thoughts are things:
the heart sutra for children
John Pappas
Illustrations: Ed Cross
The Heart Sutra is chanted daily in many Buddhist temples, Zen centers and private homes and is a standard in the Mahayana tradition. It is very popular due to its brevity and depth of teaching into the Buddhist concept of Shunyata (emptiness). Literally, the sutra describes the experience of Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, as liberation is reached through deep meditation. Avalokitsvara then goes on to explain the awakened nature of realizing the emptiness of all phenomena.
The sutra is often chanted in a monotonous manner with each syllable equaling one beat. While this creates a wonderful experience when chanting in a group, it falls short when a parent wishes to impart this particular concept to their children. In my version, I included a bouncing rhyme and contrasting, contemporary imagery to create a reading experience that would be more enjoyable to children and parent. Something that can be sung and danced to in childish vigor and intensity. Illustrator Ed Cross includes playful artistry to complement and punctuate key portions of verse.
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