The song Dust in The Wind, released by Kansas in the 1970s, can be interpreted in relation to early Buddhist doctrines and ideas. These include the doctrines of No-Self and the Five Skandhas, Dependent Origination, and the First, Second, and Third Noble Truths, as well as the ideas of impermanence and the theme of urgency within a human rebirth. With the spread of Indian religion in western culture being prevalent in the late nineteenth century, it leads us to wonder if Dust in the Wind has Buddhist influences. 

The song opens with the line “I close my eyes”, in which the speaker exemplifies the Third Mark of Existence, the doctrine of No-Self and the Five Skandhas (Kansas). This doctrine states that the Five Skandhas (form, feelings, conceptions, mental dispositions, and consciousness) are what we mistakenly grasp onto as an illusory self. Neither the one of these Skandhas or their sum can be called the self. The Buddha explains this using a metaphor of a chariot. Neither the sum of the parts nor any of the individual parts themselves (the bridle, wheel, or yoke) can be deemed the chariot. However, without the component parts, the chariot ceases to exist. Thus, we conclude that the chariot is simply an appellation for the actual being. The self cannot be tangibly described and is neither one nor a combination of the Five Skandhas. 

Thinking in terms of “I”, “Me”, and, “Mine” is incorrect because the aggregates that constitute the “self” are constantly changing and do not belong to a self. Believing in an individual self leads to desire, which leads to suffering. The lyric “I close my eyes”, deliberately contains “I” and “my” (Kansas). This is why the speaker’s eyes are closed to the Dharma. 

The lyric “only for a moment, and the moment’s gone” emphasizes momentary impermanence and how the Five Skandhas are constantly changing with each instant  (Kansas). In the Buddhist Doctrine of Dependent Origination, The Law of Conditionality holds that all dharmas are dependent upon causes and conditions. Each moment is caused by a unique set of instantaneous conditions and that moment passes when those conditions change. This is also called Pratitkya-Samutpada and is extrapolated by the Buddhaghosa in terms of a candle burning through the night. The flame of each instant is different from the flame of all other instants. The flame of one instant leads to the next, so each new existing flame is linked to flames of all other instants by causality (Harvey 52-54). 

The fifth line that says, “same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea ” represents the age-old problem that all life is suffering, termed “dukkha”, which is the First Noble Truth (Kansas). It also depicts the insignificance of one life in comparison to the endless sea of samsara. A single drop of water in an immense body of water is indistinguishable from the droplets, yet they merge to form a sea. This is a metaphor to how our many existences are innumerable and merge into each other by causality. We can relate this again to the analogy of the burning flame. To the human eye, the flame appears indistinguishable through the night. In reality, the flame of each instant is different from the flame of every other instant, but they are linked by causality. Our existences are indistinguishable and connected through the eternal sea of samsara. The water drop cannot exist alone without the sea causing it to arise. Likewise, a life cannot arise without the causes that precede it. 

“And the moment’s gone” also suggests the urgency of a human rebirth (Kansas). The recently awakened Buddha who wished to preach the Dharma to his former teachers, found out that Alara Kalama died a week before and Udaka Ramaputra died just the day before. If the Buddha had attained enlightenment just a few days in advance, his former teachers would have been able to experience his teachings and possibly attain Arahathood (Rahula 52). 

The line “All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity”, demonstrates the futility of earthly desires, or dreams (Kansas). All worldly attainments are irrelevant because wishes, being impermanent, eventually “pass before [one’s] eyes” (Kansas). The Second Noble Truth states that the cause of suffering is desire, termed “trishna”. Desire, greed, attachment, craving, and clinging cause suffering because all things are impermanent. In the words of the Buddha: “Whatever is impermanent is dukkha” (Rahula 25). Constantly yearning for what could be, worrying about what will be, or lamenting over what has been, all lead to suffering. 

The line “Now, don’t hang on, nothing lasts forever” also exemplifies the Second Noble Truth. Clinging to earthly objects is foolish because everything ultimately passes away (Kansas). “Hanging on” is suffering because “nothing lasts forever”. Likewise, the Third Noble Truth holds that the detachment from all worldly things leads to the end of suffering, termed “nirvana”. When the Buddha attained Parinirvana, the monks who desired his presence in human form lamented and pulled their hair out. Those who were free from worldly desires simply accepted this information with peace (Jayawickrama). 

