Sambudurajanani

In the rustling cool of dark-hued bo-tree leaves and buds,
savouring, again and again, the soothing comfort the gentle mother-wind brings,
seeing everywhere the glory that bears fruit even here, in this very world,
why do we chase after falsehood, turning our backs on the truth?
O Buddha, our king, this is the Dhamma taught long ago,
is this really the way we ought to be going?

Homage to him, the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened //

Can it be done with wealth amassed sleeplessly through craving?
to stay unaging, undying, through high office and power,
without racing to do merit for first place, without heaping up sin,
why is it we cannot live in accord with the eight worldly conditions?
O Buddha, our father, look down again with your divine eye,
and make clear to us once more that Dhamma taught long ago

Homage to him, the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened //

A reflective Poson devotional song that pairs the peace of the Buddha’s teaching with a gentle rebuke of how people actually live. It opens in stillness, the rustling cool of dark bo-tree leaves, the soothing comfort the gentle mother-wind brings, and the sense that the Dhamma’s glory bears fruit even here, in this very world. Against that calm it asks the sharp question: why do we chase after falsehood, turning our backs on the truth?

Between verses comes the Pali homage every Buddhist knows, Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa, anchoring the whole song in devotion. Then it presses its social conscience: can craving-driven wealth really buy anything worth having? can rank and power keep you from ageing and dying? Why, it asks, can’t we simply live in accord with the eight worldly conditions, the atalo-dhamma, instead of racing for first place and heaping up sin?

The close is a humble prayer. O Buddha, our father, look down again with your divine eye, and make clear to us once more that Dhamma taught long ago. It asks not for blessings or wealth but for clarity, for the old teaching to be shown again to a world that has drifted from it. Sung by the Marians to words by Kelum Srimal, it is a serene, gently searching Poson song about the peace of the Dhamma and a plea to live by truth rather than by craving.