More information about the Bardic Dharma album
Bardic Dharma Lyrics
Metta
May all beings be happy
May all beings be free
May all beings be healthy
May all beings be at peace
Be at peace (X5)
May you be happy
May you be free
May you be healthy
May you be at peace
Be at peace (X5)
May all beings be happy
May all beings be free
May all beings be healthy
May all beings be at peace
May I be happy
May I be free
May I be healthy
May I be at peace
Be at peace (X5)
May all beings be happy
May all beings be free
May all beings be healthy
May all beings be at peace (X2)
The Well Gone One
What is life? What is change?
What is sickness? What is death?
I relinquish my worldly life
Born a prince, but not a prince I’ll die
I set out at twenty nine
Looking for answers, oh the answers of life
Life was hard as a mendicant
But I learned a lot as an ascetic
But hey, life was hard, and extreme
Self-mortification, and nothing to eat
I almost died, as we all do
But a blessed woman, she brought me food
How could I reach any sort of goal
If I didn’t eat from my bowl
Under that tree
I vowed to sit
Until I found the key
To Enlightenment
Thus I sat, and thus I sought
But the armies of Mara, how they fought
Oh how they fought, how they fought
Oh Mara, send me your daughters and monsters,
Seduce me, reduce me to a mess
Oh Mara, send me delusion, confusion
Make me doubt, send your very best
I shall remain here, in deep meditation
Untangling the truth, realizing cessation
You question my attainment, “Oh who will be your witness?”
I touch the ground, the Earth my witness
I touch the ground, the Earth my witness
(spoken outro)
Through many a birth I have wandered in samsara in vain
In search, but never finding, the builder of this house
To be born again and again is indeed suffering!
Oh house builder, you are seen! You shall not build this house again.
Your rafters are broken, your ridgepole shattered,
The mind has attained the Unconditioned
Goldilocks Was a Buddha
Goldilocks was a Buddha
She practiced the Middle Way
Not too hot and not too cold
Was the name of her game
Name of her game
An empty house, an empty mind
Oh, Goldilocks had a choice
One bowl would burn her up
The other would numb her mind
Oh, the other would numb her mind
“Why should I starve myself?
But why should I always feast?
It does no good to feed off of
Negative energies
Negative energies.”
An empty bed, a tired mind
Goldilocks had to choose
A bed so hard it would break her back
Or a bed too soft and loose
Which one would she choose?
“A bed of great luxury
Only feeds my greed
But a bed of needles would prick my heart
And leave me in defeat
Leave me in defeat.”
There must be a better way
A better way to live my life
Not too hot and not too cold
Not too dark and not too light
Something just right
Oh you can’t play that guitar
If the string’s strung too tight
It might snap and whack your hand
And that’s just not right
And you can’t play that guitar
If the string’s strung too loose
No sound it’ll make, no song you will play
Gotta keep it in tune
Gotta keep it in tune
Goldilocks was a Buddha
She practiced the Middle Way
Not too hot and not too cold
Was the name of her game
Was the name of her game
Cumulus Drifting
I am like a cloud
Flying high in the clear blue sky
I am like a cloud
Flying high in the clear blue sky
I am like a cloud
Flying high in the clear blue sky
I am like a cloud
Just a cumulus drifting in the clear blue skies
I am unattached
To all the worries of all my life
I am unattached
To all the worries of all my life
I am unattached
To all the worries of all my life
I am unattached
Just a cumulus drifting in the clear blue skies
(Ooooooooooooh)
I am like a mountain
Unaffected by all the winds
I am like a mountain
Unaffected by all the winds
I am like a mountain
Unaffected by all the winds
I am like a mountain
Like a cumulus drifting upon the winds
Hot Coals
He said she said they said
Something mean about me
Now I’m way more angry
Than I oughtta be
The passion burns inside me
A craving for revenge
But history will show ya
It never works in the end
Cuz anger’s just like a hot coal
That you just wanna throw
Oh, no matter where it lands
You end up burning your hands
(X2)
Anger gets to all of us
Sometimes we want to make a fuss
We go off like an unaimed rocket
An out of control electrical socket
Whoa-oh, I’m not saying anger is bad
It’s only when we start to react
