Issue 5 - First Look New Music & A Thich Nhat Hanh Tribute

Hello dear friends, and new friends, thank you for taking the time to read this Substack. I don’t post as often as I should, but when I do, I hope to provide something worth waiting for… and I think I have a pretty good issue for you today. I have completed a new new-age music track, a sequel to Ancient Forest Dream, and as a Substack subscriber you are getting an exclusive first look! I will also share a Youtube video that my mother and I created as a tribute to the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, the founder of the Plum Village Buddhist tradition that my mother and I are part of. I will write a little about his life and the creation of the video. I hope you enjoy this issue.

New Music! Ancient Forest Morning Light

This track will be on digital music platforms in two or three weeks, but my Substack readers get to listen first. Like Ancient Forest Dream, the primary instrument is a sampled flute, which is one of my favorite sounds. For those interested in what virtual instruments were used to make the track, the flute is from the Korg M1, which is an amazing instrument - every sound is good on it, and in my opinion it beats many newer synths in the quality and usability of sounds. The strings were from Arturia Augmented Strings, but I really could have used many different ones in its place. The bass was from the M1’s successor, the Korg Triton.

I hope you enjoy it :) Listen to Ancient Forrest Morning Light on SoundCloud

If you haven’t heard my first track: Please listen to it on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / More by using the following link.

Listen to Ancient Forest Dream

A Tribute to the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh

My mother and I belong to the Compassionate Ocean Sangha which is an online based buddhist sangha which meets by zoom four times a week. Once a month , one of those meetings is a happening / be-in, in which Sangha members are encouraged to share a song, poem, or other creative work. The theme this month was ‘the breath’ The video (below) is what we created and shared on the night. It was a true labor of love - I collected all of Thich Nhat Hanh’s calligraphies that fit the theme and then arranged them into a poem. Mum (Anthea, who is a musician and artist) played and recorded a plum village song called ‘Breathing in. Breathing out.’ in two layers, one piano and the other strings. I then recorded the audio. Together we created the video, making his calligraphies come in and out in time with my voice. It was a lot of work, but I believe it to be one of the most worthwhile things we have ever done. The video is hosted on the Mountain Spring Monastery Youtube page, which contains some talks by Brother Phap Hai, who is one of the most senior western monks in the Plum Village tradition

Thich Nhat Hanh - A Very Short Biography

Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh passed away two years ago - he was the most remarkable human being. A poet, artist, political, social and environmental activist, a monk and a Zen Master who was instrumental in bringing the term ‘mindfulness’ to the West. A true bodhisattva, one who uses their enlightenment only for the benefit of others. The following is a very short biography written by me, which only skims the very surface of his remarkable life: Ordained at sixteen in Vietnam, he was inspired to renew Buddhism and make it more applicable to everyday life. He was a peace activist during the Vietnam war, aligning with neither side, but instead working to help people. He formed the Engaged Buddhism movement, which helped by providing food to the suffering population and rebuilding villages that had been bombed, and opened schools, and taught poor people modern farming methods to help them earn a living. They did this under fire from both sides. There were attempts made on Thich Nhat Hanh’s life, and many members of his movement were killed.

Thich Nhat Hanh was exiled from his country in 1966, at which time he was in the USA trying to make the case for peace in Vietnam. It was there that he met Martin Luther King, who became a friend and ally, and who nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize the following year. Without a home, Thich Nhat Hanh settled in France, where he set up the Plum Village Community, now Monastery, which still exists to this day. Plum Village has centres all over the world, and supports a multifold sangha of Monks, Nuns and growing lay community.

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For more information about Plum Village visit: Plum Village

More Reading:

I am very lucky to have a creative, loving and supportive mother, and I look forward to working with her on future projects. Here are two poems I created about her artwork.

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End - Thank you for Reading!