Mahakala Puja

                                                                        Mahakala Puja



       

                                        A Tibetan Buddhist Monk Ensemble

 

                 Since I recently completed a class focusing on the history and literature of Buddhism, this musical excerpt is somewhat familiar to me. As a history major and a world traveler (23 countries and 37 states), I have been interested in actively delving into the various cultures of the world for over a decade. This experience has proven to be very valuable and has had me put world music in a different light requiring me to use a substantial amount of critical thinking and deductive reasoning in the process of analyzing how a certain style of music that may be aesthetically pleasing to a specific culture may be a “lost cause” or extremely difficult for other cultures to accept and/or to wrap their heads around the multitudes of changing timbres and elements of the particular musical traditions of that culture. To put it into perspective, a good way to think of this concept is to visualize how difficult it may be to learn a new language and subsequently attempt to assimilate all of the idiosyncrasies that come with it.  

As with this particular selection, it is extremely difficult to bear if the specific listener is used to music that incorporates the basic (and most common) elements of music (rhythm, melody, harmony, etc.). In my opinion, one (an individual that is used to the “western styles” of music) cannot go into this style of music with the expectation of having an enjoyable experience simply because that it is lacking virtually everything that they expect from music (all of the aforementioned aspects and elements). To the western ear the excerpt has the major tendency to me substantially monotonous, and headache inducing, however one can only approach this selection with a vivid imagination and creativity. That creativity must consist of attempting to force oneself to have the mind of a Tibetan Buddhist and also immerse oneself in the complex culture of Tibet. I believe that it simply is inadequate for an individual to judge a specific culture, and/or style of music without acquiring a full background first (no matter how averse they are to it originally).

Personally, I am always eager to learn about different traditions and cultures and when I graduate college I aspire to continue doing just that. Specifically, my “dream job” would be to continue travelling the world and to direct documentaries that bring out unknown traditions and cultures so the world can be educated for the purpose of either experimenting with various music scenes life Tibetan Buddhist monk chanting or simply for the purpose of educating the rest of the world how diverse the many cultures on this planet can be. Thus, the moral is, never automatically “write off” a particular music     style/tradition/culture just because you are averse to it, or it is not what you are used to. There is a possibility that it may grow on you when you are more educated on what it may represent.