Homage to the Perfection of Wisdom, the Blessed Mother.
Thus I have heard. At one time the Blessed One was dwelling in Rajagriha on Massed Vultures Mountain together with a great assembly of monks and Bodhisattvas. At that time, the Blessed One was absorbed in the concentration of the countless aspects of phenomena, called Profound Illumination.
At that time also the Superior Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva, the Great Being, was looking perfectly at the practice of the profound perfection of wisdom, looking perfectly at the emptiness of inherent existence also of the five aggregates.
Then, through the power of Buddha, the Venerable Shariputra said to the Superior Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva, the Great Being, “How should a son of the lineage train who wishes to engage in the practice of the profound Perfection of Wisdom?”
Thus he spoke, and the Superior Avalokiteshvara, Great Being, replied to Venerable Shariputra as follows: “Shariputra, whatever son or daughter of the lineage wishes to engage in the practice of the profound Perfection of Wisdom should look perfectly like this: subsequently looking perfectly and correctly at the emptiness of inherent existence also of the five aggregates.”
“Form is empty; emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form; form also is not other than emptiness. Likewise, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors and consciousness are empty.”
“Shariputra, like this all phenomena are merely empty, having no characteristics. They are not produced and do not cease. They have no defilement and no separation from defilement. They have no decrease and no increase.”
“Therefore, Shariputra, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no discrimination, no compositional factors, no consciousness. There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no form, no sound, no smell, no taste, no tactile object, no phenomenon. There is no eye element and so forth up to no mind element and also up to no element of mental consciousness. There is no ignorance and no exhaustion of ignorance, and so forth up to no ageing and death and no exhaustion of ageing and death. Likewise, there is no suffering, origin, cessation or path; no exalted wisdom, no attainment and also no non-attainment.”
“Therefore, the mantra of the perfection of wisdom, the mantra of great knowledge, the unsurpassed mantra, the equal-to-the-unequalled mantra, the mantra that thoroughly pacifies all suffering, since it is not false, should be known as the truth. The mantra of the Perfection of Wisdom is proclaimed:”
TAYATHA OM GATEY GATEY PARAGATEY PARASAMGATEY BODHI SOHA
“Shariputra, a Bodhisattva, a Great Being, should train in the profound perfection of wisdom like this.”
Then the Blessed One arose from that concentration and said to the Superior Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva, the Great Being, that he had spoken well: “Good, good, O son of the lineage. It is like that. Since it is like that, just as you have revealed, in that way the profound perfection of wisdom should be practiced, and the Tathagatas will also rejoice.”
When the Blessed One had said this, the Venerable Shariputra, the Superior Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva, the Great Being, and that entire assembly of disciples as well as the worldly beings – gods, humans, demi-gods and spirits – were delighted and highly praised what had been spoken by the Blessed One.
Reciting the Mantra
TAYATHA OM GATEY GATEY PARAGATEY PARASAMGATEY BODHI SOHA
(3x, 7x, 21x or more)
Requests to Overcome Hindrances
Great Mother, Prajnaparamita, and all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions, through the power of your blessings may these true words of mine be achieved. Just as before, when by contemplating the profound meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom and reciting its words, Indra overcame all the harm of maras, non-humans and so forth, in the same way, by my contemplating the profound meaning of the perfection of wisdom and reciting its words:
May all the harm of maras, non-humans and so forth be overcome. (clap)
May they become non-existent. (clap)
May they be pacified. (clap)
