-
Empty Cloud Wakes Up
Music: Rev. Heng Sure Lyrics: Elder Master Xuyun’s Enlightenment Verse translated and adapted by Rev. Heng Sure During a twelve-week Chan meditation session in 1896, late at night, a tea cup fell from a monk’s hand, and shattered on the floor. Instantly, the monk, Elder Master Xuyun (Empty Cloud), “lit up his mind and saw his inherent nature,” Buddhist jargon for the experience of spiritual enlightenment. He wrote these three stanzas to memorialize the event. One verse is “True Emptiness,” staring directly into the Void, where the Universe holds no sympathy; the other verse mirrors “Wonderful Existence,” full of compassion and life. The melody is an attempt to place this…
-
Turn, Return and Turn Again
Return, my dear brothers, return and turn again. Won’t you turn your hearts back,Before there’s a who and a when.We all want peace, but peace is where it begins, I bid you turn, return and turn again. Return, my dear sisters, return and turn again. Won’t you turn your hearts back,Before there’s a who and a when.We all want peace, but peace is where we begin, I bid you turn, return and turn again. Return, friends and neighbors, return and turn again. Won’t you turn your hearts back,Before there’s an us and a them.We all want peace, but peace is where you begin, I bid you turn, return and turn…
-
Craving Is the Builder of This House
Craving is the builder of this house; Craving is the builder of this house. Through many a rebirth, In Samsara wandering,I sought but did not find, The builder of this house. How painful! How sorrowful!To be born again and again. Craving is the builder of this house; Craving is the builder of this house. O House-builder! I see you at last; You will build no house anymore. Your ridgepole shatters,Your rafters all fall down, My mind realizes the unborn,And craving comes, craving comes, Craving comes to an end. Craving is the builder of this house; Craving is the builder of this house. © Rev. Heng Sure 2005 All Rights Reserved Music:…
-
Post Title
I found that I am not a good. So, I am trying to be a good person, do good things, say good words every day. Its hard, but I can get there eventually.
-
Post Title
One day, a woman came to the city from afar. She didn’t have enough money with her. She forgot to bring her ATM card. Although she said she could borrow cash and transfer it to me, I told her that she didn’t need it. I could use the cash. For helping, if you insist on repaying me, then you can help the next person in need and let the kindness of the world circulate.
-
Bright Moon now available on Good Karma Music
“The Moon Parable was originally told by the Buddha, and was unlike any story Ming had ever heard. As Grandmother told the parable in her gentle voice, she described how the Buddha-nature–the pure, wise essence within every living being–can be compared to the bright moon.” – An excerpt from Bright Moon The Mid-Autumn festival is quickly approaching, and we are excited to announce our first e-book offering, Bright Moon, is now available on Good Karma Music. Bright Moon, written by storyteller Brian Conroy and illustrated by Catrina Milner, is an original illustrated storybook. Bright Moon is a tale of the love between a grandmother and her granddaughter. As a young…
-
Post Title
I am a middle class American woman who has studied Hinduism and Buddhism. I had a small investment in a company that failed. As the bankruptcy company sold off the failed company’s assets, I began to get quarterly checks. At first, I spent the money on myself. But when the checks reached $108, which is a sacred number in HInduism, I felt called to give the money away. I gave it to individuals who needed a financial boost. One time, I gave it to a young man starting out with his first guitar. Another time, an acquaintance had a big tree fall in her yard, and the money was to…
-
Post Title
I was a Meals on Wheels volunteer in Austin, Texas. One day I knocked on the door of a recipient and announced “Meals on Wheels!” A man opened the door. He was crying. I asked why. He replied that his dog had died and he was not able to bury him. I used my cell phone to call Meals on Wheels office and right away they sent someone to bury his dog.
-
Post Title
I saved 75 Green Crabs from being used as bait, and 20 eels from being used as bait. 4 lobsters too
-
Post Title
Trying my Best to be a better human beings by transforming my harmful tendencies