Heart Sutra reading guide: full text, pinyin and editions
Find the complete Heart Sutra, understand the 260-character Chinese text and Mandarin pinyin, and choose between short and long editions with named sources.
Where can I read the full Heart Sutra?
The Chinese reading pages contain Xuanzang’s complete short text, with optional character-by-character Mandarin pinyin. You can change the type size and appearance. The English page presents Adam Pearcey’s translation of the Tibetan long recension; its source and reuse terms are given below the text.
Read the English long recension → · Read Chinese with pinyin →
What does the 260-character count include?
It refers to the main Chinese text attributed to Xuanzang, from its opening to the end of the mantra. The count excludes the title, translator credit and punctuation. It is not a word count for every edition or language. Our Chinese text follows CBETA’s Taishō T08, no. 251.
How is the Chinese title pronounced?
In Mandarin it is bō rě bō luó mì duō xīn jīng. The term 般若 is read bō rě. Pinyin here helps readers recognise Chinese characters; it does not prescribe a Sanskrit mantra pronunciation or replace a lineage’s chanting practice.
Why is the English edition longer than the Chinese text?
This reader uses Xuanzang’s short recension for Chinese. The Lotsawa House English and Tibetan texts use a long recension with an opening narrative and conclusion. Check the edition and translator before comparing texts; different paragraph lengths do not by themselves show an omission.
Are all language entries modern translations?
No. Japanese is a traditional Chinese-character chanting text. Korean and Vietnamese give traditional phonetic readings of the Chinese, and the Sanskrit page uses IAST romanization. Thai is an attributed interpretive translation. Each page identifies its text type, and the directory links to the original sources.
May I reuse the text?
Ancient texts and modern translations have different conditions. The Lotsawa House texts require attribution and non-commercial use under CC BY-NC 4.0. Consult the source and license of the particular page. We do not publish new machine translations to fill missing language entries.