Every time I come to hear the poignant opening lines of Erasure’s ‘Piano Song’, I’m reminded of how the Buddha’s teachings saved my life during my growing up years – both physically and spiritually, of how much existential resentment and estrangement I had learnt to let go…
Never get angry at the stupid people
Though I go crazy at the dullness of my life
Sit and I stare into a dusty window
An empty face stares back at me and cries
My vulnerability rushes up to me
And I’m left here
The rebel without a cause
What’s the difference now? I tell myself…
To always be patient and kind with those who don’t understand
To remember that there is never a dull moment with the Dharma
To sit and peer through the dustiness of my mind
To catch glimpses of not just true emptiness but Buddha-nature too, and smile
To see the invulnerable refuge within the vulnerability
To realise that I am never alone as long as there is the Dharma
To remember that I am always to be a rebel with a spiritual cause
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