Beginnings of a Metal Manifesto: The Buddhist Connection

What is the meaning of a wrathful Buddha? We see all these wrathful images of Buddhas (gesturing around the temple). But in truth wrathful Buddhas have nine qualities. Their bodies are wrathful, heroic, and frightening. Their voices are laughing, threatening, and fierce. But mentally they are loving, peaceful, and powerful. Like all enlightened beings, their minds are peaceful, compassionate, joyful, and wise. If a being is wrathful on the outside and also angry in its heart, then it is a real monster — not a Buddha. Wrathful Buddhas look wrathful for a purpose: for pacifying, for taming negative forces.

[From Tulku Thondup’s Talk in India 2003]

 

SO, I’m thinking forward now. About my bigger piece. And how it will be about Metal (as in, Heavy Metal) and Buddhism (as in om mani padme hum). I struck upon this idea upon walking into a Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. I’d been in monasteries before, and had seen many images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. But this time was different.

//Went to find a good concise definition for Heavy Metal… ended up on an hour long trawl of AllMusic.com. Led to another look at Racist Music. Led to this post at my main blog: Hate Rock, Racism and Heavy Metal.

To be continued…

Comments 2

  1. Nate wrote:

    Just stumbled on this article and thought you might be interested in my blog. I am a huge metal fan and have been a practicing Buddhist for a couple years now. Also I wrote and article for a friends site paralleling my life through metal and Buddhism. The link is http://theworsthorse.net/nated/nated-1.html

    Hope you are well and talk soon!

    Posted 04 Jun 2008 at 5:29 pm
  2. stainless steel wrote:

    what is the connection or did you find any connection between metal to buddhism?

    Posted 19 Dec 2009 at 2:58 pm

Trackbacks & Pingbacks 3

  1. From Hate Rock, Racism, Heavy Metal and Nihilism at Reflections on a Ridiculous World on 09 Jan 2008 at 11:23 pm

    [...] affiliated with Metal (in my quest to “validate” metal. My latest theory is through Buddhism… stay tuned) But then I read on and on, and hit one snag… a snag that is significant [...]

  2. From Hate Rock, Racism and Heavy Metal | A Yuletide Apocalypse on 10 Jan 2008 at 3:46 am

    [...] affiliated with Metal (in my quest to “validate” metal. My latest theory is through Buddhism… stay tuned) But then I read on and on, and hit one snag… a snag that is significant [...]

  3. From What does it mean to be Metal? (Re)(de)constructing a definition of Metalness. m/ at Reflections on a Ridiculous World on 16 Jan 2008 at 10:35 pm

    [...] The first post (the idea that this all came from): Rumblings: Connecting Buddhism with Metal? [...]

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