高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

An Annotated Translation of
Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra
Thomas Eijō Dreitlein

Kōbō Daishi Kūkai (弘法大師空海, 774–835), in his text titled Hannya-shingyō hiken, jo awasetari(般若心經祕鍵幷序), or the Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra, with an Introduction, provides a deeply
esoteric interpretation of the Heart Sūtra, an interpretation that is unique within the extensive

literature of the Heart Sūtra. Kūkai’s thesis might be seen as revolving around three closelyinterrelated main points: (1) that the apparently exoteric sūtras contain esoteric meanings which

can be read by those who know how to read them, (2) that the Heart Sūtra reveals the esoteric
inner own-realization or samādhi of the bodhisattva Prajñā and forms the dharma-maṇḍala of thatdeity, and (3) that as such it holds within it all the teachings of Buddhism, and is not simply an
abbreviated version of the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra.

1. Exoteric sūtras can be read as esoteric Buddhist teachings
Kūkai says that the exoteric Buddhist teachings are revealed by the nirmāṇakāya, and areprovisional and adjusted to the receptivity and capacity of the audience,1 while esoteric Buddhism
is preached directly by the Dharmakāya Mahāvairocana for his own enjoyment, and is not
adjusted to the audience but is rather the final truth.2

1

See Kūkai’s Ben kenmitsu nikyō ron (TKZ 3.109):
應化說法逗機施藥言不虛故。所以他受用身祕內證而不說其境也。則等覺希夷十地離絕。
The teachings of the nirmāṇakāya are adapted to what is needed, like giving the most appropriate andeffective medicine. The saṃbhogakāya manifested for the liberation of others conceals his innerrealization, and does not directly teach it.
2

In Kan’en no sho Kūkai writes (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 316–317):
欲得大覺應當學諸佛自證之敎。自證敎者。所謂金剛頂十萬偈。及大毗盧遮那十萬偈經是也。此經則淨
妙法身大毗盧遮那佛。與自眷屬法佛。住法界祕密心殿中。常恆所演說。自受法樂之敎也。故金剛頂經說。自受法樂故。說此理趣。不同應化佛之所說。
If you wish to attain great awakening, you must study the teachings of the own-realization of thebuddhas. The teachings of own-realization are the 100,000-verse Vajraśekhara and the 100,000-verse
Mahāvairocana. These [esoteric] sūtras are the teachings of the pure and sublime Dharmakāya, thebuddha Mahāvairocana, eternally given to his own retinue of dharmakāyas where he resides in thesecret mind-palace of the dharmadhātu. These sūtras are the teachings of his own blissful enjoyment of
the Dharma [as a svasaṃbhogakāya]. Therefore, because the [100,000-verse] Vajraśekhara is thepreaching of the Dharmakāya for his own enjoyment, it discusses this truth [of the three identities ofyour own mind, the Buddha’s mind, and the minds of all beings]. It is not the same as the teachings ofthe saṃbhogakāyas or nirmāṇakāyas.

(1)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

However, for Kūkai the line between exoteric and esoteric Buddhist texts is not so clear-cut asmight be surmised from the above. Exoteric Buddhist texts can be read as esoteric Buddhist

teachings provided the reader is able to decipher them correctly. Kūkai writes in his Konshōō-kyō
himitsu kada:3

The teachings of the Tathāgata always have both superficial exoteric and deep esotericmeanings. The exoteric is what is ordinarily discussed. The esoteric is what is explained in

the secret treasury. The content of the exoteric schools concerns what historical masters havesaid. The teachings of the esoteric treasury are not yet understood in this country. Looking
now [at the exoteric Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra], it seems on the surface to discuss the exoteric,but in actuality it establishes its teachings through mantra.

There are, of course, overtly esoteric or tantric texts, and overtly exoteric or non-tantric texts.
Examplesoftheformerwould

ofcoursebethe

Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra,Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha, and so on. Examples of the latter would include the Heart Sūtra andother Prajñāpāramitā texts, Lotus Sūtra, Avataṃsaka, Suvarṇaprabhāsa, and so on. Kūkai’s point isthat the overtly exoteric sūtras contain both exoteric and esoteric meanings. Exoteric teachings

can never be wrong because they are preached by the Buddha, and by definition the Buddha only
speaks truth, though that truth may be provisional or final. The exoteric meanings of exotericsūtras are the surface meanings, which are the ones commentators typically discuss. However,Kūkai says that by reading such texts deeply in a particular way, the esoteric meanings become
clear. Specifically, in his Hannya-shingyō hiken Kūkai discusses the apparently exoteric Heart Sūtra
as a text with deep and hidden esoteric teachings.

Buddhist schools that base themselves on a superficial interpretation of exoteric texts, and do

not see or discuss the hidden esoteric significances, are thus exoteric schools. Kūkai writes in his
Kan’en no sho:4

From the nirmāṇakāya’s sūtras above to the treatises and commentaries below [exoteric
Buddhism], all contain but none explicitly discuss a buddha’s own-realization. They

prescribe teachings according to the illnesses of others. Those teachings are precious andprofound; nevertheless, they are provisional and not final. It is not the case that those āryateachers of the Dharma did not know [the inner realization of a buddha] when they taught
exoteric Buddhism. They knew it, but chose to teach the provisional until the conditions
were right. There was a good reason for what they did.

Kūkai says in the present text (I.4), “There have been many commentators on the Heart Sūtra, but

none have yet revealed this hidden secret.” In answering a question (III) as to why he would now

teach these esoteric meanings when no one has done so before, Kūkai responds, “Whether or not a

See Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 246. 夫如來說法必俱顯密二意。顯則常途所談是也。密卽祕藏所論卽是也。顯家之趣歷代口實。密藏之旨此土未解。今見此經傍說顯義正以眞言立宗。所以擧自宗義以樹頌詞。冀博逹之士莫致疑恠。于時
弘仁四年季冬之月也。
3

See Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 314. 上從應化經。下至論章疏。韞自證而不說。隨他病以垂訓。雖云稀有甚深。而
是權非實。傳法聖者。非不知祕而傳顯。知而相讓。良有以也。
4(2)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

teaching should be given depends on the capacity of the recipient of that teaching. Teaching or

remaining silent are therefore both in agreement with the Buddha’s intention.” He also explainsthat he now explicitly teaches the esoteric meanings hidden in the Heart Sūtra out of compassion
for those ready to hear these truths (I.1): “Regarding the samādhi of this deity (Prajñā), out ofcompassion I will not follow [in this text the example of the other commentators on the Heart
Sūtra].”

Kūkai sees the key to discovering the esoteric Buddhist teachings within the apparently

exoteric Heart Sūtra as the ability to look deeply below the surface to perceive the Buddha’s true

intention. Exoteric or esoteric is ultimately not a matter of what the text says on the surface, butof how deeply it is read. In his section on questions (III) Kūkai says:

The eyes of a great physician see [the plants growing by] the wayside each as medicine[where others see only weeds]. A man who knows gemstones sees jewels [where others see

only] rocks and stones. … [Whether the content of a text is] exoteric or esoteric depends on
the [discriminative ability of] the reader. It is not a matter of the sounds and letters [of thattext].

Kūkai provides some hints and basic suggestions about how to read the esoteric aspects of theHeart Sūtra in this text, saying, like Confucius, that he will provide “one corner” (II.5) and expects
his students to grasp from that all the implications, or the other “three corners.” One approach
Kūkai uses to demonstrate that the Heart Sūtra is in reality an esoteric discussion is his analysis of
the title.5(II.1) In explaining the meanings of the titles [of sūtras] in general, all [are described as]
having a person, a teaching, and/or an analogy. This title contains the name of thebodhisattva, Mahā-Prajñāpāramitā. This is the person. This bodhisattva has a dharmamaṇḍala mantra samādhi-gate, in which each letter is a teaching. Each word in the sūtra is amundane and superficial word, but each is also a profound word of suchness. This is theanalogy. … (II.2.3) What we call the Heart of Prajñā (the Heart Sūtra) is the body and heartdhāraṇī and so on of the bodhisattva [Prajñā]. The mantra of this sūtra is this great heartdhāraṇī. The Heart of Prajñā receives its name from this heart-mantra.

The usual interpretation of the words in the title of the Heart Sūtra is to see prajñāpāramitā as theteaching and hṛdaya or “heart” as an analogy, suggesting that the Heart Sūtra is the essence of thelong Prajñāpāramitā texts. Kūkai reinterprets the title as containing all three terms.
Prajñāpāramitā is a person, the bodhisattva Prajñā, not the teaching. Heart for Kūkai is not ananalogy, but is the teaching—the heart-mantra—each letter and word of which expands into theseven teachings Kūkai analyzes below. And finally, because each letter of each word of the sūtra
has infinite and profound meanings, they are all “analogies” or expressions of suchness.

5

Refer to notes 69 and 70.

(3)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

Perhaps the two most important reasons an esoteric reading of the Heart Sūtra is possible isthat it is actually an exposition of the inner awakening of the bodhisattva Prajñā, and because thewords and letters of the sūtra contain infinite meanings.

2. The Heart Sūtra is the samādhi of the bodhisattva Prajñā.
Samādhi in exoteric Buddhism is a one-pointed, undistracted concentration. In esoteric Buddhism,
samādhi specifically means the state realized through esoteric Buddhist practices such as

visualizing a moon or sun disc, repeating mantras, practicing the three mysteries yoga, and so on.
Kūkai writes in his Sanmayakai jo:6

If they were to visualize the light of the sun or moon discs in meditation, recite the sounds
and letters of mantras, give rise to the empowerment of the three mysteries, or practice thesublime activities of the four jñānamudrās, then they [would know that the] light of

Mahāvairocana extends everywhere throughout the dharmadhātu. The hindrances caused byignorance will immediately return to the oceanic vastness of mind. Ignorance immediatelytransforms into wisdom, and poison suddenly becomes medicine. The deities of the five

families [Vajradhātu maṇḍala] and the three families [Mahākaruṇāgarbhodbhava maṇḍala]manifest perfectly in infinite numbers, and buddhas as numberless as the particles of dust in

the world or drops of water in the ocean suddenly spring forth. Abiding in this samādhi iscalled the secret samādhi.

In esoteric Buddhism, from the practitioner’s aspect, esoteric samādhi is the means to realize

the enlightened states of the various deities. From the viewpoint of the deities themselves,samādhi is the direct expression of the inner own-realization of a buddha or bodhisattva, which is
the highest truth realized and also personified by that deity. The differentiating characteristics ofa specific esoteric samādhi are unique to the vows or special qualities of the deity. Further,because according to Shingon teachings each individual deity is a manifestation of an aspect of

the complete wisdom of Mahāvairocana, the samādhi of each individual deity is also a gateway

leading to the ultimate realization of Dharmakāya, which is absolute truth unadjusted for time,

place, or audience. For Kūkai, this can be found within any sūtra, whether superficially exoteric or
esoteric. His approach is to see any Buddhist text in the deepest sense as a presentation of thesamādhi of a buddha or bodhisattva, and the overall text as a dharma-maṇḍala of that deity. Being
able to see that makes the teaching of any text esoteric. In his Sokushin jōbutsu gi, Kūkai writes:7
Also, Nāgārjuna explains in his Putixin lun, “Only in the mantra method can buddhahood be
perfected immediately and in this body, therefore this method of samādhi is taught. In thevarious [exoteric] teachings this [method of samādhi] is omitted, and not written down.”“This samādhi is taught” refers to the Dharmakāya’s samādhi of own-realization.

See Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 349–350 若能觀日月之輪光。誦聲字之眞言。發三密之加持。揮四印之妙用。則大日之光明廓周法界。無明之障者忽歸心海。無明忽爲明毒藥乍爲藥。五部三部之尊森羅圓現。刹塵海滴之佛忽然涌出。住此三昧名祕密三摩地。
6

See Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 34–35. 又龍猛菩薩菩提心論說。眞言法中卽身成佛故是說三摩地法。於諸敎中闕而不書。是說三摩地者。法身自證三摩地。諸敎者他受用身所說顯敎也。
7(4)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

Such teachings on the esoteric samādhi of deities are more or less explicitly written in the esoteric
texts, but are not written plainly in the exoteric texts. Nevertheless, Kūkai describes superficially
exoteric sūtras in many of his texts as giving esoteric teachings, seeing them as presentations of
the esoteric samādhis of various Buddhist deities. In his Saishōō-kyō kaidai Kūkai writes:8

The samādhis of each of the buddhas and bodhisattvas are different. The Avataṃsaka is the
samādhi of Samantabhadra. The Prajñāpāramitā is the samādhi of Mañjuśrī. The Lotus Sūtra is

the samādhi of the lotus [family] (Avalokiteśvara). … This [Suvarṇaprabhāsa-]sūtra is the
samādhi of the jewel family. … Ruciraketu and Ākāśagarbha are the deities of the jewel
family.

Kūkai also interprets the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra as the esoteric samādhi of Mañjuśrī in hisKongō hannya-haramitsu-kyō kaidai, and says that the sixteen sections of that sūtra can also be seenas the samādhis of the sixteen bodhisattvas of the Vajraśekhara:9

The Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra (T 220) in 600 fascicles, sixteen assemblies, and 282 chaptersis altogether the samādhi-gate of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. The sixteen assemblies are thesamādhi-gates of the sixteen great bodhisattvas of the Vajradhātu. … These samādhi-gates ofthe sixteen great bodhisattvas encompass all Dharma teachings.

As written texts, these are not only the samādhis of Buddhist deities, but also form theirdharma-maṇḍalas among the four maṇḍalas. In Sokushin jōbutsu gi Kūkai explains:10

Third, the dharma-maṇḍala is the bīja-mantra of a deity. Writing those bīja-letters each intheir proper position is a dharma-maṇḍala. It is also the samādhi of the Dharmakāya, and all
the words, meanings, and so on of all the sūtras. It is also known as the dharma-jñānamudrā.

In his Kyōōkyō kaidai, Kūkai writes, “The Dharma[-maṇḍala] is the bījas, samādhi-gates, and so onof the various deities.”11 In his Bonmōkyō kaidai, Kūkai writes that, “All the sūtras and teachings
are the samādhis and dharma-maṇḍalas of each of the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and so on.”12 In
Kongō hannya-haramitsu-kyō kaidai:13

Now, based on the esoteric treasury, the Vajraśekhara, and so on, the Vajracchedikāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra is the name of a person (the deity whose samādhi is taught). Among thethirty-seven deities [of the Vajradhātu] there are four buddha-mothers. They are the8

TKZ 4.236. 諸佛菩薩三摩地之法各各不同。華嚴者普賢之三摩地。般若者文殊之三摩地。法華則蓮華三昧。佛頂則羯磨三昧。… 今此經者寶部三摩地。…妙幢虛空竝是寶部之尊。
9

TKZ

4.260. 大般若一部六百卷十六會二百八十二品竝是文殊菩薩之三摩地門。十六會則金剛界十六大菩薩三摩地門也。…此十六大菩薩三摩地法門能攝一切法敎。Compare also TKZ 4.256 in the same text.

See Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 54. 三法曼荼羅本尊種子眞言。若其種子字各書本位是。又法身三摩地及一切契經文
義等皆是。亦名法智印。
1011

TKZ 4.98. 法者諸尊種子及三摩地等法門。

12

TKZ 4.222. 一切經法皆是一一佛菩薩等三摩地法曼荼羅身也。

4.256. 今據祕密藏金剛頂等。金剛般若波羅蜜多者亦是人名。三十七尊中有四佛母。所謂金剛波羅蜜菩薩。寶
波羅蜜菩薩。法波羅蜜菩薩。羯磨波羅蜜菩薩是也。今是經則初尊三摩地法曼荼羅。
13

TKZ

(5)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)bodhisattvas Vajra-pāramitā, Ratna-pāramitā, Dharma-pāramitā, and Karma-pāramitā. Thissūtra is the samādhi and dharma-maṇḍala of the first of these, [Vajra-pāramitā].

In his various works on the Lotus Sūtra, Kūkai makes reference several times to the Lotus Sūtra as
the samādhi and dharma-maṇḍala of Avalokiteśvara. In his Hokkekyō kaidai Kūkai writes:14

The infinite meanings of the long and short versions of the Lotus Sūtra are all contained
within the single [bīja] letter hrīḥ. This [Lotus] sūtra is the samādhi of Avalokiteśvara. When
this one letter is repeated, the merits are the same as reciting the entire Lotus Sūtra. As adharma[-maṇḍala], this sūtra is the letter hrīḥ. As a samaya-[maṇḍala], it is an eight-petaled

lotus. As a person, it is the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. This person, dharma, and lotus
specifically are called the Lotus Sūtra. … Where are this person, dharma, and lotus? They
originally are in the minds of all beings. These three—the mind, Buddha, and beings—are

another way of expressing identity. Therefore, the [Avataṃsaka]-sūtra says (T 278:9.465c),“The mind, the Buddha, beings: these three are not different.”

The Heart Sūtra is no exception to the above pattern. Just as Kūkai sees the Vajracchedikā as

the samādhi of Mañjuśrī, the Lotus as the samādhi of Avalokiteśvara, and the Avataṃsaka as that of

Samantabhadra, he describes the Heart Sūtra as the samādhi and dharma-maṇḍala of thebodhisattva Prajñā. In this text Kūkai writes (I.3.1), “The Mahā-prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya-sūtra isnothing but the great heart-mantra samādhi-gate of the great bodhisattva Prajñā,” and (II.1) “Thisbodhisattva (Prajñā) has a dharma-maṇḍala mantra samādhi-gate, in which each letter is Dharma.

Each word in the sūtra is a mundane and superficial word, but each is also a profound word ofsuchness.”

While the Heart Sūtra is overall the samādhi of Prajñā, Kūkai also defines sections of the Heart

Sūtra as further divided into the teachings of various schools and samādhis of other bodhisattvas. 15
Thus, Kūkai says that the section in the Heart Sūtra explaining Huayan (II.3.2.1) is the samādhi of
Samantabhadra, that of Sanlun (II.3.2.2) is the samādhi of Mañjuśrī, that of Faxiang (II.3.3.3) isthe samādhi of Maitreya, and that of Tiantai (II.3.3.5) is the samādhi of Avalokiteśvara.16

4.160. 所謂妙法蓮華經廣略本無邊義埋悉含一吉里字中。今此經則觀自在之三摩地。若誦此一字則曲誦一部法華功德無異。此經於法是吉里字也。於三摩耶是八葉蓮華。於人是觀自在菩薩也。此之人法蓮俱名妙法蓮華。... 茲人法
蓮在何處。本來在一切眾生心。茲心佛眾生三種一體異名。是故經云心佛及眾生是三無差別。
14

TKZ

15

This approach is similar to Kūkai’s statement noted above that the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra is in general theesoteric samādhi of Mañjuśrī, but the parts of the sūtra are further described as the samādhis of other deities. No further

specifics are given, unlike in this text. Note that in the case of the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, Vajratīkṣṇa is one of thesixteen bodhisattvas and is also identical with Mañjuśrī, thus his appearance is repeated. This is also true of Vajrasattva
in the Adhyardhaśatikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, see following note.
16This seems similar to the Adhyardhaśatikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, an esoteric sūtra that is overall the samādhi of

Vajrasattva, but with each of the seventeen sections also representing the samādhi of a different deity (or group of

deities), starting with Vajrasattva, with the bīja mantra of each deity given at the end of each of the seventeen sectionsin that text. In one of his Rishukyō kaidai Kūkai writes, “This [Adhyardhaśatikā-prajñāpāramitā-]sūtra has seventeen

sections. The one-letter mantra bīja at the end of each section and each of the samādhi-gates are called the bodies of thedharmadhātu maṇḍala.” (TKZ 4.115, 是經有十七品。品終一字眞言種子及各各三摩地門名法界曼荼羅身)(6)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

3. The Heart Sūtra contains all teachings
Most East Asian commentators have traditionally understood the Heart Sūtra as a condensation of
the core meaning of the long Prajñāpāramitā texts, and particularly of Xuanzang’s translation of

the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra in 600 fascicles (T 220). Kuiji suggests that the 600-fascicle sūtra
was too long and intimidating, thus a digest version became necessary.17 Fazang and others
explain that the Heart Sūtra is the essential core of the long Prajñāpāramitā texts, just as the heartis the core of the body.18 This is reasonable, since aside from the opening section and the mantra
or dhāraṇī at the end of the sūtra, the bulk of the text of the Heart Sūtra is found in passages in the
Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra.19

However, Kūkai does not agree that such claims are exhaustive, and he adds another anddeeper layer to them. He writes (II.2.3), “Some people repeat [the exoteric explanation] that theword heart is used because the Heart Sūtra gives the essentials of the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra,and that it was not taught in a separate assembly. This is like saying a dragon is a snake justbecause it has scales like a snake.” The Heart Sūtra may on the surface seem to be just a

conveniently condensed version of a very long sūtra, but profoundly speaking it is an esotericteaching. As noted, Kūkai sees the Heart Sūtra as a whole as the samādhi of Prajñā, but also
discusses in its separate sections the samādhis of Samantabhadra (Huayan), Mañjuśrī (Sanlun),

Maitreya (Faxiang), and Avalokiteśvara (Tiantai). This would not be possible were the Heart Sūtra

only a abbreviated version of the long Prajñāpāramitā texts. For Kūkai, the teachings of the Heart
Sūtra are not limited to those of the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, but contains all the teachings of17

See Shih 2001, 10, 11–12 (T 1710:33.524a):
般若波羅蜜多者大經之通名。心經者此經之別稱。般若之心經也。… 心者堅實妙最之稱。大經隨機義文
俱廣。受持傳習或生怯退。傳法聖者錄其堅實妙最之旨別出此經。
Prajñāpāramitā is the general title for the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra, while the Heart Sūtra is one

particular sutra found within it. It is the heart of the Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra. … Heart (hṛdaya) signifies
essence and excellence. Because the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra is voluminous an extensive in meaning,those who receive, uphold, transmit, or study it may easily become discouraged. Therefore the sages,

for the purpose of propagating the Dharma, captured the supreme essence by composing thiscondensed sutra.
18

T 1712:33.552b:

般若等是所詮之法。心之一字是所引之喩。卽般若內統要衷之妙義。況人心藏爲主爲要。統極之本。
Prajñā[pāramitā] is what is taught. The word heart is an analogy for what is expressed. In other words,
it is the excellent meaning that condenses the content of the Prajñā[pāramitā] and integrates what isessential. It is just like the heart of a person, which is core and essential [to that person]. It is theintegrated and ultimate root [of the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra].
19

Passages similar to the body of Xuanzang’s Heart Sūtra in his translation of the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā include T 220:5.22b, 7.14a, 7.435b, T 223:8.223a, etc. Passages similar to the preamble to the dhāraṇī

include T 220:5.568b, 5.580c, 7.151b, 7.156a, 7.551b, 7.556a, 7.774b, 7.873a, etc. The opening section and the dhāraṇī
itself do not appear anywhere in the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra. See Nattier 1992 for correspondences between
Xuanzang’s Heart Sūtra and Kumārajīva’s translation of the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā (p. 158 ff.) and for the
mantra in other texts (p. 177, n. 52), among which the Dhāraṇīsamuccaya (T 901) is noted by Kūkai in the following.

