Friday, January 31, 2014

Heart Sūtra -- my semi-literal translation

(Notes are at the end, but please proceed with the translation first with a naive mind.)
Heart Sūtra

When the Bodhisattva of self-listening was in the deep resonance with the Truth,
He reflected to see that all the five convergences are void,
then transcended all confusion.

Śāriputra,

Color is not different from the Void
The Void is not different from Color
Color is the Void
The Void is Color
So is Feeling, Thought, Movement and Recognition;

Śāriputra,

All forms are the image of the Void
-- neither appears, nor vanishes,
-- neither contaminated, nor purified
-- neither adds, nor subtracts

Then in the Void,
There is no Color
no Feeling
no Thought
no Movement
no Recognition

There is no Eye
no Ear
no Nose
no Tongue
no Body
no Mind

There is no Color
no Sound
no Smell
no Taste
no Touch
no Form

There is neither the domain of Eye,
nor the domain of Mind

There is neither Chaos,
nor the termination of Chaos
There is neither the Progression towards Death,
nor the termination of it

There is no confusion,
its aggregation
its extinction
or the lead to its extinction

There is neither wisdom, nor knowing,
Since there is nothing to be known.

Since the Bodhisattva is in resonance with the Truth
The heart is not obscured;
Since the heart is not obscured
There is no fear;
It is away from the confusion of dreaming and thinking
and eventually comes to Nirvana


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If you are not clear what Heart Sutra original is, please refer to wiki for a glance.

Some notes:

  • First, this is not a translation from the original text. Rather, it is from the Chinese version. So use your discretion with second-handed translation.
  • Semi-literal -- in contrast to more popular or scholarly translations, I do not seek to map the use of words corresponding to an conventional western interpretation or practice of Buddhism Religion or Buddhism Philosophy. I choose words that resonate my understanding of the text, also my feeling towards the rhythm and landscape of the verse. For example, 'Color' is a complete literal translation, for its the simplest way to represent sufficiently both the abstract concept and the feeling of it. In other occasions, e.g. in the translation of the four noble truth , I used 'confusion' rather than 'suffering', because I found the word 'suffering' is too sensational to fit in my understanding of its role in the whole text. Perhaps more drastically is the translation of the Perfection of Wisdom into 'the resonance with Truth'-- as I regard the word Truth resonant better with my reading of presocratic philosophy. 
  • You might have notice I didn't translate the last part of the Sutra. The reason is that I didn't manage to find a way to translate it in a way that makes sense. So please forgive me.
  • I attempt to map the Chinese version as a whole (that is, all the relationship among the words) onto the verse above. So I do not wish to compromise the integrity of the whole with local scrutiny.
  • I do not profess in the study of religion or the study of philosophy. 
  • I am at most a poet. I read as I am; I translate as I am. Not as it is.
  • Please excuse my grammar as I haven't spoken English for very long.
  • Thanks.

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