Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute session, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen opens his Heart Sūtra commentary with the fundamental benefit of practicing emptiness: even a slight doubt about emptiness accumulates great merit and begins to dissolve the seeds of saṃsāra. He explains how understanding emptiness and dependent arising is the key to overcoming all delusions, then turns to the sūtra’s structure. He clarifies why Sanskrit titles are preserved—to receive blessings and honor the original source—and sets up the opening context: the time, place, assembly, and Buddha’s blessing of Avalokiteśvara. He traces how the Buddha’s teachings were preserved by the disciple Ānanda and frames the Heart Sūtra as a question-and-answer dialogue on the five aggregates and their empty nature.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 HS.mp3
UUID: 8f8f2c88-40f9-4b02-8c37-d3741accd7c9
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Heart Sūtra (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.7 minutes
Words: ~2,403
So the benefit of realizing emptiness is that one to realize then it has great benefit as it has explained before That even just having some doubt on the subject of emptiness, just having some doubt, one come to accumulate great amount of merit just to having a slight doubt in that. So, because that as it is said in the teachings known as the Four Hundred Stanzas that it says that those with little So those those those with little merit, they they they have no chance of getting realization of emptiness even they don’t think or have slight doubt on emptiness. So that if if one have a slight doubt, the doubt in that we change it. If one have that of doubt towards the meaning of emptiness, then that will, what do say, that will will uproot the causes of So so the doubt that that which that which will change or if we have a doubt that that can change, which means here that is like a teaching on emptiness and having one’s own understanding of emptiness through different analysis. That type of like doubt if you have towards emptiness or understanding of emptiness that you have that might also uproot cause some sound.
So which he approved the cause of saṃsāra is that, like, it burns it that that understanding of the the seed of or the cause of some power. So similar to that of seed, if the seed is burned, then no way it can give a sprout. So to that, we to burn or uproot the cause of saṃsāra, then one would have to go through or take the round into lower realms and generally in the saṃsāra. So so so that the master was saying that just having a slight doubt in his teaching as emptiness that will uproot the cause of saṃsāra. So it is something miracle, and the meaning of that that that meaning of that.
So similar to that also, Lama Tsongkhaba explains that all the problems or regions in the world is caused by this ignorance of grasping. So in order to get rid of or overcome all the delusions, one have to study or one have to learn emptiness. And to learn emptiness for that purpose in that teaching dependent arising is explained and that is what is explained by Buddha too. So so similar to that, again, Lama Tsongkhapa explains in another text that just through the practice of meditation in bodhicitta can’t liberate you or free you from saṃsāra. What you need is the understanding of the dependent arising.
And so dependent like he didn’t say emptiness but the understanding of dependent arising and this too is very profound teaching. So all the problem or delusion that we have is because of our ignorance of grasping, and how we get rid of that is through the understanding of profound view that is emptiness or also known as the dependent arising. So that is like understanding of emptiness or dependent arising is what it’s what it moves or overcomes all problems or divisions. So that is the benefit of emptiness, realizing emptiness. So so then the master explains that now I I will, what to say, give the explanations of the of the Heart Sūtra.
So so because we don’t have much time, this facility will just a short explanation and of of this of the and and probably tomorrow day after tomorrow, we will explain how to meditate on emptiness. So so the explanations of the actual text first gives the meaning of the title of the text, and secondly, the homage the which is made by the translators. Then the actual part of the actual sūtra which again has which is explained under few points. So that will be explained later. So in Sanskrit, the has this title that So so, you know, all the all the text that is translated from India, all all of all all of them in the very beginning, they use the same title the title in Sanskrit, and there are reasons for that.
So So the reason using the Sanskrit title is first is leave imprints in our mind of And secondly, to receive the blessings blessings. And then thirdly, to show the text is from, what do you call, old from original. So Mhmm. So so to to to keep keeping the imprints of the language in our mind is the Sanskrit language in our mind is that said that all those fortunate fortunate Buddhas, like those one thousand twenty two fourteen Buddhas when they come and turn the wheel of Dharma, that they will turn the teachings or the Dharma in in Sanskrit language. So so so for that reason, like, need to So so sim and then secondly, to receive the blessings in one’s mental continuum is because for that reason, reason, it is this term is used as in Sanskrit terms that to receive all blessings because all the teachings that Buddha gave are only in Sanskrit language.
So so all the teachings are in Sanskrit language. So not in other language like like English or or other language. So just to receive the blessings that yeah. For that reason. So so then the third reason is to show that it has its original source which all the text which are to show that it is from the original of source.
So all the text in Tibetan, most of which is translated from Tibet, from India or from Sanskrit is that they have the Sanskrit title in the beginning. So then, again, secondly, the title is written in Tibetan, which is the essence of the perfection of wisdom. The the in Tibetan is the So, which is like the destroyer and possessor and what do you call, one who’s gone beyond. That’s the title known as Bangagwate. Then Prajñāpāramitā is the perfection of wisdom.
Means the essence. So then after the title, next line is the homage that is paid by the translators when they translate it into Tibetan. So the purpose of making homage in order to perfect the translation. And then second reason is that to show the translator, we have a translation is a mastered or holy. So so the reason is that whenever a holy person in let’s say, does something, they prostrate to the deity.
