8th Pureland Patriarch Lianchi
The Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra states: "Prajnaparamita is the great transcendent mantra, is the great awareness mantra, is the unparallelled mantra, is the supreme mantra." This implies that (the wisdom of) Prajna itself is the mantra, it is not merely referring to the phrase starting with "Gate gate…" as the mantra.
People today think that mantras only belong to the secret (tantric) teachings, but (we can see that) the Heart Sutra belongs to the sutric teachings. Therefore, sutric teachings can also be mantras. This is something that mantra practitioners overlook and fail to recognize.
Furthermore, the four characters "A-Mi-Tuo-Fo" (Amitabha) are entirely Sanskrit. If earlier masters had not added commentary, how would “Amitabha” differ from the awareness mantras, Cundi Mantra or other mantras from the Tantric section?
People today only think awareness mantras or the Cundi mantra are mantras, while Amitabha is the name of a Buddha. Actually, the Buddha's name is also a mantra. This too is something that mantra practitioners overlook and fail to recognize.
