Memorizing the Hannya Shingyo

The recitation of the Hannya Shingyo is an important ritual in the ZEN Buddhism. Wouldn't it be wonderful to recite it by heart - together with the other meditating people?

The best way to learn such an erratic block of foreign-language syllables is to memorize meaningful snippets. But for that purpose, the Japanese text must be translated literally - word by word. And it must be arranged in a way, that the original and translated words appear on the same line.

Nevertheless, the translation should be elegant. The Hannya Shingyo is a sutra, a teaching text. So, originally it was performed orally - as a speech. Hence, even a word by word translation should illustrate the rhetorical structure.

Unfortunately, such a translation of the Hannya Shingyo did not exist - at least for the German community. So, I created it by myself - for making it easier for me to learn it by heart. Perhaps I am not the only one who could need such a version.