Given that the Tibetan Vajrayana-or Tantric-realm of Buddhism was born out of the later Indian Mahayana Buddhism, there is an overlap of certain texts and sutras that are common to Tibet and across eastern Asia. The lyrics on Inner World are mostly made up of repeated mantras, largely in Sanskrit (the language of many classical Indian sacred texts including most Mahayana Buddhist sutras). This oral recitation has led to chants and mantras being almost universal across Buddhist tradition, and therefore most ethnomusicological recordings of Buddhist music are of various chants. Sutras are distinct from prayers in that they are teachings of the Buddha or scriptures that carry authority as words of Buddhas. The Dalai Lama at 85 Credit: Ven Tenzin Jamphel Most Buddhist music or aural liturgy stems from oral recitation of sutras and prayers due to the lack of a written tradition in the time of Buddhism’s origin. Far from the pinnacle of Buddhist music, it nonetheless gets at the personal nature of the practice, focusing on the “inner world” and the ability for enlightenment that is shared by all beings. This type of music consisted of blowing sometimes just single notes for long periods of time, alongside traditional compositions intended for private reflection rather than public performance. Suizen, for example, was practiced by a small Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism in Japan and sought enlightenment through bamboo flute playing. For this reason, much Buddhist music points to the inner Buddha-nature and often has more to do with direct participation of the music than listening to it. Indeed, many Buddhist traditions do have precepts against seeking worldly music, preaching a shedding of attachment to outward musical forms. At first glance, “Buddhist music” might seem to be something of a contradiction.
In themselves, these can serve as decent auditory introductions, but often lack rooted tradition or are commercial re-packagings of the traditional liturgy (look no further than releases like “25 Buddhist Vibes” on Spotify). Many western people’s encounters with Buddhist music have been in the form of various New Age “music for meditation” or “relaxation” releases.
The leader of Gelug Buddhism, and a paramount figurehead of Tibet, had never dropped an album before, which makes it an interesting point in both his history and the history of recorded Buddhist music. The Dalai Lama’s new album Inner World, released on his 85th birthday, drew attention as something of an oddity.
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