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GUEST,Gloria Songs relating to Buddhism/Zen/etc (19) RE: Songs relating to Buddhism/Zen/etc 07 May 10


Someone quoted the Incredible String Band above. They also did a song called Douglas Traherne Harding - about Douglas Harding(believe it or not!) who wrote an influential zen-like book called "On Having No Head".I like the Incredibles - but this is not them at their best.
With this kind of thing, there's the ever-present danger of pretentiousness.At the opposite extreme are fairly dumb songs like "Bodhisattva" by Steely Dan.
I've always loved the traditional song " I Once Loved A Lass" for its verse:-

The men in yon forest theyre asking of me
How many strawberries grow in the salt sea?
I answer them with a tear in my eye
How many ships sail in the forest?

reminiscent of a certain kind of zen koan like :-

   "Empty handed,yet carrying a hoe
    Walking yet riding a buffalo
    the man crosses over the river
    The bridge flows, but the water does not"


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