Portrait of the Artist as a Selfless Intellect

D.T. Suzuki

Practitioners of Zen seek a diminution of ego. Buddha mind is expressive of an empathic relation to the universe, with the dissolution of self being the ultimate destination of the spiritual journey and ultimate compassion its end. Desire is the beginning of suffering say the high priests of this religion—with the extinction of human agency the mountain to climb. In the meanwhile there are a lot of skins of the onion to peel away. People who live on the sites of ancient civilizations are literally buried by history. "History is nightmare" says Stephen Daedalus. Maybe not for tourists to Rome. However it’s like starting to ascend the Everest of Impersonality with stones in your rucksack.

listen to Allen Ginsberg reading "Howl" (1975)

read "Pet Buddha" by Francis Levy, Vol. 1 Brooklyn

listen to James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti singing "It's a Man's World"

and listen to "I Love to Love (But My Baby Just Wants to Dance)" by Tina Charles (1975)

and listen to "Band of Gold" by Freda Payne with Belinda Carlisle

and listen to "Twenty-Five Miles From Home" by Edwin Starr