So similarly that the translator will to show that the translator is a holy So so then now to the actual text that that I can divide into two, I would say, points which is the the question that is asked and the answer of the question. So so then at the what do you say? The the foundation or the background of the of the of the sūtra, again explains like the very beginning the four perfect surroundings. Right time, the perfect preacher, and then perfect circle, and then the right place which are So so at the very beginning of Heart Sūtra where it says that that’s for the I have heard one time. So so the one who actually spoke the sūtra is is that the disciple of Buddha that is the one who spoke the sūtra.
So so that after, like, a year after when Buddha passed away, like, five hundred arhats came together and collected all the teachings of the Buddha. So so before that, before those five hundred arhats came together and collected all the teachings, all the all the teaching that Buddha gave were kept in the minds of the disciples, not like we do. It’s not written down. So so then so so so so that if if one to keep it like that, that not to write down all the all the teachings, problem will arise later later time. So so just the year after when Buddha died, all those five hundred arhats came together and and and collected all the teachings.
So so where at that time, like, during the time of the the one the disciple Ānanda is the one who is the attendant or the servant of the Buddha who followed the action on everywhere. So so he and he remembers all the all the sūtra teachings Buddha have given and at that time among the gathering of these five hundred arhats where Ānanda chant all the sutras like in this time and this place to this circle of the disciple that the sūtra has given. In that way, Ānanda chanted. Oh, today is not because of Kushinagar. So so similar to that, the heart of the similar at the very beginning where it shows the time.
So so then from whom he heard the Nanda heard the teaching is that from the Bhagawan, that is yeah. Yeah. The Bhagawan. So Bhagawan Buddha taught the sūtra and and then the place which is not the place which he also mentioned in the teaching at the very beginning is in what is that, on Vulture Peak. So so then and then and then also shows the circle of disciples.
So then the disciples there at that time was like Oh, she is. And and other other fully ordained bodhisattvas. Monks. So like the bodhisattvas who the Ārya bodhisattvas, known as the great, what is it, great assembly of man. So So the great assembly of both sattvas and the great assembly of monks which the great assembly of monks which are the very the eight close disciples of the Buddhist just looking probably they are the ones who are known as the the the great assembly of monks.
So so this which is the the common, I would say, background of the sūtra which are like this, which is extended forward. So, are the right time and right place and the the right circle of the disciples and then and then the right preacher or the teacher. So then the actual part of the Heart Sūtra begins from starts from the question that Śāriputra asked and the answer was given to Śāriputra. So so that the background of the sūtra at the very beginning which is the common explanation of the background of the sūtra which is known as known as the teachings which Buddha gave to giving permission to give the teachings which comes out of Buddha’s permission. So the background of the sūtra at the beginning and the explanations and the in between and the main teachings which is what do you call the teachings which is known as that which is given the permission.
So up to here, which is known as so like up to this third line called bodhisattvas, up to that is known as the background of the sūtra and that is not known as the Heart Sūtra but this Heart Sūtra actually begins from the question and answer part. So in order to bless the disciples and make them ask questions, at that time the blessed one for the Buddha was totally absorbed in the concentration that examines all phenomena called the profound illumination. So Buddha was meditating on emptiness. So so to whom Buddha blessed is the So then continuing with the line that and at the same time, the noble Avalokiteśvara bodhisattva was engaged in the profound practice of wisdom gone beyond. So so there are through the blessings of the Buddha that Avalokiteśvara, I wanna say, analyzes or or engage in the practice of emptiness.
So so in in like a engaged in the in the profound practice of the wisdom gone beyond. Yeah. Like, there’s a there are there are four ways or four types that you can engage in. One, in the scriptural part, second one on the path, thirdly, of nature, and then fourthly, on its result or on the result. So these four things that one can engage So so then, like the first one, the the perfection of wisdom that is related to to the to the text or the treatise is that of the text which pronounces or gives the explanation on emptiness.
So then the second one, the path that is also understood as the wisdom realizing emptiness. It’s known as the path, but it’s specifically like the part that which shows So then the last, which is the result, that is the two dharmakayas or the two bodies of the Buddha that is there, the two dharmakayas. So then the nature that is empty of inherent existence. Is the nature. So then of this of this, what is it, four, the profound the perfection of wisdom, is which is the last one that is the the result, the two kayas of Buddhist body.
And the rest three are just, what is it, used as a perfection of wisdom in this So in order, so the purpose or the reason why they are giving this term as perfectionism, the best way is because in order to achieve the result, the perfected result, two kinds of the Buddha’s body, one had to rely the first first, the text which shows, one has to hear the teachings, the text which gives the explanation on emptiness and second one has to achieve these different paths So then one has to gain these different paths and through that one has to again gain the realization of emptiness. That is the emptiness of inherent existence. That is that nature one has to realize in order to achieve that result. So Avalokiteśvara engaged in this Kupan practice of the wisdom gone beyond. So the wisdom gone beyond is known as these these four.
So Mahāvajrasattva which also can be understood as the courageous one. So the courageous one or doesn’t this term is only used is not used those who mainly work for self for this life, the purpose of this life. So so the masatha or the courageous one or which is I would say referred to that who works for others. So our Lokiteshwar engaged in this profound perfection of wisdom that has been explained. Not only that but also analyzes the pipe aggregate by nature empty That is like the empty of inherent existence of the five aggregate.
So, our literature analyzes not only the the profound the perfection of wisdom, which has been explained before, but also of the