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Songs of realization

Songs of realization, or Songs of Experience (; Devanāgarī: दोहा; Romanized Sanskrit: Dohā; Oriya: ପଦ), are sung poetry forms characteristic of the tantric movement in both Vajrayana Buddhism and in

Caryagiti songs#

A renowned collection of Buddhist caryagiti, or mystical songs, is the Charyapada, a palm-leaf manuscript of the 8th-12th century text having been found in the early 20th century in Nepal. Another copy of the Charyapada was preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. Miranda Shaw describes how caryagiti were an element of the ritual gathering of practitioners in a tantric feast: The feast culminates in the performance of tantric dances and music that must never be disclosed to outsiders. The revelers may also improvise “songs of realization” (caryagiti) to express their heightened clarity and blissful raptures in spontaneous verse.

Doha songs#

Ann Waldman describes this poetry form: the doha, a song of realization that acknowledges an encounter with a master teacher, traditionally a guru or lama, and explores a particular wisdom or teaching transmitted through a kind of call-and-response duet format. An example of a Doha song available in English translation, is by Rangjung Dorje (1284–1339). The Doha song is entitled Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom (Wylie: rnam shes ye shes ‘byed pa). The 2001 translation includes a commentary by Thrangu Rinpoche.

See also#

  • Charyapada
  • Lawapa
  • Mahamudra
  • Mahasiddha
  • Milarepa

Bibliography#

Collections of songs of realization: * * * Milarepa: Songs on the Spot, translated by Nicole Riggs, Dharma Cloud Press, 2003, * Milarepa, The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, translated by Garma C.C. Chang, City Lights Books, 1999, *The Yogi’s Joy: Songs of Milarepa Sangharakshita, Windhorse Publications, 2006, *Drinking the Mountain Stream: Songs of Tibet’s Beloved Saint, Wisdom Publications, * * Guenther, Herbert V. The Royal Song of Saraha: A Study in the History of Buddhist Thought. a.) University of Washington Press, 1970. b.) New paperback edition, Shambhala Publications, 1973. * Guenther, Herbert V.; Ecstatic Spontaneity: Saraha’s Three Cycles of Doha Asian Humanities Press, 1993.

  • Songs of the 16th Karmapa (1940 - 1962)
  • Index to Songs, Poems and Prayers, by author
  • Review of Tibetan Songs of Realization: Echoes from a Seventeenth-Century Scholar and Siddha in Amdo
  • Text of ‘Sixty Songs of Milarepa’
  • Text, The Essential Songs of Milarepa
  • The Iron Hook of Devotion: A Melodious Feast Song
  • by Tilopa