The Fire Sermon

Composer: Axel Ruoff

Instrument: Marimba

Level: Advanced

Published: 2022

• Description

• One of the central sutras of the Palikanon.
  
  (The Pali Canon is the oldest collection of the teachings of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, written in the Pali language.)
  
  Then, after the Exalted One had stayed in Uruvelā as long as he pleased, he went to Gayāsisa with a large congregation of a thousand monks, all of whom were former lichen ascetics. There the exalted one stayed at the Gayāsisa in Gayā with the thousand monks.
  
  There the exalted one spoke to the monks: "Everything  burns, monks.  And what all burns, monks? Seeing, monks, burns, the visible figures burn, the visual consciousness burns, the visual touch burns and what arises through the condition of the visual touch, namely joyful, sorrowful or neutral feeling, that also burns. By what does it burn? By the fire of desire, by the fire of hatred, by the fire of delusion it burns, by birth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, suffering and despair it burns, so I say.
  
  Everything burns, monks.  And what all burns, monks? The hearing, the sounds - the smelling, the smells - the tasting, the tastes - the touching, the palpable things - the thinking, the thoughts burn, the thinking consciousness burns, the touching of the thinking burns and what arises through the condition of the touching of the thinking, namely joyful, sorrowful or neutral feeling, that also burns. By what does it burn? Through the fire of desire, through the fire of hatred, through the fire of delusion it burns, through birth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, suffering and despair it burns, I say. “
  
  The work tries to convert the fire sermon of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama into a musical sermon. The sensory impressions mentioned in the text fall victim to the fire of the music, as do the thoughts and feelings of our human existence.
  
  The motif of fire is processed again and again throughout the piece. The themes addressed in the text are only hinted at as rhythmic metaphors in the form of aphorisms before they immediately disappear in the fire.
  
  The Fire Sermon is dedicated to Cornelia Monske.