Greetings!
First and foremost, I would like to say that I am blogging under my own free will. Tracy is definitely not pressuring us to blog.
We need our blogging all-star back! But anyways...
A lot of stuff has actually been going on. Damn, that was a profound first sentence. But seriously, where to start? I think the last time I blogged was...well, that's not important.
I was reading the blog and I realized that no one had mentioned the amazing event that occurred when we visited His Holiness The 17th Gyalwa Karmapa. For those of you who don't know, the Karmapa is a very holy guy. He's the head of the largest sub-school of one of the four major branches of Tibetan Buddhism. He's kind of like the Dalai Llama, except that he keeps a much lower profile for a variety of reasons (sorry if that was wrong, Tracy--no flaming please!).
We visited him this past Saturday, but rewind to the day before that: the day we came out of our 10-day silence at Tushita. Upon breaking our silence, Wade delighted our group with three hilarious parodies of American songs with Buddhist lyrics (Dharma Girl (parody of Barbie Girl), Da'Buddha Nature (parody of Boys In The Hood by EazyE), and Buddha's Got It Goin' On (parody of Bret's Got It Goin' On from Flight of the Conchords).
Before leaving Tushita, me and Wade performed "Da'Buddha Nature" for Tushita, with Wade rapping and me kicking the beat box. We were very well received, and we should have audio and possibly video of that performance available sometime soon.
Fast forward back to our visit to the Karmapa. The Karmapa was a very, very cool guy. He's only 23, and he was humble, incredibly wise, and fun. After our initial reception and Q/A session with the Karmapa (which included lots of prostrations, bowing, and being awed), Tracy informed the Karmapa that me and Wade had prepared a rap offering (Da'Buddha Nature) that we would like to perform for the Karmapa. He agreed.
So we stood up (after receiving permission to stand higher than the Karmapa), and delivered our offering. The Karmapa loved it--he started dancing on his little couch (he's got some moves) and seemed very appreciate and receptive. I, personally, was so nervous that I couldn't even look in his direction. But, we delivered our offering with virtually no mistakes.
I was shaking with excitement and euphoria for the next 15 minutes, still in disbelief of what we'd done. But, now I can say I kicked a beat and Wade can say he rapped for one of the holiest people on this planet. Pretty cool, in my opinion.
In honor of our performance and of the Karmapa, I will transcribe the lyrics of Da'Buddha Nature:
Woke up quick, 'round age 32 /
Just thought that I had to get enlightened soon /
Gotta reach Nirvana 'fore my lifetime ends /
So I can practice some compassion, save all sentient beings /
I looked inside, damn near went blind /
All confusions and delusions, no peace to find /
Sat my ass down, to meditate /
Focused on my breathin', set priorities straight /
Let my brain calm down, distractions lessen /
Just as I thought, my ego got to steppin' /
Found consciousness, AKA my mind /
That shit was stretchin' all over beginning-less time /
Then I let myself just be /
Unobscured by false perceptions of its reality /
It was my Buddha nature, man--total bliss /
and then I had a vision--went somethin' like this /
So I'm /
Cruisin' life to life with karma in tow /
It's all cause and effect, a rough cycle yo /
I got this Perfect Human Rebirth to get the scoop /
So I can help all the knuckleheads caught in the loop /
Looking at existence, what do I see? /
A bunch of beings good and bad in relativity /
But when I strike at the truth, I see they all the same /
You know that I practice equanimit-ay /
Cuz' the Buddha nature is never marred /
It's just clouded by trash and karmic scars /
You gotta purify yourself , and stay legit /
Don't quote me, boy, the Buddha said it!
I hope everyone enjoyed that as much as we did.
That's all I can make myself blog for now. I hope all is well in our Obama-bound nation (woohoo!).
Hi Mom!
-Tim
Comments
That be deep, word.
Posted by: Doug B | November 5, 2008 6:35 PM
Haha, that is an AWSOME rap! :)Way to go guys
Posted by: ellie | November 6, 2008 2:33 AM