Music and Lyrics: Jennifer Berezan This song was written by Canadian-American artist, songwriter and Berkeley neighbor, Jennifer Berezan. Of all the songs written about Guan Yin Bodhisattva, the Awakened Being of Great Compassion, this one touches more hearts than any other. I’ve sung it with audiences from Shanghai to Sydney, from Berkeley to Boston and no matter where, the scope of Guan Yin’s vows seems to unlock the spirit of kindness in our hearts. Guan Yin wants to carry us to the other side of trouble, fears, affliction and pain. Visit https://jenniferberezan.com for more information about this song and Jennifer Berezan’s music. She is a boat, she is a light,…

Music: Le Livre Vermeil de Montserrat Lyrics: David Rounds In Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra, Guan Shi Yin Bodhisattva, the Awakened Being of Great Compassion appears with a thousand eyes, a thousand ears and a thousand hands to rescue beings from suffering. Guan Shi Yin in Chinese means “One Who Hears the Voices/Sounds/Cries of Beings in the World.” Guan Yin responds to those entreaties with whatever each being needs to resolve their troubles. David Rounds set these lyrics to a melody from a hymn to the Catholic Saint, the Blessed Virgin Mary, from a 14th century Catalan oratorio Le Livre Vermeil de Montserrat. She who hears the voices of…

Music and Lyrics: Rev. Heng Sure While meditating at Buddha Root Farm, a summer camp in the coastal mountains of Oregon, I witnessed deforestation, “clear-cutting” of the forest. This terrible practice harms the entire ecosystem; the land can no longer support the myriad species that depend upon it to survive. Humans are a part of the whole; when we level the forest, we tear away the lungs of the planet and destroy our own Earth household. We sing lullabies to send children to sleep; this song was written to apologize to the eagles, the deer, the salmon, the insects and the trees. My tall fir trees touched the sky, Where…

Music: Rev. Heng Sure Lyrics: Adapted from The Shurangama Sutra by Rev. Heng Sure In the Shurangama Sutra, twenty-five Sages each tell Manjushri Bodhisattva their preferred method for reaching “Perfect Understanding”. Venerable Sundarananda gives advice on meditation through mindfulness of the breath. Sundarananda tried to meditate, But he couldn’t get it straight, So he asked the World Honored One, To teach him how to concentrate. Breathing in, breathing out, Outside in, inside out, Buddha’s mind, big and bright, Watch your breath, and fill with light. My mind was scattered, too many outflows, The Buddha pointed to the tip of my nose, Focus on the whiteness, patiently, Observe your breath how…

The Buddha got enlightened, underneath the tree. His mind was like a round full moon,‘Cause he entered samadhi. Chorus: He put on samadhi shoes, put on samadhi shoes; Walkin’ all the way to Buddhahood,Put on samadhi shoes.Calm your mind and body, say goodbye to the blues; Walkin’ all the way to Buddhahood, Put on samadhi shoes. Samadhi concentration comes from precepts pure, Tame your body, mouth and mind,And walk through samadhi’s door. Chorus: When you put on samadhi shoes, put on samadhi shoes, Walkin’ all the way to Buddhahood,Put on samadhi shoes.Calm your mind and body, say goodbye to the blues; Walkin’ all the way to Buddhahood, Put on samadhi…

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…

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. 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:…