Heart Sutra Rap

Dharma Rap Masters
Rev. Koun Selden (left) & Ven. Kobutsu Malone

Avora... master of compassion
His mind no longer thrashin'
Did some hard time lookin' deep inside

Wise old Avora
Saw with a clear eye
The five aspects
Of what we call personality
That what appears to be you
Appears to be me
In actuality
Is empty

Empty in time
Empty in space
Empty as the clear sky
No trace

He tuned in with such clarity
As few humans ever see
Went far beyond sufferin' an' misery
Clarified the mystery
Broke through the dream

Turned to his brother
To let him set his own self free
From the chains of "Me"
So he could simply be

Said... Dig it my brother Satra
Search deep enough inside
No more can you hide
The Truth which rides
Around in your hide

Take a good look, Ace
Check out your own face
'Fore you was born
Then you understandin' that form
Is emptiness
Emptiness is form

When the clear sky of your vision
Rests as comfortable
As a wound incision
That personality pentagram
The mind's five-fingered hand
Is just an empty seat
On a beat up old tram

Form, feeling, thought
Volition and consciousness
Collapse in a flash
Nothin's left amiss

Satra my brother, don' forget
Walkin' the path of awakenin'
There's nothin' to get
It's empty for the takin'

With awakened sight
Nothin's born, nothin' dies
Nothin' rots, nothin' shines
Nothin' grows, nothin' shrinks
There's no self to think
That somethin' exists outside
That it rocks or stinks

When the pentagram of personality
Bursts apart
It yields awakened seed
Ain't no eyes to see
No ears to hear
No nose to smell
No tongue to taste
Ain't no skin to touch
No thinkin' at all
No world of sight
Nor of consciousness
What could be other than right?

A state of mind
That can't be characterized
No ignorance
An' no end to it
No agin' and death
But ya' still get old and hit
The grave
Ain't nothin' to save ya'

No sufferin', cravin' or extinction
No path
To follow to completion
No wisdom
To be had by rumination
No attainment
So let go your fascination

Seen clearly
Nothin' to be attained
Seen clearly
The show's an empty shadow
Seen clearly
All isms bring on pain

So the person of wisdom
Relies on the map
Of the great heart transcendent wisdom rap
With no hindrance in the mind
Just a simple vow
Abiding in eternal now

No fear
No need for hope
Far beyond deluded views
At last aligned
With True Nature
Divine

In the past
The present and the future
All awakened ones
And those who dare to tread
On the path
Of the awakened state of mind
Root themselves
In this great heart transcendent wisdom rap
In so doing
They bootstrap
Supreme clarity
Ain't no deathtrap
Of ego's grasp
Instead they uncap
Life's potential
The universe they unwrap

Know, then, this to be true
The great heart transcendent wisdom rap
Is the most potent spell
The highest formulation
The incomparable structure of mind
It destroys all suffering
Truth - no lie

So set it forth
Lay it down
Great heart transcendent wisdom rap

Dig it
Gone, gone, gone beyond
Gone beyond the idea
Of goin' beyond
Completely combusted

 © Copyright 2004 - All Rights Reserved - Kobutsu Malone & Koun Michael Selden