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Everything’ Song, with Audio, Song Lyrics & Commentary on the Meaning of the Lyrics

Dharma Master Andrew. J. Williams

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EVERYTHING

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Everything is like

A flicker of a lamp

The life of a flower

A star at dawn

A dewdrop in the sun

Everything comes and goes

No space, no time

No thing knows everything

Let it go

Don’t hang on to the past

No one owns anything

Everything is like

The changing of the tides

Lightning in a summer cloud

A bubble in a stream

A phantom and a dream

Thus shall we

Think of all this fleeting world

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~Dharma Master Andrew. J. Williams~

COMMENTARY ON THE MEANING OF MY ‘EVERYTHING’ SONG

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‘Everything’ is a Dharma song I wrote in 2002 about impermanence (anitya) and emptiness (shunyata). It was inspired by a verse spoken by the Buddha in the Mahayana Prajna Paramita Vajra Chedikka Sutra (Great Vehicle Perfection of Wisdom Diamond Cutter Scripture), which is part of the Prajna Paramita (Perfection of Wisdom) Sutra collection. It is popularly known as the Diamond Sutra. The song appears on the Birth of the Buddha CD that I recorded with Dharma brother Roger McLachlan in 2010.

Here’s a very brief explanation of these words:

‘Everything’ – All conditioned mental and physical phenomena;

‘Is like a flicker of a lamp’ – Just like the flame of a candle flickering in the wind and not ever remaining the same;

‘The life of a flower’ – The life of a flower is very brief and in a constant state of flux, dependent on many changing conditions;

‘A star at dawn’ – When the sun comes up in the morning, the so-called stars that appeared in the night sky disappear;

‘A dewdrop in the sun’ – The dew or moisture that gathers on grass and other plants overnight, evaporates in the warmth of the morning sun;

‘Everything’ – All conditioned mental and physical phenomena;

‘Comes and goes’ – Arises and ceases, always becoming something else, dependent on cause and effect;

‘No space, no time’ – Nothing exists independently, all things are interdependent;

‘No thing knows everything’ – And with no self-identity;

‘Let it go’ – Don’t be attached to anything;

‘Don’t hang on to the past’ – Live in the present moment;

‘No one owns anything’ – For there is nothing permanent to own anyway, nor a permanent self to own anything with;

‘Everything’ – All conditioned mental and physical phenomena;

‘The changing of the tides’ – The ocean tides are also in a constant state of change. On the coastlines around the world this results in moments that we note as high-tide, low-tide, mid-tide etc;

‘Lightning in a summer cloud’ – As we know, a flash of lightning comes and goes very quickly;

‘A bubble in a stream’ – As the water of a stream flows over varying depths, it may mix with air and create bubbles, which swiftly pass;

‘A phantom’ – Something that is not real, but is imagined to be real, while we are awake;

‘A dream’ – Something that is not real, but is imagined to be real, while we are asleep;

‘Thus shall we think of all this fleeting world’ – This is how we should understand all conditioned mental and physical phenomena.

I hope these words are somewhat helpful in clarifying the meaning of this profoundly deep subject.

Also, it may be helpful to know that one way to apply this teaching to everyday life is for us not to hang on to our worries and troubles, or to our likes and dislikes, and not to take anything personally. This way we allow ourselves the freedom to live in the present.

Enjoy yourself on your journey of discovery. Enjoy yourself on your journey to realising the truth. But don’t attach to it.”

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~Dharma Master Andrew. J. Williams~

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