A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

The experimental music I am making now is on my Suno profile. Those pieces stay there, and are not added to this site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter B

Buddha

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Enlightened teacher whose teachings form the foundation of Buddhism

Detailed Definition
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and taught the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Though historical, his mythic status in poetry emphasizes serenity, detachment, and inner peace. Poets invoke him to contrast worldly suffering with transcendent calm, especially in meditative or philosophical verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
Buddha appears in meditative poetry: "Under the Bodhi tree, / the Buddha smiles at falling leaves— / all things arise and pass"; In Zen verse, he symbolizes non-attachment: "No self, no moon— / only ripples where the Buddha sat / and let the world go by"; Poets reference him in contrast to worldly striving: "While kings build towers, / the Buddha walks barefoot— / his kingdom is this breath"; He embodies compassion: "The Buddha’s hand holds no sword— / only an open palm / for the sparrow’s last song"; In modern poetry, he represents inner peace: "In traffic’s roar, I seek / the Buddha’s silence— / a lotus in concrete"; Contemporary poets use him to question materialism: "Your phone buzzes like a fly— / the Buddha watches, unmoved, / as you chase ghosts"
Additional Notes
The Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) represents enlightenment, compassion, and the Middle Way between indulgence and asceticism. In poetry, he appears not as a deity but as an awakened human whose teachings—on impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha), and non-self (anattā)—offer a lens for meditative or philosophical verse. Poets invoke him to contrast worldly striving with inner peace, or to explore mindfulness, detachment, and the nature of desire. When referencing the Buddha, distinguish between historical Siddhartha and the mythologized figure of Mahayana traditions (e.g., Amitabha). Avoid reducing him to a symbol of passivity; his path requires active discipline. Related concepts include Zen koans, the Four Noble Truths, and nirvana; he pairs well with imagery of lotuses, Bodhi trees, or silent mountains.
Also Known As
The Enlightened One Siddhartha Gautama The Awakened Sage The Tathagata Gautama
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