Why do the macrobiotics study this sutra then?? Im intrigued...
Well I don't know any japanese so I can't help you with that one!
I studied the Heart Sutra too
Heart Sutra + Commentary & it is very profound isn't it ! It would take about a week to explain what it means & it takes years to understand the explanation. It is quite a simple explanation.
Form is empty. Emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form, form also is not other than emptiness. Likewise feeling, discrimination, compositional factors & consciousness are empty......etc.
None of this makes any sense unless you understand what Form is empty means. It means...form lacks INHERENT existence. It does not mean nihilism.....ie that form does not exist, it means that form does not exist INHERENTLY, it is empty of inherent existence.
The key to understanding emptiness is to understand that all humans see phenomena as existing INHERENTLY & this is the root of all their physical & mental suffering. We can only understand the sutra if apply it to our personal experience & use it as a tool to overcome our suffering, Otherwise it is just dry philosophy with no relavence to us or our lives.
Michelle