Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing at Vulture Peak in Rājagṛha together with a great saṅgha of monks and many hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas, all of whom were youthful.

Then the Blessed One addressed Śakra, lord of the gods: “Kauśika, this is the meaning of the perfection of wisdom: Do not view the perfection of wisdom as being two. Nor is it not two. It is neither a mark nor not a mark. It is neither something to adopt nor something to abandon. It is neither increasing nor decreasing; neither polluted nor not polluted; neither purified nor not purified; neither abandoned nor not abandoned; neither remaining nor not remaining; neither to be applied nor not to be applied; neither connected nor not connected; neither a condition nor not a condition; neither a dharma nor not a dharma; neither suchness nor not suchness; and neither the limit of reality nor not the limit of reality.

“Similarly, Kauśika, the meaning of the perfection of wisdom is as follows: As all phenomena are fundamentally sameness, the perfection of wisdom is itself sameness. As all phenomena are profound, the perfection of wisdom is profound. As all phenomena are isolated, the perfection of wisdom is isolated. As all phenomena are immovable, the perfection of wisdom is immovable. As all phenomena are without thought, the perfection of wisdom is without thought. As all phenomena are free of fear, the perfection of wisdom is free of fear. As all phenomena are free of anxiety, the perfection of wisdom is free of anxiety. As all phenomena are of one taste, the perfection of wisdom is of one taste. As all phenomena are unborn, the perfection of wisdom is unborn. As all phenomena are unceasing, the perfection of wisdom is unceasing. As all phenomena are like space, the perfection of wisdom is like space.

“As form is boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless. Similarly, as feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness are boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless. As the earth element is boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless. Similarly, as the water element, the fire element, the wind element, the space element, and the element of consciousness are boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless. As Mount Sumeru is boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless. As the ocean is boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless.

“As vajra is the same, the perfection of wisdom is the same. As all phenomena are undifferentiated, the perfection of wisdom is undifferentiated. As the essential nature of all phenomena is beyond apprehending, the essential nature of the perfection of wisdom is beyond apprehending. As all phenomena are the same in lacking anything to be dispelled, the perfection of wisdom is the same in lacking anything to be dispelled. As all phenomena are without anything to undertake, the perfection of wisdom is without anything to undertake. As all phenomena are inconceivable, the perfection of wisdom is inconceivable.

“Similarly, as the perfection of giving, the perfection of discipline, the perfection of patience, the perfection of effort, the perfection of concentration, the perfection of wisdom, the perfection of means, the perfection of aspiration, the perfection of power, and the perfection of gnosis are purified of the three spheres and thus boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless.

“The so-called perfection of wisdom consists of eighteen kinds of emptiness. They are internal emptiness, external emptiness, internal and external emptiness, emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, ultimate emptiness, emptiness of conditioned phenomena, emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, emptiness transcending extremes, emptiness without beginning or end, emptiness of anything to be given up, emptiness of nature, emptiness of all phenomena, emptiness of self-characteristics, emptiness of nonapprehension, emptiness of nonexistence, emptiness of essential nature, and emptiness of the essential nature of nonexistence.

“In short, such emptiness is called the perfection of wisdom.

“Like a star, a cataract, a lamp, A magical illusion, a dew drop, a water bubble, A dream, a flash of lightning, and a cloud— View conditioned things in this way.

Oṁ namo bhagavatyai āryaprajñāpāramitāyai. Oṁ dhī hrī śrī śruti smṛti mati gati vijaye svāhā.

“Neither ceasing nor born, Neither annihilated nor eternal, Neither many nor one, Neither coming nor going,

“Peaceful, because elaborations are pacified— To the one who teaches this dependent origination, To the perfect Buddha, The best of speakers, I prostrate.”

The Blessed One having spoken thus, Venerable Śāradvatīputra, Śakra, the lord of the gods, and the monks, bodhisattvas, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.