I - (Homage to the Holy Perfection of Wisdom!)
Thus have I heard. At one time the Lord was staying at Rajagriha on Vulture Peak Mountain
together with a great host of monks and a great host of Bodhisattvas.
At that time, the Lord was composed in the concentration
on the course of Dharmas called Profound Illumination.
II - At that time also, the noble Lord Avalokiteshvara,
the Bodhisattva and Mahasattva,
in the practice of the profound Perfection of Wisdom
looked down; he beheld but five skandhas
and that in their own-being they were empty.
Then, through the inspiration of the Buddha,
the elder Sariputra said to the noble Lord
Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva and Mahasattva:
"How should any son of good family train who wishes
to engage in the practice of the
profound Perfection of Wisdom?"
And the noble Lord Avalokiteshvara,
the Bodhisattva and Mahasattva,
spoke to the elder Sariputra as follows:
"Sariputra, any son or daughter of good family who wishes to
engage in the practice of the
profound Perfection of Wisdom
should look upon it thus:
he (or she) beholds but five skandhas and
that in their own-being, they are empty.
III - "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.
Emptiness does not differ from form,
and form does not differ from emptiness.
Likewise, feelings, recognition, volitions
and consciousnesses are empty.
IV - "So, Sariputra, all dharmas are emptiness, lacking differentiating marks; they are not produced nor stopped, not defiled and not immaculate, not deficient and not complete.
V - "Therefore, Sariputra, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no recognition, no volition, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no visible form, no sound, no smell no taste, no tangible, no mental object; no eye-element, etc., up to no mind-element, and no mental-consciousness element; no ignorance and no extinction of ignorance, etc., up to no aging and death and no extinction of aging and death; likewise there is no Suffering, Origin, Cessation or Path, no wisdom-knowledge, no attainment and no non-attainment.
VI - "Therefore, Sariputra, because there is no attainment, Bodhisattvas abide relying on the Perfection of Wisdom, without obscuration of thought, and so are unafraid. Transcending perverted views, they attain the end, Nirvana.
VII - "All Buddhas existing in the three times, relying on the Perfection of Wisdom, fully awaken to the highest, perfect Enlightenment.
VIII - "Therefore, one should know that the mantra of the Prajnaparamita is the mantra of great knowledge, the highest mantra, the unequalled mantra, the mantra which allays all suffering, the Truth, since it has nothing wrong. The mantra of the Prajnaparamita is proclaimed:   "tayata om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi soha "
IX - "In this way, Sariputra, should a Bodhisattva and Mahasattva train in the profound Perfection of Wisdom."
Then the Lord rose from that concentration
and commended the noble Lord Avalokiteshvara,
the Bodhisattva and Mahasattva, saying:
"Well done, well done, oh son of good family!
So it is, oh son of good family, so it is.
Just as you have taught, should the profound
Perfection of Wisdom be practiced and
all the Tathagatas will rejoice."
When the Lord had uttered this, the elder Sariputra, the noble Lord Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva and Mahasattva, and all the people present, including the devas, human beings, asuras and gandharvas were delighted and applauded the Lord's speech.
When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound Prajna Paramita, he perceived that all five Skandhas were non-existent, thus securing his deliverance from all suffering and difficulty.
"Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form. So too are feeling, cognition, mental function and consciousness in relation to emptiness.
Shariputra, all dharmas are empty of characteristics. They are not created, not annihilated, not impure, not pure, and they neither increase nor decrease. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, feeling, cognition, mental function, or consciousness; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind; no sights, sounds, smells, taste, touch, and ideas; no field of the eyes, up to and including no field of mind-consciousness, and no ignorance or ending of ignorance, up to and including no old age and death, or ending of old age and death.
There are no Four Noble Truths, no wisdom and no gain. Because nothing is gained, the Bodhisattva, through reliance on Prajna Paramita, has no hindrances in his heart. Because there is no hindrance, he is not afraid, is free from contrary and delusive ideas and attains the Final Nirvana.
All Buddhas of the past, present and future attain enlightenment through reliance on
Prajna Paramita. Therefore, know that Prajna Paramita is a great spiritual mantra, a great
bright mantra, a supreme mantra, and an unequalled mantra. It can remove all suffering; it
is genuine and not false. That is why the mantra of Prajna Paramita was spoken. Recite it
like this: