Inexplicable Joy: On the Heart Sutra
About this ebook
"A very helpful practical guide to reading, reciting, and contemplating the Heart Sutra... [that] opens up space for personally exploring this text that is both celebrated and enigmatic."
—Karl Brunnhölzl, author of The Heart Attack Sutra
Right now countless humans are reciting the Heart Sutra—no matter when “right now” happens to be. This ancient, essential Buddhist text carries with it a mystery of origin and a myriad of versions for consideration. The longest is 100,000 lines. The one contemplated in Inexplicable Joy is 43 lines. The ultimate is no lines at all. Just one syllable: AH.
The Heart Sutra is multi-layered, sacred, and sometimes impenetrable. It also lays out the path to full enlightenment.
In Inexplicable Joy, Susan Piver shares her intimate, poignant understanding of this formidable text. She discusses the inner meaning and timeless qualities of the Heart Sutra. Breaking down each of its 43 lines, Piver explains how it is practiced, and offers suggestions for bringing it into our lives—while keeping all of its mysteries intact.
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About the author
Susan Piver is the New York Times bestselling author of many books, including The Hard Questions; the award-winning How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life; The Wisdom of a Broken Heart; Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation; and The Four Noble Truths of Love: Buddhist Wisdom for Modern Relationships. Her latest is The Buddhist Enneagram: Nine Paths to Warriorship.
Susan has an international reputation as a skillful meditation teacher. She has given talks everywhere, including Procter & Gamble, Google Paris, Google London, and Harvard University.
A student of Buddhism since 1993, Susan graduated from a Buddhist seminary in 2004. In 2012, she founded The Open Heart Project, the world’s largest online-only dharma center. The Open Heart Project offers meditation classes, virtual retreats, and community gatherings. In 2018, a publishing imprint, Lionheart Press, was created by her and Crystal Gandrud to offer books that merge Buddhism with everyday life.
