Buddhist Song Tradition: From Until Nirvana's Time

Abstract:Cambodian Buddhist poems are little known outside of Khmer-speaking communities in Southeast Asia and in the global diaspora. However, for the past seven hundred years, most Cambodians have practiced Theravada Buddhism, and their Khmer-language poetry reflects a deep intimacy with the Dharma. The three poems selected here from Until Nirvana's Time: Buddhist Songs from Cambodia (Shambhala Publications, 2022) were composed by anonymous authors in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.At one time, the majesty of the Khmer Empire held sway over much of what is now Laos, Thailand, and southern Vietnam. The terror unleashed by the Khmer Rouge was in some ways the culmination of the many traumas the Khmer people have faced in recent times: brutal warfare; colonial subjugation; migration and resettlement; poverty, violence, and erasure. Lost in this erasure have been the nation's many contributions to Buddhism, literature, and the arts. Khmer-language poems on Buddhist themes are among Cambodia's most precious gifts to the world.The poems translated here are "Dharma songs" (dharm pad, pronounced "thoa bot"), verse texts meant to be recited with complex melodies known as smot in dusk-to-dawn rituals of mourning, consecration, and remembrance. Khmer poetry is traditionally chanted aloud in dozens of different melodies, each of which has spawned several variations. Some melodies are fast paced and use only a few musical pitches. Others are slow, highly ornamented, and require a wide vocal range to reach their many notes. A single stanza can take up to three minutes to recite, a whole poem several hours. Each word of the Khmer is designed to linger in the air, carried by breath and music. As readers and listeners, we must be patient, letting the meaning gradually reveal itself to us. tw