The Dalai Lama's First Musical Album

"Inner World," the Dalai Lama's first musical album, is a sacred offering of mantras and teachings set to music. In "Inner World," Tibet's leader, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, chants key Buddhist mantras and delivers his insights that trace much of the world's pressing concerns to the spiritual malaise characterizing life in the new century. In short, much of the world's problems owe much to its neglect of the soul: the "Inner World."

Released July 6 when the Dalai Lama celebrated his 85th birthday, "Inner World" consists of 11 tracks along the New World music genre written mainly by New Zealand composer Abraham Kunin, a follower of the Tibetan leader. Kunin's compositions are similar to Tibetan religious music; the main instruments seem to be the bamboo flute, biwan fiddle, Zhannian zither and dungchen or Tibetan long horn. Since this is Tibetan music, it is also Shamanic or meditative music with its use of continuous sounds, some of them natural, such as running water or fountain.

One of my favorite tracks is "Compassion," in which the Dalai Lama intones the famous "Om mani padme hum," the six-syllable mantra associated with the bodhisattva of compassion. In his best-selling books, the Dalai Lama refers to the mantra as a purification on the path to enlightenment -- to "transform your impure body, speech and mind into the pure exalted body, speech and mind of a Buddha."

In "Humanity," we hear the Dalai Lama blaming violence and injustice to "a lack of human compassion . . . a lack of oneness as brothers and sisters." He explains that a "self-centered attitude" puts "too much emphasis on we and them, (which is the) basis of killing, bullying and exploitation." "All injustice is based on too much concept of we and they," the Dalai Lama declares.

Toward the end of the record, he says that whether believer or nonbeliever, "we are the same human beings (who want) a happy life, a peaceful life." This could be attained only by inner conversion. "We have to make every effort to promote through education about inner values," he concludes.

The Dalai Lama's renewed calls for "inner values" and "compassion" are peaceful and nonviolent exhortations that are addressed as much to modern mankind as to Communist China, which has been enslaving Tibet for nearly 70 years now.

Major DAPL Victory for Standing Rock

A message from Madonna Thunder Hawk, The Lakota People's Law Project

On July 6, District Court Judge James Boasberg ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to be shut down within 30 days! In this momentous ruling, Judge Boasberg found that the Army Corps of Engineers failed to fully consider the environmental impacts of Energy Transfer's crude oil pipeline, and that there were too many safety concerns to allow its continued operation. While this order only shuts DAPL down for 13 months while the Army Corps completes additional environmental assessments and safety planning, there is a good chance that when the oil is drained in 30 days, that oil will never flow again!

We commend the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and their legal team at EarthJustice for years of dedication and persistence in this struggle to defang the Black Snake. And we are proud of the amicus brief that our legal team submitted in the lead up to this decision. We're also elated that Judge Boasberg cited many of the questions we and our allies have raised since the beginning of the NoDAPL struggle. First, that it's simply wrong to conduct an environmental assessment of a pipeline after it's already been built. Second, that DAPL's leak detection abilities are so poor it could be leaking more than 6,000 barrels of oil every day without detection, and Energy Transfer's abysmal pipeline safety record raises that risk even further. Third, that there is no proper cleanup plan for a wintertime spill, when freezing Dakota winters make response the most difficult. Boasberg even went one step further, concluding that the drop in oil demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic makes shutting down the pipeline now less harmful to North Dakota's economy.

So what comes next? First, Energy Transfer has to drain and shut down DAPL by August 6th. The Army Corps of Engineers then has 13 months to further study potential pipeline leaks and the dangers they pose. This ruling could still be appealed in the Federal District Court of D.C., but our analysis tells us that such an appeal is unlikely to succeed. Thank you to each and every one of you for your tireless support, and for staying with us throughout this journey.

Wopila tanka -- Thank you for standing with us to protect our water, our land, and our families!

Madonna Thunder Hawk

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Victory in US Court

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the very tribe that welcomed the Pilgrims in the 1600s, is at risk of losing what is left of their homelands due to a determination made by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. On June 5, the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., blocked the federal government from revoking the Massachusetts tribe’s reservation status, ordering the Department of the Interior (DOI) to reexamine a decision that sought to take the tribe’s 300+ acres out of trust. The judge hearing the case called the efforts against the Tribe as "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and contrary to law."

While this decision is an important step toward righting centuries of wrong against the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, our collective work is not finished. Many who stand in solidarity with the Tribe await a final positive determination on Mashpee’s homelands once and for all. We must stay vigilant to ensure that the Department of the Interior recommits itself to the restoration of homelands, the trust obligation, and Tribal sovereignty. What Can You Do To Help? Sign the petition to protect the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's reservation land.

"Zen Taiko"

Zen is the Japanese term for a form of the Buddhist religion that concentrates on meditation to achieve enlightenment rather than on studying religious writings. Zen Buddhism teaches that contemplation of one's essential nature to the exclusion of all else is the only way of achieving pure enlightenment. Contemplation induces a state of calm attentiveness in which one's actions are guided by intuition rather than by conscious effort. This Zen state of mind can readily be achieved through drumming -- a form of active meditation. Rhythmic stimulation is a simple and effective technique for affecting states of mind.    

Taiko is a term that has come to mean a traditional style of Japanese drumming (what the Japanese would refer to as "wadaiko"), but the word actually refers to the taiko drums themselves. Literally, taiko means "fat drum," although there is a vast array of shapes and sizes of taiko. For me, taiko is nothing more that a creative expression and exchange of healing energy. The sound waves created by the drum impart their energy to the resonating systems of the body, mind, and spirit, making them vibrate in sympathy. When we drum, our living flesh, brainwaves and etheric energy field entrain to the sound waves and rhythms. This sympathetic resonance forms new harmonic alignments, opens the body's energy meridians, releases blocked emotional patterns, promotes healing, and helps connect us to our core, enhancing our sense of empowerment and stimulating our creative expression.

Taiko is the relationship of energy between a drummer and a drum, between a drummer and their fellow drummers, and between the drummers and anyone experiencing that drum. Taiko is a very powerful tool for expressing and exchanging energy. Taiko drummers themselves are musical instruments. They employ sticks and drums, but it is their bodies, voices, and life force (ki) that express an exchange of energy. This relationship with energy can be found in anything that one approaches with mindfulness and intention -- other instruments, other arts, or pursuits of any kind. To hear and experience a taiko drum, relax and listen to my latest music release on Spotify -- "Zen Taiko."