Disclaimer: the phrase, “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.” Is NOT a secret CIA assassination order. It is an actual Buddhist koan. It is something a Zen Buddhist teacher might assign to a student to meditate upon. Kind of similar to “What is the sound of one hand clapping”. The idea here is to take personal responsibility for your own path. Not dump your stuff on a “guru” or the Buddha. I’ve had some very nice people be very upset with this song because they took the title and chorus seriously but didn’t listen to the verses.
Please listen to the verses. (See below to read a letter from a very cool, very courageous “Rogue” Unity Music Minister who used it recently in a worship service and definitely got people’s attention…)
Ok? are we good? Disclaimer OVER. Now enjoy the song. And as soon as you can, take charge of your own personal reality. :o)
p.s. vocal arrangement was totally Joel Arthur’s brilliant idea. vocals by Diane Legro, Andrea Nettleton, Joel Arthur, Gene Moore and myself.
Please click the arrow to play:
If You Meet The Buddha…
Song #164 | 5/10/1991 | CD: Visions and Voices
Refrain:
If you meet the Buddha on the road
If you meet the Buddha I’ve been told…
Kill Him! Kill Him! Kill Him!
I asked the Lord to move a hill
I asked the Lord for good clean fill
I asked the Lord to cleanse my soul
I asked the Lord to help me when I bowl
I asked the Lord to rake my leaves
I asked the Lord to heal my dis-ease
But he just smiled and walked away
And as he left I heard him say…
“O Heal yourself…(He was really nice about it and everything…)
O Heal yourself…”
Refrain:
I asked the Lord to show me truth
I asked the Lord to make the water smooth
I asked the Lord to dry my tears
I asked the Lord to take away my fears
I asked the Lord for all good things
I asked the Lord to teach me how to sing
But he just smiled and walked away
And as he left I heard him say…
“O Teach yourself… O Teach yourself…”
Refrain:
I asked the Lord to make me strong
I asked the Lord to make me wise
I asked the Lord for $20 bucks
I asked the Lord if he would provide
I asked the Lord to give me life
I asked the Lord to supervise
But he just smiled and walked away
And as he left I heard him say…
“O Create yourself… O Create yourself
Know yourself… Love yourself…”
Refrain:
Copyright 1991-2015 by Mark Shepard. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Reactions:
CONTROVERSY GRABS ATTENTION!?!?
Hi Mark
My name is Ed Middlebrook. I am the music director for Unity of Mohave Valley
in Bullhead City AZ. I just left a phone message for you as well.So I became aware of your music a few years ago when I ran across a rather rough
recording of you performing “We shall live in Light”. I liked the song so much that
we ended up using it on a fairly regular basis in our Sunday services. I have performed
many different versions of your song including one time with just maracas ( that went well actually!).I have enjoyed receiving your “song a day” emails and have used several of
your tunes these past few months. This brings me to last Sunday when I performed
“If you meet the Buddha”……whoa! Got a little blowback I did 😉Now FWIW our co-ministers were out of town and, to be honest, I can be a maverick
at times, so I save certain songs for when they are gone to minimize said
blowback. I like to try different music just to keep it interesting.When I heard your song I just had to do it. My wife, who has
practiced Buddhism for about 25 years seemed a little leery of my selection,
but I explained the idea behind the “kill him” part and she seemed okay with it.Now Mark, I chose “If you meet the Buddha” mainly to stir things up a little.
I believe this is one of those songs that can get people to do a double-take.
The opening chorus is guaranteed to get some attention. This is great so long as
they listen to the rest of the song, which for some of my group there Sunday
didn’t seem to be the case.So yesterday my two ministers asked me to speak to the congregation Sunday
at our quarterly town hall meeting not to apologize mind you, but to explain the
meaning behind the statement “kill the Buddha” and the song in general. I’m actually
looking forward to it.Now I was wondering if you have had to explain or defend this song to people as well?
How has this tune been received in your performances? Again, I love it and
I like to find music that helps people think.This email is long enough for now. I’ve got to get some music ready….
-MARK! Appreciate you brother!
Hope to hear from you when you have a chance.
Peace
—
Ed Middlebrook, AZ