Image courtesy of Siddhartha’s Intent India

Bhumisparsha: Touching the Earth, the ongoing global Shakyamuni Mantra accumulation conceived by the revered Bhutanese lama, teacher, filmmaker, and author Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche and organized by Siddhartha’s Intent India, has announced a unique collaboration in the form of Shakyamuni Mantra performance by the celebrated Japanese Zen monk and musician Kanho Yakushiji, which will be released as a single worldwide today.

“Kanho Yakushiji’s mantra performance will be available as a download or as streaming audio on Apple Music, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Bandcamp,” Prashant V, projects director for Siddhartha’s Intent India, told Buddhistdoor Global.

The worldwide cyber-gathering, Bhumisparsha: Touching the Earth, was launched on 24 July, dedicated to remembering Shakyamuni Buddha and his teachings for the benefit of “the Earth, for humanity, for animals, and for all sentient beings.” The project aims to reach at least 100 million global recitations of the Shakyamuni Mantra (also known as the Heart Mantra of the Great Sage) by 1 January 2021.* At the time of writing on 15 August, the initiative had already attained 10.3 million recitations.

Kanho Yakushiji. Image courtesy of Siddhartha’s Intent India

Kanho Yakushiji, a priest of the Rinzai school of Jpanese Zen Buddhism, who hails from Ima-ji, a Buddhist temple in the city of Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, in southern Japan, has achieved renown in Japan and internationally for his Dharma-inspired performances as part of the musical duo Kissaquo, formed in 2003 with lay musician Satoshi Yamamoto.**

Siddhartha’s Intent India also announced that Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche will give an global online public teaching on Bhumisparsha on Sunday, 16 August, beginning at at 4:30pm India Standard Time (4:00am Los Angeles, 7:00am New York, 12:00pm London, 1:00pm Berlin, 7:00pm Singapore/Hong Kong, 8:00pm Seoul/Tokyo, 9:00pm Canberra). 

YouTube live (English and Chinese)
SI Mixlr (English and Chinese; audio only)
SI Mixlr (Portuguese; audio only)
Facebook live (English and Chinese)

Image courtesy of Siddhartha’s Intent India

Siddhartha’s Intent, which first came to be in Australia in 1986, is an international collective of Buddhist groups supporting Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s Buddhadharma activities by organizing teachings and retreats, distributing and archiving recorded teachings, transcribing, editing, and translating manuscripts and practice texts, with a global community committed to continual study and practice.

Running in parallel with the mantra accumulation, Bhumisparsha: Touching the Earth also encourages people of all ages, from all over the world, to share their own stories of how they first heard the Buddha’s name, and about their connection with his teaching: through words, art, music, or any other means of expression.

To listen to a SoundCloud playlist of mantra performances for Bhumisparsha: Touching the Earth, please click here.

To view a YouTube playlist of mantra performances, please click here.

For more information on participating in this global Dharma event, please click here.

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. 
Image courtesy of Siddhartha’s Intent India

Born in Bhutan in 1961, and now based in Himachal Pradesh, India, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche gives teachings all over the world. He is the son of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche and was a close student of the Nyingma master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–91). He is recognized as the third incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, founder of the Khyentse lineage, and the immediate incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (1893–1959). In addition to Siddhartha’s Intent, his projects include Khyentse Foundation, established in 2001 to promote the Buddha’s teaching and support all traditions of Buddhist study and practice; 84000, a non-profit global initiative to translate the words of the Buddha and make them available to all; Lotus Outreach, which directs a wide range of projects to help refugees; and more recently The Lhomon Society, which promotes sustainable development in Bhutan through education.

Rinpoche is the author of several books, including: What Makes You Not a Buddhist (2006), Not For Happiness (2012), and The Guru Drinks Bourbon? (2016), and has garnered renown within and outside of the global Buddhist community for the feature-length films he wrote and directed: The Cup (1999), Travellers and Magicians (2004), Vara: A Blessing (2012), and Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I wait (2016).

So let us recite the Buddha’s name.
Let us sing his name.
Let us dance his name.
And let us praise, honor, and hail his name. — Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

* Bhumisparsha: Global Shakyamuni Mantra Accumulation Reaches 4.7 Million Recitations (Buddhistdoor Global)

** Japanese Monastics Share Ancient Buddhist Sutras Through Modern Music (Buddhistdoor Global)

See more

Kanho Yakushiji / 薬師寺寛邦 キッサコ - Japanese Zen Music (Facebook)

Bhumisparsha: Touching the Earth (Siddhartha’s Intent India)
The Shakyamuni Mantra (Siddhartha’s Intent India)
Bhumisparsha (Facebook)
Bhumisparsha (Instagram)
Siddhartha’s Intent India
Siddhartha’s Intent

Related news from Buddhistdoor Global

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche Offers Global Teaching to Mark 200th Birthday of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
Khyentse Foundation Now Accepting Ashoka Grant Applications
84000 Launches Video Campaign to Mark 10 Years of Preserving the Tibetan Buddhist Canon
Lighting the Mahabodhi Project Reaches Funding Target, Khyentse Foundation Says
Khyentse Foundation Announces Online Publication of the Sutra of the Questions of Brahma in Chinese
Middle Way School in New York Opens Doors to New Students

Related features from Buddhistdoor Global

On Being Brave: Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche on Technology and the Dissemination of the Dharma
A Buddhist Vision for Education Reform: The Blue Lion Preschool, Inspired by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Seeing the Sacred: an Interview with Pawo Choyning Dorji, Producer of Hema Hema: Sing Me A Song While I Wait
Modern Education and the Future of Buddhism: An Interview with Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche