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The following is our Ceremony for the WEEKLY (90-minute) and MONTHLY (4 hour) ZAZENKAI:
You can also download our Chant Book for Weekly and Monthly Zazenkai as a PDF ...
LINK FOR CHANT BOOK DOWNLOAD (PDF) (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dALXODBGWE1xLVXyE0oCADtnWIgpLJTz/view)
Please download, print and treat respectfully,
Remember that there is quite a bit of variation in English (or other language) wording from western Sangha to western Sangha because these are all translations and interpretations of the Sino-Japanese (Chinese text pronounced in Japan in the Japanese way) which can be worded or expressed various ways in English and other languages. The text itself may have been composed in China first or in India (scholars are not sure), but is definitely a kind of "in a nutshell" summary of the much longer "Perfection of Wisdom" (Prajna Paramita) Sutra literature from India which emphasizes the identity of "form" and "emptiness" and how the mind creates our vision of a divided world.
Gassho, Jundo
SatTodayLAH
PS - Hmmm. We haven't done so for awhile, maybe good to have a new teaching series on Heart Sutra. Hmmm.
PS - Hmmm. We haven't done so for awhile, maybe good to have a new teaching series on Heart Sutra. Hmmm.
I'll second (or third?) this. I've been wanting to take a deeper dive into the Heart Sutra for some time. I even recently picked up Kazuaki Takahashi's guide to the Heart Sutra, but it is still waiting patiently to be read.
I'll second (or third?) this. I've been wanting to take a deeper dive into the Heart Sutra for some time. I even recently picked up Kazuaki Takahashi's guide to the Heart Sutra, but it is still waiting patiently to be read.
Gassho,
Rob
The Tanahashi book is a little hard to read, but is fascinating from a translator's (like me) point of view because he handles the various character meanings in Chinese and Japanese in great detail. I like the Red Pine book on Heart Sutra as a better introduction.
The Tanahashi book is a little hard to read, but is fascinating from a translator's (like me) point of view because he handles the various character meanings in Chinese and Japanese in great detail. I like the Red Pine book on Heart Sutra as a better introduction.
Gassho, Jundo
STLah
Good to know about the Red Pine version. I'll likely grab a copy of that as well for comparison (and it sounds like it might be a required/suggested reading if you offer a course of study on the Heart Sutra).
The following is our Ceremony for the WEEKLY (90-minute) and MONTHLY (4 hour) ZAZENKAI:
You can also download our Chant Book for Weekly and Monthly Zazenkai as a PDF ...
LINK FOR CHANT BOOK DOWNLOAD (PDF) (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dALXODBGWE1xLVXyE0oCADtnWIgpLJTz/view)
Please download, print and treat respectfully,
Remember that there is quite a bit of variation in English (or other language) wording from western Sangha to western Sangha because these are all translations and interpretations of the Sino-Japanese (Chinese text pronounced in Japan in the Japanese way) which can be worded or expressed various ways in English and other languages. The text itself may have been composed in China first or in India (scholars are not sure), but is definitely a kind of "in a nutshell" summary of the much longer "Perfection of Wisdom" (Prajna Paramita) Sutra literature from India which emphasizes the identity of "form" and "emptiness" and how the mind creates our vision of a divided world.
Gassho, Jundo
SatTodayLAH
PS - Hmmm. We haven't done so for awhile, maybe good to have a new teaching series on Heart Sutra. Hmmm.
Thank you, that's what I was looking for! I'm gathering courage to try to chant it
Study about Heart Sutra would be amazing!
When you said "singing version" I immediately thought of the Korean version, which is much more musical than it is in Japanese or English. Seon has a lot more Pure Land influence than Japanese Zen, so there's quite a bit more flair to their rituals.
I sometimes go to a Korean Zen temple and the different approach to chanting is pretty interesting. The priests-in-training there have some very well-trained singing voices. The musicality has a purpose behind it (jump to 7:00 to get to the gyst ... also, these folks are from Regensburg and not Toronto!):
The Evening Bell Chant is the opening chant, done solo, which marks the beginning of Evening Practice at Zen temples in Korea. It is not ornamental or decora...
At 17:00 he compares the Evening Bell Chant to punk rock... I have to agree!
As for the sutra itself, I've read two books specifically on the topic, I would recommend both:
An illuminating in-depth study of one of the most well-…
Kazuaki Tanahashi - "The Heart Sutra: A Comprehensive Guide to the Classic of Mahayana Buddhism"
It's mostly a history book, comparing various versions of the sutra line-by-line, but Tanahashi's style keeps you entertained.
I actually think Tanahashi is more accessible than, say, Shohaku Okumura, who writes in a style that would almost fit in an academic journal.
Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. In The Heart of U…
Thich Nhat Hanh - "The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra"
Like most (all?) of his books, it's a very easy and pleasant read, maybe a bit too simplistic for some readers. Sometimes you just need to get to the heart () of the matter and not get so caught up in the words, though.
I would avoid Kazuaki Takahashi's book unless you are interested to know the details of the origin and history of the heart sutra. He does not explain the meaning of the heart sutra line by line. Red Pine's book is much better at teaching the content of the heart sutra.
I would avoid Kazuaki Takahashi's book unless you are interested to know the details of the origin and history of the heart sutra. He does not explain the meaning of the heart sutra line by line. Red Pine's book is much better at teaching the content of the heart sutra.
Gassho
Van
Satlah
Sent from my HD1913 using Tapatalk
Thank you for this. I'm actually very interested in both angles, so I'm thinking that a careful reading of both books is exactly what I need.
I thought the chapter on the Heart Sutra in the book “Living by Vow” by Shohaku Okumura was very good and accessible. We read this book a few years back as part of the Wordless Book club.
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