Shortly before I left Australia at the beginning of the year, I was approached at a Buddhist gathering by a woman who was preparing to open a new preschool ( named Blue Lion) in Singapore under the auspices of our common teacher Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. She asked if I might write a few songs specifically to fit into the curriculum of their new school.
“Sure,” I agreed. I mean….how hard can it be? Write a couple of ditties for small children.
Zoom calls are the flavour of the year, and it was on one of these strange methods of communication that I learned the full scope of what I had agreed to. An old friend of mine, Heather Sanche from Vancouver Island, is designing the curriculum and has big ideas when it comes to music.
“Well, we need one for packing away the toys, another for lining up, and another one before they eat their lunch,” she explained.
“Okay so three songs….that should be okay.” I replied
“Oh no, we need one for each theme as well, like impermanence and community. And then we want some for the ceremonies too.”
By the time we had isolated every nook and cranny of the curriculum which required a song, we were at a count of 16. I remember muttering something about it being a 70’s double album, however having worked with a committee some years back trying to establish a Buddhist primary school in Lismore, I know how difficult it is to get something like that off the ground.
I was happy to volunteer, but that is a lot of songs!
Home studio
Wherever I travel in the world, I bring the bare essentials to do home recordings, but I need help to produce a song to professional quality. I enlisted my mate Gary Dyson from London, well-known for his beautiful voice and innovative dance tracks, to help in production. He was happy to assist, but strapped for time as the UK was just opening back up from Covid suspension. That was when we learned that all the songs were to be translated into Chinese, so we would have 16 more versions to record!
I needed some help, so applied to the Khyentse Foundation in the USA for a grant, given that they were already supporting the preschool. Luckily, they could see the value of the project and approved my application….on condition that I write a few more songs for the Middle Way School near Woodstock.
With a modest payment available, I approached a young musician and producer in New York named Max Milner, who is bringing his huge talent to the project.
Even though the team in Singapore are translating the songs
into Chinese, and we can use the same music track, I still need somebody to
record the Chinese versions. I decided to contact a rap artist/comedian from
Shanghai named Tadi, who magically appeared in Bodh Gaya, India a couple of
years back, when I needed somebody of just his talents for a big show I was
running. Tadi wrote straight back to me saying, “You won’t believe this! Two
weeks ago, I opened a new recording studio designed especially for children and
families. I have kids coming in to sing every day and we are looking for
original material for them to record.”
So, despite the Covid doom and gloom, the future of Buddhist songs for children is looking bright! If you would like more information, please follow my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/simonthomasmusic/ or visit me on Bandcamp https://simonthomasmusic.bandcamp.com/. I will make all the songs available by donation when they are ready.
Losar, or new year is celebrated in Eastern Bhutan on the first day of the 12th month of the Tibetan calendar, rather than the first day of the first month like in most other places, for reasons now shrouded in history.
This year, Dzongsar Jamyang Khyenste Rinpoche (absent abbot of the Chokyi Gyatso Institute) recommended that the resident monks invite all who wish to come from the local villages around to enjoy festivities at their hillside monastery overlooking the rustic hamlet of Dewathang. The little community of 140 or so buzzed with excitement as the preparations took place in the days leading up to the event. This included plenty of practice of the popular local sport “khuru” which was to be a major focus of the Losar activities. In this game, massive (usually home-made) darts are lobbed across a distance of some 40 metres at a tiny target nestled inside a wooden frame festooned with luxuriant leaves and multi-coloured ribbons. It is not so easy to even strike this little board from such a distance, let alone score a bull’s eye so each successful throw is celebrated vociferously with a ritual song and dance. Following this, the lucky player is awarded a long wide ribbon to hang around their waist in a colour corresponding to the spot where their dart struck the target. Those whose throws become too wayward, by contrast, are landed with a large phallic object to hang from their belt supposedly to ward off the evil spirits which are obviously inhibiting their success. The monks used a long dangling purple eggplant for such purpose!
A major part of the fun is for people not involved in the game to crowd around the target, gesturing and taunting as the player is taking aim only to scatter like bunnies if the airborne missile soars off in their direction. Mind you, I noticed that men seem far more likely to to engage in this activity – the women preferring to keep a sensible distance away.
When the big day arrived, people began to stream in from miles around, most of them dressed in fine brilliantly coloured hand loom garments as tradition would dictate. The first feast of the day for a visitor like myself was one for the eyes.
Important item number one on the Losar agenda was the blessing of the ladies Khuru teams by the charming and ever humble resident teacher Khenpo Sonam Tashi.
And so the games began!
At midday, the gathered crowd (numbering in the hundreds) were treated to a scrumptious meal, prepared and served by the monks themselves who, contrary to tradition, were the last to eat. The tall stately temple with its intricate gold relief sculptures juxtaposed against the simplicity of smooth sandstone Buddha images was lined with mats and carpets to become an impromptu eating hall.
The afternoon saw endless more rounds of khuru, enough snacks to feed the Bhutanese army as well as generous portions of beer and locally brewed alcohol such as arah, barley beer and a strange lumpy rice wine called, appropriately enough, “chang-kee.”
As the short winter day drew to a close, we were mesmererised by a gorgeous fiery sunset which cast soothing pastel shades on the tall hills around and the vast Indian plains spreading out below.
Finally, a huge bonfire was lit and we were treated to song, dance and even a little rap deep into the night performed by monks, local villagers and even a couple of stray foreigners.
It was a joyous and wonderful occasion, surely a fitting way to welcome in the new year.
