Celestial Music: Sutras of Emptiness

by Tai Sheridan

Poet and Zen Priest Tai Sheridan presents modern interpretations of the Lotus, Diamond, Heart Wisdom, and Loving Kindness Sutras in easy to read and inspirational verses. The Buddhist sutras express a path of enlightened living based on curiosity, good will, wisdom, and compassion. They journey through the mountains and valleys of human experience: living and dying, love and loss, anguish and peace. Approaching the sutras is difficult. The Lotus Sutra is a lengthy compilation of parables in an archaic style. The Diamond Sutra is a short but dense treatise on non-dual philosophy. Even the well crafted contemporary versions of the Heart Wisdom Sutra (Prajna Paramita) and the Loving Kindness Sutra (Metta Sutra) use ancient terminology and awkward constructions. The introductions and original preludes entitled "Beating the Celestial Drum" help clarify the central themes of the Sutras. The rendition of the Lotus Sutra is the first English one of its kind. It integrates the entire sutra by topic and synthesizes it into a brief poem and mantra.

Genres: Poetry

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 25, 2011

About the author

Also see Taisan Sheridan

Reviews

[BC Batcheshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, simple meditations to clear the person of self-absorption, and effective when recalled - even in public or mid conversation.

[David Peirce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read all the sutras in their full English translations in other books with commentary. Tai Sheridan's poetry gets to the heart of their meaning and speaks to intuition and emptiness as only good poetry can in ways that the commentaries don't. The Heart Sutra is a challenge, for example! I have a much better relationship with it now than I ever had thanks to Tai's poetic rendering.

This is a free Kindle ebook at Amazon. Pick it up!

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying Tai Sheridan's books/poetry. I particularly like his version of the Loving Kindness Sutra.