Beyond the Beyond, Part 3
We continue the journey into the Heart Sutra
This continues and completes this essay on The Heart Sutra. If you have not read the first two parts, I suggest doing so before reading this one.
See a tree as a tree. See a sunset as the sunset. This Taoist idea speaks to a kind of spiritual delusion that interprets experiences. Suddenly, every sight has a deep meaning. The mind spins with these meanings. Reality is seen not as it is but is filtered and altered through thoughts and concepts. Certainly, this can be entertaining, but it is false entertainment. It can also be dangerous because an overactive mind can fail to perceive actual dangers. It can ruin life because a mind in full spin can miss great opportunities and experiences.
It is tempting to say yes to the genie, to say yes to that part of the mind that, in its delusions, believes that material success will bring happiness. That if I just get this or accomplish that, true happiness will be the result. Peace here is wrongly associated with happiness. Yet happiness, as it is based on external events, can only be temporary.
All things come to an end, and with that end, all things are lost. This can be a terrifying realization, one that most humans spend a lifetime avoiding until it can be avoided no longer.
This fear can be deeply buried, covered by distractions, business, responsibilities, entertainment, the Internet, friends, family, drugs, or alcohol. But the deepest part of that fear of loss is ultimately fear of the loss of life itself.
The Bodhisattvas recognize this as a delusion to which all are subjected. When the mind is free of delusional thinking, the unfiltered reality is experienced just as it is, with no add-ons or explanations.
But here is the tricky part. Delusional thinking cannot heal delusions. The problem cannot fix the problem. We can try to rationalize this away. We can try to have a religion or philosophy that makes it all OK. But deep within, if a person is brutally honest enough to recognize and accept that the fear is there, they see that the fear can control and color with the ugly colors of fear in every aspect of life.
This is the origin of Buddha's first aphorism, “Life is suffering.” But do not get discouraged or frightened, and stop here. Most people do so when they are young enough to ask life’s hard questions and then are told to grow up and forget about the questions that cannot be answered. Be brave enough to remember those questions. Have the courage to face the fear. Just keep going. Realizing you are lost is the first step in being found.
“All of the Buddhas, past, present, and future,
rely on the Perfection of Wisdom and live in full enlightenment.”
When many Westerners think of the Buddha, they think of the statues and pictures common in homes, gardens, and temples. This was the Gautama Buddha. Yet Avalokiteśvara says, “all of the Buddhas, past, present, and future.”
The word Buddha originates in the Proto-Indo-European word “bhewdh”. It signified ‘to be awake.’ I have to ask, to be awake from what? This is a big question. And, since Buddha means the awakened one, from what did he awaken? And what does it mean to live in full enlightenment?
Here, I must apologize for not being able to tell you the answer to these two questions. Giving such an answer would be words and concepts from the first kind of knowledge Rumi spoke of. Anything I can speak or write about this would just be putting words to that which no words can explain. Such concepts would put into a dead box a living, breathing internal experience, limiting the infinite to the finite explanations of more words. There are already enough words written about this. There are already enough words trying to explain this to take up many lifetimes of reading and study.
Such reading and study would not fulfill one step on the path on which “there is no path to follow.” It is an experience only you can have, for it is only yours to experience.
And here is the trick: you already have this experience within you. It cannot be learned but can be unveiled. It is what you truly are. It takes awakening from this dream to open to that. Hafiz stated this beautifully when he wrote that when he wants to kiss God, he simply raises his hand to his lips.
“The Perfection of Wisdom is the greatest mantra, it is the deepest mantra,
the purest mantra, the mantra that removes all suffering.”
Most people think of the word mantra as a syllable or phrase that gets repeated many times in an attempt to control the mind. It is often repeated 108 times, using a mala or rosary to count the repetitions. It can be a chant about the Divine or to a god or goddess to bring the energy of that particular deity into your life. It can also be just a syllable chosen by a Guru specifically for the student. It can also be a repetitive prayer found in many religious practices.
However, if we delve into the etymology, the original meaning of 'mantra' signified “to think” or a tool for focused thought. It was not until recently that 'mantra' acquired its current connotation of a special phrase used in yogic meditations. Yet, any mantra composed of words is limited to the duration of its chanting. Moreover, it involves the mind trying to control itself by repeating a mantra, which it then listens to and contemplates.
“gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā”
This mantra at the end of the Heart Sutra has various translations. Literally, it means gone, gone, everyone gone fully to the other shore, awakening, finished, akin to “amen.” Another interpretation, the one I prefer to chant, is: Gone, gone, gone fully over, gone fully over, hail to the one who goes there.
