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Trịnh Công Sơn - A Prayer for the Homeland
Trinh Cong Son was born in the year of Ky Mao, receiving from his father the seed of patriotism and the courage to express honest feelings through songs about human brotherhood and the absurdity of fratricidal war. His mother, a devout Buddhist, transmitted to him the seed of compassion, loving kindness, and the practice of the First Mindfulness Training on protecting life. At the age of 15, after his father passed away, he took refuge at Pho Quang Temple with the Dharma name Nguyen Tho. Staying at the temple, he learned chanting and praising with Venerable Master Chanh Phap and Venerable Master Hieu Quang, bringing the resonance of the sutras into his bloodstream and his musical compositions.
The music of Trinh Cong Son contains the insight of Happiness in the Present Moment, living mindfully in every moment of daily life. He treasured friendship because friendship has the capacity to redeem; the silent presence of friends is like a rest in music. Although he experienced loneliness and the haunting of death because he had not yet practiced looking deeply to touch the true nature of no birth and no death, he left behind his continuation through the three actions:
- Body
- Speech
- Mind
Trinh Cong Son did not come from nothingness and does not return to nothingness; his true nature is no birth and no death, like a cloud transforming into rain or a stream. His wholesome actions, expressed through his thinking, his lyrics, and his loving behavior, are still continuing to be present, continuing the mission of conveying the message of love and hope.