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Songs of an Ancient Truth Vol. 1

by Barefoot Bran

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1.
Twin Verses 10:55
All experience is preceded by mind Led by mind, shaped by mind Speak or act with a corrupted mind And suffering follows like the wagon wheel follows The hoof of the ox All experience is preceded by mind Led by mind, shaped by mind Speak or act with a peaceful mind And happiness follows like a never-departing shadow They cheated me, they defeated me The robbed me Go on thinking in such a way And hate will never end Go on thinking in a different way And hate will end Hate never ends by hate By love alone does it end This is an ancient truth Many of us do not realize Here we all must die But for those who realize All quarrels end Those who live just for pleasant things Mind unguarded, immoderate, idle Will be overcome by temptations A tree too weak in the wind Those who live not for pleasant things Mind guarded and moderate and vigilant Will not be overcome by temptations A mountain in the wind Those who wish to wear the saffron robes And yet they have no self-control They are not free Those who wish to wear the saffron robes Have embraced the truth and self-control They are free Those who see the truth as false Those who see the real as unreal Will never see the truth in their hearts Will never be free But those who realize the truth Those who see the real as real Can see the truth in their hearts And they shall be free Just like rain on a leaky roof Desire floods the mind Make your home waterproof Keep a well trained mind One who makes unskillful choices Will suffer both in this life and beyond We will see the consequence of our actions If we choose to do wrong One who lives skillfully Will be joyful in this life and the next We shall live delightfully If we do our best Read as many verses as you’d like But if you do not heed those words You might as well be counting cattle In someone else’s herd Read as little of the verses as you’d like As long as you live skillfully Let go of desire, fear, attachment You shall be free
2.
Diligence 06:35
Diligence is the path to Deathlessness Negligence leads to death The diligent never die The negligent are already dead The wise, having known Diligence Rejoice in the Noble Ones The wise, meditating And striving on, Touch Nibbana Freedom from toil Those who are energetic Mindful and pure Discerning and self-controlled and diligent Glory grows for them The wise Make an island Which no flood Can overtake The foolish and ignorant Indulge in negligence But the wise keep Diligence as a treasure Do not give in To negligence Do not indulge in sense pleasures Only the diligent Attain happiness Just like on the mountaintop Looking below The wise one, casting off Negligence With Diligence, ascends The tower of wisdom This sorrowless sage Sees the sorrowing below The wise among the negligent Awake among those who sleep Advances forward like horse Leaving behind the weak The greatest of the gods Ascended with diligence The greatest of the gods Rejects Negligence Those who delight In diligence And turns their back upon negligence Roars like a fire, burning away All of the fetters The subtle and the clear There is no going back bluesy chord Nibbana’s drawing near!
3.
The Mind 06:39
The restless mind hard to control The wise one makes straight As an arrow Like a fish out of water wriggles and thrashes The mind won’t sit still Trying to escape from temptation The mind jumps about Landing where it wishes Taming the mind Brings happiness The mind hard to see goes where it wishes The wise one protects it It brings happiness Traveling far The mind, hidden and solitary The wise one does well to subdue it And they shall be free The mind that is not steadfast Who knows not the Dharma Whose serenity wavers Wisdom does not grow There is no fear For an awakened one No desire or hate Or gain or loss Can affect the mind This body is like a fragile clay pot Wield the sword of wisdom Against temptation’s hoards Remaining unattached Protect what has already been won Soon this body will lie on the ground Cast aside and lifeless like a log Whatever harm an enemy does to an enemy Far worse is an ill-trained mind Whatever good a dear one delivers Comes nowhere near a well-trained mind.
4.
Flowers 07:19
Who will master this world the realm of gods and men Who shall perfect The path of wisdom? A wise one on this path Will master this world, They shall perfect the path Like a wise one gathers flower Knowing this body is like mere sea foam Knowing it’s mirage-like and illusory Plucking out the flower-arrows of sensuality One escapes Death’s eventuality Like a flood sweeps away the sleepy village Death sweeps away the distracted mind The distracted minds who only pick flowers of pleasure Those who only go on Picking flowers of pleasure Will never escape The sway of Death Like a bee, who gathers the honey Without harming the flower’s scent In such a way should the wise one Through the world walks gently Do not look to others To find their mistakes Turn your gaze inward And see the mistakes you have made Like a beautiful flower With color but no scent Are wise words spoken But actions not practiced Like a beautiful flower With both color and fragrance Are the wise words spoken And fruitful actions From a heap of flowers Many garlands can be made With this one short life You can do beautiful things The scent of flowers Sandalwood and jasmine Cannot go against The strong blowing wind But the fragrance of virtue Goes against the wind And travels far and wide In every direction The scent of flowers Sandalwood and jasmine When compared to the scent of virtue Pales in comparison Temptation cannot find The path of the virtuous Who walks with wisdom And abides in diligence Like the lotus growing sweetly In the trash on the side of the road A wise, awakened one, In a blind world will grow
5.
The Fool 06:25
The night is long for those who cannot sleep The road is long for a weary traveler Samsara is long For those who do not know the Dhamma If, when on your way, you meet no traveler Who is equal or better than you Let them go on their way There is not fellowship with fools A fool suffers when they think “I have children and I have wealth” If one’s self is not even one’s own Whose are the children? Whose is the wealth? A fool who knows they are a fool Is at least as wise as such But a fool who thinks they are wise They are the fool A fool who knows the wise Even for their whole lives Will still not know the Dharma Anymore than the spoon can taste the soup A mindful one who knows the wise Even for just a moment Will surely know the Dharma Just as the tongue can taste the soup The fools who are foolish Are their worst enemies Doing unskillful deeds Will bear the bitter fruit The bitter fruit of fools The fool will regret All unskillful deeds Eventually Tear-stained cheeks They will surely weep One will not regret Acting skillfully Rejoice in delight And they will be free As long as the fool Has not yet been caught They think it is sweet like honey But when it catches up to them They’ll bear the bitter fruit of fools Month after month after month after month the fool Eats their food with the tip of a bad of grass This is not worth a moment of Dharma being grasped Just like fresh milk Unskillful actions Have not yet curdled But just like an ember In ash The fool will be burned Reasoning is lethal To the fool Like an axe it will cleave their head Split it wide open And then the foolishness is dead Seeking status, seeking fame The fool wants to be praised “Look at me, look at all that is mine.” What foolishness, those thoughts Desire and pride You can have wealth and fame But the path to freedom is different A wise one does not delight In being venerated But strives for a peaceful mind
6.
The Wise 06:54
When a wise one points out your faults Stay close to them, good things will come Heed their advice, listen to their instruction Those who are wise, will find them a pleasing person Don’t hang around with unskillful people Spend your time with noble friends Those who drink of the Dhamma Will keep a clear and cool head Those who are wise In the Dhamma will delight Irrigators guide the water flow Fletchers fashion arrows Carpenters shape the timber The wise tame their mind Like a steadfast boulder That no wind can move So is the wise unmoved By praise or reproof Just like a lake Glass-like calm and crystal clear So is the wise When it is the Dhamma they hear When the wise let go They talk not of pain or pleasure When touched by either one The wise remain measured We should not strive for wealth and fame Procured by unskillful means So skillfully and wisely We should strive to be Few are they who reach the other shore Innumerable are they who scurry on this shore Those who practice the way So wisely it is taught Beyond into the Deathless To the other shore they shall cross Renouncing unskillful ways The wise cultivate the bright To wandering without home Into uncomfortable solitary life The wise will seek delight Not in sense pleasures, having no possessions They will purify themselves Their minds they will cleanse Those who cultivate Awakening Those who no longer cling Have broken the fetters They shall be Free
7.
The Arahant 04:17
Sorrowless and at journey’s end For one who all bonds have loosened Free from all bonds Passion’s fever is gone The mindful ones exert themselves Nowhere do they abide Like wild swans flying from the lake They leave every home behind Like a bird on the wing You cannot trace their path Of those who do not cling And are moderate in every task Whose skies are the freedom Of emptiness Like a bird on the air You cannot trace their path Of those who destroyed every fetter Of those unattached Whose skies are the freedom Of emptiness Those who are calm and clear And pride abandoned A steed tamed by charioteer They even the gods hold dear They, who like the Earth Untroubled by quake and thunder Like a pillar, a crystal lake They no longer wander Peaceful mind, deed, and speech With perfect skillful understanding One who is thus Is at utmost peace Gone beyond views The Unmade is known The fetters shattered, kamma severed Clinging no more In the wild or the village Th the valley or the hill Pleasant is the place Where the Arahant dwells In the peaceful quiet forest Where no one else abides They who are free from passions Not seeking pleasure they delight
8.
Better than a thousand meaningless words Is a single word that brings peace when heard Better than a thousand meaningless verses Is a single verse that brings peace when heard Better than chanting a thousand meaningless verses Is a single verse of Dhamma, that brings peace when heard Better in battle than one who could conquer a thousand men Are they who could conquer just one—themselves Better to conquer yourself rather than others When you’ve trained yourself, living in constant self-control No deva or gandhabba, nor Mara or Bramha Can turn that victory into defeat You could month after month After month after month at a cost of a thousand Conduct sacrifice a hundred times or more Or, for one moment pay simple homage To a wise one at peace Better than a hundred years of sacrifice Would that one moment of homage be Everything offered for a whole year in this world Doesn’t come close to equal one fourth Better it is to pay respect To those who have gone forth If you’re resoectful by habit and honor the worthy Long life and beauty, happiness and strength will increase Better to live one day in virtue and meditation Than a hundred years with no virtue and uncontrolled Better to live one day, wise and meditative Than a hundred years foolish and uncontrolled Better to live one day resolute and energetic Than a hundred years sloth like and apathetic Better to live one day seeing the rising and passing away of things Than to live a hundred years without seeing the rising and passing away of things Better to live one day seeing the Deathless state Than to live a hundred years without seeing the Deathless state Better to live one day seeing the ultimate Dhamma Than to live a hundred years without seeing the ultimate Dhamma
9.
Evil 07:58
Hasten to do good! Restrain your mind from evil One who is slow to do good Their thoughts delight in evil If you do something evil Do not do it again Do not wish for it Piling up evil brings suffering If you do something good Do it again and again Set your heart upon it Piling up goodness brings joy One who does evil think “It is well!” When the evil has not yet ripened But when the evil matures They’ll see the results of the evil actions One who does good may think “It is ill!” When the good they have done does not yet ripen But when the good matures They’ll see the pleasant results of their good actions Don’t think lightly of evil, thinking “It will not come back to me!” Drop by drop, the pot is filled Little by little, the fool is filled with evil Don’t think lightly of good, thinking “It will not come to me!” Drop by drop, the pot is filled. Little by little, the wise one is filled with good. Just as a merchant with a great caravan Avoids a dangerous road One who loves life avoid poison Even so, should you avoid evil A hand with no cuts can carry poison without harm Poison does not enter without a wound For one who does no evil there are no ill consequences Like dust upon the wind evil falls back into the face Of the fool who who harms an innocent Some are born in the womb Evil is reborn in hell realms People who do good are reborn in heavenly realms The stainless are fully released in Nibbana
10.
Violence 09:07
All beings tremble at violence All being fear death Seeing other as like yourself Do not kill or cause other to kill All beings tremble at violence All beings cherish life Seeing others as like yourself Do not kill or cause others to kill If one, desiring happiness Uses violence to harm Other who desire happiness One won’t find it after death If one, desiring happiness Does not use violence to harm Others who desire happiness One will find happiness in this life and the next Speak not harshly to anyone For what you say will come back to you Angry, harsh speech will hurt And retaliation will overtake you Like a broken bell If you remain silent You will have reached Nibbana And no hostility will live in you Just as the cowherd herds the cattle to pasture So death and old age drive all life on The fool, when doing evil, does not know its nature By their fire the fool is burned One who uses violence to harm the nonviolent and innocent Will swiftly find themselves in one of ten states Intense pain or disaster Injury or insanity Illness or slander Oppression from rulers and blame The loss of loved ones or wealth Homes destroyed by flames And with the dissolution of the body The fool will fall into hell No nakedness or matted hair No smearing oneself with dust and ash No fasting or lying on bare ground No squatting in austere postures Will purify one who has not overcome doubt Even when well dressed If one lives at peace Calm and controlled, assured in what is holy Giving up violence to all living beings They are truly holy, brahmin, renunciate, monk they are holy Rare in this world is the one who avoids reproach Is restrained in conscience And is as the horse knows nothing of the whip Like a good horse, ever alert to the whip With virtue and effort, be alert and diligent Concentrated and discerning Destroy the endless suffering (same progression as first verse) Irrigators guide the water flow Fletcher fashion arrows The carpenters shape the timber The wise tame their minds
