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September 20, 2005 At last a CD of Sanskrit Buddhist chants! "Revival", a uniquely beautiful recording of Sanskrit chants by Buddhist monk Ven. Tenzin L.S. Priyadarshi and the Faculty of Music from the University of Tamaulipas in Mexico, is a welcome addition to anyone's collection of Buddhist sacred music. The haunting prayers and mantras sung in the original Sanskrit evoke the days of ancient Nalanda University, heart of Buddhist thought and learning in India from the 5th to the 12th century AD, where great sages like Nagarjuna and Shantideva practiced and taught the Dharma. On the front cover of the CD is the open doorway of this great University, which centuries later still remains the archetype for a non-sectarian and non-dogmatic approach to the study and practice of Buddha Dharma. The tradition of Nalanda is a wonderful reminder to practice tolerance at a time when division and dogmatism dominate religious learning. The title "Revival" reflects the hope to return to a more open-minded approach to Buddhism. All the chants are performed in Sanskrit, the sacred language of the great scholars and practitioners of Nalanda. Tracks on the CD include: Refuge and Bodhichitta, the Long Mantra of 1,000 Armed Avalokiteshvara, the One Hundred Syllable Mantra of Vajrasattva, the Short Medicine Buddha Mantra, Homage to Prajnaparamita and the Heart Sutra, and Dharani of Stupa. The CD is of particular interest to Western students of Mahayana Buddhism who want to learn the proper pronunciation of the Sanskrit words. The lyrics from all the tracks will be available on the Prajnopaya Foundation website (www.prajnopaya.org/revival). Proceeds from the sale of this CD will go to the Prajnopaya Foundation, a non-profit humanitarian organization, which carries on its work under the chief patronage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet and the spiritual patronage of heads of the five Tibetan Buddhist lineages. Ven. Tenzin L.S. Priyadarshi, the organization’s founder, is a monk ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. An Indian Brahmin by birth, Ven. Tenzin entered the monastery at the age of ten years. He is currently a Visiting Scholar and Buddhist Chaplain at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. For more information, see the Prajnopaya Foundation website: www.prajnopaya.org.
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