| A circle of drums is more than a jam in concert | | | | are stuck to a board" -Chinese wisdom |
| parking lot, it's a fundamental exercise in Buddhism. | | | | Another example of how words fall short. If a man |
| Anyone who has participated in a drum circle knows | | | | never saw a river, it would tell him little if I were to |
| that the boundaries of the individual breakdown and a | | | | scoop a handful of water and bring it to him. A |
| feeling of one emerges. This is because the real truth | | | | handful of river is dead in your hand. |
| is that we are all the same being in different | | | | So what to do ? Do! |
| disguises. | | | | Do what ? Drum! |
| Buddhism began in the 4th century by a Hindu prince | | | | Why ? Because it's a complete unspoken model of |
| named Gautama Siddhartha. Born a prince, he | | | | the universe. |
| abandoned his kingdom for a life of meditation and | | | | Really ? ... Really! |
| teaching. Not being motivated by fear or desire, | | | | The easiest example is to compare a bang of a drum |
| Gautama "woke up" to his true nature. | | | | or bell to the "big bang". |
| Upon attaining "enlightenment", Gautama instantly | | | | When a Buddhist monk rings a bell, he or she will first |
| recalled all his past lives and was able to explore the | | | | notice the silence, ring it, then let it fade and fade |
| complete potential of temporal consciousness. In the | | | | until there is silence again.the big bang, one crash, the |
| course of meeting people, they would ask Gautama | | | | sound rings out, wave energy turns into real-time |
| not WHO he was, but WHAT he was. He would | | | | thoughts and energy and then slowly fades out to |
| answer "I am awake!" | | | | silence. |
| I would not call Buddhism a religion, unless you call | | | | Conception, life death and when the priest hits it |
| seeing into one's own true nature a religion. Buddhism | | | | again, life again. One world exploding for 1 second or |
| is more like a code of ethics. | | | | 1 millennium, then fading into the backdrop of |
| Our actions should come from compassion and not | | | | another. |
| be motivated by fear or desire. | | | | When a group of people drum, the rhythm changes, |
| If you are coming from a good place, chances are | | | | revolves, dances and dreams. What you play and |
| you'll end up in one. | | | | how you play it, effects others, goes around the |
| How, you may ask, do drum circles compare with | | | | circle and comes back to you. |
| Buddhism? | | | | Karma. |
| Often religious expeierences are nonverbal. It can be | | | | Once you settle in, you fall into an effortless flow of |
| said religions are often used as a shield against the | | | | energy and information, in sink with the others and |
| terrors of direct expierence. The drum circle, being | | | | "the other." |
| non-verbal, affords us an opportunity of being quiet | | | | So keep drumming and ask not for whom the drum |
| in speech and raging in spirit. | | | | sounds,it sounds for you. |
| "Words are the pins on which the butterflies of life | | | | |