The [Ogyen Trinley Dorje] Karmapa on The Heart Sutra

I duckduckgo’d “how to practice the prajna paramita” and the Karmapa answered.

" How to Truly Practice the Heart Sutra?"

As with the sutra, his comments are a mind job.
Something to chew on if Mahayana is your spiritual flavor:


“Shariputra is asking from the point of view of wisdom and Avalokiteshvara is answering from the point of view of emptiness.”

“In the first session, we mentioned different kinds of prajna or wisdom. The path prajna refers to the question posed by Shariputra and the nature prajna refers to Avalokiteshvara’s response in explaining profound emptiness.”

(looks like it can be accessed in upper right of the webpage)
Then…

“The second reason relates to the relationship of theory and practice. As a disciple of Buddha Shakyamuni, our focus should not emphasize theory too much, but place more emphasis on how to put theory into practice. When we’re too focused on theory, our brains can get a little strange; slowly a gap will develop between the Dharma and our practice. Questions will crowd our mind. So we have to use the theories and put them in to practice, not just keep them in our heads. We need to use our mind to truly experience the philosophy and then we can clarify our doubts. Putting these ideas in to practice is the best way to clear away our doubts. Therefore, Shariputra asked how to practice and not for an explanation of emptiness.”


                        ~ * ~

Guess that’s where the paramita of discipline comes in. :+1:

To go sit and contemplate the sutra.

And contemplate Dreams of Light (keep the vomit bucket nearby for ch. 15).

Or - The Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness.
Or practices - in addition to doing them.
Etc.

Yet I’ve found I personally have a better sense of the View after drowning in the deep end the past year. Without that context, I just sit and spin my wheels.

I guess that’s why there are 84,000 gates to liberation.

Lateral-vs-Vertical_ThinkingStyles-diag

(or so it seems, based on the blank stares I manifest / co-create)

My first word as a baby was, “why?”
Mom was crushed. :wink:

It’s a long path ahead for this one, twisted with switchbacks and setbacks and other gnarly obstacles!

:zipper_mouth_face: