Rock Buddhism

Optimism requires some inspiration to get us started… right? But aren’t we literally doing inspiration by drawing air into us? If we want to make a huge change, the inspiration of the Buddha’s breath and His teaching and activities are still dancing all around us. There are so many who say we are in the end years of the Buddha’s teachings, but I do not believe this is true. I believe that up until the very last moment of closure of the time of Buddha Shakyamuni’s teaching cycle, the optimistic spirit of his teachings is fully present! This means not just what we receive from the Buddha, but present from all of the great masters, such as Je Tsongkhapa, Padmasambhava, the many Heruka practitioners meditating in caves, and even people sitting in their apartments meditating in Chicago; they are also our inspiration. The communities of Buddhists are not only alive each in their own practice, but they are also alive in the optimism of altruism. Depending on how we choose to spend our life, will we also have the potential to inspire others in the future.


Not only do we have responsibility for our own practice and maintaining the continuity of the teachings through preserving, discussing, meditating, and polishing our prayer beads with the oils from our own hands, but we also have a responsibility to hold inspiration for those who will come later. Those of us who are not even born yet will also be Buddhist, if we do it right. We do not know at what point Buddhism and rock and roll might become synonymous. Perhaps, it will be soon, and perhaps never. I have read that some Zen temples in Japan are doing rap songs of Buddhist scriptures to inspire teens that respond to a modern beat. My point here is that the enthusiasm stimulated by music and other forms of creativity are present in Buddhism! It is as fresh, exciting, and seductive as Lady GaGa!! ~Domo Geshe Rinpoche ~~~