As a mantra, reciting this repeatedly is theorized to focus the mind on the meaning and seed sound energy of the mantra, facilitating awakening. However, considering the number of people who have chanted this for centuries, one would expect more awakened beings if it were that straightforward. I love chanting this, but through doing so in medicine ceremonies, I have come to view it not just as a mantra but as instruction. Avalokiteśvara is reaching out from the distant past to encourage us to let go, to go deeper, to go all the way to the other shore. It is safe and leads to awakening. Everyone should attempt this journey. Kudos to those who do!
What, then, is the other shore? If it can be imagined, it is not the other shore. The Heart Sutra clearly states that in emptiness, there is no imagining. Is it just an idea or an ideal? Those are constructs of the mind, and Avalokiteśvara says that there is no mind. Is there truly another shore? Certainly not in the literal sense of crossing a river. Is there an endpoint to an infinite experience? Landing on the other shore implies a new land, a new beginning. Can one truly be “enlightened” or awakened?
Dennis Karcher, a scholar of the I Ching and Ancient Old Chinese, found that the term 'enlightened'’ often used in translations of the I Ching, was a mistranslation. The “-ed” suffix implies a past event, an achievement. It is like the period at the end of a sentence. He found that the correct term was 'enlightening,’ not a destination or achievement but a process without an endpoint. 'Enlightening' exists in every moment and does not have a point where it no longer is as long as the enlightening continues in every moment.
'Enlightened' signifies something that has already happened, with an endpoint. But there is no endpoint to Enlightenment. Here, we revisit the idea of ‘there is no path to follow.’ Where is the other shore? There is no other shore. The only destination is one that the mind cannot comprehend or imagine. “There is no body, no mind.”
If a person claims they are enlightened, be cautious. Even if true, they may have achieved something in the past. Or not. It could be their imagination of what enlightened means. They may have ceased crossing the river. This is why there are so many failed gurus and spiritual leaders. There is a certain egoism required to accept the title of enlightened, and that very egoism can confuse and halt the process of enlightening.
The essence of the Heart Sutra is to keep going. Be the one who goes there. 'Hail to the one who goes there' is not hero worship. It was never meant to be a call to worship another being. It is simply the recognition and accolade of the Bodhisattvas in training that we all are.
If Buddha is The Awakened One, what does that make us? We are still dreamers, existing in a dream. This gives hope because we can wake up from the dream and not be victims of the causes of suffering.
If awakening were not achievable by every human being, existence would be a cruel joke. Every human being includes you, everyone you know, everyone you do not know, and those you are yet to know.
Go beyond the beyond. Go beyond that. Sit still. Let go of everything. Even after you think you have let go of everything, let go of that thought. Keep sitting, keep still, and keep letting go. This is where a plant medicine ceremony, properly guided, can be of inestimable benefit. You can reach the moment where you fully let go and experience what the plants are unveiling. Not what you want to see, not what you think you should see, not what anyone else has told you you should experience, but that which is being unveiled to you in the light, joy, and love of pure recognition.
“And Love said to me, there is nothing that is not me. Just be silent.” ~Rumi
When you are sitting in that state, you have entered a space where there is no suffering. I am not talking about pain here, for pain is an inevitable part of the human experience. Yet most think that they want to live a life without pain.
There is an illness where the neurological system is affected in such a way that physical pain is no longer felt. That might sound good, even great. Yet, not feeling pain meant that a small wound would be ignored and then fester. An injury that should cause pain does not, so it is easily overlooked or ignored. There were severe consequences for this. The uncared-for wound would get infected. Still no pain. The infection would worsen and turn gangrenous. Still no pain. Parts of the body would rot away and fall off. Still no pain.
There was, of necessity, social ostracization. People affected by this disease of no pain would be shunned and hated. They would be beggars or placed in horrific institutions to live out the rest of their short lives. Leprosy was one of the worst diseases imaginable. Even the word “leper” has become synonymous with an outcast or a person to be avoided. Fortunately, now it is treatable with antibiotics. The leper begging on the street and the leper colonies are things of the past.
The lesson remains.
Pain and suffering are different. Why is it that the first Noble Truth of Buddha, “Life is Suffering,” and not “Life is Pain”? It is because, ultimately, suffering is the stories and thoughts we tell ourselves about pain. The choice about how a person relates to their pain causes the suffering or lack of suffering. History is full of stories of individuals who experienced great pain and yet did not suffer.
I once knew a great human being who had grown up with what any person would say was a fortunate and blessed life. He was loved by his family and raised in a highly spiritual environment. He never lacked anything, never suffered, and his life was beautiful.
