2016 GCBP Temple Hand-copying the Heart Sutra

Hand-copying the Heart Sutra so as to let Buddha-dharma forever abide

What is the Heart Sutra?

The Heart Sutra, the Buddha's classic teaching on prajna and emptiness, has very deep affinity with Chinese believers. Among the 84,000 teachings of the Buddha, the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra could be said to be the most important. And the Heart Sutra with just 260 words captures the essence of Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra. If we have the chance in this life to reverently and methodically hand-copy and recite the Heart Sutra, we will be accumulating inconceivable merits, because by familiarizing ourselves with the Buddha's teaching on emptiness we are turning the dharma wheel, eliminating our personal hindrances in learning the Buddha-dharma, and preventing evil forces from destroying the correct Buddha-dharma.  The Heart Sutra takes us straight to the core of the whole Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra.

The Karmapa expounded the Heart Sutra, for the first time in 900 years.

Venerable the 17th Karmapa taught the Heart Sutra for days from August 15, 2016 in New Delhi, India. This opened a new page in history because it was unprecedented that a venerable Tibetan Buddhist leader would explain Buddha-dharma in Chinese! This shows how the Karmapa values the Heart Sutra. His Holiness felt for people in this dharma-ending age where the instability of minds is creating frequent disasters. So the Karmapa instructs Buddha-followers to recite the Heart Sutra.

To make the Buddha-dharma forever abide in the world, let us mindfully recite andhand-copy the Heart Sutra.  By so doing, we are also concretely benefiting all sentient beings in the six realms.

If you aspire to hand-copy the Heart Sutra, you can write on a clean sheet of calligraphy paper or purchase from our temple sutra-copying books handwritten by the Karmapa. Please cleanse your mind and body and then hand-copy the sutra with utmost piety and purity. 

Sutra-copying book by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa.

This book contains handwriting of the Karmapa on three sutras:

1) The Heart Sutra

2) The Sutra of the Three Sections: 35 Buddhas Repentance Prayer

3) Sutra of the Dhāranīs that Remove Suffering and Adversity

The Heart Sutra: The most beloved sutra among Chinese believers. In Chinese speaking regions and in Tibet, Dharma masters often ask disciples to recite the Heart Sutra before they give teachings, so disciples can internalize the Buddha's teaching on emptiness.

35 Buddhas Repentance Prayer: This came from the Sutra of the Three Sections. It guides reciters to repent all sinful karmas since beginningless time. The Karmapa not only encourages disciples to recite it often, but he hand-copies the repentance prayer to exhort himself.

Sutraof the Dhāranīs that Remove Suffering and Adversity: The Buddha spoke of this sutra when he taught the dharma-way of Aksobhya Buddha. Many aeons ago when Aksobhya Buddha was a monk, he gave strong vows to practiceand teach Dharma in the Eastern Land and not feel any anger or malice towardsany sentient being until enlightenment. Hence the dharma-way has become themost auspicious way of purifying the poison of anger. The Karmapa has been promoting this dharma-way, and he personally led the Aksobhya Retreat at Kangyu Monlam Chenmo held in Bodh-Gaya. He hand-wrote this sutra and encourages disciples to recite it.

The merits and benefits of piously hand-copying sutras

Bodhisattva Maitreya in Madhyānta-vibhāga-tīkā Middle Way and Extremes taught that there are ten ways to practice sutras, namely, hand-copying, making an offering, giving, listening, reading, upholding,explaining, reciting, contemplating, and practicing. By doing so, we will be accumulating infinite blessing and virtues as we practice Buddhism.

There are mainly 5 merits to hand-copying sutras. Firstly, we can draw near to the Tathagata. Secondly, we can accrue merits. Thirdly we canreceive offerings from heavenly beings. Fourthly, we can eradicate offenses. Lastly, praising the Dharma is also a form of cultivating. Thus since ancient times hand-copying sutras has been a way of eradicating karmic obstacles. Many important sutras such as the Arya Sanghata Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Lotus Sutra, Medicine Buddha Sutra, Earth Store Buddha Sutra, and Vimalakirti Sutra clearly instruct that hand-copying, reciting, and spreading sutras have extremely inconceivable merits.

Hand-copying sutras can help us to feel at ease and joy. It can help us to cultivate Samadhi because it trains us to live in the moment. It can help us to cultivate wisdom if we contemplate the sutra we are copying. It can help us to cultivate precepts because when our minds are focused and not scattered, our action, speech, and thoughts will be in line with the dharma. So if we mindfully copy sutras, we can naturally cultivate the three fold training of precepts, samadhi and wisdom.

Heart Sutra written by the Karmapa

Because of very rare fortune, we were able to have shipped two tall stupas from Asia in May of 2016. We plan to have the stupa consecration ceremony in 2017. We sincerely invite you to mindfully hand-copy the Heart Sutra which we will install in the base of the stupas. By creating stupas we pray that the Buddha-dharma will forever abide in the world, the Dharma-wheel will turn endlessly, and all sentient beings in the six realms will all reach Buddhahood.

We invite you to hand-copy the Heart Sutra with a mind of purity and thus accrue blessings and wisdom. Please copy the sutras with that mindset of dedicating the merits to the forever abiding of the Buddha-dharma. Let us pray that the Venerable Karmapa will spread Buddhism without obstacles, that venerable Buddhist teachers will forever spread the dharma, and that by so doing, benefit all sentient beings, so that all beings will reach Buddhahood.

GCBP Temple
Email: gcbptemple@gmail.com
TEL:416-893-8366 / 647-289-6236

Partial image source: Hwa Yue