Tag: Acoustic Guitar
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The Monkey, the Cow, and the Crown Jewel
“The Monkey, the Cow, and the Crown Jewel” is a musical journey into a profound spiritual paradox from 13th-century Japan. Inspired by Nichiren Daishonin’s letter, the Urabon Gosho, the song tells the story of Lord Jibu, a priest described as lacking wisdom and dignity—like a “monkey or a cow”. Yet, he is praised in the…
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Fifty Aeons Long
“Fifty Aeons Long” by The William Altig Choir is a hauntingly beautiful folk-blues meditation on time, freedom, and perception. The song explores how our suffering often comes from clinging to minutes, regrets, and imagined futures—when the truth is timeless and already here. With finger-picked acoustic guitar, slide accents, upright bass, and a baritone voice that…
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The Sun Don’t Preach
A raw, Delta blues track that wrestles with the difference between trying to fix a broken world with force and finding strength in a quieter, more patient wisdom. “The Sun Don’t Preach” is a story told through a bottleneck slide and a steady foot stomp, contrasting the “power of a God” with the “wisdom of…
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The Dewdrop and the Sea
A stripped-down folk-blues meditation for anyone who’s ever felt the weight of the world on their shoulders. “The Dewdrop and the Sea” is a story about moving from the burnout of trying to fix everything to the quiet hope found in small, meaningful action. It’s a song about a simple truth: our individual acts of…
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Bodhi Tree Blues
Bodhi Tree Blues is a slow-shuffle folk-blues hymn born from the Lotus Sūtra’s Chapter 17 promise of immediate awakening. A warm finger-picked guitar and mournful harmonica set the groove, while a gospel-style choir lifts the chorus like a sunrise. The song celebrates the truth that every breath and every step are sacred—each of us already…
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Walk On Easy
Walk On Easy is a warm, blues-folk song about traveling light in a world that’s all connected. Inspired by the Lotus Sūtra’s teaching of peaceful conduct, it tells a simple story: no gate to guard, no crown to wear—just one wide river of life where everyone belongs. With finger-picked guitar, gentle harmonica, and a slow…
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The Eternal Road in This Burning House
This song is a long, luminous walk through fire and stillness. With a slow, earthy guitar groove and a blues-folk pulse, it weaves ancient parable into present-day grit. The verses trace a pilgrim’s hard miles—years of searching for a distant light—only to discover that awakening is already here, in the everyday and the ordinary. Drawing…
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The One Great White Ox Cart Blues
The One Great White Ox Cart Blues is a slow-burning folk-blues meditation on finding the sacred in everyday life. Driven by a mournful acoustic guitar in A minor and a steady, heartbeat bass, the song draws on the Lotus Sutra’s parable of the Great White Ox Cart to reveal a timeless truth: there is no…
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The Eternal Road in This Burning House
This song is a long, luminous walk through fire and stillness. With a slow, earthy guitar groove and a blues-folk pulse, it weaves ancient parable into present-day grit. The verses trace a pilgrim’s hard miles—years of searching for a distant light—only to discover that awakening is already here, in the everyday and the ordinary. Drawing…
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The Debt of Peace
“The Debt of Peace” is a raw, slow-burning Delta blues song that captures the emotional weight of everyday suffering and the quiet hope for human connection. With trembling finger-picked guitar, a sparse upright bass, and a weeping harmonica, this track tells the truth gently but unflinchingly. The lyrics explore the burden we all carry—the debt…
Mr. Altig’s Overview of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sutra 