11.
Old Age 05:47
Why this laughter and joy? When fire is ever burning? Surrounded by dark For the light shouldn’t you be searching? Behold this body, a painted image A propped up mass of sores Full of illnesses and plans None of this lasts! This body is worn out A nest of disease, so fragile When life ends in death This body will dissolve What is the delight Seeing these dull bones Tossed to the ground Like an autumn gourd It’s a city built of bones Plastered with flesh and blood Inside dwell decay and death Jealousy and pride The most beautiful chariots wear out Just as this body wears out But the Dhamma of the Good does not thus the Good make it known to the good One who learns little grows old like an ox they grow in size, but wisdom does not Through many a birth I have wandered Through samsara in vain Seeking the builder of this house Over and over, rebirth is suffering O house builder, you are seen. You will not build this house again Your rafters are broken, your ridgepole shattered The mind has attained the unconditioned I have attained the destruction of craving Those who in their youth Have not led the holy life Or failed to acquire wealth Stoop over the waters like a crane with no fish Those who in their youth Have not led the holy life Or failed to acquire wealth Like misfired arrows from a bow lament the past
12.
The Self 06:36
If one knew oneself to be dear One would watch oneself with diligence The wise will keep vigil In the watches of the night First, establish oneself In what is proper Only then, one can instruct others In this way the wise will not be reproached One should do what one teaches Only the self-controlled should teach restraint Indeed, difficult is self-restraint One is truly one’s own protector Whoever else could it be? With self-control can one Obtain a protector hard to find The evil done is done by oneself Born of oneself, produced by oneself They are ground down Like a diamond does to a stone Just like the vine that creeps How it strangles the tree One who covers themselves in misconduct Harm themselves as if by an enemy It’s easy to do what is not good Things that harm oneself Extremely difficult is it to do Things that benefit and are good The unwise who, with unwise view Scorn and malign the Arahants Who live the Noble Dhamma Will destroy themselves with the fruit they bear Like the reeds that die with the fruit they bear By oneself alone is evil done By oneself is one defiled By oneself alone is evil avoided By oneself is one made pure Purity and impurity depend on oneself No one can purify another Don’t neglect your own welfare For another’s welfare, however great Clearly know your own welfare And be intent on the highest good
13.
The World 08:19
Follow not a foolish way Dwell not in negligence Hold not unskillful view Don’t be engrossed in worldly ways Arise! Be not negligent! Live life skillfully One who lives the Dhamma lives happy In this life and the next Live the Dhamma, a righteous life Don’t live in misconduct One who lives the Dhamma lives happy In this life and the next See the world as a bubble As a mirage One won’t be seen by the King of Death Come, behold this world! An exquisite royal chariot Fools flounder in it But the wise do not cling to it They who cease negligence And does good deeds Illumines the world Like the moon freed from the clouds Blind is the world Few have clear insight Only a few, like birds escaping a net Will go to heavenly realms Swans fly the path of the sun Psychics will fly through the air The wise go forth from the world Conquering Mara’s hoards Those who speak falsely And go against truth Who scorn the next life There is no evil they won’t do Foolish misers will not ascend To heavenly realms The wise who praise generosity Will find happiness in the next life Better than ruling the world Better than going to heaven Better than supreme rule over the universe Is the fruit of stream entry

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"Songs of an Ancient Truth" is a musical rendition of The Dhammapada, a timeless, popular book of verses of wisdom and peace from the Buddhist tradition.

It includes the entire first half of The Dhammapada, 13 full chapters transformed into earthy folk rock suites and ballads that inspire, challenge, and awaken the listener.

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released October 20, 2022

All music is created, performed, and recorded by Barefoot Bran. The lyrics are from the Dhammapada.

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Barefoot Bran Kansas City, Kansas

Bran crafts his unique, down-to-earth folk songs that tell stories that are fun, inspiring, insightful, and ofttimes humorous.

From heart-felt songs of world peace, to earthy tunes of Nature; from epic myths and stories, there’s sure to be something in Bran’s music for any groovy, tree-huggin’, peace-lovin’ soul!
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