The Heart Sutra 心經 iPad App
Buy and rate the app on the iTunes store.
Description
The Heart Sutra 心經 is an app that allows you to read and write the famous Buddhist Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra.
The act of writing and copying the sacred texts known as sutras is an old and quite significant aspect of everyday monastic practice for Buddhists in East Asia. The Heart Sutra, the shortest of these sutras, is one of the most popular in the Mahayana Buddhist canon.
This application allows anyone to participate in the act of studying and copying the Heart Sutra (般若波羅蜜多心經) on the iPad. Use the app for meditation, recreation, or as the monks do (to gain spiritual merit).
FEATURES
- Read the sutra in English and Chinese, with definitions and an ancient example of 13th century Chinese calligraphy.
- Write the entire sutra stroke by stroke, with or without any previous knowledge of Chinese calligraphy.
- Turn on the “INKSTONE” feature to simulate the action of writing with traditional ink and inkstone. Re-fill your ink as you run out.
- Undo, clear, reset, or skip ahead in your progress in the sutra
Questions and Comments
If you find any errors in the transcription of the sutra, please let me know using this form. If you have questions, please also leave an email address where you can be reached.
Disclaimer
This app is designed primarily as a piece of interactive conceptual art, part and parcel with my thesis in the Visual Environmental Studies Department at Harvard University. The app has no formal affiliation with any Buddhist groups, and has not been approved for practice by any such organization. However, the Heart Sutra itself belongs to a very real religious canon and set of devotional practices. Please use the app at your pleasure (but if you really want some good karma/spiritual merit, you might need more than an iPad).
The Heart Sutra 心經 iPad App
Buy and rate the app on the iTunes store.
Description
The Heart Sutra 心經 is an app that allows you to read and write the famous Buddhist Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra.
The act of writing and copying the sacred texts known as sutras is an old and quite significant aspect of everyday monastic practice for Buddhists in East Asia. The Heart Sutra, the shortest of these sutras, is one of the most popular in the Mahayana Buddhist canon.
This application allows anyone to participate in the act of studying and copying the Heart Sutra (般若波羅蜜多心經) on the iPad. Use the app for meditation, recreation, or as the monks do (to gain spiritual merit).
FEATURES
- Read the sutra in English and Chinese, with definitions and an ancient example of 13th century Chinese calligraphy.
- Write the entire sutra stroke by stroke, with or without any previous knowledge of Chinese calligraphy.
- Turn on the “INKSTONE” feature to simulate the action of writing with traditional ink and inkstone. Re-fill your ink as you run out.
- Undo, clear, reset, or skip ahead in your progress in the sutra
Questions and Comments
If you find any errors in the transcription of the sutra, please let me know using this form. If you have questions, please also leave an email address where you can be reached.
Disclaimer
This app is designed primarily as a piece of interactive conceptual art, part and parcel with my thesis in the Visual Environmental Studies Department at Harvard University. The app has no formal affiliation with any Buddhist groups, and has not been approved for practice by any such organization. However, the Heart Sutra itself belongs to a very real religious canon and set of devotional practices. Please use the app at your pleasure (but if you really want some good karma/spiritual merit, you might need more than an iPad).
Posted
