Avalokitesvara as blades of grass?

[padma norbu]

The universe is a Womb of Exuberant
Fertility (Asvhaghosha) at base an incon-
ceivable silence and purity and emptiness—
Existence is a frown on Avalokitesvara’s
pure brow—a cloud in the clear mind of
God—
Avalokitesvara has made himself into
all things, he made himself into
blades of grass, cars speeding down the road,
toy lambs, the sun, old trees once young,
me—
Why did he make himself into a Womb of
Exuberant Fertility? He made himself into
someone asking that question—
He is exuberant (as you can see) when
a man is stomping another to death with
his shoes, — when a Bodhisattva Awakened
Hero listens to the Inconceivable Silence. (Kerouac 1997, 353)


What can we take from this? To me, it sounds like some sort of Vedanta.

[Paul]

Kerouac was a great writer but not a well educated Buddhist philosopher.

[kirtu]

Hi Padma! I'd agree with Hayagriva that Kerouac wasn't necessarily well-versed in Buddhism but this doesn't have to be taken as Vedanta. It could be seen as the Avatamsaka informed by a western (and thus cynically invoked base experience) artistic interpretation.

Kirt

[catmoon]

What can we take from this? To me, it sounds like some sort of Vedanta.

Personally, what I would take from it is that sometimes Mr Kerouac writes really seriously bad poetry. Nothing more.