BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Buddhism 'Heart' and 'Mind' are the same

But 'heart' in the title of the sutra as usually translated, 'Heart of the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom' is not referring to an organ heart? This thread started with the connection of the idea of heart and mind through the title and content of the Heart Sutra, and I thought you were taking issue with that, perhaps I misunderstood what you were trying to say...

Dear Lisa,

The Heart Sutra is of the Mahayana lineage.In Theravadin lineage ,there is no mention of the Heart Sutra,that is why ,I spoke that way. Also ,Deanna or Lisa low carb,mentionned the
intelligence of the heart (organ) reacting to stimuli etc.
This is where i mentionned that the heart was just an organ ,nothing else.Also you mention ,You tought that I would take issue... I do not take issue .I respect every one's opinions
on a subject. Never forget ,I am french ,so my english might
sometimes come out on the strong side.

With deep Respect
_/\_
a simple buddhist named
loong
by the way ,I just love this site.

Hi looong, Yes, I understand. And even without language issues, it can be hard to discuss these things online. So many aspects of communication - body language and nuance - are lost.

Anyway, I actually think the Heart Sutra is one of the more 'Theraveda' like Mahayana sutras, because it is really inquiry-based. It is really about stripping away or seeing past all the levels of conditioned mind that usually shape our perceptions, so that we can experience raw awareness directly.

That is the 'heart' that the sutra speaks of - that direct experience of reality, without our usual layers of judgment and conditioned thinking. At that level we can see our connection to everything else clearly, and from there compassion naturally arises. It is not an 'emotion' that we evoke. Instead, compassion (heart) is a result of our direct experience of our connection to everything else. In this way, heart and mind are the same.

To Lisa ,

You are so right. Do not want to insult Mahayana members here,
but Theravada is more down to earth.The Heart Sutra ,after reading the text seemed more realistic than other sutras ,I have read

With full respect
_/\_
a simple buddhist named
loong.