So, hold anger at arm’s length
And see the pain that it creates
Cuz anger’s just like a hot coal
That you just wanna throw
Oh, no matter where it lands
You end up burning your hands
(X2)
Keep your seat, that’s all you’ve gotta do
Be there for the anger rising up in you
You don’t gotta bottle it up, but don’t let it erupt
See it for what it truly is, and no matter what happens, sit with it
Cuz anger’s just like a hot coal
That you just wanna throw
Oh, no matter where it lands
You end up burning your hands
(X2)
Cuz anger’s just like a hot coal
That you just wanna throw
Oh, no matter where it lands
You end up burning your hands
(X2)
You Are Enough
Your fist has been clenching
For far too long
It’s long turned white and holding tight
Because you have to feel strong
If only you loosen
Feel the blood rush back in
Open our palm to the sky
Discover what was hid
(chorus)
You are enough
You’re all that you need
When you feel there’s something missing
It’s just underneath
All that you cling to
All you don’t need
Learn to let go of
Anger, fear, and greed
It’s been there from the start
It’s been there the whole time
Like a treasure under rags
Unable to shine
It’s time to uncover
And to pull the rags back
Perfection is within you
Not in what you lack
chorus
It’s your basic goodness
Your original face
Your Buddha Nature
Nothing else to seek
Right here in the present moment
In this very place
It’s your true nature
Go ahead, take a peek
chorus
Be Kind, Be Gentle, Give, Be True
In the face of the angry, shine with loving-kindness
In the face of the harsh, be gentle
In the face of the greedy, share with them generosity
In the face of the false, be true
Clouds in Every Flower
The green grass
Contrasts the pastel hues
Of all of the flowers
In their Springtime bloom
The blue sky
Caresses the clouds as they sail
And I can’t help but wonder
At the beauty of it all
Is the cloud in the rain as it falls?
Is it in the flowers that bloom?
When you look at mountains so tall,
Do you feel fragile?
Does it all unravel?
Is the cloud in you?
There is consequence
To every thought and intention
Every dream ever dreamt
Each one of man’s inventions
But there is love to give
A heart in every song
Enough to combat the ill will
And hate in every bomb
Is the cloud in the rain as it falls?
Is it in the flowers that bloom?
When you look at mountains so tall,
Do you feel fragile?
Does it all unravel?
Is the cloud in you?
What do we do
With all that hate?
Do they think their mushroom clouds
Will deliver healing rain?
But their rain
can’t give rise to flowers
No bouquet of condolences,
In their darkest hours
Is the cloud in the rain as it falls?
Is it in the flowers that bloom?
When you look at mountains so tall,
Do you feel fragile?
Does it all unravel?
Is the cloud in you?
I Am Awake
I went a walking the other day
Just like I do
I met a strange individual
I asked him who are you?
He shone with the brilliance
Of a million suns
His peaceful gaze full of wisdom
There was no way he could be a mortal man, I thought
So I asked him then what are you?
Are you some sort of god?
He smiled then and he told me no
Though he’d heard that one a lot
I asked him then “well are you a wizard,
With powerful abilities?”
He smiled then and he told me no
Though he could clearly see
I asked him then “well are you man?
You look just like I do.”
He smiled at me and he told me no
I asked him what are you?
He said:
I am awake
I am awake
I am awake
He told me how he had sat
Underneath that tree
For a day, for a night
Til he could clearly see
He told me how he had learned
To break free from the chains
That bind us all to our lives
The chains of Ignorance, Greed, and Hate
I asked him then how I could
Achieve such clarity
Oh, ’tis a simple task
But one of great difficulty
He said, “Do no harm onto yourself
Or any other being
Do only good for the world
Subdue your mind thoroughly.”
He said:
I am awake
I am awake
I am awake
To the suffering of the world
I am awake
I am awake
I am awake
Free from the attachments I used hold
I went a walking the other day
Just like I do
To sit underneath that Bodhi tree
For my mind to subdue
Only Love
You can make martyrs of us
But we won’t stop now
We shall not
Let hate win
We will march through the clouds
Of tear gas and vitriol
We find solace
In the progressing winds
That bring with it a song
So sweet and so true
Can you hear
The song on the wind?
