Mr. Altig’s Overview of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sutra

A stark, bluesy folk ballad that tells a heavy story.

Inspired by the dramatic schism in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra, “Twigs and Leaves” is a song about one of the most subtle dangers on the spiritual path: arrogance (māna). It recounts the moment when 5,000 practitioners, believing they had already achieved enlightenment, walked away from the Buddha’s ultimate teaching. They mistook a milestone for the final destination.

This is a song about the Buddha’s silent, powerful reaction—watching the “twigs and leaves” depart from the assembly, purifying it for the final truth. It’s a mournful warning about the price of certainty and a call for the deep endurance (Kṣānti) required to stay the course.

Told with just a voice and an acoustic guitar, it’s an intimate, raw, and hypnotic story for anyone who has ever wrestled with questions of faith, progress, and humility.

Genre: Bluesy Folk Ballad)
(Intro) (Slow, mournful acoustic guitar…)
(Spoken, in rhythm):
Here’s a song ’bout a crowd…
Who thought they were done,
‘Fore the final truth had even come.

(Verse 1: The Revelation)
The Master rose up from his deep samādhi rest
Said, “My skillful means were just a temporary test.”
“Those three small roads you traveled, the vehicles you knew,
“Were just a clever shelter, ’til I revealed the truth to you.
“There’s only one Great Vehicle, one single road to ride,
“The journey is the goal now… there’s no final place to hide.”

(Verse 2: The Five Thousand Depart)
Five thousand souls stood up, and they started to go.
They bowed their heads politely, but their feet were movin’ slow.
They had that sickness of the soul, that spiritual pride (māna),
Attached to what they’d reached, but with nothin’ left inside.
Convinced they’d gained the final Law, while the job was incomplete,
They thought they’d attained… what they’d never reached… and stumbled on their own feet.

(Chorus: The Buddha’s Silence)
Oh, the Arrogance Trap, it’s a lock on the deepest door,
It’s thinkin’ that you’re done, when He’s askin’ you for more.
The Buddha watched them leave… He didn’t argue or coerce.
He said, “The assembly’s purified, it’s free from somethin’ worse.”
He said the “twigs and leaves” are gone, just the truthful souls remain.
That self-imposed exile… the price of all their spiritual pain.

(Verse 3: The Price of Certainty)
They built a life on certainty that couldn’t stand the shock,
Mistook a restin’ milestone for the true top of the rock.
So tragically faithful to their own constricted view,
They judged the Master by the little road they knew.
Their pride was just a high, high wall, built from their own good works,
That old, deluded arrogance… where the deepest shadow lurks.

(Bridge: The New Armor)|
To the faithful ones who stayed, the Master gave the key.
He told Maitreya, “Listen… here’s what you’re gonna see…
“You gotta wear the armor of Endurance, deep and true,
“You gotta practice patience when the insults come for you.
“From those same arrogant people… who think they’ve found the way…
“You must remain unswayed, don’t you listen to what they say.”

(Outro)
The slander that they throw… that’s just fuel for wakin’ up.
The aggressor is your teacher, fillin’ up your merit cup.
The Buddha gave his final lesson in the silence of that room…
Just watchin’ the twigs and leaves fall… and walkin’ to their doom.

(Guitar fades out slow)