Heart Sutra sung by Faye Wong, with subtitles in English and Chinese

The translation of the Sutra is my own: I’ve tried to make it accurate without too much ’Buddhism-speak’. Contrary to what you might think, the oldest version of this Sutra is Chinese, not Sanskrit. 2 terms are imitated by sound from Sanskrit: ’Bore Boluomiduo’ = Sanskrit ’prajna-paramita’, ’Perfection of Wisdom’, and ’Putisaduo’ = Sanskrit ’Bodhisattva’. The subtitles show the tones of the Chinese in the pinyin line. While these should preferably be respected when speaking, they should be ignored when singing: the melody takes precedence over the tones. Follow Ms Wang’s melody if you can!
Back to Top