Celestial Music: Sutras of Emptiness

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.