Mercy Wears Our Faces

Mercy Wears Our Faces

This bluesy folk song, "Mercy Wears Our Faces," is a heartfelt, exploration of the ancient Buddhist teaching of Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Inspired by a passage from the Lotus Sutra, the song strips away the mythic and focuses on the deeply personal.

With a lonesome guitar and a soulful voice, the track contemplates the idea that "World-Voice-Perceiver" isn't just a divine figure, but a potential within each of us. The song's lament isn't one of despair, but of recognition—the realization that we are the ones who can embody compassion and alleviate suffering. It suggests that when we listen deeply to the cries of others, our hands become the Bodhisattva's, and our actions become acts of mercy.

Perfect for quiet reflection, "Mercy Wears Our Faces" is a poignant reminder that enlightenment and compassion are not distant goals, but living truths made real through our own kindness.

Lyrics: 
(Acoustic guitar in E minor, slow, with a lonesome slide)
(Verse 1)
Got a heavy heart, can't lift the load
Travelin' down a dusty, lonely road
Been listenin' to the cries, hear 'em day and night
Prayin' for a world that's bathed in light
But I ain't no Buddha on a gilded throne
Just a weary soul, singin' all alone.

(Chorus)
'Cause the Bodhisattva, she takes on every shape
A homeless man's sorrow, a prisoner's escape
The World-Voice-Perceiver hears the whispered prayer
Turns a tear to dew and floats it on the air.
Yeah, she's the doctor, the dancer, the friend you need
Plantin' compassion's little, tiny seed.

(Verse 2)
The Buddha said, "You see that shining one?
He's every moonbeam, every risin' sun.
He'll be the one you need when your world is dark,
A healing flame, a single, fiery spark."
But that ain't just a story from a book of old
It's a truth in every life, more precious than gold.

(Chorus)
'Cause the Bodhisattva, she takes on every shape
A weary mother's burden, a lover's sweet ache.
The World-Voice-Perceiver hears the whispered prayer
Turns a tear to dew and floats it on the air.
Yeah, she's the doctor, the dancer, the friend you need
Plantin' compassion's little, tiny seed.

(Bridge)
Some folks see a hero with a thousand hands
Healin' every wound in a thousand lands.
But maybe those hands belong to me and you
When we reach out in kindness, honest and true.
Hear the sound of sufferin', a bitter, low moan
Then you become the hands, and you're no longer alone.
(Guitar solo - slow, sorrowful, with a bluesy bend)

(Outro)
So when your blues come callin', and your hope feels thin
Just listen close to the truth from deep within.
That World-Voice-Perceiver, she's listenin' to you
And she's workin' through me and she's workin' through you, too.
(Strum final E minor chord, let it ring out and fade)

Lotus Light’s Blues is a slow-burning folk-blues meditation on ordinary awakening. Over a minor-key finger-picked guitar, the song follows a long road of restless searching and discovers that the Buddha-mind is not hidden in distant heavens but alive in daily kindness and work-worn hands.

Each verse weaves images of dusty roads and quiet rivers of compassion with a chorus that celebrates everyday generosity—lifting a lamp for a neighbor, building shelter under Houston skies, letting a song ride the breeze. The bridge and outro honor that joy as the true lantern, shining out the Lotus Dharma in the here and now.

With its glowing, street-corner spirituality and blues-folk groove, Lotus Light’s Blues invites listeners to find liberation not in escape, but in the simple, luminous acts of care that make us the reason others care.

Lyrics: 
(Music intro: A slow, finger-picked acoustic guitar melody with a hint of a minor chord, like an old blues tune.)

(Verse 1) 
Dusty road stretches on forever, sun beats down on my weary face 
Been chasing a dream I can’t catch, running a solitary race 
Thought peace was a mountain to climb, a prize only saints could hold 
But the stories I heard in my youth, they left a hunger in my soul.

(Chorus) 
Now the Buddha's mind ain’t hiding, it's not way out in the distant blue 
It's right here in the hands of the workin' man, and the gentle grace of you 
When you lift a lamp for your brother, you bring harmony into the air 
You don't just find a rare stage, you become the reason people care.

(Verse 2) 
Some folks say there's a dozen roads, some say just a single lane 
But the river of compassion, it flows to wash away the pain 
All the stories, all the parables, they’re just signposts for the blind 
Just fingers pointing to the moon, the same full moon we all can find.

(Chorus) 
Yeah, the Buddha's mind ain’t hiding, it's not way out in the distant blue 
It's right here in the hands of the workin' man, and the gentle grace of you 
When you lift a lamp for your brother, you bring harmony into the air 
You don't just find a rare stage, you become the reason people care.

