"The Sickest Buddhist" WARNING: It wouldn't be rap/hip hop without casual profanity.
Girl: Hey, baby, where you at?
Arj: I'm still at the ashram.
Girl: How's it going?
Arj: It's going killer. The instructor just told us to do a 45-minute meditation.
Girl: Really?
Arj: I nailed it in 10! (Lyrics continued below).
Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)
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Buddhist meditation retreats are usually voluntarily silent and celibate intensive periods of practice. Yet the song begins with a phone call. They aren't held at (Hindu) ashrams, but Western would-be yogis don't know, because we conflate all Eastern paths.
And, of course, it goes without saying that meditation -- which is done free of expectations or ambitions -- is not rushed. The longer, the better when there's nothing to "nail." The girl then uses the common expression "owned." But we thought she was saying "OM-!" (as in a Buddhist OMG! minus the God part), which propelled this song to the top of our iPod playlist. Every line is a gem, an inside joke, because it may just be talking about us.
*LYRICS (cont'd)
Girl: No way! Owned! / Arj: I'm the ill-est Buddhist you've ever seen / All the ladies want to meditate with me / I look so serene when I bust a lotus / But I don't have an ego, so I wouldn't even notice / I think of you before I think of myself / That's probably why people think I'm so chill / But still, I'm h*ll of intense / My clothes have little bells and they smell like incense / It's so dope when I focus on my breath / Because I floss all the time and I chew Big Red / I don't smoke weed, but I burn sage by the pound / Wave it all around till the air turns brown / I'm all krunked up on Kombucha and juice / Never heard of kama sutra? Let me introduce / Step into my hybrid, we'll go over to my bed / Sixty-four positions, I think you're going to like it! /
CHORUS: The sound of one hand clapping? F**k that, yo! / More like the sound of a one-legged standing O! / I'm blowing up the Dharma like what /Because I'm the sickest Buddhist, and I'm kicking Buddha butt!
I just went to the class for a laugh maybe meet some chicks / But as it comes to pass I kick *ss at this pacifist sh*t / Non-attachment? I just mastered it! / You don't believe me, you don't think I'm peaceful? / Step up to my face and say that, b*tch / I'll non-attach your teeth from your lips / I practice compassion towards friends and enemies / But all these m*th*rf**k*rs trying to hate on my serenity!
GIRLS: He's so spiritual / So un-material / Almost ethereal / Eat organic cereal / His aura is so bright / His chakra's oh so tight / His energy is light / His hair is so right / He's so sweet, a Buddhist hunk!
Is it my Indian roots, my Guatemalan pair of shoes, / My extensive collection of expensive Tibetan flutes? / I don't know how or why I'm so Zen / I make the Power of Now look like the power of then / To h*ll with Dr. Phil, Oprah, and Martha / I chill with Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, and Siddhartha / Buddha taught me to be humble and kind / But I'm so f**k*ng present I'm like ahead of my time / Enlightenment eludes most till they die / But I opened my third eye on my first try, why? / I don't know, I guess I'm just da bomb / When it comes to modesty, I got it going on! / CHORUS (repeat)
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