The Heart Sutra contains Buddhism's most direct, most succinct teaching about the true nature of our own being and of all reality. These subtle and easily misunderstood teachings lie at the very heart of all Buddhist wisdom, and a thorough understanding of them is essential for attaining what the Dalai Lama calls "an unmistaken view of reality" - a view that brings about true liberation from the source of all suffering.
Clarifying the meaning of the Buddhist term "emptiness", the Dalai Lama dispels misperceptions that it implies a nihilistic outlook or a philosophical view with no real implications in our lives, skillfully guiding the reader to a clear appreciation of a profound truth. Recently delivered to thousands of eager listeners in Mountain View, California, these teachings unfold through a series of increasingly subtle presentations, carefully building one atop another, in lucid language that will appeal both to readers with a great deal of familiarity with Buddhism and those with none at all.
The Essence of Heart Sutra truly is the definitive presentation of a critical Buddhist teaching - from one of the world's most beloved teachers.

The Essence of Heart Sutra, The Dalai Lama, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 179 pages, $14.95

Tenzin Gyamtso, the 14th Dalai Lama, was born on July 6, 1935 in a small village called Takster in northeastern Tibet. At the age of two, His Holiness was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalaia Lama. He was enthroned at the age of five and assumed full political power in 1950. In 1959, His Holiness was forced into exile and has striven ever since for a peaceful solution to the the Sino-Tibetan crisis. He continually promotes his compassionate approach to life struggles, whether personal or global, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

Editor's Preface	ix
1. Buddhism in Context
Chapter 1: The Quest for Inner Development	3
Chapter 2: Religion in Today's World	9
Many Teachings, Many Paths	9
Maintaining One's Own Tradition	13
Sharing Each Other's Traditions	14
Learning from Other Traditions	17
Chapter 3: The Foundations of Buddhism	21
Defining Features	21
The Buddha	22
The First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma	25
The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination	29
The Afflictions	31
Abandoning the Causes of Suffering	36
Chapter 4: The Great Vehicle	41
The Mahayana School	41
Nagarjuna and the Great Vehicle	42
Origins of the Great Vehicle	46
Chapter 5: Freedom from Suffering	49
Suffering and Compassion	49
Integrating All the Teachings	52
II The Heart Sutra
Text of the Heart Sutra	59
Chapter 6: The Opening	63
The Perfection of Wisdom Sutras	63
Giving the Title and Paying Homage	65
The Origin of the Teaching	68
Essence and Form	70
Chapter 7: Entering the Bodgisattva Path	77
The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara	77
Noble Sons and Noble Daughters	79
Buddha Nature	82
The Way Things Are	83
Chapter 8: Selflessness in Context	87
Ultimate Bodhicitta	87
The Doctrine of No-self	88
The Four Seals	91
Chapter 9: Interpreting Emptiness	99
The Two Types of Selflessness	99
The Mind-only Interpretation	101
Definitive Versus Provisional Interpretations	104
The Middle Way Interpretation	106
The Two Middle Way Schools	108
Emptiness and Dependent Origination	111
Chapter 10: Developing an Unmistaken View of Reality	113
Correctly Refuting Intrinsic Existence	113
Understanding the Two Truths	114
Traditions of Interpretations	119
The Eight Aspects of Emptiness	121
Chapter 11: Attaining the Result	125
The Emptiness of All Phenomena	125
Nirvana	127
The Mantra of the Perfections of Wisdom	129
The Implicit Meaning of the Heart Sutra	131
All Rejoice	133
III: The Way of the Bodhisattva
Chapter 12: Generating Bodhicitta	139
A Gradual Approach	139
The Seven-Point Cause-and-Effect Metod	140
Equalizing and Exchanging Oneself and Others	143
Self-Cherishing Versus Cherishing Others	144
The Practice of Giving and Taking	146
Generating Bodhicitta	146
Afterword	149
Appendix: Thorough Elucidation of the Meaning of the Words: An Exposition of the "Heart of Wisdom' Jamyang Gawai Lodro (1429-1503)	151
Notes	165
Bibliography	173
Index	175