Heart Sutra

The heart Sutra monument on the Wisdom Path on Lantau Island, Hong Kong in July 2009.

"While on a visit to China in 1980, Professor Jao Tsung-I saw the Buddhist stone carvings of the Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra on Mount Taishan in Shandong. This inspired Professor Jao to create a monumental calligraphic work of the Heart Sutra. The Heart Sutra is a treasured text revered by Confucians, Buddhists and Taoists alike. It is written in a simple and concise manner, yet its message is truly profound.

Professor Jao completed this calligraphy of Heart Sutra in 2002, and dedicated it to the people of Hong Kong in June the same year. The work is now presented in the form of a large-scale wood inscription display in an outdoor environment. The calligraphy has been carved on to wooden columns reminiscent of bamboo tiles (zhujian) used for writing in ancient times.

In order to reflect the profound wisdom of the Heart Sutra and to impose the two-dimensional calligraphy into a three-dimensional architecture naturally, the thirty-eight timber columns with inscription of the Heart Sutra have been arranged to correspond to the topography of the landscape, and in a figure-of-eight configuration (i.e. the symbol of infinty "∞") symbolising infinity. The column located at the highest point of the hill is left blank to suggest the concept of "emptiness" (Sunyata), a key theme in the Heart Sutra."