(7)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

the Buddha. As Prajñā is the “mother of all the buddhas,” it is appropriate that all these teachings,

needed to answer the specific needs of different sorts of beings, be contained within her single
samādhi. Kūkai writes (I.3.1):

The Mahā-prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya-sūtra (Heart Sūtra) is nothing but the great heart-mantra

samādhi-gate of the great bodhisattva Prajñā. It can be written on a single sheet of paper infourteen lines. This we can say: while brief it is essential, and though concise it is profound.

The Prajñāpāramitā [containing] the five parts of the canon is held in a single phrase of itwith nothing left out. The practices and fruits of the seven teachings are all encompassed ina single line of it with room to spare.

It is important to note that the Heart Sūtra does not contain or teach the samādhi of Prajñā.

Rather, as a dharma-maṇḍala, the text itself is the samādhi of Prajñā. As a dharma-maṇḍala, thetext esoterically is itself a dhāraṇī, while exoterically it remains a text in ordinary language with adhāraṇī appended to it. Kūkai says that the entire Heart Sūtra returns to the dhāraṇī (總歸持明),20
and in his concluding verse (IV) that his understanding of the sūtra as a whole comes from his

understanding of the mantra, “Relying on the meanings of its secret mantra, I have briefly
commented on the text of the Heart Sūtra.” It might be said that expanding on some of themeanings of the dhāraṇī and expressing them in ordinary language renders the text of the Heart

Sūtra. Kūkai understands dhāraṇīs as holding within them all teachings and all meanings (I.1). In
his Bonji shittan jimo narabi ni shakugi he writes:21

Dhāraṇī is a Sanskrit word. In Chinese it is translated as zongchi (總持), or “holding all.” Zongmeans “to encompass all,” and chi means “to hold.” This means that within a single letter

infinite teachings are encompassed; within a single dharma all dharmas are held, within asingle meaning all meanings are contained, and within a single sound all virtues are stored.

Therefore, dhāraṇī is called the inexhaustible treasury. … This infinite-fold wisdom iscompletely encompassed in a single letter [of a dhāraṇī], and all beings completely possessthat infinite-fold buddha wisdom.

Kūkai describes some of the meanings of the letters of dhāraṇīs in many of his other texts. For
example, in Unji gi Kūkai writes:22

Next, I will discuss how this one letter [hūṃ] encompasses the truths taught in all the

Buddhist sūtras and treatises. All the teachings of the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra andVajraśekhara texts are exhausted by the three phrases, “bodhi[citta] is the cause, universal
20

Expressing the entirety of a text with a dhāraṇī (bīja) is an approach known from the esoteric Adhyardhaśatikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra where each section is at its end expressed by the bīja of its deity. Kūkai also believes that theSuvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra is fully expressed in its mantras. See note 3.
21

See Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 280–281. 所謂陀羅尼者梵語也。唐翻云總持。總者總攝。持者任持。言於一字中總攝無量敎文於一法中任持一切法於一義中攝持一切義於一聲中攝藏無量功德。故名無盡藏。…如是無量智悉含一字中一切眾生皆悉具足如是無量佛智。
See Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 184–185. 次明以此一字通攝諸經論等。所明理者且大日經及金剛頂經所明皆不過此
菩提爲因大悲爲根方便爲究竟之三句。若攝廣就略攝未歸本則一切敎義不過此三句。束此三句以爲一吽字。廣而不亂略而不漏。此則如來不思議力法然加持之所爲也。雖千經萬論亦不出此三句一字。其一字中所開因行果等准前思之。非只吽字攝如是義所餘一一字門亦復如是。
22(8)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

compassion is the root, and [the practice of] skillful means is the ultimate goal.” If the

expansive is rendered into the concise, or we return from the branches to the root, then allteachings are exhausted by these three phrases. These three phrases can be further
compacted into the letter hūṃ. Expanding them, there is no disarray. Condensing them,nothing is left out. This is because of the Tathāgata’s inconceivable power, the adhiṣṭhāna ofsuchness. Although there may be a thousand Buddhist sūtras and ten thousand treatises, all
are fully contained in these three phrases and one letter [hūṃ]. The cause, training, fruit,and so on of the path can be expanded from that one letter as discussed above. These

meanings are not exclusive to the letter hūṃ alone. Each of the other letter-gates are exactly
the same.

By seeing the Heart Sūtra as the samādhi-gate and dharma-maṇḍala of the bodhisattva Prajñā,
Kūkai sees the text as an all-encompassing dhāraṇī. The individual letters of the dhāraṇī each haveinfinite meanings, and combine together in infinite ways. Kūkai writes in the present text:(I.3.2) Furthermore, the two letters gate [in the mantra] fully hold within themselves thefruit of the training of the entire tripiṭaka, and the two words pāra- and pārasaṃ- fully

encompass the exoteric and esoteric Dharma teachings. A discussion of each sound and letter
would take kalpas of time and still not be complete, and buddhas equal in numbers to themotes of dust in the universe or drops of water in the oceans would still not be able to finish
explaining each word and the reality it teaches. … (II.6) If the superficial and profoundmeanings of each of the letters, and so on, were to be fully discussed in the same way, there
would be limitless deities and teachings—too many to exhaust even with a kalpa of time.

Kūkai sees all texts, not just the Heart Sūtra, as encompassing all teachings and all meanings.

Of the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra, Kūkai says,23 “One letter contains limitless meanings, andone dot holds infinite truths.” Not unrelated is Kūkai’s profound vision of the ultimate text of thepreaching of Dharmakāya as the totality of the universe itself. He writes,24
Inscribed with the brush of Mt. Sumeru and the ink of the seas,
Heaven-and-earth itself is the sūtra book.

All phenomena are encompassed in even a single point therein,
And the six sense objects are all included within its covers.

——

23

In Dainichikyō kaidai (TKZ 4.4). See Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 318. (一字中含無邊義。一點內呑塵數理)24

In Shōryō shū (TKZ 8.10). See Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 13. (山毫點溟墨 乾坤經籍箱 萬象含一點 六塵閱縑緗)Compare also Gomez 1995, 107–112.

(9)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

般若心經祕鍵 幷序
Hannya-shingyō hiken, jo awasetari
The Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra, with an Introduction
遍照金剛撰
By Henjō Kongō25[I. Introduction]26[I.1. Introductory verse]
文殊利劍絕諸戲覺母梵文調御師碭伐眞言爲種子
含藏諸敎陀羅尼無邊生死何能斷
唯有禪那正思惟尊者三摩仁不讓我今讚述垂哀悲The sharp sword of Mañjuśrī cuts off all conceptual proliferation.27

The Sanskrit [Prajñāpāramitā-]sūtra28 of the mother of the buddhas29 (Prajñā)
is the tamer of men.30

25

This is the name Kūkai received from his teacher Huiguo at the time of his abhiṣeka at Qinglong-si monastery in

805. Meaning the “vajra shining everywhere,” it is the esoteric name of the Vairocana, the deity Kūkai connected withthrough abhiṣeka. See Shōrai mokuroku (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 222–224). Kūkai often refers to himself or signs his
works in this way.
26

The divisions into sections and the titles of the sections are added by the translator based on traditional analyses.

The Chinese text is based on TKZ 3.1–13.
27

Compare section II.3.2.2 on Sanlun below.

28

The sharp sword (利劍) that cuts through prapañca and the Sanskrit palm-leaf Prajñāpāramitā sūtra (tāla-pattra, 梵篋) are the samaya-signs (三昧耶形) of these bodhisattvas, expressing their inner own-realization. In his Sokushin jōbutsu
gi, Kūkai writes (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 52–53):

大日經說一切如來有三種祕密身。謂字印形像。字者法曼荼羅。印謂種種幖幟卽三昧耶曼荼羅。形者相好具足身卽大曼荼羅。此三種身各具威儀事業。是名羯磨曼荼羅。是名四種曼荼羅。
It is taught in the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra (T 848:18.44a) that the tathāgatas all have three
types of esoteric bodies: letters, seals, and images. The letters are the dharma-maṇḍala. The seals are
the various signs, and are the samaya-maṇḍala. The images are the bodies possessing all the excellent

marks, and are the mahā-maṇḍala. These three esoteric bodies each have posture and movement, whichis called the karma-maṇḍala. These are the four maṇḍalas.
29

The “mother of the buddhas” (覺母) is the bodhisattva Prajñā, who is referred to with similar terms (般若母, 般

若波羅蜜佛母) several times in Xiuxi Boreboluomi pusa guanxing niansong yigui (T 1151:20.610c, 612a, 612b), the tantric
ritual manual for the practice of this bodhisattva Kūkai mentions below (note 148). Because all the buddhas attainenlightenment through realizing the prajñāpāramitā, it is often called the “mother” of buddhahood in Prajñāpāramitā

texts. The bodhisattva Prajñā embodies prajñāpāramitā, so she is also so called. This description may also be applied to
Mañjuśrī: “The great ārya deity Mañjuśrī is the mother of the buddhas of the three times. Tathāgatas in the ten

directions all initially raise bodhicitta through the transformative power of Mañjuśrī.” (文殊師利大聖尊 三世諸佛以爲母
十方如來初發心 皆是文殊敎化力, T 159:3.305c, 三世覺母妙吉祥, T 159:3.327c, etc.).
30

The Dazhidu lun (T 1509:25.638a) says, “Without the tamer of prajñā, it is impossible to arrive at the Buddha’spath.” (無般若調御不能至佛道) The “trainer (charioteer) of men” or “the tamer of men to be tamed” (puruṣa-damya(10)高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

The mantras dhiḥ [for Prajñā] and maṃ [for Mañjuśrī] are their bījas:31
They are dhāraṇīs that hold within them all teachings.32

How can we be liberated from the unending cycle of birth and death?

The only way is through the samādhi [of Prajñā] and the wisdom [ofMañjuśrī].33

sārathi, 丈夫調御士, 調御丈夫, 可化丈夫調御師, etc.) is one of the familiar ten epithets of a buddha (十號). The Dazhidu
lun explains (T 1509:25.72b):

佛以大慈大悲大智故。有時軟美語。有時苦切語。有時雜語。以此調御令不失道。如偈說。佛法爲車弟
子馬 實法寶主佛調御 若馬出道失正轍 如是當治令調伏
The Buddha, through great kindness, great compassion, and great wisdom sometimes speaks gentle
words, sometimes speaks hard words, and sometimes mixes them, taming people in this way [asneeded] so that they do not lose the path. A verse:

The Buddhadharma is the chariot, the disciple the horse,

And the great master of the Dharma, the Buddha, is the charioteer.
If the horse leaves the path and loses the correct track,

Then he should be corrected and tamed.
31

A bīja is a Sanskrit seed-syllable or letter, written in Siddham and usually in one letter but occasionally more thanone, that completely encompasses the enlightenment of that deity. Like the previous samaya-signs, these are essential toesoteric Buddhist practice. Here, dhiḥ is the bīja of the bodhisattva Prajñā, and maṃ is that of Mañjuśrī.

The bījas of Prajñā are given variously in different texts, including jña (from the words prajñā or jñāna), pra (fromprajñā), but most commonly dhiḥ, dhī, or dhīḥ from the dhāraṇī of the inexhaustible treasury of Prajñā (般若無盡藏陀羅尼 ): namo bhagavate prajñā-pāramitāye oṃ hrīḥ dhīḥ śrī-śrūta-vijaye svāhā,T

852a:18.120a, T 901:18.806b,

T

1151:20.613b, 613c, etc.). The Xiuxi Boreboluomi pusa guanxing niansong yigui (T 1151:20.613b, 613c), which Kūkai
refers to below (note 148) indicates that the letter might be dhīḥ (地 入).
引

The bīja of Mañjuśrī are a, aṃ, and maṃ in the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra, or dhaṃ in Vajraśekhara texts (thebīja of Vajratīkṣṇa). Maṃ comes from the first letter of Mañjuśrī’s name (appearing in Mañjuśrī’s mantra named 妙吉祥
眞言: namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ maṃ, T 848:18.16b).
32

Kūkai gives his interpretation of the meaning of dhāraṇī in Bonji shittan jimo narabi ni shakugi (Takagi andDreitlein 2010, 280–281):

所謂陀羅尼者梵語也。唐翻云總持。總者總攝。持者任持。言於一字中總攝無量敎文於一法中任持一切
法於一義中攝持一切義於一聲中攝藏無量功德。故名無盡藏。
Dhāraṇī is a Sanskrit word. In Chinese it is translated as zongchi (總持), or “holding all.” Zong means “toencompass all,” and chi means “to hold.” This means that within a single letter infinite teachings areencompassed; within a single dharma all dharmas are held, within a single meaning all meanings arecontained, and within a single sound all virtues are stored. Therefore, dhāraṇī is called theinexhaustible treasury.
33

None of the traditional commentators take the terms 禪那 (as a transliteration of dhyāna) and 正思惟 (as atranslation of samyak-saṃkalpa, or “right thought” among the eightfold path) in their usual or literal meanings. Dōhan

says (NDZ 10.481a), “Liberation from saṃsāra is only by the two methods of samādhi and prajñā (定慧二法). Thissamādhi and prajñā refers to these two bodhisattvas. ‘Dhyāna’ means samādhi (禪那ハ定), and is Prajñā, the mother ofthe buddhas. ‘Right thought’ means prajñā (正思惟ハ慧), and is Mañjuśrī. Therefore, the samādhi and prajñā of these

two bodhisattvas liberates from the unending cycle of birth and death.” Kakuban says (NDZ 10.465b) that, “These are
samādhi-gates. Specifically, zenna (禪那) is samādhi within samādhi (定中ノ定), and shōshiyui (正思惟) is wisdom withinsamādhi (定中ノ智).” Yūkai and other commentators agree that 禪那 refers to the samādhi of Prajñā, and 正思惟 toprajñā (慧), the samādhi of Mañjuśrī (SZ 16.194b–195a, 378a, 73b, etc.). With the commentators’ approach rather than a(11)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

Regarding the samādhi of this deity (Prajñā), out of compassion I will not

follow [in this text the example of the other commentators on the Heart
Sūtra].34

Thus I now with praise expound this teaching. May the Buddha extend his
mercy on me.

[I.2. General introduction]
夫佛法非遙心中卽近。眞如非外棄身何求。迷悟在我。則發心卽到。明暗非他。則信
修忽證。
The Buddhadharma35 is not far removed: it is within the mind and near at hand.
Suchness is not without: abandon the body and how could it be found?36 Delusion orliteral one, it will be noted that the body (the samaya-forms of the sword and sūtra book), speech (the bījas dhiḥ andmaṃ), and now the mind (the samādhis) of Prajñā and Mañjuśrī have been presented in this stanza. Liberation fromsaṃsāra is thus through the esoteric practice of these bodhisattvas. Accordingly, the sense of these two lines is alsoechoed in the final verse of this text (IV).

Regarding the interpretation of 禪那 as samādhi, Liangben of Qinglong-si monastery writes (T 1709:33.451b), “[Theword samādhi transliterated into Chinese as] sanmei (三昧) is a Sanskrit word. It is the same as [the transliteration]

sanmodi (三摩地), and is specifically translated as ‘equally holding’ (等持). This was formerly expressed as channa (禪那).” (言三昧者梵語也。同三摩地俱云等持。古譯禪那) Kūkai writes in his Himitsu mandara jūjūshin ron (TKZ 2.117),“Samādhi is [transliterated into Chinese from] Sanskrit as channa.” (定者梵云禪那) Accordingly, there is precedent forthe commentator’s interpretation. Yūkai (SZ 16.73b) and others say that 正思惟 can be taken as wisdom because whenthe eightfold path is divided among the three studies of śīla, samādhi, and prajñā, right thought is included as an aspectof the last.
34

尊者三摩 is the samādhi (三摩地) of the deity Prajñā, which according to Kūkai is the teaching of the Heart Sūtra.

See section I.3.1 below. There are several traditional interpretations of 仁不讓 (see Yūkai, SZ 16.378a–b, 195a–b, etc.).
First, that Śākyamuni (仁) himself taught the inner realization of Prajñā, and did not leave it (不讓) to others. Second,that it alludes to the Lunyu (see next paragraph). Third, that out of compassion (仁) the Buddha did not teach (不讓)this to those not ready for it. Fourth, that Śākyamuni (仁) did not teach (不讓) this.

In context, the most likely interpretation is that this is an allusion to the Lunyu of Confucius (15.36, 當仁不讓於師):“Confronting an act of humanity, do not yield the precedence even to your teacher.” (Huang 1997, 158.) The sense

would then be that in writing this commentary now, Kūkai, out of compassionate consideration (仁) towards those whoare ready for these esoteric teachings, chooses not to defer (不讓) to the precedent of past commentators who omitted
or avoided any discussion of these matters, but will instead discuss it plainly. Compare with section III (also note 139):“Dhāraṇī are the secret words of the tathāgatas; therefore, the tripiṭaka masters of old and the various commentators
kept silent and wrote nothing about them. … Whether or not a teaching should be given depends on the capacity of therecipient of that teaching. Teaching or remaining silent are therefore both in agreement with the Buddha’s intention.”
35

The term Buddhadharma (佛法) in this sentence is traditionally interpreted in the Shingon school to mean thewisdom of the buddhas (SZ 16.378b, etc.). As a paired term with suchness (眞如), it means the cognition or wisdom (智)of the buddhas, and suchness is the object of that cognition, principle or truth (理). Dōhan says (NDZ 10.482a), “The[first] two sentences are the most profound essence of the mantra teachings. ‘Buddhadharma’ is wisdom (智). …
Wisdom is in the mind, therefore ‘it is within the mind and near at hand.’ Suchness is truth (理). The teaching is that

consciousness among the six elements is wisdom (cognitive ability regarding truth), and the [other] five elements aretruth (the body of Mahāvairocana). Therefore, the body formed of the five elements (Mahāvairocana) is the truth ofsuchness.”
36

Compare Kūkai’s Chūju kankyō no shi (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 240), “Sukhāvatī and Tuṣita are originally in(12)高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

awakening are both within us: the moment we raise the thought [of bodhi] we are

already there.37 Neither wisdom nor ignorance is something other: if we practicewith conviction we will immediately realize enlightenment.38

哀哉哀哉長眠子。苦哉痛哉狂醉人。痛狂笑不醉酷睡嘲覺者。不曾訪醫王之藥。何時見大日之光。
How pitiful, how pitiful, are those long slumbering [in ignorance]! Alas, the suffering and painof those insanely intoxicated [by delusions]!39 Tormented madmen laugh at those who have comeone’s own mind” (安樂覩史本來胸中), and in his Kan’en no sho (see note 89, Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 316).
37

The Avataṃsaka (T 278:9.449c) says, “At the moment of first raising bodhicitta you will attain full awakening, andknow the true nature of all dharmas.” (初發心時。便成正覺。知一切法眞實之性) The Darijing shu says, “If you know

yourself as you really are, then at the moment of first raising bodhicitta you will attain full awakening.” (若如實自知。
卽是初發心時便成正覺, T 1796:39.587b). This idea is repeated in many esoteric manuals, such as “Immediately uponraising bodhicitta, you sit on the bodhimaṇḍa and turn the wheel of true Dharma.” (T 1088:20.216c). (纔發菩提心卽坐菩
提道場。轉正法輪)
38This passage is quoted from the Bore xinjing shu (Z 528:26.733c) of Mingkuang, a Tang Tiantai scholar-monk andstudent of Zhanran, and possibly more or less contemporaneous with Kūkai’s teacher, Huiguo. On the reverse side of amanuscript of Kūkai are lines copied from Mingkuang, indicating Kūkai appreciated his work (see Miyazaki 1976, 161).
For an overview of the debate regarding Kūkai’s quoting of Mingkuang, see the notes of Yoneda Kōnin appended to
Sakata Kōzen’s work (1999, 159–160).
39

Kūkai expresses similar thoughts in many places in his writings. Some examples include Unji gi (Takagi andDreitlein 2010, 147):

三界六道長迷一如之理常醉三毒之事荒獵幻野無心歸宅。長眠夢落覺悟何時。今以佛眼觀之佛與眾生同住解脫之床。無此無彼無二平等。
Those in the triple world and the six rebirth states are long confused about the truth of the single
suchness. They are incessantly intoxicated by the three poisons [greed, hatred, and ignorance] andpursue their wild hunts on phantom plains, with no thought of ever returning home. They nod foreverin their dream realms; when will they ever awaken? Now, observing with the eye of the Buddha, boththe Buddha and ordinary beings are in the same liberated state. There is neither this nor that: there is
only nonduality and identity.