One day, he was inadvertently in the midst of a riot in New Delhi. Someone threw a brick that hit him hard in the middle of his back. It was excruciating pain. Yet as he fell, his friend heard him say, “God, let me accept your bitter gift with the same grace with which I have accepted your sweet gifts.”
Perhaps the most extreme example of this is when Jesus, during the crucifixion, suffered and then transcended his suffering. “My God, why have You forsaken me?” are words that show judgment and are the effect of the immense pain he was in. Yet, moments later, his final words were, “Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit.” He was still in agonizing pain and being brutally tortured, yet even during that, he could transcend the immense suffering he was in. Then, he gave his life back to the Creator of all life.
Hafiz, a Persian mystic of the 14th century, said in one of his poems, “No real God would allow suffering.” Yet humanity grievously suffers. An unanswerable question, answerable only by blind faith, is: Does God allow suffering, or is it part of free will? For example, do we make the choices and decisions in life that result in suffering?
The way through this is far from easy, for pain is very real when it is being experienced. Going through pain is as far from easy as far can get. And, no matter how hard a person tries, it is not possible to permanently avoid pain and trauma. Living life will entail experiencing pain. But is pain the same as suffering? Going deeper, what is it within that makes the experience of pain into the experience of suffering?
Something happens. I hit my finger with a hammer or fall on a slippery path and get seriously injured, cut my hand while cooking, or lose a beloved. I will hurt. I may scream. I may cry. I may disassociate from my body to escape the intensity of the most painful experiences. If the pain lessens either through the healing of time or through pharmacological assistance, the suffering may not end. What makes the suffering have the potential to be so severe is the addition of story and judgment.
In this way, the injury is unavoidable since it happened. The injury is then the seed of the suffering, and the suffering is the relationship of consciousness to the story of the injury and pain. Healing begins by divorcing from the mind the stories causing suffering. A person is not obligated to believe or even listen to those stories, no matter how loud they may become. This is a big step on the path to inner freedom.
When I sing the Heart Sutra in a ceremony, and I reach “gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā,” I sing it many times. I also sing two English translations that I like. After the last repetition, I offer a different thought: Gone, gone, gone fully over. Gone fully over, be the one who goes there.
I sing this not just for Buddhists, for this is unbounded wisdom for all religious and non-religious beings.
I sing it for all sentient and non-sentient creatures. If there is ever artificial intelligence that becomes sentient, I will sing it for them.
I sing it for my friends and for those who think I am their enemy.
I sing it for those who are suffering and for those who are in joy.
I sing it for each person in the ceremony and for every person who has ever been in a ceremony.
I sing it for my family, and I sing it for all families.
I sing it for all who no longer exist in physical form
I sing it for all celestial beings.
I sing it for the whole world and for all who exist in this entire Universe and all other Universes.
And I sing it for you.
This is the medicine of Your Life.
This concludes the essay on The Heart Sutra. If you have gotten this far, I thank you, and I hope you have gained from reading it. I recommend rereading it, as you may go deeper on the second reading, as I have done several times in writing it.
As always, your comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome.
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If there are any other topics you would like me to address, let me know.
Thank you for this, Richard. Very thorough, deep and authentic exploration of the subject, spoken with wisdom and heart. I just read this and will bathe in this vibe as I meditate in just a minute. Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā...
Hi Richard,
I’ve been thinking about your Beyond the Beyond series these last few weeks and have been wanting to write you an email in response – one as thoughtful as the essays themselves, but with my mother’s husband dying a few weeks back (I received and read Beyond the Beyond Pt. 1 on the day he died), then helping her prepare for his service, and now, tomorrow, we're heading out to NYC to spend time with Tsoknyi Rinpoche up at Garrison, I just haven’t had a long-enough moment to write anything of worth – my brain being akin to a wet-rag of late. But the bottom line would have been: I hope this is all in preparation for a book, since the piece in full allows for some of the tenderest and insightful entry points into the Heart Sutra I’ve yet read. And, from a writer’s perspective, I’m doubly impressed that you can go so deep in so short-a-time (seemingly only a few weeks). I wrote a book over the pandemic, Entering the Mind, which moves through the Dzogchen teachings from a practitioner’s perspective, and so I know how grueling, time consuming and, in retrospect, self-liberating such treaties can be. In other words, I truly appreciate how much work you’ve put into those three essays alone — the subtly of thought, the consideration and refinement of Word, et al. As said, I hope it’s all moving toward a larger work that might one day get out to a wider audience. For now, though, rather than a lengthy email, I’ll take the easy route and thank you here for your thoughts on that timeless masterwork, The Heart Sutra.
Much love,
C von Hassett