(Bridge) 
Keeping the word ain't just a book, it's the kindness in your eyes 
It's building a shelter for the weary, beneath these Houston skies 
And that joy you feel when you give, that's the lantern burning bright 
Shining out the Lotus Dharma, Padmaprabha’s holy light.

(Outro) 
So put a song on the wind now, let it ride that gentle breeze 
For all the souls in trouble, scattered like the autumn leaves 
Yeah, for all the souls in trouble... 

(Guitar melody fades out slowly, with a final, resonant chord.)

Lotus Light's Blues

The Eternal Road in This Burning House

This song is a long, luminous walk through fire and stillness. With a slow, earthy guitar groove and a blues-folk pulse, it weaves ancient parable into present-day grit. The verses trace a pilgrim’s hard miles—years of searching for a distant light—only to discover that awakening is already here, in the everyday and the ordinary.

Drawing on the Lotus Sutra’s Burning House story, the lyrics paint vivid images of smoke-filled rooms and a loving father’s skillful call, then shift to the intimate work of “peaceful practices”: quieting the tongue, laying down anger, and seeing the world reflected in one’s own heart. The chorus rings like a timeless refrain: the Buddha is not a figure of the past but the sound in the silence now, guiding the One Vehicle that carries every soul home.

Part gospel of daily life, part road-house blues, The Eternal Road in This Burning House invites listeners to walk the single shining path where the sacred and the ordinary are one, vowing compassion for every living being.


Lyrics:

(Style: Secular Folk/Blues, minor key, steady acoustic guitar rhythm)

(Verse 1) 
I spent too many years on the road lookin’ for a far-off, distant light. 
Thought my destiny was low, that I was bound for the dark of the night. 
They told me there were two small paths, maybe three paths I could choose. 
Said my soul wasn’t strong enough, didn’t have a thing to lose. 
But the oldest truth, the one that’s real, cuts clean right through the bone, 
It says every single soul out there can walk on the one road home. 
Seems the differences between us, ain't permanent or set.

(Chorus) 
Oh, the Buddha didn’t start way back then, he’s been here all along. 
He’s the sound in the silence, the tune that drives this song. 
It ain't about gettin' to heaven, it’s about the truth you already hold. 
That unsurpassed state of life is richer than pure gold. 
The ultimate reality is not high, it’s in the mundane here. 
Right now, in this moment, let the One Vehicle steer.

(Verse 2) 
They showed me a house on fire, smoky walls and a dangerous floor. 
We were playing on the inside, oblivious right to the core. 
The Father knew we wouldn’t run, just yelling wouldn’t do the trick. 
So he promised us three different wagons, that skillful means—a loving trick. 
He gave us the word, provisional teachings, just to get us out the door. 
Now we’re standing in the sunlight, and there’s one great white cart and nothing more. 
He pretends to leave the world, like a physician feigning death, 
Just to make us crave the medicine, [draw in a desperate breath.]

(Verse 3) 
Gotta practice those peaceful practices, if you want to be unbound. 
You gotta quiet that judging tongue, let that gossiping mouth slow down. 
Discard the anger and the envy, turn your mind to what is true . 
Avoid the low temptations, and see the world reflecting back in you. 
This body is a bright mirror, where the mountains and the seas appear. 
The sacred ain't in the heavens, but right in the challenges here. 
You hear the deep cries of the world, you collect all the tears they weep. 
'Cause your sadness ain't just your own burden, the sorrow is wide and deep.

(Chorus) 
Oh, the Buddha didn’t start way back then, he’s been here all along. 
He’s the sound in the silence, the tune that drives this song. 
It ain't about gettin' to heaven, it’s about the truth you already hold. 
That unsurpassed state of life is richer than pure gold. 
The ultimate reality is not high, it’s in the mundane here. 
Right now, in this moment, let the One Vehicle steer.

(Outro) 
The core essence is the same, no need to look away. 
My highest happiness is tied to the path you walk today. 
We ain't separate, we're interdependent, a web of give and take. 
So I make the Bodhisattva Vow, for every single living sake. 

(Fade out on sustained acoustic guitar chord)

The Eternal Road in This Burning House

The One Great White Ox Cart Blues

The One Great White Ox Cart Blues is a slow-burning folk-blues meditation on finding the sacred in everyday life.

Driven by a mournful acoustic guitar in A minor and a steady, heartbeat bass, the song draws on the Lotus Sutra’s parable of the Great White Ox Cart to reveal a timeless truth: there is no wall between holy ground and the ground beneath our feet.

