most commonly used of the sutras by Mahayana Buddhists; a concise extract of the teaching on emptiness (Chadwick 1999).

The extremely concise statement of the doctrine of Emptiness, regarded as the heart or essence of the vast Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) Literature. In many Great Way traditions, the sutra is chanted regularly.

The Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra, one of several "perfection of wisdom" sutras in the Mahayana scriptures. Calculatedly paradoxical in its language ("there is no suffering, cause, cessation or path"). Central to most Mahayana schools.

A distillation of the vast Prajnaparamita literature, it is chanted daily in Zen monasteries.

One of the central sutras in Mahayana Buddhism. It is particularly important in Zen because of its teaching about emptiness. The key idea of this teaching is: Form is no other than emptiness, emptiness is no other than form." For an on-line translation of the Heart Sutra, click here.

The extremely concise treatise on emptiness regarded as the heart or essence of the vast prajnaparamita (perfection of wisdom) literature.

Prajnaparamitahrdayasutra (Skt); shes rab sny-ing po ’i mdo (Tib). One of the most important of the Mahayana sutras. The principal subject matter is emptiness of self and all phenomena. It is recited regularly in Tibetan monasteries.

The Heart of Perfect Wisdom Sutra or Heart Sutra or Essence of Wisdom Sutra (Sanskrit: प्रज्ञापारमिताहृदयसूत्र Prajñāpāramitā Hridaya Sūtra; Chinese: 般若波羅蜜多心經, Bōrěbōluómìduō Xīnjīng; Japanese: 般若心経, Hannya Shingyō; Korean: Pannya Shimgyŏng) is a well-known Mahāyāna Buddhist sutra that is very popular among Mahayana Buddhists both for its brevity and depth of meaning.