Don’t we deserve joy and happiness in our daily lives? How come we are surrounded by stress and anxiety instead? How are we going to escape from the unbearable pressure? Go shopping? Watch a movie? Take a vacation? Or get another a job? If you have tried them all, you’ll probably notice that the temporary relieves provided by those stimuli are simply not enough. Stress, anxiety, and depression know their way to crawl back no matter where we go. Why can’t we solve all our problems by changing the outside world? Or, maybe it is not the outside world to blame. Those negative feelings simply come from within. Unless we learn how to change ourselves internally, there is virtually no way out.
A very famous guidance for this internal change that we need is called the Heart Sutra. It is the most popular sutra in Chinese Buddhism because of its conciseness. However, it is also because of its concise language that people glance through it without capturing its deeper meaning. Then, how about a direct heart-to-heart communication beyond language? Try Master Hung’s book “The Sutra of My Heart” and you will find what you need. The paintings in this book provide a new way of internal purification. The words in each page further extend the meanings of the heart sutra and touch every reader’s heart. I believe that’s why this book became the best-selling book soon after its debut.
Even though this book is mostly in Chinese, you can find the English translation of the sutra itself as you flip through the pages. I have been wondering why the main part was not translated but I believe it will take time and a tremendous effort. Therefore, with this short review, I sincerely wish for the publication of this book in English and other languages so that the teachings of Master Hung, the Earth Zen person, can cover the whole earth and show us how to attain true joy and happiness.