久酔無明酒。知本覺源。長眠三界夢。永愛四蛇原。身與口心行十惡。不忠不孝罪業繁。撥因果無罪福。蕩逸昏迷營口腹。生之死之笑而哭。(Shōryō shū, TKZ 8.13)

Unrelentingly drunken on the liquor of ignorance, we do not realize the original source of awakening.
Endlessly nodding in the dream of the triple world [of saṃsāra], we ceaselessly cling to the field of thefour poisonous snakes [the four elements making up physical bodies]. In deed, word, and thought wecommit the ten evil acts. We are not loyal, not filial, and our sins are many. We brush aside [anythought of] cause and effect, and ignore the [truth that we create our own] sufferings or blessings. We
do as we please in utter confusion, feeding our basest desires. We are born then die; we die then areborn: laughing, then crying.
三界狂人不知狂

四生盲者不識盲

生生生生暗生始死死死死冥死終 (Hizō hōyaku, TKZ 3.113)

The madmen of the triple world do not know they are insane;
The blind born in the four ways do not realize they are blind.

Born over and over and over again; not knowing how birth begins;

Dying over and over and over again; not realizing how death ends.

(13)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)to their senses, and those in a drunken stupor ridicule the awakened ones. “Never having sought
out the medicine of the King of Medicine,40 when will they encounter the light of the great sun?”41

至若翳障輕重覺悟遅速機根不同性欲卽異。
People are dissimilar in the severity of their obscurations and obstructions and in the length oftime they need to awaken.42 They are different in their receptivity and capacity, and in theirnatures and inclinations.

遂使二敎殊轍分手金蓮之場。五乘竝鑣踠蹄幻影之垺。
Accordingly, [for those receptive enough for it,] the special method [of esoteric Buddhism] is

divided into the two teachings of the Vajra[dhātu] and the Lotus [Mahākaruṇāgarbhodbhavamaṇḍalas], like [chariot] tracks [running parallel to each other through the] fields. [For thoseinclined to exoteric Buddhism,] the [horses] of the five vehicles stand bit to bit, stamping andpawing at the ground within the fence of phantoms and illusions.43

40

King of Medicine (醫王) is a common expression, comparing the nirmāṇakāya Śākyamuni to the greatest ofphysicians, who administers medicine to cure the specific delusions and spiritual illnesses of beings. Kūkai writes in Ben
kenmitsu nikyō ron (TKZ 3.109): “The teachings of the nirmāṇakāya are adapted to what is needed, like giving the mostappropriate and effective medicine.” (應化說法逗機施藥言不虛故)
41

Quoting Mingkuang’s next sentence following the above quoted passage. Gōhō explains that (SZ 16.80b), “Thelight of the great sun is the buddha-nature inherently possessed by beings.” He quotes the Dasheng liqu liu boluomi jing (T261:8.908b), “All sentient beings have original wisdom like the sun.” “Great sun” can also be understood asMahāvairocana.
42

Compare Shōrai mokuroku (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 210)
又夫顯敎則談三大之遠劫密藏則期十六之大生。遲速勝劣猶如神通跛驢。仰善之客庶曉其趣矣。敎之優
劣法之濫觴如金剛薩埵五祕密儀軌及大辯正三藏表答等中廣說。
Exoteric Buddhism speaks of three great incalculable kalpas [required to attain buddhahood], but thesecret treasury needs only the generation [of the samādhis] of the sixteen great [bodhisattvas in thislifetime]. The differences in slow or rapid [attainment of enlightenment], or in inferiority or

superiority [of the exoteric and esoteric], are the same as the difference between the superpowers of
the Buddha and a lame mule.
43

Raiyu says that comparing a chariot (the esoteric) to horses (the exoteric) reveals the superiority of the esoteric(SZ 16.8a). Yūkai comments on this paragraph (SZ 16.381a), “Phantoms and illusions together as used to express theinsubstantiality (無自性). The meaning is that, compared to the highest truth of the two maṇḍalas of the vajra andlotus, insubstantiality as taught by exoteric Buddhism does not [attain that degree of] truth.”Yūkai elsewhere (SZ 16.202b) says that the five vehicles are the vehicles of men, devas, śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas,

and bodhisattvas, and this is the standard explanation in the various commentaries. He goes on to say that the humanand deva vehicles correspond to the second (Confucianism) and third (Daoism) of Kūkai’s ten stages of mind, theśrāvaka and pratyekabuddha vehicles to the fourth and fifth stages, and the bodhisattva vehicle to the sixth throughninth stages (Faxiang, Sanlun, Tiantai, and Huayan). However, given the different set of five vehicles discussed in thistext, perhaps in this case they could be identified here as those of Huayan, Sanlun/Mādhyamika, Faxiang/Yogācāra, theśrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and Tiantai.

The actual practice of the esoteric is compared to a rapidly advancing chariot, while the five exoteric paths stand bit

to bit locked in academic debate over which is superior. They go no further than to flourish their various academic

doctrines, and do not fully put them into practice. This may be taken as an observation of the condition of Buddhism in
Kūkai’s day. In Unji gi Kūkai writes (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 176), “Within the disputatious and confusing network(14)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

隨其解毒得藥卽別。慈父導子之方大綱在此乎。
Different medicines are needed as antidotes for different poisons.44 This is the fundamental

principle the loving father (the Buddha) uses in guiding his sons.45[I.3. Introduction to the Heart Sūtra][I.3.1. Overview of the Heart Sūtra]大般若波羅蜜多心經者卽是大般若菩薩大心眞言三摩地法門。文欠一紙行則十四。可謂簡而要約而深。五藏般若嗛一句而不飽。七宗行果歠一行而不足。
The Mahā-prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya-sūtra (Heart Sūtra) is nothing but the great heart-mantra
samādhi-gate of the great bodhisattva Prajñā. It can be written on a single sheet of paper infourteen lines.46 This we can say: while brief it is essential, and though concise it is profound. The
Prajñāpāramitā [containing] the five parts of the canon47 is held in a single phrase of [the Heartof claims of the non-Buddhists, the two vehicles, Mahāyāna, and so on, each school raises its banners and beats its war
drums, accusing the others of being the false pretenders.” (諸外道二乘及大乘敎等敎網紛紜各擧旌鼓爭稱僞帝) Whatmakes esoteric Buddhism effective is its practice, not simply intellectual understanding or debate. In Shōrai mokuroku(Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 230–231),

修定多途有遲有速。翫一心利刀顯敎也。揮三密金剛密藏也。遊心顯敎三僧祇眇焉。持身密藏十六生甚促。頓中之頓密藏當之也。
There are many methods of cultivating samādhi. Some are slow, and some are immediate. Exoteric
Buddhism simply toys with the sharp sword of one-mind, but the secret treasury [decisively] wields thevajra of the three mysteries. Those who amuse their minds with exoteric Buddhism must spend threeincalculable kalpas [to attain full buddhahood]. Those who embody the esoteric treasury need nothing
more than “sixteen births.” The esoteric treasury is indeed the most sudden among the sudden.

Kūkai elsewhere presents images using different horse bits (分鑣) to mean the different goals of the various vehicles.

In his Shōrai mokuroku (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 208) he writes, “The five vehicles differ in their orientations [lit.

“have separate bits”].” (五乘分鑣逐器頓漸) In Kan’en no sho (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 310), “The single vehicle or thethree vehicles [of śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas] have different teachings [lit. “have separate bits”] tourge beings to their separate goals.” (一乘三乘分鑣駈生) In Bunkyō hifu ron (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 3), “the goals of
the three teachings [of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism] are clearly distinguished [lit. “have separate bits”].” (三敎於是分鑣) The character 鏕 has been corrected to 鑣.
44This is the reason why different teachings and vehicles are needed. Kūkai writes in his Shōrai mokuroku (Takagi

and Dreitlein 2010, 208): “The sea of Dharma has but a single taste. It seems shallow or profound depending on ourown capacities. The five vehicles differ in their orientations, and depending on the abilities of beings can be either
sudden or gradual.” (法海一味隨機淺深。五乘分鑣逐器頓漸)45This sentence is traditionally not read as a question in spite of the presence of 乎.

46

There is a traditional debate about how the Heart Sūtra can be written in fourteen lines. It is standard to write theHeart Sūtra in Chinese in seventeen and a half lines, with each line containing seventeen characters. Suggestions include
varying the number of characters in a line, not counting the title and mantra in the total number of lines, or that Kūkai

means fourteen lines when written in Siddham in ślokas of thirty-two letters each, coming to some fourteen lines. Conze

notes (1967, 148) that “the Hṛdaya, as is well known, is transmitted in a longer form (about twenty-five ślokas), and ashorter form (about fourteen ślokas).” As the short Heart Sūtra is under discussion, this seems the most reasonable
solution.
47

In the Dasheng liqu liu boluomi jing (T 261:8.868c) and elsewhere, the five parts of the canon are given as the(15)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

Sūtra] with nothing left out. The practices and fruits of the seven teachings48 are all encompassed
in a single line of it with room to spare.

[I.3.2. Significances of the phrases of the Heart Sūtra]觀在薩埵則擧諸乘之行人。度苦涅槃則褰諸敎之得樂。五蘊橫指迷境三佛竪示悟心。
“The bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara” [in the opening of the Heart Sūtra, “When the bodhisattva

Avalokiteśvara is practicing the profound prajñāpāramitā…”] signifies the practitioner of any
vehicle. The text from “becomes free from suffering” to “[ultimately attains] nirvāṇa” reveals thepeace realized by the various teachings. The “five skandhas” [in “he clearly saw that the fiveskandhas are all empty”] demonstrate the realm of confusion shared by all beings, and the phrase“buddhas of the past, present, and future” [in “all the buddhas of the past, present, and future, by
relying on the prajñāpāramitā, attain perfect bodhi”] reveals the awakened mind that is realized
only by the buddhas.

言色空則普賢解頤圓融之義。談不生則文殊破顔絕戲之觀。說之識界簡持拍手。泯之境智歸一快心。十二因緣指生滅於麒角。四諦法輪驚苦空於羊車。
When [the identity of] matter and emptiness is declared, Samantabhadra smiles because theteaching of perfect interpenetration has been given.49 When not arising [and so on] is discussed,

Mañjuśrī is happy because the [correct] view for cutting off conceptual proliferation has been

given.50 When the realm of consciousness [and so on] is talked about, Maitreya claps his hands. 51
When the object known and the knowing merge, Avalokiteśvara’s heart is delighted.52 The twelve
links of dependent origination point to arising and ceasing for the pratyekabuddhas.53 The Dharmawheel of the four noble truths awakens the śrāvakas to the truths of suffering, and so on.54

Sūtras, Vinaya, Abhidharma, Prajñāpāramitā, and the Esoteric or Dhāraṇī. The meaning is probably that all the

Buddhist teachings are held in the Prajñāpāramitā, and the Prajñāpāramitā itself is in turn held in each word or phraseof the Heart Sūtra, which itself is an expansion of the mantra.
48

The seven teachings meant are those discussed in this text, in the sequence given below: the Huayan,

Sanlun/Mādhyamika, Faxiang/Yogācāra, śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, Tiantai, and esoteric teachings. All of these are
perfectly contained in the Heart Sūtra.
49

Section II.3.2.1. This is the teaching of Huayan, represented by Samantabhadra.

50

Section II.3.2.2. This is the teaching of Sanlun/Mādhyamika, represented by Mañjuśrī.

51

Section II.3.3.3. This is the teaching of Faxiang/Yogācāra, represented by Maitreya, here referred to with 簡持,

indicating discriminating among the 100 dharmas.
52

Section II.3.3.5. This is the teaching of Tiantai, represented by Avalokiteśvara, here referred to with 歸一(“returning to the one”).
53

Section II.3.3.4. The pratyekabuddhas, here referred to with 麒角 (“unicorn’s horn,” suggesting enlightenment

attained alone and without a teacher), are traditionally said to attain enlightenment by eliminating or breaking thetwelve pratītya-samutpāda.
54

The śrāvakas, here referred to with 羊車 (“goat vehicle,” see note 106), attain liberation through the four noble

truths. There are sixteen aspects of the four noble truths (十六行相), four for each. Two of the aspects of the truth ofsuffering are “suffering” (苦 duḥkha) and “empty” (空 śūnya), and 苦空 is used here to represent all four noble truths.

(16)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

况復瓬包二字呑諸藏之行果。渨年兩言孕顯密之法敎。一一聲字歷劫之談不盡。一一名實塵滴之
佛無極。
Furthermore, the two letters gate [in the mantra] fully contain within themselves the fruit of

the training of the entire tripiṭaka, and the two words pāra- and pārasaṃ-55 fully encompass theexoteric and esoteric Dharma teachings. A discussion of each sound and letter would take kalpasof time and still not be complete, and buddhas equal in numbers to the motes of dust in theuniverse or drops of water in the oceans would still not be able to finish explaining each word
and the reality it teaches.

[I.3.3. Special virtues of the Heart Sūtra]是故誦持講供則拔苦與樂。修習思惟則得道起通。甚深之稱誠宜可然。
Therefore, reciting, upholding, explaining, and revering the Heart Sūtra relieves suffering andgives ease. Cultivate what it teaches and meditate on it, and you will attain the path (bodhi) andrealize the superpowers. The description of “profound” is indeed an appropriate one.56[I.4. Reason for writing]余敎童之次聊撮綱要釋彼五分。釋家雖多未釣此幽。翻譯同異顯密差別竝如後釋。
When I teach beginning students, I summarize the essential meaning of the Heart Sūtra into fivesections and comment on them. There have been many commentators on the Heart Sūtra, but

none have yet revealed this hidden secret. How the various [Chinese] translations differ, and thedifferences between the exoteric and esoteric interpretations, will be discussed later.
[I.5. Additional questions]
或問云般若第二未了之敎。何能呑三顯之經。
Question. The Prajñāpāramitā belongs to the second turning of the teachings, which is not final.
How can you say that it also contains the teachings of the third and final turning of theteachings?57

如來說法一字含五乘之義。一念說三藏之法。何况一部一品何匱何無。龜卦爻蓍含萬象而無盡。
帝網聲論呑諸義而不窮。
[Answer.] In the preaching of the Tathāgata, one letter contains the teachings of the fivevehicles. In an instant of thought, the teachings of the tripiṭaka are given. How then could theHeart Sūtra, which is an entire text in one chapter, be incomplete or lacking? Even the cracks on

tortoise shells, the eight trigrams, their individual lines, and divining sticks can all comprise the55

See notes 126 and 127.

56

The word “profound” (甚深) is used to describe the prajñāpāramitā in the beginning of the Heart Sūtra.

57

This question is given from the standpoint of Faxiang and is based on the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra (T 676:16.697a–b, etc.), which divides the teachings of Śākyamuni into three categories or turnings, Hīnayāna, Prajñāpāramitā, andVijñaptimātratā. The first two are not final (未了), but the last is (顯了).

(17)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

10,000 phenomena and are not exhausted. The net of Indra and the Śabda-śāstra both contain all
meanings without reaching their limits.58

難者曰若然前來法匠何不吐斯言。
Question. If that is so, then why did the commentators of the past not say this before?
答聖人投藥隨機深淺。賢者說黙待時待人。吾未知。蓋可言不言。不言不言。不言言之。失智人斷而已。
Answer. The āryas give the medicine of teachings according to the listeners’ capacities, which
may be sometimes deep and sometimes shallow. The sages may speak or keep still, waiting for theright time and the right person. I do not know if they simply did not speak when the conditions
were right, or if they did not speak because the conditions were not right. It may be that I am
speaking now when I should not.59 The wise will judge if this is so.60[II. Main discussion][II.1. On the title of the Heart Sūtra]佛說摩訶般若波羅蜜多心經者。就此題額有二別梵漢別故。今謂佛說摩訶般若波羅蜜多心經者胡漢雜擧。說心經三字漢名。餘九字胡號。
The Heart Sūtra has two different titles, a Sanskrit title and a Chinese title. The Chinese title underdiscussion now (Foshuo mohe-bore-boluomiduo xin jing, or The Heart of the Mahā-prajñāpāramitāsūtra Spoken by the Buddha) mixes Chinese words with transliterated Sanskrit words.61 The three58

The infinite jewels of Indra’s net are reflected in each other infinitely and so contain each other. The grammaticaltext Śabda-śāstra said to be written by Indra contains many meanings in a single word. These and the examples from
Chinese divination serve to illustrate the idea that infinite meanings can be contained in what seems to be finite. Kūkai

has expressed this thought similarly in several other places. In Shō-ji-jissō gi Kūkai quotes the Darijing shu (TKZ 3.37,
Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 90), “Indra himself wrote the treatise on grammar Śabda-śāstra, showing that a single

syllable can include multiple meanings.” (天帝自造聲論。能於一言具含眾義) In Unji gi Kūkai writes (Takagi andDreitlein 2010, 175), “There is nothing not encompassed by them. There is nothing not exhausted by them. It is like thegrammar teachings of Indra, through which all purposes are realized, or like the lines of the hexagrams of Fu Xi, in
which each and every line contains the 10,000 phenomena.” (無所不攝無所不盡。猶如因陀羅宗一切義利悉皆成就。又如伏犧六爻一一爻中各具萬像) In Bonji shittan jimo Kūkai writes (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 285), “In this way, themeaning of any single letter contains within it the truth of the meanings of all other letters. This is similar [in Chinesedivination] to one line of the hexagrams containing the 10,000 phenomena within, or knowing everything about thepast, present, and future through one crossed crack in a tortoise shell.” (如一字者自餘一切字義皆含如是義理。譬如易一爻中具含萬象龜十字上悉知三世)
59

Alluding to the Lunyu of Confucius (15.8, 可與言而不與之言失人。不可與言而與之言失言。知者不失人亦不失言):“If a man is worth talking to and you do not talk to him, you lose a man; if a man is not worth talking to and you talkto him, you lose your words. The man of wisdom neither loses a man nor loses his words.” (Huang 1997, 88.)
60

The character 失 in this sentence is based on the quote in the preceding note, and a closer translation would be,“The wise will judge if I am losing [my words].”
61

In the Chinese title Kūkai gives, 佛說摩訶般若波羅蜜多心經 Foshuo mohe-bore-boluomiduo xin jing, the ninecharacters 佛 (fo, buddha) and 摩訶般若波羅蜜多 (mohe-bore-boluomiduo, or mahā-prajñā-pāramitā) are transliterated
from Sanskrit using Chinese characters, and the other three characters 說 (shuo, speak) 心 (xin, heart), and 經 (jing,classic or sūtra) are translations into Chinese.

(18)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

characters [in the title] for “speak,” “heart,” and “classic” (sūtra) are Chinese words. The othernine are [transliterated] Sanskrit words.62

若俱梵名曰。后盍砒屹涗扣渨獌渨亦凹岝盻年沼。初二字圓滿覺者之名。次二字開悟密藏施甘露之稱。次二字就大多勝立義。次二字約定慧樹名。次三就所作已辦爲號。次二據處中表義。次二以貫線攝持等顯字。
The Sanskrit title of the Heart Sūtra in full is Buddhabhāṣā-mahā-prajñāpāramitā-hṛdayasūtraṃ.63 The first two [Siddham] letters [buddha] are the name of the fully awakened one. The

next two letters [bhāṣa] are a word that opens the secret treasury for realization, providing thenectar [of its teachings].64 The next two letters [mahā] have the meanings of large, many, or
excellent.65 The next two letters [prajñā] in brief are the name for concentration and wisdom. The

next three letters [pāramitā] indicate the completion of an action.66 The next two letters [hṛdaya]

reveal the meaning of “occupying the center.” 67 The next two letters [sūtraṃ] gives thedescriptions of a thread passing through, encompassing, and so on.68

62

A similar passage is found in Mingkuang’s Bore xinjing shu (Z 528:26.733c), where the title lacks 佛 說.

