The Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
The sermon followed the Heart Sutra, which is linked above
Sermon – The Reverend Rachael Hayes
It might not surprise you to know that I was a dreamy mystic of a child. I remember being struck by awe as I pondered, what are the odds that I was born in my family, at this time, in this country, on this planet, all while I was supposed to be doing cursive handwriting exercises at my desk in second grade. I have always been a little suspicious of the idea of reality when infinite variables could affect what is or seems to be true.
And then, in my second semester of seminary, I took a class on Zen practice and thought. We gathered at 7am in the chapel four days a week, and the routine of bowing and sitting and walking meditations was a good though sleepy routine. Creeping into that chapel lit only by candlelight, the yawning empty space feeling strange and formless around us. For those 14 weeks, we were a sangha of practice, thought, and struggle, about 35 of us held in the circle, coming back to each other in those early mornings.
We read works by contemporary Buddhist thinkers, like Thich Nhat Hanh, Charlotte Joko Beck, Zen Master Seung Sahn, and Jack Kornfield. We watched our own thoughts cross our minds like clouds in the sky. And every week we chanted the Heart Sutra, though not the version I read to you. I still keep a copy on my office wall and chant it from time to time. This text has sunk into me through repetition.
The sutra known as the Heart Sutra in English and called Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya Sutra in Sanskrit. The Heart of Perfection of Wisdom. This text is beloved in East Asian Buddhism, and some scholarship points to it being of Chinese origin. The body of the sutra is a discourse from Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, whose very name means “the one who sees the world” or “the one who hears the world.” In this sutra, it’s Avalokitesvara who gives testimony of gaining insight of the way to attain Nirvana, both seeing reality and hearing the suffering that can be alleviated by the insight.
And Shariputra, well, Shariputra doesn’t get it. Without getting into the various ways he’s been represented over the centuries, Shariputra in this sutra is kind of a stand-in for someone who wants to be the best student and get it intellectually. You can see why a master’s degree student might feel a certain kinship with Shariputra. Absolutely dedicated and devoted, but, you know, just not there yet.
Ten years ago, Thich Nhat Hanh generated this new translation of the heart sutra, the version that I read, and his Plum Village community has multiple beautiful chant recordings of it online. You can use your favorite search engine to find “Plum Village Heart Sutra” or even download the Plum Village app, where you can hear some gorgeous harmony versions as well as Thich Nhat Hanh chanting it in Vietnamese. This new translation leans more strongly into the idea that everything is connected. There is no fact or truth or material object that exists independently, no sensation, perception, action, or awareness that exists independently.
Shariputra is the one still stuck in duality, still obsessed with non-being and emptiness over being and form. Avalokitesvara perceives that being and nonbeing are equally true, that form and emptiness coexist.
The Heart Sutra reminds us that insight and compassion are interdependent. Nirvana is not a way to bypass or negate suffering. Avalokitesvara, upon enlightenment, works for the enlightenment of all beings, you know, even my old friend Shariputra. Insight brings us closer to those who are suffering, but it reminds us that suffering is not all there is. There is no space or time or person for whom enlightenment is not possible.
The Heart Sutra reminds us that enlightenment has more to do with letting things go than attaining anything at all. Like the raft in our story earlier, we let go of that which has served its purpose. When we let go of pain in the past, we cease to suffer from it in the present moment. Easier said than done sometimes–remember, I’m Shariputra here too.
And the mantra, the great mantra, the very best most effective mantra, as per the sutra, “Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha,” translates as “gone, totally gone, gone to the other shore, the shore of wisdom.”
Buddhists from East Asian lineages will celebrate Bodhi Day today if they’re using a Gregorian calendar, or in China it’s called Laba and will fall on January 7th this year. South Asian Buddhists celebrate Vesak Day instead, which will come in May. Bodhi Day is a day for meditation and religious services, though Chinese Laba celebrations also include a special porridge and kick-start the New Year season. And it feels good to remember that this community of people trying to make it to the other shore is bigger than myself alone–or you, me, and Shariputra. There are multiple local sanghas, including the Hopping Tree Sangha that meets in our own social hall. Because it’s not about your enlightenment, or mine, or Shariputra’s; it’s for all beings. All of us, going to the other shore together.
Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash