NOTHING IS FOREVER

, c. 150 c. 250 CE) is the second most important figure in Buddhism after Siddhrtha Gautama Buddha.
Ngrjuna (
Ngrjuna is credited for developing the philosophy of the Prajpramit stras (the central concept in Mahyna Buddhism)
during his stay on the banks of river Krishna at present day Telangana, India.

Verses 2-5 from Hdaya stra (the Heart of the Perfection of Understanding) a dialogue between Sriputra ( c. 568 c.
484 CE) one of the two chief disciples of Gautama Buddha, and Avalokitevara () is listed below:

Romanized Sanskrit English translation by Dr. Edward Conze (1904-1979)

O Sariputra, form is emptiness and the very emptiness is

iha riputra: rpa nyat nyataiva rpa; rpn na
form; emptiness does not differ from form, form does not
pthak nyat unyaty na pthag rpa; yad rpa s
differ from emptiness; whatever is form, that is emptiness,
nyat; ya nyat tad rpa. evam eva vedan saj
whatever is emptiness, that is form, the same is true of
saskra vijna.
feelings, perceptions, impulses and consciousness.

iha riputra: sarva-dharm nyat-laka, anutpann O Sariputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness;
aniruddh, amal avimal, ann aparipr. they are not produced or stopped, not defiled or
immaculate, not deficient or complete.

Therefore, O Sariputra, in emptiness there is no form, nor

tasmc chriputra nyatay na rpa na vedan na
saj na saskr na vijnam.
na caku-rotra-ghrna-jihv-kya-mansi.
na rpa-abda-gandha-rasa-spraavaya-dharmh.
na cakr-dhtur. yvan na manovijna-dhtu.
na-avidy na-avidy-kayo. yvan na jar-maraam na
jar-maraa-kayo.
na duhkha-samudaya-nirodha-marg.
na jnam, na prptir na-aprpti.
feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness;
No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind;
No forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables or objects of
mind; No sight-organ element, and so forth, until we
come to: No mind-consciousness element;
There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and
so forth, until we come to: there is no decay and death,
no extinction of decay and death.
There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no
path. There is no cognition, no attainment and non-
attainment.

Therefore, O Sariputra, it is because of his non-

tasmc chriputra aprptitvd bodhisattvasya
prajpramitm ritya viharatyacittvaraa.
cittvaraa-nstitvd atrastro viparysa-atikrnto nih-
nirva-prpta.
attainmentness that a Bodhisattva, through having relied
on the Perfection of Wisdom, dwells without thought-
coverings. In the absence of thought coverings he has
not been made to tremble, he has overcome what can
upset, and in the end he attains to Nirvana.

An audio version of the full Prajpramit Hdaya stra in Sanskrit by Vidhya Rao (with English subtitles) can be found on Youtube @
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ooCodjgjkY

Vikram Andem
 Heart Sutra (Prajpramit Hdaya Stra) in Sanskrit

Vikram Andem