Mingkuang’s title in transliterated Chinese characters mistakenly uses citta (質多) instead of hṛdaya in the title, both ofwhich may be translated as xin (心) in Chinese (see note 67). Kūkai avoids Mingkuang’s error. Mingkuang writes:
摩訶般若波羅蜜多心經者。就此題略有二別。梵漢語別故。摩訶般若波羅蜜多者梵語也。心經者漢語也。若俱存梵語者可言摩訶般若波羅蜜多質多蘇他覽。若偏存漢語者可言大智慧到彼岸心經。
The Mohe-bore-boluomiduo xin jing (The Heart of the Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) has, in brief, twodifferent types of words in its title, Sanskrit and Chinese. Mohe-bore-boluomiduo is Sanskrit. Xin jing is

Chinese. If the title were to be fully expressed in Sanskrit it would be *Mahā-prajñā-pāramitā-cittasūtram. If one were to use only a Chinese [translation, without any transliterations from Sanskrit], thetitle would translate as, The Heart of the Classic of the Great Wisdom that Arrives at the Other Shore.
63

Kūkai gives the title in Siddham letters reading *Buddhābhasa-mahā-prajñāpramita-hṛda-sutraṃ. Pāramitā (fourletters) is given here as *pramita (in three letters), and hṛdaya (three letters) is given as hṛda (two letters). Siddham in
the TKZ text inconsistent with the standard Heart Sūtra is corrected throughout. See also note 127.
64

In his Bonmōkyō kaidai Kūkai writes (TKZ 4.221–222), “‘Spoken by’ is bhāṣa in Sanskrit. It means to open up themist and point at the moon.” (說者梵云婆娑。婆娑卽開霧指月之言)
65

Kūkai gives a similar explanation several times in his various texts titled Dainichikyō kaidai (TKZ 4.20, 44, 58).

This is also found in the Dazhidu lun (T 1509:25.79b), and mentioned by Mingkuang (Z 528:26.733c).
66

This comment is based on glosses such as in Dazhidu lun (T 1509:25.145a), “Pāra in Chinese means ‘the othershore,’ and mi means ‘arriving at.’” (波羅秦言彼岸蜜秦言到)
67

The Darijing shu has this explanation (T 1796:39.705b), “Xin (心) in Sanskrit is citta, which is the discriminating

xin (mind). Also, it is hṛda, which is the xin (heart) occupying the center [of the body].” (心梵云只多是慮知心也又次干
栗太者是處中心也)
68

The Buddhabhūmisūtra-śāstra (t 1530:26.291b) says, “That which penetrates and gathers together is called a sūtra.

This is because, by the Buddha’ teachings, [a sūtra] penetrates and holds together the meanings that should be taught
and the beings who should be liberated. (能貫能攝故名爲經。以佛聖敎貫穿攝持。所應說義所化生故) In several of his
Dainichikyō kaidai (TKZ 4.9, 21, 46, 62) Kūkai writes, “Sūtra is [like a thread] running through and connecting [a woven

fabric] so that it does not scatter. The mystery of speech is the warp, and the mystery of mind is the woof. The threadsof the three actions are woven together to form the silk fabric of maṇḍala.” (經者貫串不散之義。以語密爲經以心密爲緯。織三業之絲爲海會之錦)(19)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

若以總義說皆俱人法喩。斯則大般若波羅蜜多菩薩之名。卽是人。此菩薩俱法曼荼羅眞言三摩地門。一一字卽法。此一一名皆以世間淺名表法性深號卽是喩。
In explaining the meanings of the titles [of sūtras] in general, all [are described as] having aperson, teaching, and analogy. 69 This title contains the name of the bodhisattva, Mahā-Prajñāpāramitā. This is the person. This bodhisattva has a dharma-maṇḍala mantra samādhi-gate,in which each letter is a teaching. Each word in the sūtra is a mundane and superficial word, buteach is also a profound word of suchness. This is the analogy.70

69

Kūkai refers to a common Chinese exegetical practice for analyzing the titles of sūtras, in which several ways ofanalyzing a title according to its words are posited. For example, seven ways of analyzing the constituent terms of asūtra title (七種立題) are often used: titles that give (1) only a person (單人), (2) only a teaching (單法), (3) only an

example (單譬), (4) a person and a teaching (人法), (5) a teaching and an example (法譬), (6) a person and an example(人譬), and (7) all three (人法譬具足). In his Guan Wuliangshou fo jing su (觀無量壽佛經疏) Zhiyi says (T 1750:37.186c),“All sūtras have two names, the shared and the particular. The shared name is the one word sūtra. There are seven kindsof particular names: the person, teaching, or example alone; or two of those, or all of them.” (一切眾經皆有通別二名。
通則經之一字。別則有七。或單人法譬。或複。或具) Specific examples of each of these are given at T 1751:37.198c,
and are of course based on the Chinese translated/transliterated titles. More or fewer than seven possibilities are
mentioned by other Chinese commentators.

“Person” in the exoteric sense here means the name of deity or main character given in the title, but in the esotericsense also means the samādhi of that deity as esoterically taught in the sūtra. In his Kongōchōgyō kaidai (TKZ 4.73–74)

discussing the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha, Kūkai gives the usual exoteric interpretation of the words in sūtra titles.
(See also Hokkekyō kaidai TKZ 4.170–171 for a similar passage.)或古德云。諸經題名或約人立名。阿彌陀經藥師經等是也。或據法得號。大般若大涅槃等經是。或約喩名之。譬喩經是。或法喩合立。妙法蓮華經是。或人法喩俱擧。大方廣佛華嚴經是。今此經題名准古德淺略釋具人法喩三。金剛頂是喩也。一切如來人也。餘字法也。
The ancient masters have said that the titles of sūtras can be organized [into three types]. There arethose that are named for a person, such as the Amitābha, Bhaiṣajyaguru, or other sūtras. There areothers that are named for a teaching, such as the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, orothers. There are others that have analogies in their names, such as the avadāna sūtras. Some arenamed for both a teaching and an analogy, such as the Lotus Sūtra of the Sublime Dharma. Others are
named for a person, teaching, and analogy, such as the Mahā-vaipulya Buddhāvataṃsaka-sūtra.

According to the superficial interpretation of the ancient masters, the [full] title of this sūtra (金剛頂一切如來眞實攝大乘現證大敎王經, The Sūtra of the King of the Great Teaching of Mahāyāna Immediate

Realization in the Vajraśekhara Sarvatathāgata-tattvasaṃgraha) would have all three: person, teaching,

and analogy. Vajraśekhara (vajra-peak) is the analogy. Sarvatathāgata (all the tathāgatas) is the person.
The other words are the teaching.
70

The usual or exoteric approach to the title of the Heart Sūtra is to treat prajñāpāramitā as the teaching, and “heart”

as an analogy (T 1713:33.558c, etc.) meaning the essence of the Large Prajñāpāramitā. Kūkai’s understanding here is

profoundly esoteric and unique. In one of his Dainichikyō kaidai (TKZ 4.33), Kūkai gives a similarly esoteric discussion
concerning the title of the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra.

若言人則是人也一一字人種字故。言法則悉法也一一字法智印故。言譬則諸名卽譬以淺顯深故。
The person [in the title] is that person (Mahāvairocana), because each of the letters are the bīja of that
person. The teaching is every teaching, because each letter is a dharma-jñānamudrā. The analogy is that
all the words are analogies, because the profound is revealed through the superficial.

(20)高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号[II.2. Outline of the Heart Sūtra][II.2.1. The audience of the Heart Sūtra]此三摩地門佛在鷲峯山爲鶖子等說之。
This samādhi-gate was taught by the Buddha at Gṛdhrakūṭa for the sake of Śāriputra and others.
[II.2.2. The Chinese translations of the Heart Sūtra]此經數翻譯。第一羅什三藏譯。今所說本是。次唐遍覺三藏翻題無佛說摩訶四字。五蘊下加等字。
遠離下除一切字。陀羅尼後無功能。次大周義淨三藏本題省摩訶字。眞言後加功能。又法月及般若兩三藏翻竝有序分流通。又陀羅尼集經第三卷說此眞言法。經題與羅什同。
There are several [Chinese] translations of the Heart Sūtra. First, there is the translation by

Tripiṭaka Master Kumārajīva, which is the text discussed here. 71 Next, in the translation of
Tripiṭaka Master Xuanzang,72 the four characters foshuo mohe (佛說摩訶, “spoken by the Buddhamahā”) are missing from the title, after the word wuyun (五蘊, “five skandhas”) the character deng(等, “and so on”) is added, after yuanli (遠離, free from) the word yiqie (一切, “all”) is missing,and after the dhāraṇī there is no text describing its effectiveness.73 Next, Tripiṭaka Master Yijing’stranslation omits the word mohe (摩訶, “mahā”) from the title, and after the mantra there is a
description of its potency.74 The translations of Tripiṭaka Masters Dharmacandra and of Prajña

both have introductions and conclusions. 75 Also, the third fascicle of the Dhāraṇīsamuccaya

71

The oldest Chinese translation of the Heart Sūtra is by Kumārajīva, made between 402 and 412, and is a shortversion titled Mohe bore boluomi da mingzhou jing (摩訶般若波羅蜜大明呪經, Sūtra of the Great Mantra of the Mahā-Prajñāpāramitā, T 250). It is clear that the text Kūkai refers to is not Kumārajīva’s extant text, but is very nearly
identical with Xuanzang’s version and may be practically considered to be that text, Kūkai’s statement here
notwithstanding. Some have suggested that an unknown and lost translation by Kumārajīva is meant. The debate overwhich version of the Heart Sūtra Kūkai used to write this text is summarized by Matsunaga (2006, 129–132). See also
notes 73 and 127.
72

Xuanzang translated his text in 649 under the title Bore boluomiduo xin jing (般若波羅蜜多心經, PrajñāpāramitāHeart Sūtra, T 251). This short version is the most popular today.
73

In actuality, the text used for recitation in Shingon Buddhism today is not Kumārajīva’s version, but is a slightly

modified version of Xuanzang’s translation with these three changes: 佛說摩訶 added to the title (Kumārajīva’s version

has 摩訶 only), 等 omitted after 五蘊 (Kumārajīva’s version also lacks 等 after 五陰), and 一切 added after 遠離(Kumārajīva’s version has 一切 after 離). Both texts end after the dhāraṇī. This text is used for the translations of theHeart Sūtra below.
74

The translation ascribed to Yijing in 700 and titled Foshuo bore boluomiduo xin jing (佛說般若波羅蜜多心經) is

nearly identical with Xuanzang’s version, and was not included in the Taishō edition (Matsunaga 2006, 56).
75

Dharmacandra translated the text in 738 as Pubian zhizang bore boluomiduo xin jing (普遍智藏般若波羅蜜多心經,

Universal Treasury of Wisdom Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra, T 252). The translation of Prajña et al. was completed in 790,

and is titled Bore boluomiduo xin jing (般若波羅蜜多心經, T 253). Both of these are long versions of the Heart Sūtra, withan introduction and a conclusion added to the core text.

The three other extant Chinese translations of the Heart Sūtra included in the Taishō edition (T 254, translated by

Prajñācakra in 850; T 255, the Dunhuang translation by Facheng in 856; and T 257, translated by Dānapāla in 980) are
all long versions that postdate Kūkai. Translations by Zhi Qian, Bodhiruci, and Śikṣānanda mentioned in catalogs are
lost.

(21)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

discusses this mantra method.76 The title of the sūtra [given there] is the same as Kumārajīva’s
title.77[II.2.3. The esoteric meaning of the Heart Sūtra]言般若心者此菩薩有身心等陀羅尼。是經眞言卽大心呪。依此心眞言得般若心名。
What we call the Heart of Prajñā (the Heart Sūtra) is the body78 and heart-dhāraṇī and so on of thebodhisattva [Prajñā]. The mantra of this sūtra is this great heart-dhāraṇī.79 The Heart of Prajñā
receives its name from this heart-mantra.

云或云略出大般若經心要故名心。不是別會說。 云 所謂如有龍之蛇鱗。
Some people repeat [the exoteric explanation] that the word heart is used because the Heart

Sūtra gives the essentials of the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, and that it was not taught in a separate
assembly.80 This is like saying a dragon is a snake just because it has scales like a snake.81

76

Dhāraṇīsamuccaya, T 901:18.804c ff. This section in the third fascicle, consisting of a short sūtra and an esotericritual manual including a description of the appearance of the bodhisattva Prajñā, thirteen mudrās, nine dhāraṇīs, and a
description of a maṇḍala, is summarized by Conze (1978, 88).
77

The title given in the third fascicle of the Dhāraṇīsamuccaya of a text quite different in content from the Heart

Sūtra is Bore boluomiduo daxin jing (般若波羅蜜多大心經, The Great Heart of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra), and is not thesame as the title of the extant version of Kumārajīva’s title, Mohe bore boluomi da mingzhou jing (see note 71).
78

The first of the thirteen mudrās of Prajñā in the Dhāraṇīsamuccaya is called the “body of Prajñā mudrā” (般若身印,

T 901:18.805c), but there is no “body” dhāraṇī given. Kūkai’s intention may be to say that the Heart Sūtra is itself the

body of Prajñā.
79

The fourth dhāraṇī in the third fascicle of the Dhāraṇīsamuccaya (T 901:18.807b) is the same dhāraṇī given in theHeart Sūtra (with tad yathā added), and is called there the “great heart-dhāraṇī of Prajñā” (般若大心陀羅尼), or the“great heart-dhāraṇī” (大心呪). In the text it is combined with the “great heart-mudrā” (大心印), the fifth mudrā of thethirteen.
80

The idea that the Heart Sūtra is a condensed version of the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra is ubiquitous in Chinese

commentaries, for some examples see notes 17 and 18. The Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra was taught in four places(including Gṛdhrakūṭa in Rājagṛha) in sixteen assemblies. Since the Heart Sūtra is commonly considered a condensed

version of the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra made after that was preached, the Heart Sūtra could exoterically be said tohave not been preached separately by the Buddha.
81

Alluding to Liuzi (劉子, 25): “The inferior horse has a hair of the thoroughbred, but cannot be called athoroughbred. … The dragon has a scale of the snake, but cannot be called a snake.” (譬駑馬有驥之一毛。而不可謂之驥也。… 猶龍有蛇之一鱗，而不可謂之蛇也) The meaning is that although the Heart Sūtra and the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra seem to share some passages (see note 19), the esoteric meaning of the Heart Sūtra is far more profound than it
simply being a conveniently condensed version of the long text. It may be inferred that Kūkai is not negating theconventional wisdom of the Heart Sūtra as a short version of the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, but is instead adding to thata further esoteric understanding. Specifically, Kūkai’s point is that the word “heart” does not suggest a condensation,

but instead esoterically points to the heart-mantra and samādhi of Prajñā. The literary allusion of the dragon and snake
seems to suggest inferiority, but the inferiority is in the superficial understanding of what “heart” means here. Certainly
Kūkai does not mean to say that the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra is itself somehow inferior to the Heart Sūtra. Indeed, for
Kūkai that sūtra is itself the samādhi of Mañjuśrī, as he notes in his Kongō hannya-haramitsu-kyō kaidai (note 9), “The(22)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号[II.3. The five sections of the Heart Sūtra]此經總有五分。第一人法總通分。觀自在至度一切苦厄是。
This sūtra in general has five sections. The first section is the general introduction to the person(the bodhisattva whose samādhi is taught) and the teaching. It is from “when the bodhisattva
Avalokiteśvara” to “becomes free from all suffering and distress.”

第二分別諸乘分。色不異空至無所得故是。
The second section differentiates among the vehicles. It is from “matter is not different from

emptiness” to “there is no object to be attained.”

第三行人得益分。菩提薩埵至三藐三菩提是也。
The third section gives the benefits attained by the practitioner. It is from “the bodhisattva” to“perfect bodhi.”

第四總歸持明分。故知般若至眞實不虛是也。
The fourth section describes the entire [sūtra] as returning to the dhāraṇī. It is from “therefore,know that the prajñāpāramitā” to “true and not false.”
第五祕藏眞言分。瓬包瓬包至送扣是也。

The fifth section is the mantra of the secret treasury. It is from “gate gate” to “svāhā.”[II.3.1. The first section: a general introduction to the person and the teaching][觀自在菩薩行深般若波羅蜜多時照見五蘊皆空度一切苦厄][When the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara was practicing the profound prajñāpāramitā,he clearly saw that the five skandhas are all empty, and thereby was freed from all
suffering and distress.82]

第一人法總通分有五。因行證入時是也。言觀自在能行人。卽此人本覺菩提爲因。深般若能所觀
法。卽是行。照空則能證智。度苦則所得果。果卽入也。依彼敎人智無量。依智差別時亦多。三生
三劫六十百妄執差別是名時。頌曰
The first section, the general introduction to the person and the teaching, has five parts: the cause,
cultivation, realization, entering, and the time. Avalokiteśvara in the text is the practitioner.83 In
other words, this means a person inherently possessing the awakening of bodhi, which is thecause. 84 “The profound prajñā[pāramitā]” is both the meditation and the teaching that is
Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra in 600 fascicles, sixteen assemblies, and 282 chapters is altogether the samādhi-gate of thebodhisattva Mañjuśrī.”82

The translation of the Heart Sūtra is added here from the modified Xuanzang translation, see note 73.

83

This is also Fazang’s interpretation (T 1712:33.552c).

84

This corresponds to the person mentioned in the section title. This inherent bodhi is given as the cause of attaining

wisdom in the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra (T 848:18.1b–c):

世尊如是智慧。以何爲因。云何爲根。云何究竟。... 佛言菩提心爲因。悲爲根本。方便爲究竟。祕密主
云何菩提。謂如實知自心。
“World-honored One, what is the cause, what is the root, and what is the ultimate goal of such
wisdom?” ... The Buddha answered, “Bodhicitta is the cause, [universal] compassion is the root, and(23)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

meditated on. It is the cultivation. “Clearly [saw that the five skandhas are all] empty” is thewisdom that brings realization. “Was freed from suffering” is the fruit obtained. The fruit isentering [into nirvāṇa].85 Depending on the teaching and the person [who receives the teaching],
there are infinite [differences in] wisdom. Depending on these differences in wisdom, the timerequired [to attain the goal] will also be varied. Depending on the degree of the false
discriminations [to be overcome], the length of time could be three lifetimes, three kalpas, sixty
kalpas, or a hundred kalpas.86 This is what is meant by the word “when [the bodhisattva…].”
觀人修智慧
深照五眾空
歷劫修念者
離煩一心通
87
[When] the meditator is cultivating prajñā,

He profoundly sees the emptiness of the five [skandhas].
He who cultivates his mind through kalpas88[the practice of] skillful means is the ultimate goal. Vajrapāṇi, what is bodhi? It is knowing one’s own
mind just as it really is.”85

Traditional interpretations have compared these four steps to the esoteric meanings of the four transformations of

the letter a: a for inherent awakening, ā for the cultivation of that awakening, aṃ for bodhi, and aḥ for nirvāṇa.
86

Depending on the teaching and the capacity of the person, the length of time will vary. The examples given are

all for the exoteric paths. According to the traditional commentaries (SZ 16.394a, ZSZ 20.144b–1445a, etc.), three

lifetimes is for the Huayan teachings (T 1868:45.0518a), three kalpas is for the Sanlun and Faxiang teaching, sixty
kalpas is for the śrāvakas, and 100 kalpas is for the pratyekabuddhas.

As Kūkai explains in his Sokushin jōbutsu gi, the esoteric path is attained in a single lifetime (Takagi and Dreitlein

2010, 27–78). According to the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra, buddhahood in one lifetime is possible byunderstanding three kalpas to be not a length of time but to mean three vikalpas (coarse, subtle, and very subtle false
discriminations). The Darijing shu (T 1796:39.600c) comments on this passage.

越世間三妄執出世間心生者。若以淨菩提心爲出世間心。卽是超越三劫瑜祇行。梵云劫跛。有二義。一者時分。二者妄執。若依常途解釋。度三阿僧祇劫得成正覺。若祕密釋。超一劫瑜祇行。卽度百六十心等一重麤妄執。名一阿僧祇劫。超二劫瑜祇行。又度一百六十心等一重細妄執。名二阿僧祇劫。眞言門行者。復越一劫。更度百六十心等一重極細妄執。得至佛慧初心。故云三阿僧祇劫成佛也。若一生度此三妄執。卽一生成佛。何論時分耶。
[The Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra (T 848:18.3a) says,] “Transcending the three mundane false
discriminations, the supramundane mind is born.” Taking pure bodhicitta as the supramundane mind,

this is the practice of a yogin who transcends the three kalpas. In Sanskrit kalpa has two meanings. The
first is [a length of] time. The second is false discrimination (vikalpa). According to the common

meaning, after passing through three asaṃkhyeya kalpas, complete awakening is perfected. In theesoteric interpretation, the practice of a yogin who transcends the first kalpa is to transcend the stageof the gross false discriminations of the 160 minds and so on. This is called the first asaṃkhyeya kalpa.
The practice of a yogin who transcends the second kalpa is again to transcend the stage of the subtle

false discriminations of the 160 minds and so on. This is called the second asaṃkhyeya kalpa.

