A special treat for the French speaking readers (and they are many) of the TINA blog with this 1993 story featured in French Rock & Folk magazine. From her humble beginning to having a biopic made of her life at the age of 54, the article cover Tina’s career and also features an interview with Ike Turner. A very interesting read, sorry for not doing an English translation of it but as you can see the article is very long and unfortunately I don’t have much time to spend on translations these days… However if anyone feels like doing the dirty job and share it with all the fans, please feel free! Enjoy!
10,000,000 views! 10 Million! The video clip for the mantra Sarvesham Svastir Bhavatu reached this incredible number earlier this month. An incredible figure and the proof that TINA has become an incredible ‘shamanic force’ by bringing millions of people across the world around her mantras and buddhist teachings. With the release later this year of the fourth Beyond album ‘Awakening Beyond’, let’s have a look back at the birth of the project with a radio interview recorded in 2009 with Deepak Chopra and an article published in Science of Mind back in March 2011.
In the worst of times, Tina, a deeply spiritual woman who was raised Baptist, sought solace in reciting “The Lord’s Prayer” and, later, an ancient and mystical Buddhist chant to connect to a higher power beyond her human understanding. She began chanting “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” over and over. “I found something changed inside of me, the load of the pressure of my life started to lift . I started to become happy, and then, slowly, the thoughts came to me of what to do to change my life.”
The power of prayer
Tina Turner believes in it with all her heart, so much so that in 2009, she joined creative forces with two renowned musicians based in Switzerland, one of Christian background and the other a Tibetan Buddhist, to go beyond religion, beyond theology, to go “beyond the beyond,” as Su Poet Rumi wrote, to meet together in a eld of pure potentiality. The result is a remarkable music CD entitled Beyond: Buddhist and Christian Prayers.
The meaning of the Lotus Sutra is ‘I devote my life to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra’.
It is the royal sutra of Nichiren Buddhism in Japan (1253). Coming from India to China and then to Japan, the prayer was translated from the Sanskrit word ‘Saddharma-pundarikasutra’ first into classical Chinese as ‘Miao-fa Lien-hua Ching’ and then into an ancient form of Japanese as ‘Myoho Renge Kyo’.
The word ‘Nam’ derives from the Sanskrit ‘names’ and means ‘devotion’. It is placed before the name of all deities when worshipping them.
‘Myo’ is the name given to the mystic nature of life and ‘Ho’ to its manifestation.
‘Renge’ means lotus flower. The beautiful and undefiled Lotus blooms in a muddy swamp with all the obstacles against it. It symbolizes the emergence of our Buddha nature from the everyday problems and desires of ordinary life. ‘Renge’ stands also for the simultaneity of cause and effect, because the lotus puts forth its flower and seedpod at the same time.
‘Kyo’ literally means sutra, the voice and teaching of the Buddha.
It also means sound rhythm or vibration and therefore it might be interpreted to indicate the practice of chanting. Since everything in the universe is connected through sound waves, ‘Kyo » refer to the life activity of universal phenomena and indicates that everything is a manifestation of the Mystic Law.
‘Myoho-Renge-Kyo’ is the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra. An explanation can help you understand, but the Sutra can only be fully appreciated through chanting it.
TINA:
‘However you must do it, to truly understand. When you say ‘Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo’ it will slowly remove all of the bad decisions you have ever made. The more you repeat the words the more you make your life clearer. The more you chant it the closer you get to your true nature. Your true nature is the right way of thinking and the right way of acting. The longer you go on this path, the more you avoid making wrong decisions. The Lotus Sutra helps me in my daily life. It is indeed mystical! And my life has proven this!’
Later this month, Miss Tina Turner will turn 77! Throughout her life and career, she showed the world that despite life’s turmoil and challenges, you and only yourself are in control of your fate. And if you are smart enough to clearly understand the rules of the Universe, you can be in full control and like Tina live a happy and healthy life.
So today, here’s 5 tips that we learned from Tina to improve your being. And trust us, There Is No Alternative…
1 – STAY AWAY FROM DRUGS
If the Gypsy, the Acid Queen herself tells you that a life free of drugs is essential to develop your well being you better trust her. Having a clear mind in every circumstances is a ‘sine qua non’ condition to enlighten your being. And you can spend the money you don’t use on drugs on things you like, like clothes!
In 2009, we got something from Tina Turner which we did not expect at all. What happens if a rock star, a member of the entertainment business and your personal hero suddenly confronts you with personal and even religious beliefs? As you somehow cannot ignore what your hero is doing you have to deal with it….
Back in 1997, Tina Turner was in the middle of the gigantic Wildest Dreams World Tour and of course promoting the tour and the album of the same name massively. Appearing on every major US shows, she gave one her best interview on the set of the Larry King show on CNN. Evoking her life in Europe, her boyfriend Erwin Bach and her faith in buddhism, the Queen of Rock is even asked to do a “chant variation” from her favorite mantra Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. The result: a red faced and speechless Larry King and one of the most memorable moment of American TV, bringing the mantra to a broader audience.
Now, fans knows the interview by heart, it’s a classic among us and we are still waiting for the Unplugged Album (as well as the album from “The Buddisht & The Jew ft The Mormon Tabernacle Choir”) but it finally emerged in HD recently. So for all our delight, first video above of Tina chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo followed by the full interview with Larry King uploaded on Youtube by CNN! Enjoy!
Transcription of the mantra Nam Myoho Renge Kyo with English translation and meaning inside the post. Continue reading →
“Sometimes I am exhausted and driven Lord, Sometimes I don’t know where to go My Mother, and Father, don’t own me So I’ll try to too make Heaven My Home”
By Ben – Today marks the anniversary of the release last year, of the third album of the so far Beyond trilogy “Beyond, Love Within“. With Tina’s participation on a few songs, the result was once again excellent and haunting; Bringing back her gospel roots while mixing it with her buddhist faith, a challenge for Turner who add another feather in her cap in World Music thanks to the creativity of good friend Regula Curti and the work of Swiss music producer Roland Frei.
Today, we focus once again on ‘Love Within’ but with a new and special upload! The “Heavenly Home” mix version of “Mother Within’ that was not included in the album. A shorter and bit more up-tempo version of the song to put it in a nutshell!
And for the occasion and for all your delight, a new video for the song created by Ben! Enjoy!
Summer has arrived in Berlin with clear blue skies and tropical temperatures. The arrival of summer accompanies the arrival of a new edition in the series of spiritual albums that is Beyond. The Tina Turner Blog was in Berlin to report on the official presentation of the new CD.
In 1986, Tina Turner in collaboration with Kurt Loder published the ‘interview like’ top selling biography, I Tina.
Back then, the world discovered the multiple struggles that young Anna Mae faced during her early life followed by the epic relationship with guitar genius Ike Turner (1931-2007).