A song transcending time
An ancient truth
That screams out loud
Love always wins
There are those
who’ve been to the mountaintop
And seen the land
Of the Promised Truth
And there are those, the jealous ones
Who, fearful and full of hate
Will tremble at the sight
Of the coming truth
They’ve struck us down
With thunderbolts
To try to silence
The song on the wind
But just like the mountaintop
We shall not be moved
We will see
Love always wins
They will sing their songs
Of oppression and hate
A feeble attempt
At drowning us out
But we shall overcome
They shall grow weary
And they will succumb
To the power of our love
And the winds will come
A howling gale
Feeding the fires
Fanning the flames
And together we will roar
A burning sun
Driving the darkness
Away
Darkness cannot
Drive out Darkness
Only Light
Can do that
Hate cannot
Drive out hate
Only love
Can do that
Angulimala
Angulimala was a murderer
Who hung the fingers from his neck
The fingers of his victims, yeah
You never know who’s next
Born as the Harmless One he never sinned
But jealousy rots, and rumors flew
Lies spread like wild fire to his teacher
Who knew just what to do
You see, the harmless one was the best of pupils
But his peers found him insufferable
They spread the lies that he’d slept with the wife
Of their great teacher, their guru
His teacher instructed the Harmless One
To deliver him a final gift
Of one thousand fingers, each one a life
Only this his teachings would complete
Such a road could prove to be fatal
For the seeker of one thousand digits
But the guru was well aware
And thought death a good consequence
And the Harmless One, none the wiser
Did as his master demanded so bold
Anything to please his teacher
He’d do anything he was told
He killed and thieved his life away
The fingers hanging from his collar
Hunting that most precious gift
That’s how he gained the name Angulimala
Nine hundred ninety nine, oh they came
And all he had left was one more prize
He spied his last long awaited target
Twas his own mother he realized.
Sword unleashed, oh wild eyes
He charged his target furiously
When out stepped a beggar robed all in rags
The Buddha smiled curiously
He focused now on the Buddha now
Such a noble, willing victim
A fitting way to end his tirade
No better target if he had picked ‘im.
He ran and he ran and the Buddha moseyed
No matter how fast Angulimala ran
He never seemed to catch the pace
Of the old Enlightened One
Bewildered, Angulimala panted
“Oh I can’t catch you, please wait stop!”
The Buddha turned and said “I have stopped,
“It is you who have not.”
He explained when Angulimala halted
He said, “I have stopped all killing and harm.”
It is you who have yet to cease what you are doing
Tearing those fingers from their arms.”
He threw down his weapons and fell to his knees
“I relinquish my quest,” Angulimala spoke
He became a monk right then and there
Devoted to letting go.
People change, even the most extreme
Violence, desires, and defilement
It just goes to show that anyone can
Find Enlightenment
Angulimala was a murderer
Who saw the error of his ways
No longer a slave to violence
He walked the middle way
Vajrasattva Mantra
Om Vajrasattva Hum
Change
The tick of the clock, the burning of fire
The great expanse of space
All share the same fate of falling apart
All share the same fate of change
Just as the seasons turn summer to fall
Just as the night into day
Try as you might you can’t hold nothing at all
Try as you might it’s called change
Born out of dust, we’re already running
Through blinding fear and pain
Birth and sickness, old age and death
All in the name of change
Just as the seasons turn summer to fall
Just as the night into day
Try as you might you can’t hold nothing at all
Try as you might it’s called change
The things we hold dear, the loves of our lives
They are not in vain
Things are not things, only conditions entangled
The only thing constant is change
Now is the time, relinquish the grasping
The wanting, the fear, the pain
Open yourself to the present moment
Open yourself to change
Just as the seasons turn summer to fall
Just as the night into day
Try as you might you can’t hold nothing at all
Try as you might it’s called change
Lend a Hand
We live each day with each other
All our sisters and all our brothers
We act like no one’s there
We act like oh we don’t care
But do we really?
Lend a hand
To every creature
Of every land
And every feature
Lend a hand, yes lend a hand
We are the teachers
We live each day, just trying our best
But sometimes we face unrest
They might try to force our cards
Sometimes it just gets too hard
Can anyone hear them?
Lend a hand
To every creature
Of every land
And every feature
Lend a hand, yes lend a hand
We are the teachers
Lend a hand
When we can’t stand tall
Lend a hand
When we start to fall
Lend a hand, yes lend a hand
For the good of us all
Injustice will break our hearts
And sometimes we will fall apart
But we have the choice to make
To lend a hand and to make a change
Lend a hand
To every creature
Of every land
And every feature
Lend a hand, yes lend a hand
We are the teachers
Lend a hand
When we can’t stand tall
Lend a hand
When we start to fall
Lend a hand, yes lend a hand
For the good of us all
Barefoot Bran 