Practitioners of the mantra path transcend another kalpa, which is to transcend the stage of the very
subtle false discriminations of the 160 minds and so on, to arrive at the first stage of a buddha’s
wisdom. Therefore, this is called [transcending] three asaṃkhyeya kalpas to perfect buddhahood. If one
can transcend these three false discriminations in one lifetime, then one can perfect buddhahood in one
lifetime. What need is there to discuss lengths of time?
87“Meditator” (觀人) suggests both Avalokiteśvara (觀自在) and the practitioner (行人) as mentioned in the text.

88

Dōhan says (NDZ 10.497a) that that “he who cultivates his mind through kalpas” refers to the time, or “when” in(24)高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号Is freed from afflictions: the one-mind is penetrated.89[II.3.2. The second section: differentiating among the vehicles]
第二分別諸乘分亦五。建絕相二一是也。
The second section on differentiating among the vehicles can also be divided into five [vehicles]:those of “establishing” (Huayan), “cutting off” (Sanlun), “marks” (Faxiang), “the two” (śrāvaka
and pratyekabuddha), and “the single” (Tiantai).
[II.3.2.1. Huayan][舍利子色不異空空不異色。色卽是空空卽是色。受想行識亦復如是][“Śāriputra, matter is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different frommatter; matter is itself emptiness, emptiness is itself matter. Of sensations,perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness the same can be said.”]

初建者所謂建立如來三摩地門是。色不異空至亦復如是也。建立如來卽普賢菩薩祕號。普賢圓因以
圓融三法爲宗。故以名之。又是一切如來菩提心行願之身。頌曰
First, “establishing” [mutual identity] is the samādhi-gate of the “Tathāgata of establishing.” Thisrefers to the passage from “matter is not different from emptiness” to “the same can be said.”90

the Heart Sūtra, which is three kalpas of time in the exoteric understanding but three degrees of false discrimination in
the esoteric view (see note 86), which may be transcended in one moment of thought (念, kṣaṇa).
89

Penetrating the one-mind (一心) means attaining bodhi or nirvāṇa, with the implication that this is a state

originally present and shared by all beings. In Hizō hōyaku Kūkai writes (一心本自湛然澄, TKZ 3.153), “The One Mind islike water; it is originally clean and serene” (Hakeda 1972, 204), and (TKZ 3.162):

初心之佛其德不思議。萬德始顯一心稍現。證此心時知三種世間卽我身覺十箇量等亦我心。
The excellent power of an aspirant’s Buddhahood, the moment he sets his mind on enlightenment, ismysterious; all excellent qualities are made manifest for the first time, and the One Mind is unveiled.

When he realizes this mind, he will come to the awareness that the threefold world is his body and thatthe entire universe is also his Mind. (Hakeda 1972, 212)

Kakuban says (NDZ 10.470b-471a) that this line corresponds to “liberates from all suffering and distress” in the Heart

Sūtra. He says that one-mind has two meanings: the non-dual one-mind (不二一心) of esoteric Buddhism and that eachof the three vehicles has the truth of the single suchness. The overall meaning is that by escaping saṃsāra and attaining

the peace of bodhi and nirvāṇa, freedom from grasping at opposing categories is attained and the one-mind of theidentity of subject and object is penetrated. Raihō says that the one-mind is what is entered by all vehicles, exoteric or

esoteric (ZSZ 20.146a). It is the secret treasury of mantra, which the nine exoteric stages of mind (in the ten stages ofmind system) all realize. Kakuban’s “non-dual one-mind” may be thought of as similar to the identity of the three minds(三心平等) Kūkai discusses in texts such as Kan’en no sho (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 316):

和尙吿曰。若知自心卽知佛心。知佛心卽知眾生心。知三心平等卽名大覺。
Master Huiguo told me, “If you know your own mind [just as it really is], you know the Buddha’s mind.
If you know the Buddha’s mind you know the minds of all beings. Knowing the identity of these threeminds is called great awakening.
90

Compare Hizō hōyaku (TKZ 3.153), where Kūkai discusses these phrases in connection with Sanlun.
色不異空建諸法而宛然空。空不異色泯諸相而宛然有。是故色卽是空空卽是色。諸法亦爾何物不然。似(25)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

The “Tathāgata of establishing” is the esoteric name of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.91 His

teaching of the perfect cause is the threefold perfect interpenetration.92 That is why [this sectionof the Heart Sūtra] is named [“establishing”]. It is also the body of the cultivation and vows of
bodhicitta of all the tathāgatas.93 A verse:

水波之不離。同金莊之不異。
Matter, which is not different from emptiness, unfolds itself as all phenomenal existences; yet it is of
the nature of emptiness. Emptiness, which is not different from matter, nullifies all marks ofparticularity; yet it is manifested as a variety of temporary beings. Thus, matter is none other thanemptiness, and emptiness itself is none other than matter; all phenomenal existences are of the samestructure. What can remain an exception? The relationship that exists between these two is comparable
to the inseparable relationship that exists between water and its waves or between gold and gold
ornaments. (Hakeda 1972, 201)
91

In Amoghavajra’s translation of the Adhyardhaśatikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra (T 243:8.785c), the name 一切平等建立

如來 “the Tathāgata establishing the identity of all dharmas” (sarvadharmasamatāpratiṣṭhitas tathāgataḥ) appears. This is
explained in the commentary to that text (T 1003:19.615b) as another name for the bodhisattva Samantabhadra. Kūkai
says that Huayan, the ninth of his ten stages, is the samādhi of Samantabhadra in his Daijō Tennō no kanjō no mon (TKZ
5.21):

花嚴妙通法界無障廣談理事圓融。是則除諸法性相不變之病示心佛無別之藥。名人則普賢大士法界三昧之門也。
Huayan/Kegon is the sublime interpenetration without obstruction of the dharmadhātu, and widely
discusses the perfect interpenetration of the absolute and phenomena. This is to remove the disease of
believing that the natures and marks of dharmas are unchanging, and to reveal the medicine of theidentity of the mind and buddhas. To name the person, this is the dharmadhātu samādhi-gate of
Samantabhadra.
92

One interpretation of the “threefold perfect interpenetration” is the Huayan teaching of the interpenetration of

the absolute with phenomena (事理無礙), the mutual interpenetration of phenomena (事事無礙), and the mutualinterpenetration of the absolute (理理無礙). Rūpa and the other skandhas corresponds to phenomena (事), andemptiness to the absolute (理). Kūkai’s thesis is that the identity of matter and so on with emptiness in the Heart Sūtra

demonstrates the samādhi of Samantabhadra, which is the teaching of mutual interpenetration of Huayan. Anotherinterpretation of the threefold interpenetration is the interpenetration of the three types of worlds (三種世間: the realmsof beings, their support worlds, and the buddhas and bodhisattvas), cf. Himitsu mandara jūjūshin ron, TKZ 2.297.
93

In esoteric Buddhism, Samantabhadra is identical with Vajrasattva (T 1125:20.538a, etc.), and as such is theperfect cause (圓因), where Mahāvairocana is the perfect result (圓果). In that sense, Samantabhadra/Vajrasattva
represents pure bodhicitta. The Darijing shu explains (T 1796:39.787c), “Samantabhadra is bodhicitta. Without thissublime cause, there can never be the highest and great result (buddhahood).” (普賢者是菩提心也。若無此妙因。終不能至無上大果) Bodhicitta is the source of all the practices and vows of the bodhisattvas, so Samantabhadra is called
their body here. He is called the “bodhicitta of all the tathāgatas” (是一切如來菩提心, T 1125:20.538a). The Darijing shu
explains his name (T 1796:39.582b):

普賢菩薩者。普是遍一切處義。賢是最妙善義。謂菩提心所起願行。及身口意。悉皆平等遍一切處。純一妙善備具眾德。故以爲名。
In Samantabhadra’s name, samanta (普) means penetrating everywhere, and bhadra (賢) means themost sublimely good. The meaning is that the cultivation and vows arising from bodhicitta and [thethree mysteries practice of] body, speech, and mind are all universally shared and penetrate

everywhere, are pure and sublimely good, and possess all virtues. That is why Samantabhadra is so
named.

(26)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

色空本不二
事理元來同
無擬融三種
金水喩其宗
Matter and emptiness are fundamentally not two;
Phenomena and the absolute are originally identical.
Without obstruction, triply interpenetrating,

The analogies of this teaching are the golden [lion] and water [and waves].94[II.3.2.2. Sanlun][舍利子是諸法空相。不生不滅。不垢不淨。不增不減][“Śāriputra, all dharmas are characterized by emptiness: they neither arise nor cease,are neither defiled nor pure, and neither increase nor decrease.”]二絕者所謂無戲論如來三摩地門是也。是諸法空相至不增不減是。言無戲論如來卽文殊菩薩密號。
文殊利劍能揮八不絕彼妄執之心乎。是故以名。頌曰
Second, “cutting off” [conceptual proliferation] is the samādhi-gate of the “Tathāgata free ofconceptual proliferation.” This refers to the passage from “all dharmas are characterized by

emptiness” to “neither increase nor decrease.” The “Tathāgata free of conceptual proliferation” isthe esoteric name of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī.95 The sharp sword of Mañjuśrī, the wielding of theeight negations, cuts off falsely discriminating thoughts.96 That is why [this sentence of the Heart
Sūtra] is named [“cutting off”]. A verse:

94

Two Huayan analogies illustrating the inseparability of gold (essence) from a lion made of gold (function), or ofwater (the absolute) from waves (phenomena). The analogy of the golden lion appears in T 1880, and of the water in T
1867:45.511c, T 1733:35.119a, and so on.
95

In Amoghavajra’s translation of the Adhyardhaśatikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra (T 243:8.785a), the name 一切無戲論如來 “the Tathāgata free of all conceptual proliferation” (sarvadharmāprapañcas tathāgataḥ) appears. This is explained in

the commentary to that text (T 1003:19.613b) as another name for the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. Kūkai says that Sanlun,
the seventh of his ten stages, is the samādhi of Prajñā and Mañjuśrī in his Daijō Tennō no kanjō no mon (TKZ 5. 20):
三論則善說八不空性之理妙開除滅諸戲論之趣。一實無生之觀因之而立。二諦中道之義從此而發。是則燒落三毒四魔之猛火。搴卷戲論妄雲之暴風。掃身心著愛除内外障礙此藥得最。般若佛母文殊三昧之門也。
Sanlun/Sanron teaches well the eight negations and the truth of emptiness, and sublimely opens thepath to eliminating conceptual proliferation. The view of the one reality that does not arise [nor cease]is thus established, and the teaching of the two truths and the middle path is accordingly given. It is

the fierce flame that consumes the three poisons and four māras, and the blast of wind that blows away
the false clouds of conceptual proliferation. It sweeps away the physical and mental attachments, andremoves inner and outer obstructions. This medicine is the highest. It is the samādhi-gate of Prajñā, themother of the buddhas, and Mañjuśrī.
96

This sentence is traditionally not read as a question. This section of the Heart Sūtra reveals Mañjuśrī’s samādhi of

eliminating useless conceptual proliferation by means of the eight negations, likened to the sword of prajñā. The eight
negations appear in the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra (T 220:6.988a, 7.389a; see also T 1564:30.1b, etc.).

若菩薩摩訶薩修行般若波羅蜜多時。如實知一切從緣所生法不生不滅。不斷不常。不一不異。不來不去。絕諸戲論。
If, when the bodhisattva-mahāsattva is cultivating the prajñāpāramitā, he clearly knows all dharmas

arising from conditions to be neither arising nor ceasing, neither interrupted not eternal, neither the(27)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

八不絕諸戲
文殊是彼人
獨空畢竟理
義用最幽眞
The eight negations cut off all conceptual proliferation;

Mañjuśrī is the person who [cuts off all conceptual proliferation].
The single emptiness97 is the ultimate truth;

Its application [in compassionate activities] is the most profound reality.
[II.3.3.3. Faxiang][是故空中無色無受想行識。無眼耳鼻舌身意。無色聲香味觸法。無眼界乃至無意識界][“Therefore, in emptiness there is no matter, and no sensations, perceptions, mental
formations, and consciousness; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; no form,sounds, scents, tangibles, and objects of mind; no realm of vision, and so on to no
realm of consciousness.”]

三相者所謂摩訶梅多羅冒地薩怛嚩三摩地門是也。是故空中無色至無意識界是也。大慈三昧以與樂爲宗示因果爲誡。相性別論。唯識遮境。心只在此乎。頌曰
Third, [knowing] the “marks” [of dharmas] is the samādhi-gate of Mahā-Maitreya Bodhisattva.98

This refers to the passage from “therefore, in emptiness there is no matter” to “no realm of
consciousness.” [Maitreya’s] teaching is to give ease through the samādhi of universal kindness,same nor different, and neither coming nor going, then he cuts off all conceptual proliferation.
97

The “single emptiness” (獨空) is discussed in the Dazhidu lun (T 1509:25.551a):
問曰。云何是獨空。答曰。十八空皆因緣相待。如內空因內法。故名內空。若無內法則無內空。十八空皆爾。是獨空無因無待故名獨空。
Question. What is the single emptiness? Answer. The eighteen aspects of emptiness (aṣṭadaśaśūnyatā)
are all relative to causes and conditions. For example, internal emptiness (adhyātma-śūnyatā) relies oninternal dharmas (the six sense organs), and is thus named internal emptiness. Without any internal
dharmas, there would be no internal emptiness. The eighteen aspects of emptiness are all the same.
This single emptiness has no cause and relies on nothing, therefore it is called the single emptiness.

The single emptiness is free of all relativity, and is suchness. Jizang writes (T 1824:42.2b), “Because it is primordial andultimate, free of all existences, and is only reality and dharmatā, it is called ‘single.’” (以本來畢竟無所有唯有實相法性故稱爲獨)98

Kūkai says that Faxiang, the sixth of his ten stages, is the samādhi of Maitreya in his Daijō Tennō no kanjō no mon(TKZ 5. 20):

法相委說八識三性之義妙宣唯識無境之理。固談因果普說法門。言位竪示五十二位。吿時吐三大無數。
是則遮撥因果理愚者迷心外境癡人調伏大慢眾生之藥。彌勒大慈三昧之門也。
Faxiang/Hossō precisely teaches the eight consciousnesses and the three natures, and sublimely
proclaims consciousness-only and the truth that the objects of consciousness do not exist[independently]. It firmly discusses cause and effect, and widely teaches the Dharma-gates. When

discussing the bodhisattva stages, it reveals fifty-two progressive stages, and when talking about thelength of time [to attain buddhahood], it says that three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas are required. It

corrects those fools who ignore the truth of cause and effect and ignorant people who are confused

about objects external to mind. It is the medicine that tames great pride in beings. It is Maitreya’ssamādhi-gate of universal kindness.

(28)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

and his instructions [warn against ignoring] cause and effect. He explains the differences between
the marks [of dharmas] and nature (mind). Consciousness-only counteracts [the idea of the selfexistence of] the objects of cognition. 99 [Maitreya’s] heart [of universal kindness] is fully
expressed here [in this sentence of the Heart Sūtra].100 A verse:

二我何時斷
三祇證法身
阿陀是識性
幻影卽名賓
When will beings abandon [ideas about the enduring reality of] the two (theself and dharmas)?

In three asaṃkhyeya kalpas, 101 when they realize dharmakāya (attainbuddhahood).

The ādāna is the essence of the [other] consciousnesses.102
A phantom and an illusion; it is only a name or a guest.103[II.3.3.4. The two vehicles][無無明亦無無明盡乃至無老死亦無老死盡。無苦集滅道][“There is no ignorance and no ending of ignorance, and so on to no aging anddeath and no ending of aging and death. There is no suffering, no origin of
suffering, no cessation of suffering, and no noble path.”]

四二者唯蘊無我拔業因種是也。是卽二乘三摩地門也。無無明至無老死盡卽是因緣佛之三昧。頌曰
Fourth, the two are (1) knowing that there is no enduring self but believing that the skandhas

exist (the śrāvaka path) and (2) removing karma, the [twelve] causes [and conditions of99

The external objects of the five skandhas, the twelve āyatanas, and eighteen dhātus, are knowable only as theconstructions of consciousness, and thus have no self-existence outside of that. Consciousness and its objects aredifferent, but are mutually dependent. Kūkai suggests that the negations in this section of the Heart Sūtra make thepoint that perceived objects lack any independent existence, and so this section represents the samādhi of Maitreya, whogave the teachings Faxiang/Yogācāra are based on out of kindness (maitrī) to beings.
100

This sentence is traditionally not read as a question, and is somewhat terse and ambiguous. Modern Japanesecommentators have explained the meaning in a wide range of ways, see Matsunaga 2006, 154–156.
101

Faxiang teaches (Cheng weishi lun, T 1585:31.54c, 57c; etc.) that enlightenment is possible after cultivating forthree incalculable kalpas (one of these equaling 1051 years in the Abhidharmakośa, T 1558:29.63c). Kuiji writes in his

commentary on the Heart Sūtra (Shih 2001, 80–81), “The Yogācārins comment that unsurpassed enlightenment is broad
and profound and cannot be attained with little effort. … if counted in great kalpas, which are beyond all measure, thenit would take three immeasurable great kalpas to accomplish perfect realization.” (如應者言。無上菩提廣大深遠。非少積因可能證獲。 … 若以大劫超過一切算數之量。總經於三無數大劫方得證滿, T 1710:33.535a) For the esotericinterpretation of three kalpas, see note 86 and Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 28ff.
102Ādānavijñāna, or appropriating consciousness (also 執持識), is another name for ālayavijñāna, or storehouse

consciousness, the eighth consciousness of the Yogācāra/Faxiang system, on which the other seven consciousnesses rely.
103

Alluding to Zhuangzi, chap 1. “A name is only the guest of what is real.” (名者實之賓也) “Real” in the Buddhist

sense means not dependent on causes and conditions. The ālayavijñāna and the other seven consciousnesses are
dependent on the objects of cognition, and so are not themselves real.

(29)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)dependent arising], and the seeds [of ignorance ] (the pratyekabuddha path).104 This is accordingly

the samādhi-gate of the two vehicles. The passage from “there is no ignorance” to “no ending of
aging and death” is the samādhi of the pratyekabuddhas. A verse:

風葉知因緣
輪廻覺幾年
露花除種子
羊鹿號相連
[Seeing] the falling leaves driven by wind, the pratyekabuddhas know causes
and conditions.105

How long will it take to find liberation from saṃsāra?

[Seeing the] dew on a flower, they remove the seeds [of ignorance].
The śrāvaka and the pratyekabuddha paths may be taken together.106

無苦集滅道。此是一句五字卽依聲得道之三昧。頌曰
The sentence in five characters, “there is no suffering, no origin of suffering, no cessation of

suffering, and no noble path” is the samādhi of the śrāvakas, who attain the path by hearing theBuddha’s voice.107 A verse:

白骨我何在
靑瘀人本無
吾師是四念
羅漢亦何虞
Bleached bones! Where in you is an enduring self?
Livid corpse! Never a person to be found here.108

The śrāvakas’ teacher is the four bases of mindfulness.109
104

Kūkai uses the first phrase (唯蘊無我) as the name for the fourth or śrāvaka stage in his Himitsu mandara jūjūshin

ron (TKZ 2.147) and Hizō hōyaku (TKZ 3.129), and the second phrase (拔業因種) for the fifth or pratyekabuddha stage (TKZ
2.173, 3.145). Both phrases are drawn from the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra (T 848:18.3b).

The four noble truths and the elimination or breaking of the twelve links are often traditionally described as themeans to attainment of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas respectively. Regarding the question of how their negations in
the Heart Sūtra can be understood as the samādhis of the two vehicles, Yūkai (sz 16.324b) lists the explanations givenby various commentators. One explanation is that since the entire Heart Sūtra is based on Mañjuśrī’s samādhi, thesamādhis of all the paths including the Hīnayāna paths are expressed in that modality. Another is that the negations
mean there is no longer an attachment to the self in the realizations of the two vehicles.
105

Compare Himitsu mandara jūjūshin ron (TKZ 2.173; also Hizō hōyaku TKZ 3.145):
見彼華葉覺四相之無常。住此林落證三昧於無言。業惱株杌猶此而拔。無明種子因之而斷。
The pratyekabuddhas see flowers and leaves, and realize the impermanence of the four marks [ofconditioned things: arising, continuing, changing, and ceasing]. They live in forests or hamlets, andattain samādhi in silence. The stumps of karma and afflictions are uprooted that way, and the seeds ofignorance are severed because of that.
106

Literally, “the names of the goat and deer [carts] are interconnected.” The meaning is that the śrāvaka andpratyekabuddha paths can be grouped together as the two vehicles of Hīnayāna. In the parable of the three carts and theburning house in the Lotus Sūtra (T 262:9.12c), the goat cart corresponds to the śrāvaka path, the deer cart to thepratyekabuddha path, and the ox cart to the bodhisattva path. (Reeves 2008, 113ff.)
107

依聲得道, “those who attain the path by hearing the [Buddha’s] voice,” means the śrāvakas.

