Comic Heart Sutra (Buddhist Comics by Tsai Chih-chung)

Author: Cai Zhizhong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: A white cloud, as we look at it, it seems like a dog, like a lover's heart, or like a mother's white cloud, it's still a white cloud. Whether we see it with joy or sadness, it's still a white cloud. The only difference is our heart!
Many people ask me, "Why do you love drawing?" I answer, "Why do I love drawing?" This question is like asking, "Why do birds fly? Why do fish swim? Why do flowers bloom?" Because fish are fish, birds are birds, and flowers are flowers. Why do I love drawing? Because I am me, and I am the one who loves drawing! Why don't you ask the clock why it ticks?
We often say, "Taiwan's rivers are heavily polluted and unsuitable for life." But the river near Xin Store Galaxy Cave where I live is still quite clear. I often stand by the river, watching "Brother Stream," who swims back and forth rapidly in the swift current, darting quickly from this rock to that, then back again, playing and chasing in groups. I am just like "Brother Stream" in the Xin Store River, swimming and playing in the river of comics every day since I was a child.
For no reason, just because I love drawing, want to draw, can draw—it's that simple. Like "Brother Stream," who loves to swim and wants to swim, for no reason.
Until one day, I looked at a cloud through the roof of a glass house and everything changed! The white cloud floated in the clear sky for no reason—it was still a white cloud. But as I watched the cloud, I suddenly had an idea. I thought, isn't "Brother Stream," who plays in the stream for no reason, a bit selfish? Shouldn't those who are more capable have an obligation to do more for those who are less capable? "Brother Stream" can share travel tips with immobile stones or tell the grass and flowers by the river about the approaching spring so they can prepare in advance.
Since this idea of "doing more for others" took root in my heart, I began to search for what I could do for others. Soon, I found and decided to draw "Comic Buddhist Scriptures!" After three years of studying Buddhist scriptures and their terminology, and another two years of sketching many Buddhist scriptures, I am now ready to publish this completed work—"Comic Heart Sutra."
For 1,600 years, many eminent monks have devoted their efforts to translating Buddhist scriptures from ancient Indian to Chinese classical literature. During this long period, there have been seven versions of the "Heart Sutra," and the postscript annotations are countless. However, not every version of the translation or annotation is the same. Each has its unique strengths and weaknesses. My "Comic Heart Sutra" is no different—it has strengths but also weaknesses. Use the good parts, and let the bad parts pass. Don't cling to them and cause distress in your hearts.
The world is wonderful precisely because it has many species, and everyone can choose what they need from the many options, without being attached to distinguishing between good and evil. As Zen Master Sanzu Shengcan wrote in the "Confidence Verse": "The highest truth is not difficult; the only thing that hinders is discrimination. Do not hate or love, but be clear and bright. A slight difference can lead to a vast separation. Drink the present moment, do not cling to order or disorder. When opposing and following conflict, that is the sickness of the mind."
The "Heart Sutra" is the core of the "Great Prajna Paramita Sutra." If we can truly realize and practice it, we will surely attain the ultimate pure and unimpeded state, free from the birth and suffering of the self, no longer trapped in the cycle of suffering caused by the mind, and able to live a pure life.
No matter how we see "Comic Heart Sutra," it is still "Comic Heart Sutra." No matter what judgment we make about it—whether gain, loss, praise, criticism, suffering, or happiness—"Comic Heart Sutra" is still "Comic Heart Sutra." The only difference is our heart!