Further Reflections on The Dhammapada

Beneath the tree of silence bright
Awakened eyes behold the light
From stillness spoke the Boundless One
The Wheel of Dhamma has begun

The Call

Walkers of the middle way
Leave the night, embrace the day
No pleasure-chain, no thorn of pain
Peace between - the heart’s domain

Turn, O Wheel, turn within
End of sorrow, end of sin
Truth arising, shining clear
The path of freedom now is here

The First Truth

Birth and death, the tides of tears
Joy that fades through passing years
Holding tight brings ache anew
All conditioned things are due

See the world as streams that flow
Nothing fixed, yet all we know
From clinging comes the wound we feel
Release the grasp — the heart will heal

The Cause and the End

Craving burns, the fire of thirst
Wanting more — the endless curse
When the fire finds no more fuel
Peace descends, the waters cool

Turn, O Wheel, turn within
End of sorrow, end of sin
Truth arising, shining clear
The path of freedom now is here

The Eightfold Path

Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Deed
Right Way of Life, Right Effort’s seed
Right Mind, Right Calm — the circle whole
Leads the traveler home to soul

Guide us, Teacher, gentle, mild
Walk the Path, O heart, undefiled
Show us peace beyond all name
Nibbāna’s light, the deathless flame

The Turning

When Truth was spoken, heavens sang
Echoed joy through worlds that rang
All that rises must decline
All that ends reveals the Sign

Wheel of Dhamma, roll forever
Through each heart and every weather
From the Bodhi to the sky
Still the song — no one dies

Middle Way - shining bright
Form is fading into light
Wheel of Dhamma, turn inside
Peace, compassion, open wide

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wheel of dhamma

2025-12-01 | Depth In Practice| Not Two: The Appamada Story

This song, "Nawa Arunalu" (New Dawn Rays), is a tribute to the resilience of the Sri Lankan people following the devastating recent floods.

The Story: Tragically, over 300 human lives and countless animals, including our treasured elephants, were lost to the waters. Yet, in this darkness, the world reached out with hands of kindness. This track captures that journey—from the sorrow of loss to the strength of unity and global support.

The Message: The lyrics move from grief to a powerful call for rebuilding our nation without division. The song concludes with a spiritual invocation of the Four Sublime States (Brahmaviharas):

Metta (Loving-kindness)
Karuna (Compassion)
Mudita (Sympathetic Joy)
Upekkha (Equanimity)