108

These two lines refer to the mindfulness of impurity (aśubhasmṛti, 不淨觀) by observing the nine stages of the

decay of a corpse practiced by those on the śrāvaka path to eliminate lust. “Bleached bones” (白骨) is the eighth stage,of a skeleton still connected by ligaments. “Livid corpse” (靑瘀) is the third stage. The other stages are abbreviated here.
109

The four bases of mindfulness (smṛtyupasthāna, 四念處). Seeing (1) the body as impure (觀身不淨), (2) sensations

as suffering (觀受是苦), (3) the mind as impermanent (觀心無常), and (4) dharmas as lacking an enduring self (觀法無(30)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

How peaceful the state of the arhat!
[II.3.3.5. Tiantai][無智亦無得。以無所得故][“There is no knowing and also no attaining, because there is nothing to beattained.”]五一者阿哩也嚩路枳帝冒地薩怛嚩之三摩地門也。無智至無所得故是也。此得自性淸淨如來以一道
淸淨妙蓮不染開示眾生拔其苦厄。智擧能達得名所證。既泯理智强以一名。法華涅槃等攝末歸本敎
唯含此十字。諸乘差別智者察之。頌曰
Fifth, “the single” is the samādhi of Ārya-Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. It is the passage from “there

is no knowing” to “because there is nothing to be attained.” Through the sublime lotus free ofstain110 that is the purity of the single path,111 this “Tathāgata who attains the purity of self-

nature” 112 opens and demonstrates 113 [the Buddha’s insight] to beings, and frees them from

我).
110

In the commentary on the Adhyardhaśatikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra (T 1003:19.612b) translated by Amoghavajra:
觀自在菩薩。手持蓮華。觀一切有情身中如來藏性自性淸淨光明。一切惑染所不能染。由觀自在菩薩加持。得離垢淸淨等同聖者。
Avalokiteśvara holds a lotus in his hand, and perceives within the bodies of all beings thetathāgatagarbha-nature and the luminosity of the purity of own-nature, which no afflictions ordefilements can stain. Through the adhiṣṭhāna of Avalokiteśvara, purity and freedom from defilement is
attained, and identity with the deity achieved.
111

Compare Kūkai’s Himitsu mandara jūjūshin ron (TKZ 2.270–271):
言一道無爲住心所說法門是觀自在菩薩三摩地門。所以觀自在菩薩手執蓮華。表一切眾生身心中有本來淸淨理。雖沈淪無明三毒泥中往來六趣四生垢穢。不染不垢猶如蓮華。是本來淸淨理名一道無爲。是一道亦名一乘。所謂佛乘。
The Dharma-gate taught by the mind-stage of the unconditioned single path is the samādhi-gate of
Avalokiteśvara. Avalokiteśvara holds a lotus in his hand, thus he manifests the truth of the original

purity within the bodies and minds of all beings. Beings sink in the mud of ignorance and the threepoisons, and wander through the impurities of the six rebirth states and births in the four ways, yetjust like the lotus they are not stained or defiled by them. This truth of original purity is named theunconditioned single path. The single path may also be called the single vehicle, which is the buddha
vehicle.
112

In Amoghavajra’s translation of the Adhyardhaśatikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra (T 243:8.784c), the name 得自性淸淨法

性如來 “the Tathāgata who attains the purity and suchness of self-nature” (svabhāvaśuddhas tathāgataḥ) appears. This is
explained in the commentary (T 1003:19.612a) as another name for Amitāyus, who “abiding in the impure world of thefive defilements is Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva.” (住雜染五濁世界。則爲觀自在菩薩) Kūkai says that Tiantai, the eighthof his ten stages, is the samādhi of Avalokiteśvara in his Daijō Tennō no kanjō no mon (TKZ 5. 20–21):

天台言一乘三觀之道顯四敎一如之義。一念三諦造境卽中以爲極妙。據法花經憑中觀論傋一家義住一岳峯。言其人則觀音大悲三昧之門也。
Tiantai/Tendai teaches the path of the single vehicle and the three views, and reveals that the four
teachings are a single suchness. The ultimate teachings are the [three-thousand worlds in a] single

thought, the three truths, and seeing all objects of cognition as the middle [path]. The teachings of thisschool are based on the Lotus Sūtra and the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, and the school is located at Mt.
(31)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)“suffering and distress.” “Knowing” is what penetrates, and the “attained” is what is realized.
However, because the truth that is known and the knowing have already merged, nothing can besaid except to describe them as “single.” The Lotus Sūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, and others,
are teachings on returning from the branches (the three vehicles) to the root (the single
vehicle),114 and are fully contained in the ten characters [of this sentence in the Heart Sūtra].
Students pursuing wisdom should consider the differences among the various vehicles. A verse:
觀蓮知自淨
見菓覺心德
一道泯能所
三車卽歸黙
Meditate on the lotus and know your own [original] purity:115
Tiantai. As to the person, this is Avalokiteśvara’s samādhi-gate of universal compassion.
113

Alluding to the Lotus Sūtra, “opens and demonstrates” are the first two of the four actions of opening,demonstrating, apprehending, and entering (開示悟入). By the first two, all four are implied. The Lotus Sūtra says (T262:9.7a):

諸佛世尊。欲令眾生開佛知見。使得淸淨故。出現於世。欲示眾生佛之知見故。出現於世。欲令眾生悟
佛知見故。出現於世。欲令眾生入佛知見道故。出現於世。舍利弗。是爲諸佛以一大事因緣故出現於世。
The buddhas, the world-honored ones, appear in the world because they want living beings to open a
way to the buddhas’ insight, and thus become pure. They appear in the world because they want todemonstrate the buddhas’ insight to living beings. They appear in the world because they want living
beings to apprehend things with the buddhas’ insight. They appear in the world because they wantliving beings to enter into the way of the buddhas’ insight. (Reeves 2008, 83)
114

Jizang uses this term when describing the three turnings of the wheel of Dharma (三種法輪, T 1722:34.634c).
言三種者。一者根本法輪二者枝末之敎三者攝末歸本。根本法輪者。謂佛初成道花嚴之會純爲菩薩開一
因一果法門。謂根本之敎也。但薄福鈍根之流不堪於聞一因一果故。於一佛乘分別說三。謂枝末之敎也。四十餘年說三乘之敎陶練其心。至今法花始得會彼三乘歸於一道。卽攝末歸本敎也。
The three are: (1) the basic turning of the Dharma-wheel, (2) the branch teachings, and (3) returningfrom the branches to the root. The root turning is that of the assembly of the Avataṃsaka when the

Buddha first attained enlightenment, and purely revealed the Dharma-gate of the single cause (thebodhisattva path) and single fruit (buddhahood) for the bodhisattvas. This is called the root teaching.
However, those of few merits and inferior receptivity were unable to endure listening to the single

cause and single fruit, so the Buddha divided up the single buddha vehicle and taught three paths.
These are called the branch teachings. After over forty years of teaching those three vehicles andtraining the minds of people, he then revealed to them through the lotus assembly that the threevehicles return to the single path. This is the teaching of returning from the branches to the root.
115

The analogy of the lotus, which grows through filthy water but blossoms above it without any stain has long andoften been used in Buddhism to express how the bodhisattvas can remain in the world but not be afflicted by it. For
example, in the Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra (T 220:7.927b):

雖在世間世法不染。猶淤泥處所出蓮華。如是菩薩雖處生死。甚深般若波羅蜜多巧便力故而不染著。
Although the bodhisattvas remain in the world, they are not stained by the things of the world, justlike the lotus which emerges from mud and filth. In the same way, although the bodhisattvas remain insaṃsāra, through the skillful power of the profound prajñāpāramitā nothing of it affects them.

As noted above in notes 110 and 111, the teaching of the lotus is also often used in esoteric Buddhism to express theintrinsically pure nature of beings. See also the Darijing shu (T 1796:39.706b):

如世蓮華出淤泥之中。生處雖惡。而蓮華體性淸淨妙色無比。不爲諸垢所染。凡夫亦復如是。雖種種不淨三毒過患無量無邊。亦此蓮華三昧甚深果實。皆生其中。卽是如來平等大慧之光也。
Mundane lotuses emerge from mud and filth, and although they grow under evil circumstances, they(32)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

See the fruit [of bodhi] and realize the [inherent] qualities of your mind.
In the single path subject and object merge;

The three carts116 then return [to the one] in silence.
[II.4. The third section: the benefits attained by the practitioner][菩提薩埵依般若波羅蜜多故心無罣礙。無罣礙故無有恐怖。遠離一切顚倒夢想究竟涅槃。三世諸佛依般若波羅蜜多故得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提][“The bodhisattva, because of his reliance on the prajñāpāramitā, has no mental
obstructions. Because he has no obstructions, he has no fear. Being free from all
inverted views, he ultimately attains nirvāṇa. All the buddhas of the past, present,
and future, by relying on the prajñāpāramitā, attain supreme and perfect bodhi.”]

第三行人得益分有二。人法是也。
Third, the section on the benefits attained by the practitioner has two divisions: the person andthe teaching.

初人有七。前六後一。隨乘差別薩埵有異故。又薩埵有四。愚識金智是也。
First, there are seven kinds of person: the six already discussed, and one more to follow.117

Each of these vehicles is different, because the beings [suited for each] are different. These beings
are of four types: foolish, conscious, vajra, and knowledge [beings].118

essence of the lotus is pure and sublimely hued without compare. They are not stained by all that filth.
Ordinary beings are the same. Although they experience infinite and limitless impurities, the threepoisons, and afflictions, this lotus samādhi and its profound fruit grows among them. It is the light ofthe equally-shared wisdom of the Tathāgatas.
116

The śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva paths return to the buddha vehicle. See note 114.

117

This paragraph explains the word “bodhisattva” in “the bodhisattva, because of his reliance on the

prajñāpāramitā…” in the Heart Sūtra. The six types of person are those discussed in the preceding section:
Samantabhadra(Huayan),Mañjuśrī

(Sanlun/Mādhyamika),

Maitreya(Faxiang/Yogācāra),theśrāvaka,thepratyekabuddha, and Avalokiteśvara (Tiantai). The one remaining will be discussed below, and is the secret treasury of
esoteric Buddhism.
118

Two lists of three types of beings have been cited in reference to this (Yūkai, SZ 16.344b). First, in the esotericritual manual Jingangding yujia Jingangsaduo wumimi xiuxing niansong yigui (T 1125:20.539a), “There are three kinds ofbeings: foolish beings, knowledge beings, and vajra beings.” (有三種薩埵。所謂愚薩埵智薩埵金剛薩埵) Second, in the
Darijing shu (T 1796:39.582c), “There are, in brief, three kinds of beings. First there are those like foolish children. …

Second, there are the conscious beings. These belong to the two vehicles. … Third, there are the bodhisattvas.” (薩埵略有三種。一者愚童薩埵。謂六道凡夫。… 二者有識薩埵。卽二乘也。… 三者菩提薩埵) Dōhan (NDZ 10.507b) says thatfoolish beings are ordinary beings in the six rebirth destinations, conscious beings are those of the two vehicles,

knowledge beings are practitioners of the various Mahāyāna paths, and vajra beings are practitioners of the mantra

path, and discusses them in that order. Yūkai (SZ 16.344b) says that the meaning of this passage has “not been clear
since ancient times” (古來四種薩埵其義不分明). It seems that either the “foolish beings” in T 1125 have been expanded
into two categories, ordinary beings and the two vehicles, or the bodhisattvas in the Darijing shu have been expanded
into the exoteric and esoteric. Therefore, this expression may be a combination of the two passages. Yūkai says that thissequence does not accord with Kūkai’s intention (the exoteric is given last in the list), and cites Kūkai’s disciple(33)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

次又法四。謂因行證入也。般若卽能因能行。無礙離障卽入涅槃。能證覺智卽證果。如文思知。
頌曰Next, there are four aspects of the teaching: the cause, cultivation, awakening, and entering.
[In the passage “because of his reliance on the prajñāpāramitā,”] the prajñāpāramitā is both thecause and the cultivation. [In the lines “has no mental obstructions” and “because he has no
obstructions, he has no fear. Being free from all inverted views,”] “no obstructions” and [in “heultimately attains nirvāṇa”] freedom from hindrances is entering into nirvāṇa. [In the sentence,“all the buddhas of the past, present, and future, by relying on the prajñāpāramitā, attain perfectbodhi,”] their awakening to buddha wisdom is the fruit of awakening. Reflect on the text itself toknow this. A verse:

行人數是七
重二彼之法
圓寂將菩提
There are seven kinds of practitioners,

正依何事乏

And two pairs of teachings.119

Entering nirvāṇa and attaining bodhi120

Are the primary and dependent results.121 Can there be anything lacking inthem?

[II.5. The fourth section: the entire sūtra returns to the dhāraṇī][故知般若波羅蜜多。是大神呪。是大明呪。是無上呪。是無等等呪。能除一切苦。眞實不虛][“Therefore, know that the prajñāpāramitā is the great mantra, the mantra of great

wisdom, the highest mantra, and the peerless mantra. It can remove all suffering,and is true and not false.”]Shinzei’s record of Kūkai’s oral teachings Takao kuketsu (高雄口決, T 2466:78.34b), where interlinear notes say thatfoolish beings are ordinary beings (謂愚薩埵 夫), conscious beings are the two vehicles (識薩埵 乘), vajra beings are the凡二bodhisattvas (金剛薩埵 薩), and wise beings are the buddhas (智薩埵 佛). Raihō (ZSZ 20.164a–b), admitting this problem
菩is “truly difficult” (誠難思), agrees that the sequence of esoteric-exoteric is not acceptable, and that Shinzei’s
explanation is useful, but that this section describes the vehicles suited for practitioners before they have reached someattainment and may not be appropriate. Ignoring Shinzei’s text and taking the last two terms to mean the esoteric andexoteric paths in that sequence, some modern Japanese commentators have inverted their order as a solution(Matsunaga 2006, 175), which Hakeda also seems to follow (Hakeda 1972, 272).
119

The cause (usually expressed as bodhicitta) and cultivation form one pair describing the causes or training, andbodhi and nirvāṇa another pair giving the results or attainment.
120

The Heart Sūtra gives these two terms in this sequence, but the following line reverses them to the usual

sequence.
121

正依 (正報依報) in the causal stage usually refers to the primary result of the bodies and minds of beings attained

as the result of karma, and dependent result of the worlds they live in. Traditional commentaries (Yūkai, SZ 16.349b,

400a, etc) suggest that here this refers to the resultant stage, bodhi and nirvāṇa. Thus the primary result is the fruit ofbodhi attained by buddhas through the cause of bodhicitta and the cultivation of the prajñāpāramitā, and the dependent

result is the pure lands (corresponding to nirvāṇa) in which they dwell, attained through bodhi. Thus bodhi would be theprimary result and nirvāṇa the dependent result in this understanding. All virtues and wisdom are thus perfectly
contained within these two.

(34)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

第四總歸持明分又三。名體用。四種呪明擧名。眞實不虛指體。能除諸苦顯用。
Fourth, the section on describing the entire [sūtra] as returning to the dhāraṇī has three divisions:the names, the essence, and the function. The four descriptions of mantra (“the great mantra, themantra of great wisdom, the highest mantra, and the peerless mantra”) provide the names. “Trueand not false” points to the essence. “It can remove all suffering” reveals the function.

擧名中初是大神呪聲聞眞言。二緣覺眞言。三大乘眞言。四祕藏眞言。
Regarding the names given, the first, the “great mantra,” is the mantra of the śrāvakas. The

second, [the “mantra of great wisdom”] is the mantra of the pratyekabuddhas. The third, [the“highest mantra”] is the mantra of Mahāyāna. The fourth, [the “peerless mantra”] is the mantraof the secret treasury.122

若以通義一一眞言皆俱四名。略示一隅。圓智之人三卽歸一。頌曰
From the inclusive perspective, each of these mantras possesses all four names. I have limited

the discussion here to only one corner.123 Those who can perfectly extrapolate [the other threecorners] should also know that those three return to the one. A verse:

總持有文義
忍呪悉持明
聲字與人法
實相俱此名
The all-encompassing dhāraṇīs are [of four types:] texts (dharma-dhāraṇīs),meanings (artha-dhāraṇīs),Patience (kṣāntilābha-dhāraṇīs), and mantras (mantra-dhāraṇīs): they are
dhāraṇīs holding all wisdom.124

Sounds and letters, the person and the teaching,

And reality: [these five] hold these names [of the four dhāraṇīs].125

122

Compare Kumārajīva’s translation of the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra (T 223:8.286b):
是般若波羅蜜攝一切善法。若聲聞法。若辟支佛法。若菩薩法。若佛法。 … 般若波羅蜜是大明呪。無上
明呪。無等等明呪。何以故。世尊是般若波羅蜜能除一切不善。能與一切善法。
The Prajñāpāramitā gathers all wholesome teachings into itself, including the śrāvaka teachings, thepratyekabuddha teachings, the bodhisattva teachings, and the buddha teachings. … The Prajñāpāramitāis the mantra of great wisdom, the highest mantra, and the peerless mantra. Why is that? Bhagavān, [itis because] the Prajñāpāramitā can remove all things not wholesome, and can provide all wholesometeachings.
123

Alluding to the Lunyu of Confucius (7.8, 擧一隅不以三隅反則不復也): “If I have brought up one corner and he[the student] does not return with the other three, I will not repeat,” (Huang 1997, 88).
124

Kūkai uses the word zongchi (總持) here, which is the Chinese translation for dhāraṇī. In his Bonji shittan jimo

narabi ni shakugi he gave the esoteric meaning of this word, see note 32. Kūkai goes on in the same text to describe fourtypes of dhāraṇīs: the dharma-dhāraṇīs, artha-dhāraṇīs, mantra-dhāraṇīs, and bodhisattvakṣāntilābha-dhāraṇīs. See Takagi
and Dreitlein 2010, 280–285.
125

The five mentioned—sounds, letters, the person (the bodhisattva whose samādhi is taught), the teaching, andreality—are essences expressed through the four types of dhāraṇīs. Yūkai (SZ 16.358b) comments that, “To show thatthe word for dhāraṇī (translated as “all-encompassing”) encompasses all things, these five are mentioned. There isnothing outside of these five. That is why this text above has (I.3.2), ‘A discussion of each sound and letter would takekalpas of time and still not be complete, and buddhas equal in numbers to the motes of dust in the universe or drops of(35)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)[II.6. The fifth section: the mantra of the secret treasury][故說般若波羅蜜多呪。卽說呪曰。揭帝 揭帝 般羅揭帝 般羅僧揭帝 菩提 僧莎訶][“Therefore, I teach the mantra of the prajñāpāramitā.” Then he taught this mantra:
gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā.]第五祕藏眞言分有五。初瓬包顯聲聞行果。二瓬包擧緣覺行果。三渨瓬包指諸大乘最勝行果。四渨年瓬包明眞言曼荼羅俱足輪圓行果。五白囚送扣說上諸乘究竟菩提證入義。
Fifth, the section on the mantra of the secret treasury has five divisions. [In the mantra, gate gatepāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā,] the first gate reveals the fruit of the training126 of the śrāvakas.

The second gate gives the fruit of the training of the pratyekabuddhas. Third, pāragate127 indicateswater in the oceans would still not be able to finish explaining each word and the reality it teaches.’” Compare Shō-ji-

jissō gi (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 82), “What we call sound, letters, and reality are the equally-shared three mysteriesof the Dharmakāya Buddha, and the inherent maṇḍa (essence) of ordinary beings.” (所謂聲字實相者卽是法佛平等之三密。眾生本有之曼荼也)
126

Matsunaga (2006, 191) explains the word gate as the vocative of the feminine gatā of the past participle gata ofthe verb gam, and translates it as “you who have gone (and arrived),” meaning the attainment of enlightenment. Kūkai

interprets the word gate with 行果, translated as the “fruit of the training.” In Shingon Buddhism, gate is traditionallyexplained as combining the letter ga (from gati, “going”) with the letter te, consisting of the letter ta (signifying
ungraspable tathatā) with the vowel changed to e (aiśvara, “sovereignty”). Therefore, “unrestricted suchness” (the letterte) is the fruit attained through the “going” (the letter ga), or training, of each path.
127

The Siddham in Kūkai’s text reads *pragate (where the standard text has pāragate) and *prasugate (instead ofpārasaṃgate). This may be a mistake on Kūkai’s part, a copyist’s error, or Kūkai may be using a different text from thestandard one known today. Note that, however, the oldest extant manuscript of the Heart Sūtra in Siddham, the Hōryūji manuscript, gives the standard mantra. SAKATA (1999, 94) says *prasugate is a copyist’s error for *prasaṃgate. In hisnotes to Sakata’s work, Yoneda (pp. 163–165) agrees that the words in the mantra in the version of the text Kūkai isusing may have been *pragate and *prasaṃgate. He notes that Kūkai renders gate as 行果, and uses the word “supreme”(最勝) to render pra-, which is a possible translation of that prefix, and uses “complete and perfect” (俱足輪圓) totranslate prasaṃ-. Matsunaga (2006, 195–196) repeats this argument, and continues:

Kūkai wrote the title of the sūtra in Siddham as pramita [instead of pāramitā], so it is possible that he isconfusing pra with pāra. However, on the other hand there is evidence that indirectly supports the ideathat the dhāraṇī in the sūtra Kūkai referred to was pragate prasaṃgate.

