Heart Sutra (科始終心要)

About 科始終心要

Tang · by 湛然述

304 · about 1 min

The Essentials of Cultivating Mind from Beginning to End, composed by the Ninth Patriarch of the Tiantai School, Master Zhanran of the Tang Dynasty. This work was written during the mid-Tang period with the aim of upholding the true meaning of the Dharma and addressing the prevailing tendency within Buddhism at that time to overemphasize the view of emptiness. At its core, the text systematically expounds the Tiantai doctrine of inherent nature, emphasizing that all phenomena inherently possess true reality, wherein the ultimate and the conventional are non-dual. It profoundly elucidates the harmonious principle of the non-difference between mind, Buddha, and sentient beings. As an important treatise of the Tiantai School, it carries forward the teachings of Master Zhiyi and lays the foundation for later Tiantai doctrine and contemplation. It holds milestone significance in establishing and propagating the Tiantai teaching of inherent nature, serving as a crucial link between past and future, and has exerted a profound influence on the history of Chinese Buddhist philosophy.