Three Revelations from the Lotus Sutra

Three Revelations from the Lotus Sutra is an attempt to realize in music three different states of man’s soul in his quest for ultimate perfection. The Lotus Sutra is the teaching of human respect, self-perfection, and world peace—in a word, humanism, leading mankind from division to unity, from discord to harmony, from conflict to peace. I. The first movement, “Awakening,” (To Awaken to the Light of the Universe) portrays the vastness and richness of the experience of the human mind on expanding its field of view from the narrow confines of daily life to the contemplation of, and merging with, the entire universe. II. “Contemplation” (To Contemplate the Depths of the Soul) represents a turning-away of the mind from the “outer” to the “inner” universe—the attempt to fathom the limitless possibilities of the human consciousness in its quest for identity, to answer the eternal questions beginning with the word “Why?” III. “Rejoicing” (To Rejoice in the Beauty of Peace) depicts the realization that, while on earth, peace is not merely the absence of war, destruction, pain and suffering, but a thing of beauty in and of itself, and an occasion for heartfelt rejoicing on the part of all men everywhere, who share the same eternal quest as true brothers. This suite was commissioned by, and is reverently dedicated to Rissho Kosei-kai, on the occasion of the 77th birthday of its founder and president, the Reverent Nikkyo Niwano. Program notes extracted from the Wind Repertory Project. (11:00)