While some have seen in the sutra a philosophical exposition on emptiness, others have approached it in a more esoteric sense, and the writing of the sutra reflect these different understandings.
A good example is the Hatai Shingyo, or Core Sutra of Perfect Wisdom written in broken style, by Kukai. It is known as 'broken' because of the way the priest Kukai mixed different styles in the one work, "not unlike" says Tachio, "a mandala, a constellation of esoteric Buddhas". Tachio also points out some very Sanskrit-like features in Kukai's sutra style and suggests they are no accident, but spring from the same understanding of the sutra.
In complete contrast is the Heart Sutra written by the Zen priest, and almost hermit, Ryokan. The Sho, or characters, in his sutra were made with just the top 2 or 3 millimeters of the tip of his brush and would hardly qualify as brush strokes at all if they were any thinner. It is a stripped down, austere writing style, one that reflects his approach to Buddhism and the sutra, and couldn't be a greater contrast to the style adopted by Kukai.
The final sutra in the book is one written by Gosakuramachi Tenno and is remarkable on two counts. Firstly, and yet surprisingly commonly, it is written by a woman. In fact, the oldest copy of the Heart Sutra with a date, 711, was written by a woman, Mrs Zhang, and it seems that part of the popularity of the Heart Sutra, and of the Lotus Sutra too, was driven by women, who often came together in groups specifically to make devotional copies of them.
The other remarkable thing about Gosakuramachi Tenno's sutra is the fact it's written in Kana. Of course this reflects the fact that Kana was a female invention in response to the lower educational opportunities available to women and their drive to literally record their voices. But Tachio points out another important point this makes, that the Heart Sutra doesn't have to be written only in Sanskrit or Chinese, but can be written in any language.
The final line cannot be translated of course, but the merits in chanting or copying out a translated version of the sutra are, Tachio says, exactly the same. Practice is the heart of the Core Sutra, so much so that Tachio writes that there is no sutra where there is no practice, and the book closes with his wish that "many people in many countries are able to chant and write the Core Sutra of Perfect Wisdom".
I am sure that Iijima Tachio's devotion to the sutra, his research, skilled reconstructions, and prolific and eloquent writing for both Japanese and international audiences are helping to bring this wish about. This is a truly magnificent book and the author, the translator, and the temple which published it, all deserve our gratitude for making these beautiful sutras and their history available to us.
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