It’s past midnight in my quiet home. Sunday morning has arrived. The snow that fell for 36 hours seems to have ended, and we are still blessed by electricity and heat, although we are surrounded by about four feet of snow.

I decided to post a short musical bonus for the followers of my blog, and I chose this, a version of the famous mantra that ends the Heart Sutra, which is central to Mahayana Buddhism. It is not  from the Buddha but from Avalokiteshvara, also known as Kwan-Yin, the lord of great compassion. Tibetan Buddhists have a similar deity called Tara.

The sutra ends with this mantra:

Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi, svaha!

Gone, gone, gone over, gone completely over, awaken, so be it!

Enjoy the music. May you be blessed with wisdom and compassion.

— Mel Pine (Fearless Lotus)

Copyright 2016 © Mel Harkrader Pine