The evidence is Huilin’s Yiqie jing yinyi (一切經音義, T 2128:54.369c), which mentions a translation of the Heart Sūtra(般若波羅多[蜜]心經) by Kumārajīva that is not the extant one. The mantra in that text is transliterated with 般囉, withthe two characters to be read as one syllable (二合), therefore rendering pra and not pāra. Accordingly, Matsunagasuggests that a version of the Heart Sūtra existed at that time with such a mantra. Matsunaga also says that when Kūkai

stayed at the Ximing-si monastery in Chang’an (see Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 200), Huilin was also staying there at

the same time and working on the Yiqie jing yinyi, and therefore it is possible that they encountered and spoke to eachother there. Matsunaga (2006, 196) continues,

The version of the Heart Sūtra Kūkai makes use of in the Secret Key is one translated by Kumārajīva andtitled Foshuo mohe-bore-boluomiduo xin jing (The Heart of the Great Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra Spoken by the

Buddha, 佛說摩訶般若波羅蜜多心經, not extant). In the Yiqie jing yinyi, the title of Kumārajīva’s version

is transliterated as Bore-boluo[mi]duo xin jing (般 若波羅多 [蜜 ]心經 ), different from the [extant

Kumārajīva translation, T 250] Mohe bore boluomi da mingzhou jing (摩訶般若波羅蜜大明呪經, Sūtra of
the Great Mantra of Mahā Prajñāpāramitā). The two [the title in Kūkai’s text and the title of the lost(36)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

the supreme fruit of the training of the various forms of Mahāyāna. 128 Fourth, pārasaṃgate
elucidates the complete and perfect fruit of the training (gate) through mantra and maṇḍala. Fifth,
bodhi svāhā speaks of the ultimate bodhi [those of] the above vehicles realize, and [the nirvāṇa
they] enter.129

句義如是。若約字相義等釋之。有無量人法等義歷劫難盡。若要聞者依法更問。頌曰
The meanings of the words are as given above. If the superficial and profound meanings ofeach of the letters,130 and so on, were to be fully discussed in the same way, there would be

Kumārajīva text in the Yiqie jing yinyi] coincide.
Matsunaga therefore suggests that we not ignore the possibility that Kūkai used a lost Kumārajīva translation of theHeart Sūtra different from the extant Kumārajīva translation, and that the mantra in that text may have included thewords pragate and prasaṃgate, rather than pāragate and pārasaṃgate. Such a possibility must not be automatically
excluded; however, given the other nonstandard usages in the Siddham title in this text (in particular pāramitā written
as *pramita, see note 63), the admitted need to at least correct *prasugate to *prasaṃgate, and so on, an error by either

Kūkai or a later copyist seems the simplest solution pending further evidence. On that basis, the standard forms of themantra are used in this translation.
128

In Unji gi, Kūkai discussed the cause, training, and fruit of the śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas

according to the letter hūṃ. See Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 179–182.
129

Kūkai assigns gate gate to the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, pāragate to Mahāyāna, pārasaṃgate to esoteric

Buddhism, and bodhi svāhā as bodhi and nirvāṇa. Mingkuang (Z 528:26.735b) has a limited similarity with Kūkai’s thesis,but does not extend to esoteric Buddhism:已上明祕密般若也。揭諦揭諦者世也。度也。是明自度也。波羅揭諦者明度他。波羅僧揭諦者總明自度
度他也。菩提者明自他共到所處也。娑婆訶者明究竟。是中有事究竟理究竟也The above [mantra] explains the secret prajñā. Gate gate is the world and liberation. It explains selfliberation. Pāragate explains liberating others. Pārasaṃgate generally explains self-liberation andliberating others. Bodhi explains both the self and others together arriving at the other shore. Svāhā
explains the ultimate. Within it is the ultimate of phenomena and the ultimate of truth.
130

The term 字相義 (字相字義), or the superficial and profound meanings of Sanskrit letters is discussed by Kūkai at

length in his Unji gi (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 128–197). Each of these letters can represent different Buddhist deities
as their bīja-letters, and each letter can also represent specific Buddhist teachings. See the examples in Unji gi (Takagi
and Dreitlein 2010, 150–155) and Bonji shittan jimo narabi ni shakugi (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 292–299).

“And so on” refers to Kūkai’s “sixteen gates” (十六門), among which the “superficial and profound meanings ofletters” is found. Based on a passage in the Darijing shu (T 1796:39.656a, see Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 150–151),
Kūkai gives a list of the sixteen in one his three Hokkekyō kaidai (TKZ 4.185–186, also Hokkekyō shaku TKZ 4.201).
釋一切經且有十六門。謂遮情。表德。淺略。深祕。字相。字義。一字攝多。多字歸一。一字釋多。多字釋一。一字成多。多字成一。一字破多。多字破一。順觀旋轉。逆觀旋轉門也。諸佛如來擧此十六門
流出一切經敎還攝一切法門。釋判一切敎義修習一切觀門。顯發一切佛引攝一切人。是則諸經之根源諸敎之帝王。
There are sixteen gates for interpreting the entire tripiṭaka. They are: (1) counteracting delusions(negating) and (2) revealing virtues (affirming), (3) the shallow and incomplete and (4) the profoundand hidden, (5) the superficial meanings of letters and (6) the profound meanings of letters, (7) one

letter encompassing many and (8) many letters returning to one, (9) one letter interpreting many and(10) many letters interpreting one, (11) one letter establishing many and (12) many letters establishing

one, (13) one letter refuting many and (14) many letters refuting one, and (15) revolving clockwiseand (16) revolving counterclockwise. The buddhas, the tathāgatas, use these sixteen gates to expound
all the sūtras and teachings, and also to encompass all those Dharma-gates. They classify all teachings,(37)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

limitless deities and teachings—too many to exhaust even with a kalpa of time.131 Those who wish
to receive [the full esoteric teachings] should inquire further in the correct way [from amaster].132 A verse:133

眞言不思議
觀誦無明除
一字含千理
卽身證法如
行行至圓寂
去去入原初
三界如客舍
一心是本居
The mantra [of the Heart Sūtra] is inconceivable.134
Meditate on it and recite it, and ignorance is removed.
Each of its letters contains a thousand truths.135

Immediately and in this body realize Dharma and suchness.136
cultivate all the gates of meditation, reveal all buddhas, and guide all people to liberation. They are thesource of the sūtras, and the emperor of teachings.
131

Compare Hokkekyō kaidai TKZ 4.196 (similar content at 4.193, Hokkekyō shaku, TKZ 4.209), where Kūkai writes

regarding the Lotus Sūtra, “If each of these letters and phrases were to be explained in detail, it would be difficult tocomplete in even a kalpa of time.” (如是字字句句義若廣釋者歷劫難盡也)132

The student must first receive abhiṣeka correctly from a genuine master of esoteric Buddhism, and then receive

the teachings directly and in person from the master. The deepest teachings cannot be had from written materials.
Kūkai writes in his Jissō Hannya-kyō tasshaku (Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 337), “This esoteric meditation cannot be put

down on paper, it can only be transmitted in person from the master.” (此密觀者不能染紙對面傳授耳) He continues(340):

一一句一一字悉含無邊之義理。是故顯學古德雖釋更閉。自非密傳之人何能得解。若能有心具受。不面不得。
Each phrase and each letter contains within themselves limitless meanings. Therefore, the exotericmasters of old commented on them only up to a point, and then remained silent. Who but a personwith the transmission of the esoteric teachings would be able to understand these meanings? Even if
there were a person with the intention to master this, he would be unable to do so without face-to-face
instruction from a master.
133

The first four lines discuss the benefits of mantras generally, while the second four lines discuss the Heart Sūtra

mantra specifically. (The first four lines also appear in a later apocryphal text ascribed to Yixing titled Ichigyō zenji jimohyō 一行禪師字母表, Dhyāna Master Yixing’s Mātṛkā Chart).
134

Dōhan says (NDZ 10.511b) that “mantra” here specifically means the eight associations of the Heart Sūtra mantra

discussed above (II.6): gate gate for the two vehicles, pāragate for Huayan, Sanlun, Faxiang, and Tiantai, pārasaṃgate forthe esoteric, and bodhi svāhā for the bodhi and nirvāṇa attained by all of them.
135

Dōhan (ibid.) says this corresponds to (7) “one letter encompassing many” (一字攝多) among the sixteen gatesmentioned above in note 130, while Kakuban (NDZ 10.474b) says it represents (6) “the profound meanings of letters”
(字義).
136

Yūkai has a somewhat more generalized approach (SZ 16.402b–403a) than Dōhan (note 134), saying that“mantras are inconceivable” means that the inner realization of a buddha is beyond the conception of those still in thecausal stage. “Meditate” refers to the mystery of mind, “recite” to the mystery of speech, and “immediately and in thisbody” to the mystery of body. “Each letter contains a thousand truths” reveals the all-encompassing nature of dhāraṇīs.

The expression “Dharma and suchness” (法如) repeats the terms (佛法 Buddhadharma and 眞如 suchness) given in

the passage quoted from Mingkuang in the beginning of this text (“The Buddhadharma is not far removed: it is within
the mind and near at hand. Suchness is not without: abandon the body and how could it be found?”). According toYūkai, in the term “Dharma and suchness,” Buddhadharma means the cognition (智) of a Buddha, and “suchness”
means the truth (理) that is the object of that cognition (see note 35 above). Kakuban has a similar approach that he(38)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

Go on, go on, to attain perfect peace.

Go beyond, go beyond, to enter the fundamental source.137
The triple world is no more than an inn for travelers,
But the one-mind is our true home.138[III. Questions]
問陀羅尼是如來祕密語。所以古三藏諸疏家皆閉口絕筆。今作此釋深背聖旨。
Question. Dhāraṇī are the secret words of the tathāgatas; therefore, the tripiṭaka masters of old andthe various commentators kept silent and wrote nothing about them.139 Why do you now write acommentary on this, profoundly turning your back on the Buddha’s intent?

如來說法有二種。一顯二祕。爲顯機說多名句。爲祕根說總持字。是故如來自說狣字湡字等種種義。是則爲祕機作此說。龍猛無畏廣智等亦說其義。能不之間在敎機耳。說之黙之竝契佛意。
[Answer.] The preaching of the Tathāgata is of two kinds: the exoteric and the esoteric. For
those inclined to the exoteric he teaches using many words and sentences, but for those receptive

discusses at some length (NDZ 10.474b–475a).
137

Yūkai (ibid.) remarks that the lines “Go on, go on, to attain perfect peace. Go beyond, go beyond, to enter thefundamental source” are an expansion on the letters of the word gate. “Go on, go on” and “go beyond, go beyond” (行行去去, for gate in the four words gate, gate, pāragate, and pārasaṃgate) represent the letter ga signifying gati. “Perfectpeace” (圓寂) and “fundamental source” (原初) represent the letter te in gate, with “perfect peace” being nirvāṇa and the“fundamental source” being bodhi (see note 126).

Dōhan says that 法如 refers to the letter te in gate, meaning ungraspable suchness (如如不可得). He also says that,“The fruit of the training means that the training itself is the fruit.” (行果者行卽果也)Kakuban (NDZ 10.475a) says that “go on, go on, to attain perfect peace” corresponds to gate gate and is the training,with “perfect peace” or nirvāṇa as the fruit of that training; and that “go beyond, go beyond, to enter the fundamental
source” corresponds to pāragate pārasaṃgate, with “fundamental source” or bodhi as its fruit. He adds that bodhi andnirvāṇa are reversed here because those of the two vehicles seek only nirvāṇa, while Mahāyāna seeks both.
138

Kakuban (NDZ 10.475b) says these two lines correspond to bodhi svāhā. He remarks, “Escaping the [transience ofthe] travelers’ inn of the triple world and returning to the true home of the one-mind means attaining ultimate bodhi
and nirvāṇa. The one-mind is bodhi.” Regarding “one-mind,” see note 89.
139

Xuanzang writes in his commentary on the Heart Sūtra (T 1714:33.571a), “The above [mantra] is the secretteaching of prajñā. Mantras are the first of the five kinds of words not to be translated. It may be that this mantra
consists of the secret words of the buddhas. It is not something that inferior, unenlightened people can know.” (已上密說般若。此五種不翻之一也。蓋呪是佛之密語。非下凡所知)
Fazang says in his commentary (T 1712:33.555a), “[The mantra] cannot be commented on. Because it is the secretwords of the buddhas, it cannot be analyzed from the causal stage. It should only be recited, to remove hindrances andincrease merits.” (不可釋。以是諸佛祕語非因位所解。但當誦持除障增福) He continues with a brief straightforward
discussion of the literal meanings of the words of the mantra without commentary.

Kuiji does not comment on the mantra and simply remarks at the very end of his text (T 1710:33), “Its implications

are profound and far-reaching, and its teachings are hidden and vast. It is not easily explained in detail.” (意趣深遠敎理
幽廣不易詳贊) Also see Shih 2001, 125.

Wŏnch’uk goes into some detail regarding his views of the mantra (T 1711.33.551c–552a), see Lusthaus 2003, 94–

98. For Mingkuang’s comments regarding the mantra, see note 129.

(39)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)to the esoteric he teaches the letters of the dhāraṇīs.140 For that reason, the Tathāgata himself
taught the various meanings of letters such as a and oṃ.141 He gave these explanations for those

prepared to receive the esoteric. Nāgārjuna, 142 Śubhakarasiṃha, 143 Amoghavajra, 144 and others

140

Those of lesser or exoteric receptivity to the teachings require verbose explanations of a single point to be able tograsp it, while those of superior or esoteric receptivity can understand a vast range of meanings from a single letter.
Compare Kūkai’s Himitsu mandara jūjūshin ron (TKZ 2.190, also Bonmōkyō kaidai, TKZ 4.222: see Takagi and Dreitlein
2010, 18; also Hokkekyō shaku, TKZ 4.199):

此乘有二種義。謂淺略深祕是也。以多名句說一義理此卽淺略。一一言名俱無量義。卽是眞言祕密。
This vehicle has two senses: the shallow and incomplete [exoteric] and the profound and hidden[esoteric]. Using many words and phrases to teach a single meaning is the shallow and incomplete.
When each individual word possesses infinite meanings, that is mantra and the esoteric.
141

See the following notes for some of the many commentaries on the letter a. The letter oṃ is discussed in theShouhu guojiezhu tuoluoni jing (T 997:19.565c–566a, see Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 141):

陀羅尼母所謂湡唵字。所以者何。三字和合爲唵字故。謂狣婀谹烏亙莽。一婀字者。是菩提心義是諸法
門義。亦無二義亦諸法果義。亦是性義是自在義。… 又法身義。二烏字者卽報身義。三莽字者是化身義。以合三字共爲唵字。攝義無邊故爲一切陀羅尼首。與諸字義而作先導。 … 雖不說餘而無不攝。此陀羅尼亦復如是。雖說一字無所不收。
The mother of dhāraṇīs is the letter oṃ. Why? Because the letter oṃ is a composite of three letters: a, u,

and ma. The letter a means bodhicitta, all the Dharma-gates, that which is without equal, the fruit of allteachings, the nature of all dharmas [fundamental nonarising], and complete freedom … . It also means
dharmakāya. Next, the letter u means the saṃbhogakāya. Third, the letter ma means the nirmāṇakāya.

These three together form the letter oṃ. Because it includes infinite meanings, [the letter oṃ] is thechief among all dhāraṇī. It is the leader among the meanings of all letters. … Even though the rest of

the letters may not be discussed, there is none not included in this [letter oṃ]. Even though only one
letter is discussed, it is always included therein.
142

In the Putixin lun ascribed to Nāgārjuna (the tantric teacher of Nāgabodhi), there is the sentence (T1665:32574a), “The letter a has the meaning of the fundamental non-arising (ady-anutpāda) of all dharmas.” (夫阿字者
一切法本不生義)143Śubhakarasiṃha, in the Darijing shu commentary on the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra explains (T1796:39.651c, see Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 293):經云。謂阿字門一切諸法本不生故者。阿字是一切法敎之本。凡最初開口之音皆有阿聲。若離阿聲則無
一切言說。故爲眾聲之母。凡三界語言皆依於名。而名依於字。故悉曇阿字。亦爲眾字之母。當知阿字
門眞實義。… 猶如聞一切語言時卽是聞阿聲。如是見一切法生時。卽是見本不生際。若見本不生際者。
卽是如實知自心。
The [Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-]sūtra says, “The gate of the letter a is the fundamental nonarising of
all dharmas.” The letter a is the root of all teachings. Generally, the very first sound made when we

open our mouths always has the sound of a. Without the sound a there could be no words or speech,
therefore it is the mother of all sounds. Generally speaking, all speech in the triple world relies onnames and words. Names and words rely on letters. Therefore the Siddham letter a is also the motherof all letters. Thus, the true meaning of the gate of the letter a is that it pervades all dharmas and their
meanings. … In every word one hears, the sound of a is present. In the same way, when one sees thearising of dharmas, one sees the full extent of fundamental nonarising. Understanding the full extent offundamental nonarising is “knowing one’s own mind just as it really is.”144

Sentences similar to “The gate of the letter a is the fundamental non-arising of all dharmas.” (T 880:18.338b, 狣阿

字門一切法本不生) appear in many of Amoghavajra’s translations.

上

(40)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

also taught those meanings. Whether or not a teaching should be given depends on the capacity of

the recipient of that teaching. Teaching or remaining silent are therefore both in agreement with
the Buddha’s intention.

問顯密二敎其旨天懸。今此顯經中說祕義不可。
Question. The exoteric and the esoteric are far apart from each other in their content. Now you

are discussing esoteric meanings within an exoteric sūtra. This is not possible.145醫王之目觸途皆藥。解寶之人礦石見寶。知與不知何誰罪過。
[Answer.] The eyes of a great physician see [the plants growing by] the wayside each as

medicine [where others see only weeds].146 A man who knows gemstones sees jewels [whereothers see only] rocks and stones.147 [Those who know the esoteric] know, and [those who know
only the exoteric] do not know. Who might we say is in error?

又此尊眞言儀軌觀法佛金剛頂中說。此祕中極祕。應化釋迦在給孤園爲菩薩天人說畫像壇法眞言
手印等。亦是祕密。陀羅尼集經第三卷是。
The Buddha taught the mantra, ritual, and visualization practices of this deity (the bodhisattva
Prajñā) within the Vajraśekhara lineage.148 This is the most esoteric within the esoteric. When thenirmāṇakāya Śākyamuni was staying at Anāthapiṇḍada-ārāma, for the sake of bodhisattvas, gods,
145

Yūkai interprets this in two ways (SZ 16.366a, 404b). One is that the Heart Sūtra is originally an exoteric text

from which profound esoteric meanings can be extracted with the eye of wisdom. The exoteric commentators thus
overlooked the esoteric significances that Kūkai describes. The other is that the Heart Sūtra is originally an esoteric text
intended to teach the esoteric samādhi of the bodhisattva Prajñā. The other commentators on the Heart Sūtra were notaware of this, and misunderstood the text as an exoteric text. The questioner identifies the text as exoteric. Therefore,
according to the first interpretation, Kūkai agrees that the text is exoteric, but claims that deeper meanings can bediscerned by those who know how to look at it. According to the second interpretation, Kūkai disagrees with theassumption in the question that the Heart Sūtra is an exoteric text, which is the claim of a person who lacks inunderstanding. The first interpretation seems more likely given Kūkai’s statements in the Konshōō-kyō himitsu kada (seenote 3).
146“A great physician” 醫王 here probably does not directly mean the Buddha, but simply one skilled in medicine.

The term 世醫王 appears in the Darijing shu (T 1796:39.669c) meaning a great physician of the world. See also note 40.
Compare Darijing shu (T 1796:39.636b):

如一地所生一雨所潤。然諸藥草性分不同。若醫王觀之。則知如是藥草。於其病中非對治所宜。然於其病則勢力殊勝。
It is like medicinal herbs growing in the same place and watered by the same rain, which neverthelessare different in their qualities. When a great physician sees them, he knows which medicinal herbs are
not suited for treating a specific ailment, and which are the most potent for that disease.
147

Compare Darijing shu (T 1796:39.604b):
猶如有如意寶在石礦之中。以世人不識故。棄在衢路之間。與瓦礫無異。然別寶者。見有微相纔影彰於外。卽便識之。
It is like a cintāmaṇi hidden inside a stone. Worldly people do not recognize it, and toss it away on theroad as if it were no different from other worthless rubble. However, an expert in jewels will noticesome subtle characteristics or faint indications on the exterior, and so recognize it for what it is.

