For those of you interested in the great vehicle of mahayana buddhism, here are some inspiring soundtracks from this period in movie history.

Vanessa remembers watching this movie Rocky when she was probably about seven or eight years of age. So many if not all would agree it’s a terrific theme song, but if you lack the bodhicitta motivation, the mind aspiring to and engaging in the path to buddhahood, you are really just lost in the tragedy of samsara.

 

 

The Glory of Love is also inspiring as a soundtrack, but you can never go past the need to practice authentic Guru devotion when traversing the path to the cessation of suffering. What we need to do is to recognise the four noble truths; the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the cessation of suffering and the truth of the path to the cessation of suffering. We also need to understand and realise conventional and ultimate truth; the two truths.

In 1986, Vanessa was seventeen and going through much angst and worry as she experienced betrayal during her final year of school. Many years of hardship would follow, as Vanessa battled to seek out and master the path to Buddhahood, for the benefit of all sentient beings. Utterly disgusted by the pain and suffering of the world around, Vanessa began to investigate the causes of her daily trial and how to cessate the causes of samsara, such as the bane of uncertainty and meeting with what we do not want whilst being separated from what we like and need. This is highlighted by such sufferings of the threat of invasion by a wicked regime like China, that is so worldly, so atheist and  so thoroughly backward and selfish. Learning how to battle skilfully, compassionately in a renounced way the true causes of suffering; hatred, ignorance, and attachment is a very meaningful and necessary alternative and also the only viable solution to revolving in a tired and wandering way along the path of conditioned existence.