The line “All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see”, again acknowledges those who are ignorant and “refuse to see” the truth that all worldly things are impermanent (Kansas). In accordance with The Doctrine of No-Self and the Five Skandhas, there is no constant abiding self that performs actions, but rather a collection of causes and conditions. Thus, we can conclude that “all we do” in this life is not tangible or actual, but only arising from causes. The illusory self leads us to believe that are actions are permanent, but in reality, nothing is permanent, and all “crumbles to the ground” (Kansas). 

This line also expresses impermanence and the futility of earthly desires. Prince Siddhartha had everything that the world could offer him: wealth, a beautiful wife, a first-born son, and the opportunity to become a world emperor. He turned all of this down to end his suffering and the suffering of all beings (Jayawickrama). Chapter V of the Dhammapada states, “The fool worries, thinking, ‘I have sons, I have wealth.’ Indeed, when he himself is not his own, whence are sons, whence is wealth?” (Buddharakkhita and Bodhi 33). By recognition of no underlying self and the impermanence of everything, it can be seen that earthly attainments are futile (Kansas). 

The imagery of dust in the wind is analogous to our “selves” in the whole of the universe. If a vigorous wind picks up and forms a cloud of dust, floating momentarily though the breeze, the group of particles forms a dust cloud, carried along the wind. At each moment, some particles are dropped, some are added, and some change their positions within the cloud. This represents the Five Skandhas that make up the illusory “self”, which are different at each instant because the conditions that cause them are also constantly changing by the moment. The momentary dust clouds are linked by causality, just as the momentary selves are. The wind is not continuous, either. It calms and eventually picks up again. This is analogous to how world systems also must cycle though samsara. All things are causally related and impermanent, like the dust in the wind. 

Comparing human existence to “dust in the wind” acknowledges the median between annihilationist and eternalist perspectives (Kansas). By an annihilationist perspective, “dust in the wind” reminds us of one of the Five Skandhas described as form. Form is the idea that the body is composed of the four primary elements: earth, fire, water, and air. Earth and fire eventually reduce to dust, and wind is a form of moving air. According to this, we can describe our form as “dust in the wind”. However, by an eternalist perspective, the juxtaposition of “all we are” and everything” in the repeated phrase of the song emphasizes the idea that we are only the effect of everything around us (Kansas). 

Therefore, it is incorrect to say that the self is permanent (a physical formation of aggregates) or non-existent (equivalent to everything). The Buddhist doctrines of Dependent Origination and No-Self explain the concept of existence as a middle way between these two ideas. The Buddha explains this doctrine to Buddhaghosa through the analogy of a burning fire. A fire is called a wood fire when it is burning wood and when the fuel changes to straw, the fire is called a straw fire and is no longer called a wood fire (Rahula 24-25). The fire exists, but is dependent upon causes and conditions. Similarly, the “self” is dependent upon the conditions that cause it. The Buddha states the idea of Dependent Origination formally as, “That being, this comes to be; From the arising of that, this arises; That being absent, this is not; From the cessation of that, this ceases (Harvey 54). Likewise, if the fuel ceases to exist, so does the fire. If all causes cease to exist, the self has no cause for rebirth and one reaches nirvana. 

There are multiple lyrics that reference early Buddhist doctrines and ideas in the Kansas song Dust in The Wind. These include the doctrines of No-Self and the Five Skandhas, Dependent Origination, the First, Second, and Third Noble Truths, as well as impermanence and futility of earthly desires. Whether or not Dust in the Wind has intentional Buddhist influences, the lyrics have helped to enlighten a generation of listeners and expose many to abstract ideas fundamental to early Buddhism. 

Works Cited

Buddharakkhita, Acharya and Bhikkhu Bodhi. The Dhammapada. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1985.

Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, 2nd edition . Cambridge University Press , 2013.

Jayawickrama, N. A. The Story of Gotama Buddha (Jatakanidana) . Pali Text Society , 2000 .

Kansas. “Dust in the Wind.” 1975.

Negri, Paul and Susan Rattinger L. Wisdom Of The Buddha: The Unabridged Dhammapada. New York: Dover Publications, 2000.

Rahula, Walpola Sri. What the Buddha Taught, Revised Edition . Grove Press , 1986.

Dust in the Wind by Kansas 

Link: https://youtu.be/tH2w6Oxx0kQ

I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment’s gone
All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind

Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
Oh, ho, ho

Now, don’t hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won’t another minute buy
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind
The wind