148

The text meant is Xiuxi Boreboluomi pusa guanxing niansong yigui (T 1151:20), a Vajraśekhara text translated into

Chinese by Amoghavajra and brought from China by Kūkai and listed in his Shōrai mokuroku (TKZ 1.15), giving thedetails of the esoteric practice of the bodhisattva Prajñā.

(41)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

and men149 he also taught the painting of sacred images, the arrangement of altars, as well as

mantras, mudrās, and so on. 150 This is also esoteric. This is in the third fascicle of the
Dhāraṇīsamuccaya.

顯密在人聲字卽非。然猶顯中之祕祕中極祕。淺深重重耳。
[Whether the content of a text is] exoteric or esoteric depends on the [discriminative ability of]

the reader. It is not a matter of the sounds and letters [of that text]. Nevertheless, there is theesoteric within the exoteric, and the most esoteric within the esoteric. 151 The shallow andprofound take on multilayered meanings [relative to each other].

149

The text meant is the short text in the third fascicle of the Dhāraṇīsamuccaya (T 901:18.804c ff) mentioned above(II.2.2), titled Bore boluomiduo daxin jing, a ritual manual for the practice of the bodhisattva Prajñā. The text begins (T901:18.804c):

如是我聞。一時佛在舍衛國祇樹給孤獨園。與千二百五十阿羅漢無量阿僧祇諸大菩薩天龍八部人非人等
俱。
Thus have I heard. Once, the Buddha was staying at Jetavana Anāthapiṇḍada-ārāma in Śrāvastī
together with 1,250 arhats, countless numbers of great bodhisattvas, devas, nāgas, the eight kinds ofbeings, humans, non-humans, and so on.
150

The text in the Dhāraṇīsamuccaya (previous note) is an esoteric ritual manual explaining how to paint an imageof Prajñā (805a–c), a section on arranging the altar (808a), explanations of thirteen mudrās (805c–806c), and several
dhāraṇīs (806b–807c).
151

The two previous sentences discuss esoteric or exoteric as dependent on the discernment of the reader regardlessof the type of text itself. The discussion now shifts in this sentence to the overt esoteric or exoteric textual categories.
Dōhan (NDZ 10.514b–515a) writes, “The exoteric as exoteric is the three vehicles. The exoteric as esoteric is the single

vehicle. The esoteric as exoteric is the common dhāraṇīs. The esoteric as esoteric refers to the Vajraśekhara andMahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra.” “The esoteric within the exoteric” would then mean the esoteric meanings that can befound in exoteric texts like the Heart Sūtra, and so on. Among the overtly esoteric texts there are common dhāraṇī texts
like the Dhāraṇīsamuccaya, and also deeply esoteric texts like the Vajraśekhara, and the Xiuxi Boreboluomi pusa guanxing

niansong yigui based on it, and so on. The latter are “the most esoteric within the esoteric.” In Ben kenmitsu nikyō ron
Kūkai writes (TKZ 3.109):

顯密之義重重無數。若以淺望深深則祕密淺略則顯也。所以外道經書亦有祕藏名。如來所說中顯密重重。若以佛說小敎望外人說卽有深密之名。以大比小亦有顯密。一乘以簡三立祕名。總持擇多名得密號。法身說深奥應化敎淺略。所以名祕。
The meanings of exoteric and esoteric are manifold. If the more profound is compared with the lessprofound, the former is to be called esoteric and the latter, exoteric. This is the reason why we often

find the term esoteric introduced in non-Buddhist scriptures as well. Among the teachings given by the
Tathagata, various distinctions between exoteric and esoteric have been made. The Hinayana doctrines

explained by the Buddha can be called esoteric when compared to the doctrines given by non-Buddhist
teachers. In the same way, when the Mahayana doctrines are compared with the Hinayana doctrines,
the former are esoteric and the latter, exoteric. Even in the Mahayana itself, the teaching of the One

Vehicle is esoteric in contrast to the teachings of the Three Vehicles. In order to distinguish the dharani

section from other lengthy discourses, we call it esoteric. The teaching given by the Dharmakaya

Buddha is the most profound, while the teachings of the Nirmanakaya are apparent and simplified;hence, the former is called esoteric. (Hakeda 1972, 156)(42)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号[IV. Concluding verse]
我依祕密眞言義略讚心經五分文
一字一文遍法界
無終無始我心分翳眼眾生盲不見
曼儒般若能解紛灑斯甘露霑迷者
同斷無明破魔軍
Relying on the meanings of its secret mantra,

I have briefly commented on the text of the Heart Sūtra in five sections.152
Each letter and sentence pervades the dharmadhātu:

Beginningless and endless,153 they are one’s own heart.154
Ordinary beings with occluded eyes are blind, and cannot see this;155
Mañjuśrī and Prajñā can liberate them from their confusion.

They pour out the nectar [of this merit], giving relief to those lost indelusion.

May all together eliminate ignorance, and defeat the army of Māra!
般若心經祕鍵The Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra156

152

Unlike the exoteric commentators of the Heart Sūtra who often avoid discussing the mantra in any detail (seenote 139), Kūkai has taken the unique approach of using the mantra itself as the basis for understanding the meaningsof the Heart Sūtra.
153

The Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra says (T 848:18.10a, see also Takagi and Dreitlein 2010, 278–279):
此眞言相非一切諸佛所作。不令他作。亦不隨喜。何以故以是諸法法如是故。若諸如來出現。若諸如來不出。諸法法爾如是住。謂諸眞言。眞言法爾故The buddhas do not create the characteristics of mantras, nor do they cause others to create them.

Furthermore, [supposing they were creatable by someone] that would not please the buddhas. Why?
Because all dharmas are in themselves suchness. Whether or not a buddha appears in the world, alldharmas abide in suchness. Therefore, all mantras are mantras of suchness.
154

The letters of the Heart Sūtra form the dharma-maṇḍala of Prajñā Bodhisattva, which is infinite in space and time.

The letters are at the same time the heart of Prajñā Bodhisattva expressed as her heart-mantra, the hearts of all beings,
and the practitioner’s own heart (Yūkai, SZ 16.405b). Compare note 89.
155

Compare the Darijing shu (T 1796:39.669c):
一切眾生心目。本有佛知見性。但以無智膜翳故。諸法實相不得明了現前。
The minds and eyes of all beings originally have the insight of a buddha. However, because throughignorance [their eyes are] filmed and occluded, they cannot clearly see the suchness of all dharmas thatis right before their eyes.

156

The “memorial” appended to the text is clearly a forgery of a later time, and has been so considered by mostcommentators due to a lack of historical accuracy and many textual problems, including odd phrasings and incorrect

Chinese unlike the polished writings expected from Kūkai but typical of later centuries in Japan, and the fact that the

text is not written anything like the formal memorial it purports to be. For details, see Oda 1985, 1228–1230. No
plague is recorded for 818, though a plague appears in historical records for the third month of 823, when a ceremony
for Bhaiṣajyaguru was conducted by 300 monks at Tōdai-ji temple (Oda 1985, 1229). There was, however, a drought in

818, and it is known that Saichō at least was asked to pray for rain. It is unknown if Kūkai was asked to do so. Also,
there was an earthquake in 818.9 after which sūtra recitations were ordered, and plagues often broke out after(43)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

Abbreviations
NDZ

日本大藏經 Nihon Daizōkyō

SZ

眞言宗全書 Shingon-shū zensho

T

大正新脩大藏經 Taishō shinshū daizōkyō

TKZ

定本弘法大師全集 Teihon Kōbō Daishi zenshūZ

大日本續藏經 (卍續藏經) Dai Nihon Zoku-zōkyō (Manji Zoku-zōkyō)ZSZ

續眞言宗全書 Zoku Shingon-shū zensho

References
Conze, Edward 1967. Thirty Years of Buddhist Studies. Oxford: Bruno Cassirer.
——— 1978. The Prajñāpāramitā Literature, 2nd ed. 1978, Tokyo: The Reiyukai.
Hakeda, Yoshito 1972. Kūkai: Major Works. New York: Columbia University Press.
Huang, Chichung 1997. The Analects of Confucius. New York: Oxford University Press.
Gomez, Luis O. 1995. “The Whole Universe as a Sūtra,” in Donald S. Lopez, Jr., ed., Buddhism inPractice, Princeton Univ. Press, pp. 107–112.

Lusthaus, Dan 2003. “The Heart Sūtra in Chinese Yogācāra: Some Comparative Comments on theHeart Sūtra Commentaries of Wŏnch’ŭk and K’uei-chi.” International Journal of Buddhist
Thought & Culture, September 2003, vol. 3, pp. 59–103.

Shih, Heng-ching 2001. A Comprehensive Commentary on the Heart Sūtra (Prajñāpāramitā-hṛdayasūtra). Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.

Matsunaga, Yūkei 2006. Kūkai: Hannya shingyō no himitsu o yomitoku (Kūkai: Analyzing the secrets

earthquakes (Sakata 1999, 150). There is a copy of the Heart Sūtra kept in Daikaku-ji temple made by Emperor Saga at

the time of a plague, and it is possible that Kūkai lectured on the Heart Sūtra at that time. However, there is no record

connecting Hannya-shingyō hiken to such a conjectured lecture, or to connect any of this to the year 818. The text
appended to Hannya-shingyō hiken follows.

于時弘仁九年春天下大疫。爰帝皇自染黃金於筆端握紺紙於爪掌奉書寫般若心經一巻。予範講讀之撰綴經旨之宗。未吐結願詞蘇生族亍途。夜變而日光赫赫。是非愚身戒德金輪御信力所爲也。但詣神舍輩奉誦此祕鍵。昔予陪鷲峯說法之莚親聞是深文。豈不達其義而已。入唐沙門空海上表In the spring of the ninth year of Kōnin (818) the nation was struck by a great plague. At that time, theemperor (Saga) himself dipped his brush in golden ink, and taking up a dark blue paper, personallycopied out the Heart Sūtra. I, Kūkai, wrote down the teachings concerning the gist of this sūtra as the

text for a lecture. Before I had reached the closing dedication of my lecture, [a miracle or vision cameto pass. The dead seemed to] return to life and stand in the road. The night was transformed by thebrilliant light of the sun. This was not due to my virtues in keeping the precepts, it was due to His

Majesty’s actions [in copying out the sūtra]. Those who visit shrines [to pray] should recite this SecretKey. Long ago, [in a former life] I sat among the assembly at Gṛdhrakūṭa and personally heard thisprofound text [expounded by the Buddha], so have I not fully understood its meaning? This memorial
is presented by the śramaṇa Kūkai, who journeyed to Tang.
(44)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号of the Heart Sūtra). Tokyo: Shunjusha.
Miyazaki, Ninshō 1976. Hannya shingyō to Shingyō Hannya-shingyō hiken ni kiku (Studies on theHeart Sūtra and Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra). Tokyo: Kyōiku Shinchōsha.

Nattier, Jan 1992. “The Heart Sūtra: A Chinese Apocryphal Text?” Journal of the International
Association of Buddhist Studies, vol. 15 (2), pp. 153–223.

Oda, Jishū 1985. Jikkanjō kōsetsu (Lectures on the Texts in Ten Fascicles). Kōyasan: Kōyasan
Shuppansha.

Reeves, Gene 2008. The Lotus Sutra. Boston: Wisdom Publications.
Sakata, Kōzen 1999. Hannya-shingyō hiken kōgi (Lectures on the Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra).
Kōyasan: Kōyasan Shuppansha.

Takagi, Shingen and Dreitlein, Thomas Eijō 2010. Kūkai on the Philosophy of Language. Tokyo:
Keio University Press.

Major Texts
Ben kenmitsu nikyō ron 辯顯密二敎論, TKZ 3.73–110 (On the Differences between Exoteric andEsoteric Buddhism, by Kūkai).

Bonji Shittan jimo narabi ni shakugi 梵字悉曇字母幷釋義, TKZ 5.99–113 (The Siddham Mother-Letters,with a Commentary, by Kūkai, submitted to the court with the above memorial (TKZ 8.62–64), 814 [Kōnin 5.i7.28]).

Bonmōkyō kaidai 梵網經開題, TKZ 4.217–230 (Introduction to the Fanwang-jing, by Kūkai).
Bore xinjing shu 般若心經疏, Z 528:26 (Commentary on the Heart Sūtra, by Mingkuang 明曠).
Bunkyō hifu ron 文鏡祕府論, TKZ 6.1–247 (The Secret Repository of the Mirror of Writing, by Kūkai).
Chūju kankyō no shi narabi ni jo 中壽感興詩幷序, in Shōryō shū, TKZ 8.43–44 (A Poem in Reflection
on My Fortieth Birthday, with an Introduction, by Kūkai [age 40], 813 [Kōnin 4.11]).

Daijō Tennō no kanjō no mon 太上天皇灌頂文, TKZ 5.13–25 (A Text on Abhiṣeka for the Retired

Emperor, by Kūkai). Full title: 大和尙奉爲平安城太上天皇灌頂文 Dai-wajō Heian-jō Daijō
Tennō no on-tame no kanjō no mon), also called Heizei Tennō kanjō mon 平城天皇灌頂文.

Dainichikyō kaidai 大日經開題, TKZ 4.1–63 (Introduction to the Mahāvairocana-sūtra, by Kūkai).
Darijing shu 大日經疏 (Commentary on the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra), abbreviated title of
Da-Piluzhena-chengfo-jing shu 大 毗 盧 遮 那 成 佛 經 疏 , T 1796:39 (Commentary on the
Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra, by Śubhakarasiṃha and Yixing, 725).

Dasheng liqu liu boluomi jing 大乘理趣六波羅蜜多經, T 261:8 (Sūtra on the Mahāyāna Path to Truthof the Six Pāramitās, trans. Prajña, 788)

Dazhidu lun 大 智 度 論 , T 1509:25 [Jpn. Daichido ron] (*Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa, trans.
Kumārajīva, 402–406).

(45)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

Dhāraṇīsamuccaya, T 901:18 (Tuoluoni ji jing 陀羅尼集經, Compendium of Dhāraṇī, trans. Atigupta
653 or 654).

Hannya-shingyō hiken 般若心經祕鍵, TKZ 3.1–13 (Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra, by Kūkai).
Himitsu mandara jūjūshin ron 祕密曼荼羅十住心論, TKZ 2.1–326 [abbreviated as Jūjūshin ron 十住心論] (Ten Stages of Mind in the Secret Maṇḍala; by Kūkai, submitted to the court in 830).

Hizō hōyaku 祕藏寶鑰, TKZ 3.111–176 (Jeweled Key to the Secret Treasury, by Kūkai).
Hokkekyō kaidai 法華經開題, TKZ 4.153–196 (Introduction to the Lotus Sūtra, by Kūkai).
Hokkekyō shaku 法華經釋, TKZ 4.197–209 (Commentary on the Lotus Sūtra, by Kūkai).
Kan’en no sho 勸緣疏, Shōryō shū, TKZ 8.173–176 (On Encouraging Those with a Connection to
Buddhism; full title: Moromoro no uen no shu o susumetatematsute himitsu no hōzō awasetesanjūgo kan o utsushitatematsurubeshi 奉勸諸有緣眾應奉寫祕密法藏合三十五卷, Encouraging

all those with a connection to Buddhism to copy the Dharma treasury of esoteric Buddhism: intotal thirty-five fascicles; by Kūkai [age 41 or 42], 815 [Kōnin 6.4.2]).

Kongō hannya-haramitsu-kyō kaidai 金剛般若波羅蜜經開題, TKZ 4.253–268 (Introduction to the
Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, by Kūkai).

Kongōchōgyō kaidai 金剛頂經開題, TKZ 4.65–92 (Introduction to the Vajraśekhara, by Kūkai).
Konshōō-kyō himitsu kada 金勝王經祕密伽陀, TKZ 4.239–252 (Secret Gāthās on the Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtra; by Kūkai [age 40], 813 [Kōnin 4.12]).

Kyōōkyō kaidai 敎王經開題, TKZ 4.93–105 (Introduction to the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha, by
Kūkai).

Large Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra (Da bore boluomiduo jing 大 般 若 波 羅 蜜 多 經 ), T 220:5–7 (trans.
Xuanzang, 660–663).

Lunyu 論語 (Analects of Confucius).
Putixin lun 菩 提 心 論 (Treatise on Bodhicitta), abbreviated title of Jingangding yujiazhong fa

anouduoluo sanmiaosanputixin lun 金剛頂瑜伽中發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心論, T 1665:32 (TheTreatise on Raising the Thought of Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment within the Yoga of the
Vajraśekhara, attributed to Nāgārjuna, trans. Amoghavajra).

Rishukyō kaidai 理趣輕開題, TKZ 4.107–118 (Introduction to the Adhyardhaśatikā-prajñāpāramitāsūtra, by Kūkai).

Saishōō-kyō kaidai 最勝王經開題, TKZ 4.231–237 (Introduction to the Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra, by
Kūkai).

Sanmayakai jo 三昧耶戒序, TKZ 5.1–10 (Introduction to the Samaya Commitments, by Kūkai).
Shō-ji-jissō gi 聲字實相義, TKZ 3.33–49 (The Meanings of Sound, Letter, and Reality, by Kūkai,undated).

(46)

高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要

第 24 号

Shōrai mokuroku 請來目錄, TKZ 1.1–39 (A List of Texts and Items Brought from China, also Goshōrai
mokuroku 御請來目錄; by Kūkai [age 33], 806 [Daidō 1.10.22]).

Shōryō shū 性靈集, TKZ 8.3–216 (Collection of Miraculous Writings, also read Seirei shū; full title: 遍照發揮性靈集 Henjō hokki shōryō shū, Collection of the Miraculous Writings of Kūkai; by Kūkai,compiled by Shinzei).

Shouhu guojiezhu tuoluoni jing 守護國界主陀羅尼經, T 997:19 (Dhāraṇī Sūtra for Protecting Rulers of
Nations, trans. by Prajña and Muniśrī, 803–804).

Sokushin jōbutsu gi 卽身成佛義, TKZ 3.15–31 [Buddhahood Immediately and in This Body] (Kūkai,undated).

Unji gi 吽字義, TKZ 3. 51–72 (The Meanings of the Letter Hūṃ, Kūkai, undated).
Xiuxi Boreboluomi pusa guanxing niansong yigui 修習般若波羅蜜菩薩觀行念誦儀軌, T 1151:20(Mantra Recitation Ritual Manual for Cultivating the Yoga of Prajñāpāramitā Bodhisattva, transl.
Amoghavajra).

Zhuangzi 莊子 (The Book of Zhuangzi).
Sino-Japanese Characters
Amoghavajra 不空 (705–774)

Liangben 良賁 (717–777)

Bodhiruci 菩提流志 (?–527)

Mingkuang 明曠Dānapāla 施護

Nāgārjuna 龍猛

Dharmacandra 法月 (653–743)

Prajña 般若 (734–?)

Dōhan 道範 (1184–1252)

Prajñācakra 智慧輪

Facheng 法成 (’Gos Chos-grub?)

Qinglong-si 靑龍寺

Faxiang 法相 (Jpn. Hossō)

Raihō 賴寶 (1279–?)

Fazang 法藏 (643–712)

Raiyu 賴瑜 (1226–1304)

Gōhō 杲寶 (1306–1362)

Sanlun 三論 (Jpn. Sanron)

Huayan 華嚴 (Jpn. Kegon)Shinzei 眞濟 (800–860)

Huiguo 惠果 (746–805)Śikṣānanda 實叉難陀 (652–710)

Huilin 慧琳Śubhakarasiṃha 善無畏 (637–735)

Jizang 吉藏 (549–623)

Tiantai 天台 (Jpn Tendai)

Kakuban 覺鑁 (1095–1143)

Wŏnch’uk 圓測 (613–696)

Kuiji 窺基 (632–682)

Xuanzang 玄奘 (600–664)

Kūkai 空海 (774–835)

Yijing 義淨 (635–713)

Kumārajīva 鳩摩羅什 (344–413)

Yūkai 宥快 (1345–1416)(47)

An Annotated Translation of Kūkai’s Secret Key to the Heart Sūtra (Thomas Eijō Dreitlein)

Zhanran 湛然 (711–782)

Zhiyi 智顗 (538–597)

Zhi Qian 支謙 (fl. 223–253)

Published in Kōyasan Daigaku Mikkyō Bunka Kenkyūsho Kiyō (高野山大学密教文化研究所紀要, The Bulletinof the Research Institute of Esoteric Buddhist Culture, Kōyasan University), Vol. 24, Feb. 2011, pp.
216–170 (reverse numbered).

This online version corrects some minor errors in the print version.

(2)