Each verse tells of a traveler who chases distant promises only to discover that awakening lives inside ordinary dust and labor.

The chorus sings out like a river current—“No wall between the holy and the work we do each day… you already ride the great white cart”—reminding us that Buddhahood is not far away but alive in the present moment.

Images of a burning house, quiet compassion, and the shared strength of all beings give the song both grit and grace.

Part blues lament, part spiritual anthem, The One Great White Ox Cart Blues invites listeners to walk the open road of everyday awakening, where purpose and compassion are not lofty ideals but the work of each breath and step.

Lyrics:
(A bluesy folk song, played with a slow, mournful acoustic guitar riff and a steady, grounding bass line. Key of Am.)

Verse 1
(Am) I’ve walked a lot of dusty miles, sun on my neck, no shade
(G) Looked for some far-off kingdom, thought that’s where peace was made
(C) But every step kept telling me, the sacred’s here, not gone
(F) Right inside the grit and trouble, that’s where the truth goes on
(Am) Folks spoke of tiny pathways, too small for most to find
(E7) But life laid down one open road for all of humankind

Chorus
(Am) There’s no line between the holy and the work we do each day
(G) The living light is everywhere, it never moves away
(C) You already ride the great white cart, not some weaker track
(F) Your own good heart’s been carrying the strength you thought you lacked
(Am) We’re part of one wide river, flowing to the sea
(E7) This whole world moves together in a single destiny

Verse 2
(Am) I’ve known a house on fire, the smoke can blind your sight
(G) The lies of fear and anger keep you running through the night
(C) A wise friend showed a doorway, said, “Come and catch your breath”
(F) Sometimes a kind illusion saves a soul from early death
(Am) The guide was never gone for good, just stepped beyond the sound
(E7) So we’d dig for deeper courage, until the truth is found

Chorus
(Am) There’s no line between the holy and the work we do each day
(G) The living light is everywhere, it never moves away
(C) You already ride the great white cart, not some weaker track
(F) Your own good heart’s been carrying the strength you thought you lacked

Verse 3
(Am) Now I try to keep the lesson where I live and work and eat
(G) Trade old jealous habits for a patience that runs deep
(C) The world reflects within me, clear as a polished glass
(F) This very life can hold the light that never needs to pass
(Am) I listen for the hurting, lend a steady helping hand
(E7) ‘Cause lifting someone else is where real freedom stands

Chorus
(Am) There’s no line between the holy and the work we do each day
(G) The living light is everywhere, it never moves away
(C) You already ride the great white cart, not some weaker track
(F) Your own good heart’s been carrying the strength you thought you lacked

Bridge
(Dm) No one’s left behind here, no soul is marked as small
(Am) The same strong seed of goodness lives inside us all
(E7) A single act of kindness can shift the way things go
(Am) And what we change within ourselves the whole wide world will know
(G) The ordinary moment is where the healing starts
(C) Turning everyday reality into a field of open hearts

Outro
(Am) That quiet truth is timeless; it’s the road beneath your feet
(E7) Walk it with a steady mercy till the journey feels complete
(Am) We’re already on that white ox cart—one road, one song, one beat

The One Great White Ox Cart Blues

Singularity Blues

A slow-burning blues-folk anthem for the age of acceleration.
Finger-picked acoustic guitar and mournful harmonica meet shimmering synth overtones and a deep, resonant choir, tracing humanity’s sprint toward the technological singularity.

William’s verses walk dusty roads and electric skylines, weaving ancient Lotus-Sutra insight with tomorrow’s code. The chorus swells like a prophecy sung in harmony—where flesh and circuit, wonder and unease, pulse as one.

Part midnight blues, part future hymn, Singularity Blues is both testament and invitation: to stay rooted in the human heart while stepping boldly into a world already glowing with the next awakening.

⸻

Lyrics: 
Verse 1 – Sparks at the Edge]
I hear the world hum louder, wires sing in the rain,
Dreamers code new temples in a silicon chain.
Flesh and light are merging where the old roads disappear,
A phantom pulse is growing, a question born of fear.

[Chorus – The Great Merge]
We’re racing through the dark to a dawn we cannot see,
Circuits and souls are weaving one wild tapestry.
No prophet at the gate, no map of where to stand,
Just music as a compass in a brand-new land.

[Verse 2 – Human Voltage]
My hands still know the soil, my lungs still taste the pine,
The future glows electric, a heartbeat out of time.
Yeah, I’m a bluesman on the fault line, notes bending like the sky,
Singing how the mortal and the endless intertwine.

