Essence of the Heart Sutra (version 17)

The Essence of the Heart Sutra
through Tenabah, copyright 2012

here and now,

I invite you to

directly contemplate,

feel, see into,

and intuit

the vast web

of interdependence

that all sentient beings

emerge from, arise within,

abide in, exist within,

change within,

and dissolve back into

by deeply feeling into

this vast interdependent field

directly feeling, seeing, and deeply intuiting

how everything arises

in dependence upon everything else

our hearts awaken to great compassion

and we flow within a wisdom

and cuts to the very root of all sorrow

and completely ends it

all experiences arise within this field

they cannot exist apart from this field

they always emerge dependent upon this field

they emerge from causes and conditions

within this field

and these causes and conditions

also depend upon all other causes and conditions

within this field

everything has a dependent existence

with everything within this field

we are all connected to each other

we are causes and conditions

in the lives of each other

we are experiences for each other

constantly interact with each other

through more than five senses

and more than five voices

this interaction changes each other

moment to moment

so that we are changing moment to moment

notice this and allow this

see if you can not resist this process

not tighten against what is always happening

let yourself pulse in and out of existence

in each moment

being born again and again in each moment

relax into this process

do not grasp or cling to anything

for security in this process

the process itself is enough to liberate you

rather than try to grasp things,

resist things, ignore things,

or obsess about things

for security, for identity,

for wisdom or for peace,

feel into not grasping, not resisting,

not ignoring, and not obsessing

about anything at all

deeply relax, let go,

and trust the process

that you are always in

always flow in the wisdom

that sees this

and the heart compassion

that feels this

rest in the interconnectedness

that we always emerge in

in the very connectedness

that allows you to hear these words

and feel what they mean

and rest in

what we share in common

deeply penetrating into

everything that exists

we notice that they are empty

of solid existence

that everything is changing

moment to moment

going deeper into each object

that we see, feel, hear, touch, and taste

we notice that they are made up

of smaller things

composed of living cells,

composed of the five elements,

composed of molecules,

composed of atoms,

composed of electrons, protons,

and neutrons,

composed of quarks, mesons,

and leptons,

composed of quantum particles of light,

composed of spinning vortexes of space,

emerging from an ever changing

tapestry of sacred moving geometry,

emerging from luminous, creative,

compassionate, wise living space

intimately and directly connected

to everything as it always appears

to every sentient being

through each of their multiple senses

experiencing everything

through every sentient being

everything experiencing everything

through every vantage point

of every sentient being

empty of solid existence

always changing

moment to moment

always dependent

on this luminous field

we are always one

with this field

we are always a part

of this field

this is our home

we can always relax here

and find peace here

beyond clinging and resisting

we can always rest here

beyond all the dramas of thought

that fearful mind can generate

we can always find peace here

our mental activity can always obscure

this simple truth

it can conjure through words

things that seem to exist

and make them real enough

to suffer endless painful and exciting dramas

which lead to fearing death and clinging to life

or wishing to die and fearing life

or it can create dramas

of not having what we want

and not wanting we have

or we can abide and feel how events

are always arising

flow with intuitive wisdom

and move across an eternal event horizon

an eternal present moment

poised between a supportive past and future

that in turn is also always changing

every sentient being

is composed of five conditions

consciousness, thought, emotion,

sensation, and body

which are in turn composed

of smaller conditions

which are in turn composed

of smaller conditions

until we see how we emerge

from everything that always

surrounds us

and from the luminous space

that everything always emerges from

you can call this luminous field

the supreme creator

god or goddess

but there is no god or goddess

except this field

and there is nothing outside this field

and that there are only sentient beings,

things, and experiences within this field

and nothing exists that does not depend

moment to moment on this field

resting in this field

trusting and abiding in this field

and even feeling yourself and others

as living expressions of this field,

is enough to end all sorrow,

heal all wounds, evolve every potential,

and celebrate life

as it unfolds moment to moment

forever

entering into the wisdom that sees this

and the love that feels this

flowing with this wisdom

feeling this flow

loving everything that arises with us

there is no longer any path

or any purpose other than this

all enlightened goals have been attained

or will naturally emerge when the time is right

we become enlightened beings

through abiding and flowing

in this heart wisdom

we fulfill all spiritual teachings

