The image is a facsimile of the so-called “Horiuzi Palm-leaf MSS.” of Hōryū-ji monastery. The manuscript was preserved in Hōryū-ji, and is said to date from 609 AD. Georg Bühler notes in Müller (1881) that a comparison of the script with India manuscripts and inscriptions argues for a date in the 8th century. He hypothesises that all of those later scribes and stone masons of other editions were being deliberately archaic. However the simpler hypothesis is that the Horyuji manuscript is late.
First published in:
Müller, Max. (1881) ‘The Ancient Palm Leaves containing the Prajñāpāramitā-Hṛidaya Sūtra and Uṣniṣa-vijaya-Dhāraṇi.’ in Buddhist Texts from Japan (Vol 1.iii). Oxford University Press. Online: http://archive.org/details/buddhisttextsfr00bhgoog
The manuscript begins with the Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya. From page 2, line 2 we find the Uṣnīṣavijaya Dhāraṇī. The last line is a complete Sanskrit syllabary in Siddhaṃ script – preceded by the word siddhaṃ and ending with llaṃ kṣa. Each texts begins with the auspiscious mark ༄ called yigmo in Tibetan, which is often erroneously interpreted as oṃ.
Online: National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties of National Museums, Japan.
Transcription
Recto
- ༄ nama ssa rva jñā ya ā ryā va lo kit e sva ra bo dhi sa tvo ga mbhī raṃ pra jñā pā ra mi tā yaṃ ca ryāṃ ca ra mā no vya va lo kaya ti sma paṃ ca ska ndhā stā mtā sca sva bhā va sū nyaṃ pasya
- ti sma i ha sā ri pu tra rū paṃ su nya tā su nya tai va rū paṃ rū pā nna pṛ tha k su nya tā su nya tā yā na pṛ tha gru paṃ ya drū paṃ sā su nya tā yā su nya tā drū paṃ e va me va ve da
- na saṃ jñā saṃ skā ra vi jña nā ni i ha sā ri pu tra sa rva dha rmā śū nya tā la kṣa ṇā a bu pa nna a ni rū ddhā a ma lā vi ma lā nā nā na pa ri pū rṇa na ta smā cchā rip u tra sū nya tā
- yāṃ na rū pa na ve da nā [1] saṃ jñā na saṃ skā rā na vi jñā ni na ca kṣu sro tra ghrā ṇa ji hvā kā ya ma nā msi na rūpaṃ sa bda ga ndha ra sa spṛ ṣṭa vya dha rmā na ca kṣu rdhā tu yā va nna ma
- no dhā tu na vi dyā nā vi dyā na vi dyā kṣa yo nā vi dyā kṣa yā va nna ja rā ma ra ṇaṃ na ja rā ma ra ṇa kṣa yo na duḥ kha sa mu da ya ni ro dha mā rga na jñā naṃ [2] na prā pti tvaṃ bo dhi sa tva sya pra jñā pā ra mi
- tā a śri tya vi ha r ti cit ta va ra ṇa cit ta va ra ṇa nā sti tvā da tra sto vi pa rya sā ti kra ntaḥ ni ṣṭha ni rvā ṇa[3] try dhva vya va sti tā sa rva bu ddhāḥ pra jñā pā ra mi tā s sri tyā nu tta rāṃ sa mya ksaṃ bo dhi a bhi
- saṃ bu ddhā tā smā jñā ta vyaṃ pra jñā pra[4] mi tā ma hā maṃ tro ma hā vi dyā maṃ traḥ a nu tta ra maṃ tra a sa
Verso
- ma sa ma maṃ tra sa rva duḥ kha pra sa ma naḥ sa tyaṃ a mi thya tvā d pra jñā pā ra mi tā yā mu kto maṃ traḥ ta dya thā ga te ga te pā ra gā te pā ra ga te pā ra saṃ ga te bo dhi svā hā * pra jñā pā ra mi ta hrid yā sa ma pta
Notes
[1] omitted na
[2] section omitted: na prāptir na-aprāptiḥ tasmāc chāriputra
[3] word omitted: prāptaḥ
[4] pra should read pāra
Reconstructed Text
༄ namas sarvajñāya |
āryāvalokiteśvara-bodhisattvā gambhīraṃ prajñāpāramitāyaṃ caryāṃ caramāno vyavalokayati sma paṃca-skandhās tā[ṃ]ś ca svabhāva-śūnyaṃ paśyati sma |
iha śāriputra rūpaṃ śūnyatā śūnyataiva rūpaṃ rūpān na pṛthak śūnyatāyā na pṛthag rūpaṃ yad rūpaṃ sā śūnyatāyā śūnyatā tad rūpaṃ evam eva vedana-saṃjñā-saṃskāra-vijñānāni |
iha śāriputra sarva-dharmā śūnyatā-lakṣaṇā anutpanna anirūddhā amalāvimalā nānān aparipūrṇa | tasmāc chāriputra śūnyatāyāṃ na rūpaṃ na vedanāna [na] saṃjñā na saṃskārā na vijñāni na cakṣū-śrotra-ghraṇa-jihvā-kāya-manāmsi | na rūpaṃ-śabda-ganda-rasa-spraṣṭavya-dharmā | na cakṣur-dhātu yāvan na mano-dhātu na vidyā nāvidyā na vidyākṣayo nāvidyāksāyo yāvan na jarāmaraṇaṃ na jarāmaraṇakṣayo | na duḥkha-samudaya-nirodha-marga | na jñānaṃ na praptitvaṃ |
bodhisatvasya prajñapāramitā aśritya viharati [a]cittavaraṇa | cittāvaraṇa-nāstitvad atrasto viparyasātikrāntaḥ niṣṭha-nirvaṇaḥ | tryadhvavyavastitā sarvabuddhāḥ prajñāpāramitā aśrityānuttarāṃ samyak saṃbodhi [sam yak] saṃbuddhā |
tasmā jñātavyaṃ prajñāpramitā mahā-maṃtrā mahāvidyā-maṃtraḥ anuttara-maṃtra asamasama-maṃtra sarva-duḥkha-praśamanaḥ satyaṃ amithyatvād | prajñāpāramitāyām ukto maṃtra tadyathā gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā ||
prajñāpāramit [hṛda]yā samapta.
Comments
This manuscript forms the basis of the Sanskrit edition published by Max Müller, which in turn forms the basis of the edition by Vaidya, This is significant because Vaidya is widely available on the internet and is the text which appears in the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon. The text is quite different from the critical edition by Conze (1948, 1967).
In terms of the history of the study of Prajñapāramitā texts in the West this is an important document. Though it is far from perfectly copied, and probably not at old as the priests of Hōryū-ji monastery say it is, it is never-the-less old. It ought to have been carbon dated before now, but I’ve seen no reference to any attempt. The ms. dates from not long after the Heart Sutra was composed and probably can claim to the the oldest ms. of it in existence. Not only that but it continues to influence study and perception of the Heart Sutra. The excellent calligraphy book by John Stevens reproduces this text with only minor amendments for example; and much of it survives into Vaidya’s Sanskrit edition.