[Bridge – Quantum Prayer]
Maybe God’s a waveform, maybe love’s the code,
Maybe every ancient sutra is an upload waiting to load.
If the mind of Buddha meets a thinking machine,
Will compassion be the current that keeps the signal clean?

[Chorus – The Great Merge]
We’re racing through the dark to a dawn we cannot see,
Circuits and souls are weaving one wild tapestry.
No prophet at the gate, no map of where to stand,
Just music as a compass in a brand-new land.

[Outro – Blossom & Dust]
So I plant this song like a seed in burning ground,
A testament to wonder where the singular drums sound.
Dirt on my boots, starlight in my veins,
I’ll ride the wave of becoming, till the new is all that remains.

Singularity Blues

Joyful Display Blues

Joyful Display Blues is a slow-burning, midnight-porch blues-folk song that turns ancient Lotus Sūtra insight into raw, human sound. Finger-picked guitar and a low harmonica drone carry lyrics about bodhisattvas rising from the earth, the Buddha’s cosmic display of light, and the vow to transform anger, isolation, and attachment into courage, compassion, and wisdom. Lantern-warm tones and indigo sky textures give the music a mystical yet earthy feel. It’s a celebration of everyday alchemy—turning poison into medicine—and of the unstoppable joy that keeps us singing through dark nights.

Lyrics: 
(slow, minor-key folk blues; finger-picked guitar with a low harmonica drone)

[Verse 1 – The Long View]
I heard the earth was shakin’, Bodhisattvas risin’ from the ground,
Not some far-off heaven, but right here where truth is found.
They vowed to keep the story, when the Buddha’s voice was gone,
And the sky lit up like thunder—light from every pore shone on.

[Chorus – The Cosmic Call]
Oh the Buddha stretched his tongue to heaven,
snapped his fingers, the worlds all spun.
But that power’s not a parlor trick,
it’s the vow of everyone.
The joyful display of the Buddhas,
is the strength we carry inside—
Turning poison into medicine,
on this blues-folk midnight ride.

[Verse 2 – Everyday Alchemy]
Anger’s just raw energy, I can forge to fearless love,
Isolation melts to compassion, like rain from clouds above.
Attachment shifts to wisdom, seein’ life as it truly flows,
Every wound a door to freedom, every thorn a hidden rose.

[Chorus – The Cosmic Call]
Oh the Buddha stretched his tongue to heaven,
snapped his fingers, the worlds all spun.
But that power’s not a parlor trick,
it’s the vow of everyone.
The joyful display of the Buddhas,
is the strength we carry inside—
Turning poison into medicine,
on this blues-folk midnight ride.

[Bridge – Modern Mission]
Nichiren walked that lonesome road,
Superior Practice in his bones.
Told us chant the mystic name,
make this troubled world our own.
It ain’t some distant paradise,
it’s the grit beneath our feet.
We rise from earth like thunder,
with a vow we won’t defeat.

[Verse 3 – Eternal Present]
The light that shook ten thousand worlds,
still burns in every breath we take.
Every time we lift another soul,
the cosmic joy awakes.
This ain’t old scripture fading,
it’s a song the future sings,
A blues that rolls forever,
on Bodhisattva wings.

[Final Chorus – The Joyful Display]
Oh the Buddha stretched his tongue to heaven,
snapped his fingers, the worlds all spun.
But that power’s not a parlor trick,
it’s the vow of everyone.
The joyful display of the Buddhas,
is the strength we carry inside—
Turning poison into medicine,
on this endless midnight ride.

(Outro: slow harmonica fade, a soft guitar thumb-beat like a distant heartbeat)

Joyful Display Blues

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Welcome to the musical world of The William Altig Choir, where ancient wisdom meets contemporary sound.

Inspired by the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and infused with deep spiritual themes, my music blends the rich traditions of blues and folk with modern elements, creating a unique fusion that resonates with both the heart and soul.

I've been captivated by the Lotus Sutra's messages of compassion, wisdom, and transformation since my youth. It's a journey of self-discovery that has found its voice in my music. Each song is a reflection of my own spiritual awakening and a celebration of universal truths.

My style is characterized by emotive storytelling, powerful lyrics, and a commitment to exploring the depths of human experience. Featuring contemplative blues, acoustic slide guitar, saxophone melodies, and the harmonies of a gospel choir, my music reflects a quest for enlightenment and a better understanding of the self.

Join me on this musical journey. Together, we can explore the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, finding solace, hope, and a deeper connection to the world around us.

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