Tag: wisdom
-
The Ancient Secret to Seeing Clearly: Why ‘Spiritual Merits’ Aren’t What You Think
In our modern world, we’re swimming in a digital deluge, a constant static that fogs our perception and leaves us longing for stillness. In our search for clarity, a profound teaching from the ancient Lotus Sūtra offers a surprising perspective, reframing our entire understanding of what it means to truly see, hear, and experience our…
-
The Greatest Obstacle to Wisdom Is Hiding in Plain Sight
We often experience the search for wisdom as a journey outward. We look for profound truths in ancient books, seek out teachers, or travel to distant places, hoping to find a key that will unlock some hidden clarity. There is a persistent feeling that the answers we need are elusive, something external that must be…
-
The Buddha’s ‘Most Arrogant’ Statement Is Actually His Most Compassionate
We’ve all encountered it. That person who declares they are unsurpassed, the best, the one with all the answers. Our natural reaction is often one of suspicion and skepticism. Such claims tend to trigger our distrust, and we dismiss them as pure arrogance—an inflated sense of self-worth born of ego. We are conditioned to see…
-
This Ancient Sutra Isn’t a Book—It’s a Voice. Here’s What It Says.
In our modern world, how can we truly access the wisdom of great teachers who lived thousands of years ago? It has been 2,500 years since the Buddha Śākyamuni walked the Earth, a gap of time so vast it can feel like an unbridgeable silence. How can a voice that has long since disappeared continue…
-
Twigs and Leaves
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…
-
The Same Moon
A late-night story told on a worn-out porch, “The Same Moon” is a bluesy folk parable about an old teacher and a young student. It explores the timeless Zen wisdom of the “finger pointing at the moon”—the idea that teachings and scriptures are only signposts, not the destination itself. Driven by a fingerpicked acoustic guitar…
-
The Open Gate
Inspired by a timeless spiritual paradox, “The Open Gate” is a blues-folk story that suggests the most profound truth isn’t hidden away for the chosen few—it’s accessible to everyone. Using the ancient parable of a loving father saving his children from a burning house, the song explores the idea that the greatest wisdom doesn’t require…
-
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…
-
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…
-
The Parable of the Grand Conservatory
In the heart of a bustling city stood the Grand Conservatory of Harmony, a school for musicians so legendary it was spoken of in whispers. Its halls were said to be built from the wood of ancient, singing trees, and its pianos carved from petrified starlight. The highest honor a student could achieve was the…
Mr. Altig’s Overview of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sutra 