(CelebrityAccess) – The Dalai Lama is set to release his very first album.
Due out via Khandro Music on July 6, Inner World, which is being described as “a unique album of mantras and teachings set to music,” will honor The Dalai Lama’s 85th birthday and his decades-long work to educate the heart and foster world peace.
According to a release, the origins of Inner World began in 2015, when one of the project’s co-executive producers and a longtime student of The Dalai Lama, Junelle Kunin, “wrote to him requesting his participation, by fervently explaining her feelings that an album by such a compassionate and wise being would help people particularly who struggle with emotional stress.” After reading her letter, his response was enthusiastic, saying, “This will benefit many people!” She and her husband Abraham Kunin, who helped composed the album’s music, spent the next five years working with a small team to bring the project to life.
When asked why he accepted the request to make the album, The Dalai Lama answered, “The very purpose of my life is to serve as much as I can. Music can help people in a way that I can’t,” he added.
The album will be released in conjunction with an Inner World companion booklet, which reveals the benefits of the mantras written by Venerable Robina Courtin, and features exclusive visuals – a combination of traditional Tibetan and contemporary art – created as a collaboration between acclaimed New Zealand duo Ella Brewer (classically trained Thanka Painter) and Tiffany Singh (an award-winning visual artist).
Net proceeds from the sales of Inner World will go to The Gaden Phodrang Foundation of the Dalai Lama (Switzerland) chosen program: Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning (SEE Learning), an international K-12 education program and part of an academic collaboration between Emory University and His Holiness; and Mind and Life Institute, which brings science & contemplative wisdom together to better understand the mind & create positive change in the world.
“Compassion,” the first track released today, sets the tone of the album, by “cultivating love and empathy for ourselves and all beings.”
