Interpretation of heart sutra from a  layman


The heart sutra / Prajna Paramita / Bo Ri Bo Lo Mi is the most gibberish sounding sutra amongst the sutras, it's a condensation of the diamond sutra. As such there are probably some basic concepts of buddhism you have to understand.


I don't exactly think you have to be a monk to understand the heart sutra. Most of my understanding is by analyzing the texts.

-When the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Boddhisatva of compassion).
-Was Coursing in the Deep Prajna Paramita. (pretty basic/ she's analyzing the Prajana paramita)

- He Perceived That All Five Skandhas Are Empty.  ( This line basically sums up the whole prajna paramita.)

So obviously we have to understand what the 5 skandhas are before can understand the passage.
Taken from wiki:

The Buddha teachings in the Pali Canon describe the five aggregates as follows:

1. "form" or "matter"^[a] (Skt., Pāli रूप rūpa; Tib. gzugs): matter, body or "material form" of a being or any existence.^[
2. "sensation" or "feeling" (Skt., Pāli वेदना vedanā; Tib. tshor-ba): sensory experience of an object.^[21] It is either pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
3. "perception" (Skt. संज्ञा saṃjñā, Pāli सञ्ञा saññā, Tib. 'du-shes): sensory and mental process that registers, recognizes and labels (for instance, the shape of a tree, color green, emotion of fear).
4. "mental formations", "constructing activities",^[21] "conditioned things", "volition", "karmic activities" (Skt. संस्कार saṃskāra, Pāli सङ्खार saṅkhāra, Tib. 'du-byed): all types of mental imprints and conditioning triggered by an object.^[22][23][d] This skandha includes any process that makes a person initiate action or act.
5. "consciousness", "discrimination" or "discernment"^[e] (Skt. विज्ञान vijñāna, Pāli विञ्ञाण viññāṇa, Tib. rnam-par-shes-pa): This includes, states Peter Harvey, awareness of an object and discrimination of its components and aspects, and is of six types.^[21] The Buddhist literature discusses this skandha as,
1. In the Nikayas/Āgamas: cognizance,^[24][f] that which discerns^[25][g]
2. In the Abhidhamma: a series of rapidly changing interconnected discrete acts of cognizance.^[h]
3. In some Mahayana sources: the base that supports all experience.

5 Skandhas - in essence means the components that determines an experience, a happening that you have experienced. Let's say you saw a beautiful girl,  light goes to your eye (form) - registers information in the brain (perception) - brain to make sense of the information (mental formations) - makes you feel attracted (sensation) - obviously you have to be awake to experience the whole thing (consciousness)

Empty doesn't mean empty/full , it makes more sense if it meant interdependent. You feeling attracted depends on what you see ( form) - depends on how you perceive it (perception), depends on your standards of beauty (mental formation) , depends on whether you're conscious (consciousness). 

So whatever you believe,feel, know are interdependent on your 5 skandhas - which is regulated by your physical body , sensory organs , brain and other organs.

Buddhist believe in reincarnation and the soul, very probable that it means you are determined by what you reincarnated into.