through abiding and flowing

in this heart wisdom

we enter into deep loving community

through abiding and flowing

in this heart wisdom

we wake up together

by sharing with each other

through this heart wisdom

we trust that everything

is always unfolding perfectly

every ethical precept

with its ideals, right behavior,

and exceptions

is fulfilled by flowing

in this heart wisdom

and this heart wisdom

is the natural common sense

that we always have

when we abide

in the loving luminous energy

that permeates all events

and unites them

we do not need to grasp

even this heart wisdom

we do not have to be afraid

of losing what is already a part of us

and what will always be there

in our deepest feeling for everything

we can always feel it

beyond the all the dramas

of our fearful thinking mind

when we enter

into the direct immediate experience

of what is happening now

and by consciously breathing

feeling the electromagnetic heart pulse

of our living bodies

that is always in this field

and always riding this field

inside all the fearful dramas

of thinking mind

is a cast of seemingly solid things

and people

who have been assigned roles

by the thinking mind

who follow rules of reality

defined by the thinking mind

and who move in rigid lines

of cause, effect, and choice

defined by the thinking mind

this mass of thought

is united by an ego structure

a sense of self and personality

defined by the thinking mind

the drama and the ego

arise in dependence upon each other

within the thinking mind

and cause all the pain that we feel

the ego that appears in these dramas

is not real, is completely delusional,

and is based on fearful clinging

to its own imaginary survival

let it die completely

and you will notice it is a fiction

and flashes into nonexistence

between each moment

and disappears whenever our minds

become deeply quiet of thinking

whenever we are deeply touched

by the beauty of nature

the fantastic shimmering of the auroras

the sunrise over the mountains

the sunset of the ocean

the majestic thunderstorms

the shooting stars light up the night sky

the gentle warm tropical rain touching our faces

the ego is gone

and only appears to exist again

when we start thinking

simply notice that this thought of self

is not real, not solid,

is always changing

and always subject

to causes and conditions

flashes into and out of existence

moment to moment

and is nothing more than a thought

and you are free

from this delusion

and then it becomes

an empty symbol

that you can use

in your words with each other

when you are expressing

intuitive wisdom

and communing with each other

simply notice how your mind

makes it more real than it really is

when you say

“i feel sad”

notice how sadness

arises in awareness

without any self attached to it

when you say

“i feel angry”

notice how anger

arises in awareness

without any self attached to it

when you say

“i feel afraid”

notice how fear arises

in awareness

without any self attached to it

notice how all emotions

arise in dependence

on consciousness, thought,

sensation, and body

and all the interactions

of the present moment

and interactions

with past memory

and future imagination

and a visualization

of interactions of

everyone with everyone

notice how your experience

is already always changing

and let it continue to change

relax into loving everyone

including yourself

and including

your friends, strangers, and enemies

wake up

to all the sentient beings

that co-arise with you

your spontaneous community

who is journeying with you now

a community that is constantly changing

new beings coming in

old beings going out

some returning and some not

take refuge in this

do not recoil

from the associations

that are happening now

know that until your natural love

arises for them

that they cannot really leave

but instead have become

a haunting fiction in your mind

a reactive thought seed

that can trigger

anger, fear, or sadness

until peacefully resolved

within intuitive wisdom

you can always enter

into this deep intuitive wisdom

this profound and complete wisdom

that ends all sorrow

and finds all joy

by chanting in the thinking mind

and speaking voice

until cleansed of all other thoughts

and entering into the silence

where this wisdom is obvious

this simple repetition

that embodies the full meaning

of all these words:

I am letting go,

I am letting go,

with every inhale

I let go of resistance,

with every exhale

I let go of clinging,

I really let go

of all resistance,

I really let go

of all clinging,

I totally let go

of all resistance

to anything,

I totally let go

of all clinging

to anything,

I let go of

all resistance

to others,

I let go of

all clinging to self,

I let go of

all resistance to thinking,

I let go of

all clinging to thinking,

I let go of

all resistance to feeling,

I let go of

all clinging to feeling,

I let go of

all resistance to sensation,

I let go of

all clinging to sensation,

I awaken to this present moment

as it arises right now,

I feel into this present moment

as it arises right now,

I breathe and flow with

this present moment

as it arises right now,

I relax into the warm luminous space

that has always supported me

I rest in the warm peace of luminous space

that is always there for me

I open up to the vast interdependence

of this luminous space

that includes everything and everyone

and radiate the love that is natural to me

and feel the joy of being

so shall it always be