Live performance by Roy Jones of a song,'Heart of the People', from his new album Red Lotus. (Available for download on iTunes and Amazon-MP3)To listen to the title track go to www.royjonesmusic.com Recorded on October 10th 2010 at The Cellar Bar, Cardigan, West Wales.
"The video is essentially a live take shot from one angle (shot by my son Stevie Jones, who is the bass player in the 'Fire of Compassion' Video)with supporting images drawn from a variety of sources and locations. Collage Paintings of 'The Ten Worlds' were made by artist Ilona David; check her work in oils out at ilonadavid.co.uk & ilonadavid.carbonmade.com . 3D Animation Sequences were created by artist and interior designer Paul Freeman, have a look at more of his work at http://paul-freeman.weebley.com . Footage of people came from Stephany and Andrew's wedding at Taplow Court, Maidenhead and from a coincidence that T.Mobile were making an advert at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 International Arrivals Hall, just as I went to pick up my wife, Marian, who was returning from a visit to see her sister in the States.
The song, Heart of the People, is my attempt to explore, through music the Buddhist concept of 'ichinen sanzen' or '3,000 realms in a single moment of life'. This concept was first defined in the 6th century AD by Chinese sage, T'ien t'ai (538-597) and derived ultimately from his profound understanding of 'The Lotus Sutra' by Shakyamuni Buddha. The second Chapter of the Lotus Sutra contains the phrase "the true aspect of all phenomena" and this is what inspired T'ien t'ai to formulate the idea that each life moment contains within it the potential for one of three thousand possible states of mind to manifest. Part of this concept is the idea that there are 10 basic life-states or worlds from Hell to Buddha-state which each of us experience from moment to moment as we go about our daily lives. These are the represented by Ilona's faces. T'ien t'ai said that these worlds or life-states were in mutual possession, in other words, each world contained the other ten within it. That means, importantly, that the world or mind of Buddha is within each of the ten worlds. The exact mathematics here of how he derived a particular number,(10 worlds or 3,000 realms) is not important. What is important, and liberating as a philosophy, is the idea that reality is coloured by our individual perception and that the focus of this perception can change from moment to moment. Also the idea that the mind (and therefore the wisdom of) the Buddha is always a potential in any given moment, which is implicit in this philosophy, means that even potentially negative life states such as Hunger (preoccupation with desires which can never be satiated) or Anger can, through revealing the latent Buddahood within them, be transformed into positive tendencies - we desire world peace, our anger is used to fight against injustice.
In the 12th century the Japanese priest from humble beginnings, Nichiren, established a practice to enable all people to awaken the mind of the Buddha and infuse the life moment with wisdom, compassion and courage. This practice consisted of chanting the title of the Lotus Sutra - Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to a mandala called the Gohonzon which was an graphic representation of the mind of the Buddha. With strong faith it is possible for anyone who does so to overcome their negativity and awaken the sleeping Buddha in themselves. Nichiren writes: "showing profound compassion for those unable to comprehend the gem of the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, the Buddha wrapped it within the five characters (of Myoho-renge-kyo), with which he adorned the necks of the ignorant people of the latter age".(The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind) Today millions of people wordwide chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo largely through the efforts of one man, Daisaku Ikeda, President of the lay Buddhist group, SGI. To find out more visit the website sgi.org .
Because the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Buddhism embraces all people and respects them because of their innate potential to manifest the mind of the Buddha at any moment, I felt that the title 'Heart of the People' was appropriate for a song which is trying to explain 'the true aspect of all phenomena'. The true aspect is the heart and all phenomena are all people. 'Ichinen sanzen' also explains the interconnectedness of all things and the inevitability of constant change in the world of matter around us. It also explains the workings of 'cause and effect' or karma showing how every thought word and action lead to a change in our environment. When a person makes a change within the world they inhabit changes too. The aim is to make more and more changes within so that where we live starts to reflect the amazing potential which is within each one of us. Change yourself! Change your world!"
Roy Jones, 16th November, 2010
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Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo Changes Livesby myoho32122,211 views
I've just noticed that the TMobile Ad which provided the footage for this video's ending has now gone viral at 7 million hits! In the same time this one has had only 220! Quality not quantity that counts!
MrLotusdragon 11 months ago