Heart suttra

Quick introduction to the most common suttra(teachings said to come from Buddha) chanted during the pilgrimage. If you do this pilgrimage you WILL hear this in the temples many many times. In particular if you are in the temple same time as bus tour you will invariably hear their group chanting.

This is also one of the most popular suttras for Buddhists to chant in general. It's relatively short(taking less than 300 chinese characters) and is said to have the essence of collection of wisdom suttras in short term.

Following is one english translation for it by Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh.(side note: Avalokiteshvara is the original Sanskrit name for what Japanee call Kannon bodhisatva)

Avalokiteshvara
while practicing deeply with
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore,
suddenly discovered that
all of the five Skandhas are equally empty,
and with this realisation
he overcame all Ill-being.

Skandha is buddhist term for 5 things that make up human. Form (or matter or body), sensations (or feelings, received from form), perceptions, mental activity or formations, and consciousness.

“Listen Sariputra,
this Body itself is Emptiness
and Emptiness itself is this Body.
This Body is not other than Emptiness
and Emptiness is not other than this Body.

Sariputra is one of the most famous Buddha's disclipines. This part is also rather famous part of this suttra.

The same is true of Feelings,
Perceptions, Mental Formations,
and Consciousness.

“Listen Sariputra,
all phenomena bear the mark of Emptiness;
their true nature is the nature of
no Birth no Death,
no Being no Non-being,
no Defilement no Purity,
no Increasing no Decreasing.

“That is why in Emptiness,
Body, Feelings, Perceptions,
Mental Formations and Consciousness
are not separate self entities.

The Eighteen Realms of Phenomena
which are the six Sense Organs,
the six Sense Objects,
and the six Consciousnesses
are also not separate self entities.

The Twelve Links of Interdependent Arising
and their Extinction
are also not separate self entities.
Ill-being, the Causes of Ill-being,
the End of Ill-being, the Path,
insight and attainment,
are also not separate self entities.

Whoever can see this
no longer needs anything to attain.

Bodhisattvas who practice
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
see no more obstacles in their mind,
and because there
are no more obstacles in their mind,
they can overcome all fear,
destroy all wrong perceptions
and realize Perfect Nirvana.

“All Buddhas in the past, present and future
by practicing
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
are all capable of attaining
Authentic and Perfect Enlightenment.

“Therefore Sariputra,
it should be known that
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
is a Great Mantra,
the most illuminating mantra,
the highest mantra,
a mantra beyond compare,
the True Wisdom that has the power
to put an end to all kinds of suffering.
Therefore let us proclaim
a mantra to praise
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore.

Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!”

There. Why I have feeling this is actually longer in english than in chinese/japanese(no idea what it is like in sanskrit).

So what does that mean? Basically it says that everything is empty but empty from what? Glass with water is not empty now is it? What if you pour water out? It still has air in it which has weight and can be measured. Glass itself is also full of materials. But that's not what term empty here means. Maybe lack of proper word in english for it. What is meant with "being empty" is lack of intrinsic(oh dear what a word) existence or non-dependant existence. 

Everything is dependant on existence of other thing(s) to be here and now as it is. That's what this suttra is saying. You take one of the factors away and the thing wouldn't exist. If there wouldn't have been sand there wouldn't have been glass that made the cup. If there hadn't been glass maker who did the cup there wouldn't be  the cup. If there wouldn't have been grand father of the cup maker there wouldn't be cup. This goes even to things you wouldn't normally think like if there hadn't been explosion of star in light years away _you would not be here now_. Everything in this planet actually comes from distant supernova's millions of years that have combined to here and now.

Similar thing applies to humans. Human is collection of bodyparts that have formed up(temporarily) from smaller parts into shape it is with conciousness that's born out of multiple things. Change things and human you see wouldn't be same human but different one. Born into different family? That would have changed enviroment human would have been born into affecting his/her character. Child has experiences that shape him/her into person he/she is now. If child would have lost arm in childhood he or she would behave differently than he does now. Somebody who has experienced poorness and faminity isn't going to be same person as he or she would be if that wouldn't be case.

What is me? Is it my body? If I lose my arms and legs in an accident am I no longer me? I already look different to 10 years ago me(if I looked same I would be dead within days of trying this pilgrimage!). I don't think so. What about my mind? Would I still be same person if I had just mind but no body? Not likely. And what mind are we talking about? The one now? So whatabout me from 1 year ago? 5 years ago? 10? 30? At my birth? In where can you find the thing that is ME without depending on others? If you can find it and prove it congratulations! You have just managed to create Buddhist revolution so get it official and you will be remembered in history for a long time!

This results in that everything, and this is literally EVERYTHING, is non-permanent. Changing. Forming from one thing to another. Human is born when cells change into certain form inside a womb. Human then keeps changing as he or she grows into teen, adult, old person and eventually dies away. All are just changes. Town you live changed shape from one thing to town it is and eventually will change into something else. That's the inevitable fate of everything. Changing into something else.

Buddha said much of human suffering comes from refusing to accept this inevitability of change and trying to hold on to things that will eventually change.

And this is what no birth and no death in the suttra means. What we call birth and death are by Buddhism view just another forms of change. Nothing is actually truly born(come out of nothingness) and nothing truly dies(goes out of existence. And this is something so far even smartest physicians haven't been able to disprove. No matter how we might try we cannot get rid of simple dust particle. We can at most change it's shape into something else!)

But is this bad then? Wouldn't it be better if things wouldn't die? Maybe but then nothing would come into life either. Quoting Thich Nhat Hanh's he told story of a friend who was having particular tough time with the concept of impermanence(concept of everything changing. And oh dear that term is hard to spell right. Thanks google!). His daughter had said to him "But dad. Without impermanence I couldn't grow into an adult!".

Now there's certainly things in Buddhism I disagree with but no matter how I have thought I have not been able to figure out how to disprove idea of impermanence. It seems indeed that just as Thich Nhat Hanh said we all are in inter-being(term he coined up to describe the concept).

So there. Quick view of the suttra. Curious though that this suttra is chanted here. As per Kukai's categorizing since this is said to come from Buddha(the historical figure) rather than Mahavairocana this is exoteric teaching rather than esoteric but pilgrimage is in honour of Kukai who is known for his esoteric teachings. Though Kukai did write essay where he showed how there's esoteric teachings hidden in it as well.