One Sound-traditional Buddhist music from Tibet, China, Vietnam,Korea, Sri Lanka and Japan.

The insights of the Buddha have comforted and strengthened his followers for over two millennia. Dubbed 'The Vagrant Lotus,' Buddhism wandered from its homeland of India to the mainlands of Asia. It has persisted to this day as a major religious force surviving in the face of governmental repression and the devastation of war.

The tracks contained in this collection are all traditional, revealing each culture's response to the Buddhist message of wisdom and compassion. The pentatonic chants of the Chinese Ch'an Buddhists are a wonderful contrast to the sinuous ululations of the Japanese Zen Shakuhachi, which in turn provides an elegant contrast to the dynamic overtone singing of Tibetan Vajryana Buddhism. The communal unison of Tendai choral singing is juxtaposed with intimate solo chanting by Thich Nhat Hanh, Seung Sahn Sunim, and an anonymous Chinese monk from the Bamboo Stream Monastery.

When listended to with an open, accepting mind, this music can nurture the state of balance and peace that the Buddha said was within the reach of all sentient beings. In this age, when we are bombarded by images of worldwide turmoil and subjected to a plethora of high-tech stresses, Buddhism offers a spritual yet rational refuge, which we may enter through its music.

Among the many forms in which human spirit has tried to express its innermost yearnings and perceptions, music is perhaps the most universal. It symbolizes the yearnings for harmony, with oneself and with others, with nature,and with the spirtual and the sacred withing us and around us.-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Message for the World Festival of Sacred Music

Contents

Buddhist terms
A note on music and Buddhism
Compilers note
The Buddha, the Daharma, the Sangha
Track notes
Credits
Track list