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02/2 Maka-hannya-haramitsu

摩訶般若波羅蜜

maka-hannya-haramitsu

Maha-prajna-paramita

Maka is a phonetic rendering of the Sanskrit word maha, which means “great.” Hannya is a phonetic rendering of the Sanskrit word prajna which can be translated as “real wisdom” or “intuitive reflection.” Haramitsu is a phonetic rendering of the Sanskrit word paramita which literally means “to have arrived at the opposite shore,” that is, to have accomplished the truth. So maka-hannya-haramitsu means the accomplishment which is great real wisdom. In this chapter, Master Dogen wrote his interpretation of the Maha-prajna-paramita-hrdaya-sutra. Hrdaya means heart. This short sutra, usually called “the Heart Sutra,” represents the heart of the six hundred volumes of the Maha-prajna-paramita-sutra. Even though it is very short, the Heart Sutra contains the most fundamental principle of Buddhism. What is the most fundamental principle? Prajna. What is prajna? Prajna, or real wisdom, is a kind of intuitive ability that occurs in our body and mind, when our body and mind are in the state of balance and harmony. We normally think that wisdom is something based on the intellect, but Buddhists believe that wisdom, on which our decisions are based, is not intellectual but intuitive. The right decision comes from the right state of body and mind, and the right state of body and mind comes when our body and mind are balanced and harmonized. So maha-prajna-paramita is wisdom that we have when our body and mind are balanced and harmonized. And Zazen is the practice by which our body and mind enter the state of balance and harmony. Maha-prajna-paramita, then, is the essence of Zazen.