Italiano
HEART SUTRA
In a few verses, the Heart Sutra, condenses what is considered to be "the heart" of the Buddhist teaching: the realisation of the Deep Vision. The sutra is considered to be the speech addressed by the mythical Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara to Shariputra, the historical disciple of Gautama Buddha.I immediately loved this sutra, so direct, immediate, effective.
For this I tried to find a musical structure that would be simple, direct and full of deep spirituality. The voice is interlaced with the cello, a musical instrument so close to the sound of the human voice that they sound like Avalokiteshvara and Shariputra, face-to face, contemplating the Supreme Reality.
With this new musical project, I followed the impulse to search for the essential in my internal musical world. This stems from the deep intuition I have that, because it is distilled knowledge, the Heart Sutra needs an effective and rigorous vehicle to convey its precious teaching. More than the aesthetics, I focused on the effect it will have on the listener, using almost alchemic musical forms based on particular musical modes and rhythmical voice interlacements. With this CD I hope to be able to contribute to the spiritual upliftment of those who will listen to it.
With love,
Ashima
About the Heart Sutra
The Perfect Wisdom Sutra, called the Heart Sutra, was probably composed around the first century A.D. in the Kushan Empire of the ancient India territory. The original text was in sanskrit while the chinese version appeared between the II and the IVth centuries A.D.It describes the experience of the illumination of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara, as the result of insight gained while practicing deep meditation to awaken the faculty of Prajna (Wisdom).
The Sutra refers to the fundamental emptiness of all phenomena, of the 5 elements (skandhas) of human existence: form, feeling, impulses, perception and consciousness. Avalokiteshvara addresses Shariputra who was one of the two principal disciples of the Buddha.
Tracks:
1 - Heart Sutra
2 - Prayer
- cello introduction
- voice introduction
- mantra (voice)
- prayer
- mantra (voice and cello)
Productions: Polyglobe Austria
SHUNYATA
Holy Mantras for Inner Serenity (Polyglobe - Inbruch Austria)
Ashima: voiceLucjan Wesolowski: sitar, bansuri, esraj, saz
Piotr Cwojdzinski: cello
Nicola Artico: tabla
"Due to my background as western classic musician and my indian music studies, I'm interested in developing musical projects using the languages of both western and oriental music. In India I could experiment many times the power of the mantras chanting. Mantra is a sacred word or a sentence which, when repeated properly, is able to ensure spiritual uplift, peace and healing. I had personally many experiences about the power of mantras. In this CD I tried to put these experiences into music so that listeners can have the full benefits of this extraordinary power".
Tracks:
1 - Om Mani Peme Hum (short version)
2 - Praising The Buddha
3 - Healing Mantra
4 - Tara Mantra
5 - Gate Gate
6 - Om Mani Peme Hum (full version)
Productions: Polyglobe Austria