Heart Sutra

Questions for Further Study

• 1.: Why do you think the phrase “Turning of the Wheel” was used to refer to the act of teaching by the Buddha? What meaning does this phrase suggest?
• 2.: The entry states that in 25 BCE, the Theravadin Buddhists held a council in Anuradhapura that established the contents of the Tripitaka, the “three baskets” of texts that make up their version of the Buddhist canon. Compare this with the entry Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, a Catholic Church council held in the sixteenth century. What similar goals did the councils have? How did they differ? How did each council reflect its culture and time?
• 3.: Eastern religions place considerable emphasis on such concepts as wisdom and enlightenment. How is the Buddhist conception of these matters similar to and different from the Hindu conception as outlined in the entry on the Baghavad Gita?
• 4.: Why is this sutra called the Heart Sutra?
• 5.: What problems do translators of such documents as the Heart Sutra face? Why might different translations of the text differ in important ways? What impact might these differences have for the reader’s understanding of the text?