The Heart Sutra is the most widely read, chanted, and copied text in East Asian Buddhism. Here Frederik L. Schodt explores his lifelong fascination with the sutra: its mesmerizing mantra, its ancient history, the “emptiness theory, and the way it is used around the world as a metaphysical tool to overcome chaos and confusion and reach a new understanding of reality--a perfection of wisdom. Schodt's journey takes him to caves in China, American beats declaiming poetry, speculations into the sutra's true origins, and even a robot Avalokiteśvara at a Kyoto temple.
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My Heart Sutra: A World in 260 Characters Paperback – December 15, 2020
by Frederik L. Schodt (Author)
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From the Publisher
My Heart Sutra, a World in 260 Characters
Form and emptiness, mantra and meaning
picture of sculpture statue
Praise frrom a review by Books on Asia
Information about the book
Editorial Reviews
Review
"The very personal nature of My Heart Sutra is what gives this book its readability, especially to the uninitiated."
—Books on Asia
"Schodt’s obsession with the sutra and expertise as a translator shows in his ability to decode academic conversations and practical religious concerns into accessible language.”
—Publishers Weekly
"Unique...an engaging read to anyone with the slightest interest in the subject."
—Nikkei Asia
"Schodt has found the Heart Sutra to be the most transformative spiritual influence in his life, and this book is his tribute for others to experience the scripture’s magic for themselves."
—teahouse.buddhistdoor.net
“This is not merely a book about the Heart Sutra. It’s about the stories that grew up around it, its journey through human civilization like a self-replicating meme, a scrap of wisdom whispering in temples, shopping malls, and movies.”
—Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of China
"Reading My Heart Sutra, I imagined pulling a loose thread at the end of a one-page sutra and unraveling enough yarn to weave together a life, with enough left to make a new robe for the Buddha."
—Red Pine, author of The Heart Sutra: The Womb of Buddhas
“Frederik Schodt has created a magical weaving of two stories of wonder: how the Heart Sutra arose from somewhat fantastic origins to become the most recognizable Buddhist scripture in China and Japan today through new forms of expression, and how the enigmatic teachings of this “sutra concerned with negating everything” has served as a kind of moving goalpost within the author, challenging, inspiring, and guiding him as his religious consciousness unfolds.”
—Mark L. Blum, professor of Buddhist Studies and Shinjo Ito distinguished chair in Japanese Studies, University of California, Berkeley; editor of Cultivating Spirituality, Rennyo and the Roots of Modern Japanese Buddhism, translator of The Nirvana Sutra, vol. 1
“Frederik L. Schodt skillfully weaves together personal anecdotes, details of Buddhist teaching and history, and many other facts and stories, giving readers a compelling reason to study the Heart Sutra and make the wisdom of Emptiness part of their lives."
—Daigaku Rummé, Sōtō Zen priest at the Confluence Zen Center St. Louis
About the Author
Fluent in Japanese, Frederik L. Schodt is an author and translator of impressive breadth. He has written extensively on Japanese pop culture, technology, and history. His books include Dreamland Japan, America and the Four Japans, and Native American in the Land of the Shogun, which was a Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Title in 2005. In 1998, Schodt translated and annotated Japanese immigrant Henry Kiyama's The Four Immigrants Manga, one of the first American original comic books; graphic novelist Will Eisner called the book "a treasure [that] belongs in every library."
In 2009, Schodt was awarded the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, by the Japanese emperor for his contribution "to the introduction and promotion of Japanese contemporary popular culture in the United States of America. He is also a recipient of the Japan Foundation Award for 2017.
Schodt has lectured at venues worldwide, including San Francisco's Asian Art Museum, the Smithsonian Institution's Freer Art Gallery, Temple University Japan, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Tokyo University, Stanford University, and the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in San Francisco.
Product details
Publisher : Stone Bridge Press; Annotated edition (December 15, 2020)
Language: : English
Paperback : 248 pages
ISBN-10 : 1611720621
ISBN-13 : 978-1611720624
Item Weight : 8.8 ounces
Dimensions : 4.75 x 0.55 x 6.75 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #840,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#6,819 in Eastern Philosophy (Books)
#7,954 in Meditation (Books)
#33,687 in Memoirs (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.0 out of 5 stars 1 rating
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Biography
Frederik L. Schodt is a writer, translator, and conference interpreter based in the San Francisco Bay area. He has written widely on Japanese history, popular culture, and technology. His writings on manga, and his translations of them, helped trigger the current popularity of Japanese comics in the English-speaking world, and in 2000 resulted in his being awarded the Special Category of the Asahi Shimbun's prestigious Osamu Tezuka Culture Award. In the same year, his translation of Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama's 1931 pioneering graphic novel,_The Four Immigrants Manga_, was selected as a finalist in Pen West USA translation award. In 2009, Fred was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, for his work in helping to promote Japan's popular culture overseas. Also, in the same year he was awarded the "Special" category of the Ministry of Foreign Affair's 3rd International Manga Award.
Fred's WEBSITE-- http://www.jai2.com | TALKS-- http://www.jai2.com/ABE_Talks.htm | BIBLIOGRAPHY-- http://www.jai2.com/Mybiblio.htm
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4.0 out of 5 stars The Core of Perfected Wisdom
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2020
This is an amazing treatise on an ancient, esoteric Buddhist teaching, the Heart Sutra (also known as the “Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra”). The author takes us on a dual journey – the first one of his personal relationship and experience with it and the second of his extensive research into its origin and use over thousands of years in multiple cultures. It has been said by many teachers and scholars that it is best not to try to understand the Sutra, but rather to chant it, copy it, or contemplate it as a regular practice and allow it to work in consciousness.
Having lived in Japan and being fluent in Japanese, the author seems most comfortable with this version/translation of the Sutra. He has been engaged with the Heart Sutra since his early twenties and has had a scroll with the Sutra posted over his bed for over forty years. As a personal practice, it has ushered him into a self-described “world of faith.”
Furthermore, he makes the disclaimer that, unlike most authors on the Sutra, he is not affiliated with any specific religion, nor is he an academic. Yet much of the content reads as a thesis on the topic and, unfortunately, this was not what I was expecting when I requested the book. In fact, I am among a group that the author highlights; he points out that the word “heart” is often interpreted in English as a “Christianized or romantic” version. He notes that it is more accurate to think of the “essence” or “core” of the perfection of wisdom.
I greatly appreciate the depth of the commitment the author exhibits in both his (almost life-long) study of the Sutra and his exploration of its history and meaning. The book just didn’t meet my personal need.
My thanks to the author, Stone Bridge Press, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing a digital ARC in exchange for an independent, honest review.
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