May this song bring hope to everyone affected and inspire us to rebuild with compassion.
~~~~~~ Lyrics ~~~~~~
Chorus
කඳුළු ගඟ අද වියලී යයි ලොවම අප හට අත දෙයි නැගිටිමු අපි එක මිටකට විරියෙන් රට ගොඩ නගන්නට...
Kandulu ganga ada wiyali yai Lowama apa hata atha dei Nagitimu api eka mitakata Viriyen rata goda nagannata...
The river of tears is drying today, The whole world gives us a hand. Let us rise together as one fist (in unity), To rebuild the country with vigor and effort.

Verse 1
ජල රකුසා බිලි ගත් ජීවිත දෙසියයකට වැඩි හදවත් කම්පිත අලි ඇතුන් පවා ගිය ගසා... දුක දරා ගනිමු සිත විරිය වඩා
Jala rakusa bili gath jeewitha Desiyayakata wadi hadawath kampitha Ali athun pawa giya gasa... Duka dara ganimu sitha viriya wada
The water demon claimed the lives, Shaking the hearts of over two hundred people. Even the elephants were washed away... Let us bear this grief by increasing our strength of mind.

Verse 2
සත් සමුදුරෙන් එහා ඉඳන් ගලා එන්නේ දයාවේ දෑත් නෑ බේද කුල මල මෙදා... එකම දැයක් වී නැගෙමු සදා
Sath samuduren eha indan Gala enne dayawe daath Na beda kula mala meda... Ekama dayak wee nagemu sada
 From beyond the seven seas, Flow the hands of kindness. There are no divisions of caste or creed this time... Let us rise forever as one single nation.

Bridge
වැටුනු තැනින් අපි නැගිටිමු අලුත් ලොවක් අපි සකසමු කරුණාව පෙරටු කරන් යළි බබළවමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා මාතා!
Watunu thanin api nagitimu Aluth lowak api sakasamu Karunawa peratu karan Yali babalawamu Sri Lanka Matha!
Let us rise from where we fell, Let us create a new world. With compassion leading the way, Let us make Mother Sri Lanka shine again!

Outro
හෙට දවස අපේ... හිරු පායාවි... මෙත් සිතින්... ලොව දිනමු...
හෙට දවස අපේ... හිරු පායාවි... කරුණාවෙන්... ලොව දිනමු...
හෙට දවස අපේ... හිරු පායාවි... මුදිතාවෙන්... ලොව දිනමු...
හෙට දවස අපේ... හිරු පායාවි... උපේක්ෂාවෙන්... සසරින් එතෙර වෙමු... උපේක්ෂාවෙන්... සසරින් එතෙර වෙමු...
Heta dawasa ape... hiru payawi... Meth sithin... lowa dinamu...
Heta dawasa ape... hiru payawi... Karunawen... lowa dinamu...
Heta dawasa ape... hiru payawi... Mudithawen... lowa dinamu...
Heta dawasa ape... hiru payawi... Upekshawen... sasarin ethera wemu... Upekshawen... sasarin ethera wemu...

Tomorrow is ours... the sun will rise... With Loving-Kindness (Metta)... let us win the world...
Tomorrow is ours... the sun will rise... With Compassion (Karuna)... let us win the world...
Tomorrow is ours... the sun will rise... With Sympathetic Joy (Mudita)... let us win the world...
Tomorrow is ours... the sun will rise... With Equanimity (Upekkha)... let us cross the ocean of Samsara... With Equanimity... let us cross the ocean of Samsara...

Nawa Arunalu (New Dawn Rays) | A Tribute to Sri Lanka's Resilience

In this Best of episode, Michael discusses the relationship between awareness and morality or mindfulness and ethics. When we are faced with the unprecedented and unrepeatable complexities of this moment, the question is not, “What is the right thing to do?” but “What is the compassionate thing to do?” This question can be approached with integrity but not with certainty. Recorded in 2011.

The Awake in the World podcast is brought to you by the generosity of our amazing Patreon supporters, making it possible for us to keep Michael's archive of teachings available to the public. To become a patron, visit: patreon.com/michaelstone.

Best of Awake in the World: Awareness & Morality

Matthew Brensilver • Four Types of Grief and their Relationship to Love • Dec 5, 2025  •  In-Person

Bart: The Seven Factors of Awakening: Concentration  12/7/25  1:33:14

The Four Noble Truths

Then softly he spoke
The Fourfold Light
The medicine for the 
World’s long night

First, he said
Understand this pain
Birth, aging, death
Loss, and gain
Separation, longing
Fleeting delight
All is dukkha
Shadows in light

The five heaps we cling to
Body and mind
Are impermanent rivers
To nothing confined

Second, he said
The cause is known
Craving’s seed that 
We have sown
Thirst for pleasure
Thirst for becoming

Thirst for non-being
The wheel’s endless running
From craving’s fire
Arises sorrow’s smoke

From craving’s fire
Arises sorrow’s smoke
The chain of becoming 
Never broke.

Third, he said
The end can be
The flame goes out
The heart is free
When craving fades
All grasping ends
Peace unfolds
Where nothing bends

This stillness is 
Nibbāna’s shore
Where birth and death 
Touch no more

Fourth, he said
The path to cease
Is the Noble Way
The road of peace
Follow the Eightfold Path sublime
And cross the river
Beyond time

---

© tantrikas.com 2025  
All rights reserved.  
🎶 Explore more music and lyrics at [tantrikas.com](https://tantrikas.com)  
🎶 GitHub - tantrikas-lyrics-published

------
The phrase “five heaps we cling to” (Pāli: pañcupādānakkhandhā) is one of the core teachings of the Buddha, directly connected to the First Noble Truth of dukkha (unsatisfactoriness or suffering).

Let’s unfold it clearly and deeply:

🌿 The “Five Heaps” — The Khandhas (Aggregates)

The Buddha described what we call a “person” not as a fixed self or soul, but as five dynamic processes or “heaps” (khandhas, often translated as aggregates).

These are:

Form (Rūpa) — the physical body, matter, all that is material and sensed.

Feeling (Vedanā) — sensations: pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.

Perception (Saññā) — recognition, labeling, memory of what we sense.

Mental formations (Saṅkhārā) — intentions, thoughts, habits, reactions, volitions.

Consciousness (Viññāṇa) — the knowing awareness that arises when there’s contact between senses and their objects.

🔗 “We Cling To” — The Source of Suffering

In the lyric, “The five heaps we cling to” refers to how we grasp at these five processes as “me”, “mine”, or “my self”.

We identify with:

My body, my appearance (Form)

My feelings, my pleasures, my pain (Feeling)

My views, my memories (Perception)

My thoughts, my choices, my will (Mental formations)

My awareness, my consciousness (Consciousness)

Yet, as the verse continues:

“Are impermanent rivers / To nothing confined”

— this shows that these heaps are constantly flowing and changing, not static, not self-contained.
They are like currents in a river, forming what we call “self,” but in truth, there’s no solid entity — just movement, interdependence, and flux.

🌊 The Insight

When the Buddha said that dukkha arises because of clinging (upādāna) to the five heaps, he meant:

Suffering comes when we grasp impermanent processes as if they were permanent, controllable, or truly “I”.

The lyric captures that beautifully:

“Body and mind / Are impermanent rivers / To nothing confined.”

It poetically expresses anattā — the “non-self” nature of existence — and how liberation (Nibbāna) arises when one ceases to cling to these transient heaps.

✨ In short:

“The five heaps we cling to” =
Our mistaken attachment to body and mind processes as “me.”
When we see their impermanence and stop grasping, suffering dissolves — and the heart awakens to peace.
-----

The Four Noble Truths

In December 2025, London Insight Meditation hosted Jill Shepherd for an online evening workshop on the theme of generosity.

Generosity As a Radical Dharma Practice

Guided Meditation

Awake in the World Podcast is a library of talks on a wide-range of topics, including bringing mindfulness and meditation practice into daily life; personal and community issues regarding mental health; and social change. The podcasts were recorded at live events so you might hear coughing, airplanes, cars, sirens, laughter, and peoples’ questions—all part of the intimate experience. Michael Stone (1974-2017) was a Buddhist teacher, author, and mental health advocate. His legacy is stewarded by Carina Stone. Podcast funded by Patreon (patreon.com/michaelstone).

Big Heart City is a San Francisco-Based meditation group. An open-hearted and welcoming community, we aim to offer a safe and authentic spiritual home for those interested in inclining their hearts and minds towards love and wisdom.

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Enjoy the Dharma with CMC Guiding Teacher Bart van Melik

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