Sangha of Auspicious Companions

Dalai Lama Quote of the Week

“The mantra of the perfection of wisdom–the mantra of great knowledge, the unexcelled mantra, the mantra equal to the unequalled, the mantra that quells all suffering–is true because it is not deceptive.”–The Heart Sutra

The perfection of wisdom is called “the mantra of great knowledge” because thoroughly understanding its meaning eliminates the three poisons of craving, hatred, and delusion. It is called the “unexcelled mantra” because there is no greater method than the perfection of wisdom for saving one from the extremes of cyclic existence and the isolated peace of individual nirvana. It is called the mantra “equal to the unequalled” because the Buddha’s enlightened state is unequalled, and, through the deepest realization of this mantra, one attains a state equal to that state. Finally, the perfection of wisdom is known as the “mantra that quells all suffering” because it quells manifest sufferings and also removes all propensities for future suffering.

The perfection of wisdom is the ultimate truth, thus the statement “it is true.” In the realm of the ultimate truth, there is no disparity, as there is in conventional reality, between appearance and reality, and thus this manifest ultimate truth is “not deceptive.” This nondeceptiveness also suggests that, through actualization of this mantra, the perfection of wisdom can enable one to attain total freedom from suffering and its causes. From this perspective too, we can say that it is the truth.

“The mantra of the perfection of wisdom is proclaimed: tadyatha gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha!
Shariputra, the bodhisattvas, the great beings, should train in the perfection of wisdom in this way.”

–from Essence of the Heart Sutra: The Dalai Lama’s Heart of Wisdom Teachings by H.H. the Dalai Lama, translated & edited by Geshe Thupten Jinpa

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