Same Old Same Old

We could talk it to death, but it always comes down to the same thing. Why do we complicate it, run from it, fear it, make more (or less) of it? Beats me. In this culture we're often sent mixed messages about loving others. While we hear people who love others praised, it is looked on as suspect by many - "What does he/she want from me?" So frequently we are not allowed to love in the Greek sense of "friendship or brotherly love" or φιλία. Love is only spoken of and understood in the "eros" or sexual sense. But whatever the question, love is still the answer. 

A New Twist On the Oldest Chant

If you've ever sat in a meditation hall or temple with 150 other practitioners chanting a sutra you'll understand what a powerful experience it is. Maybe you've not had that chance, and it's not easily duplicated online. 

The Heart Sutra is foundational in Buddhism. It's chanted by Buddhists the world over, ending with the Sanskrit words:

Gaté, gaté, paragaté, parasamgaté. Bodhi! Svaha!

Which mean...

Gone, gone, gone over, gone fully over. Awakened! So be it! 

And refer to the experience of attaining enlightenment. These words are often chanted alone, as they are here, in an entirely new take by a young Japanese monk, Yogetsu Akasana. Listen and be blown away, even if you're not Buddhist, have never heard of the Heart Sutra, and could care less about any of it.