SUTRA COMMENTARIES
There is No Suffering:
A Commentary on the Heart Sutra
A Commentary on the Heart Sutra
There Is No Suffering is Chan Master Sheng Yen's
commentary on the Heart Sutra, the most widely
recited and studied among the Mahayana scriptures.
Only some two pages long in English translation, the
Heart Sutra evokes the complete spirit of Mahayana
Buddhism, which is that while phenomena exist they
are fundamentally transient and without enduring self,
that underlying all sentient experience is "true
suchness", or Buddha-nature. Master Sheng Yen
speaks about the sutra from the point of view of Chan
practice and presents it as a series of contemplations,
encouraging readers to experience it directly through
meditation and daily life. In this way, experiencing the
Heart Sutra is not merely intellectual, but also method
of contemplating our own reality and ultimately
awakening to our own inherent Buddha-nature.
Complete Enlightenment
Complete Enlightenment is the first authoritative
English translation and commentary on The Sutra of
Complete Enlightenment, a central Mahayana text that
shaped the development of East Asian Buddhism and
Chan. Master Sheng Yen incisively applies the sutra to
practice in contemporary life. The central theme of this
book consists of penetrating dialogues between the
Buddha and twelve illustrious bodhisattvas on the
nature of enlightenment. Each of the bodhisattvas is
an enlightened being who epitomizes the ideals of
Mahayana Buddhism, the Middle Way of vowing to help
all sentient beings while on the path to buddha-hood.
"The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment is a Dharma
dialogue between the Buddha and several great
bodhisattvas in the presence of a large Sangha. If you
know how to be there and how to listen, you will be
able to actually participate in it. It is still going on."
--Thich Nhat Hanh