Book of Mercy #1-5

[lazariuk]

,
a very grounding experience, and with the given result of rear in the air, a most vulnerable position.
The body, the earth, and prayer. Interesting to me how they link so powerfully there.

~ Lizzy

That vulnerable position reminded me of a Lou Rawls song. Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cOTi7-e5C8

Jack

[mat james]

Qutoe:

1.3

I heard my soul singing behind a leaf, plucked the leaf, but then I heard it singing behind a veil. I tore the veil, but then I heard it singing behind a wall.

From a poet's point of view;
I would suggest Leonard is talking about the the progress of human civilization(Jewish) culture from Eden on.
{Perhaps he was also deep into Freud and his wonderful little book,"Civilization and its discontent" at this time in his life. (He refers to

The Doctor

often in his work and this could be a reference to Freud?)}
But back to 1.3 above;
He (Leonard) went back to the genesis of his culture, to Adam and Eve re-cognising they were naked. (and covering up with a fig leaf, as they say.)
The veil is civilization progressing over time, as was the Wailing Wall and later his own personal soul showed him the way out of the dilema of inherited civilized perspectives.
He re-visited his holy books and culture

I built up the wall, mended the curtain

and he accepted his place within his community; but:

but I could not put back the leaf.

He wished to remain free with regard to sex and his unfolding, personal "morality".

I held it in my hand and I heard my soul singing mightily against me.

This is ambiguous and could be interpreted two ways, as I see it.
1) he felt guilty about his attitude towards sex and morality in general, or the opposite,
2) his soul would not let him adopt the morality of his culture, for in Eden, before Adam went "East", there was no need for covering up,( "leaf").
(I , of course, lean toward the second interpretation; but as Leonard is such a complex character, and aren't we all, probably both 1 and 2 are correct, juxtaposed!)

2 above signals:
It is Eden (the environment God created for man and woman) where Leonard wishes to be; not inside the walls that separate: not only man from his natural world, but also man from his natural partner (as Jack L. lucidly pointed out above.).

Just a poet's view/interpretation.
It is how I "see" it.



By the way DB Cohen, thanks for the explanation of the "books" above, I found it fascinating.
I remember Carl Jung wrote that the Jewish system of educating through these books was to get the young to "argue their case" effectively and not to indoctrinate. This method, he argued, is what makes them (Jews) such exceptional thinkers. What a wonderful opportunity you had with such an upbringing, and, it is no surprise that there have been so many successful Jewish intellectuals and thinkers (Einstein, Freud, Marx, Jesus and so on)..

Mat.

[DBCohen]

Jack,

To your first question: “Bible” is not a Jewish word, as you know, and its use varies according to context. The Christian Bible has the Old Testament and the New Testament (recently it is becoming common also in Christian circles to use the more neutral “Hebrew Bible” and “Greek Scripture” or other such terms), which contain different books according to the specific tradition (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant etc.). The most common Hebrew term is Tanakh, which is an acronym of Torah (the Law), Nevi’im (Prophets) and Ktuvim (Writings). The order of books is different than the Christian Bible, except for the five books of the Torah. Nevi’im include: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the 12 Minor Prophets. Writings include: Psalms, Proverbs and Job; the Five Scrolls: Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther; and then the later books: Daniel, Ezra & Nehemiah, and Chronicles.

I’m not familiar with the prophecy that Esther will remain the last book; if you can find the reference, I’ll be grateful.

And now, forgive me if I intrude on your conversation with Lizzy, but since you seem to refer to me in it, I guess I may be allowed a response. You say:

With you here in the doorway I wonder if he is going to start to question a tradition that didn't make the effort to have the house of study be a comfortable place for women to be in and for the most part did not allow it?

By “tradition” I guess you mean the patriarchal tradition which unfortunately has been in place all over the world and most human societies for the past several millennia. I guess you mean China, where women were not allowed to study and take the examinations for office. And you mean classical Greece and Rome, where women were not allowed into the great academies. And you mean Christian Europe, where women could not enter universities until modern times. And you must also mean the great colleges of America, which did not admit women until not very long ago (Yale and Princeton since 1969, if I’m not mistaken). So yes, I certainly question this tradition of excluding half of humanity from studying with the other half.

And since the only ideology I still unequivocally regard as true is Feminism, and since it is the only ideology I don’t only believe in but also practice in daily life, I’m also grateful to you for your next observation:

The leaf, the veil and the wall being the history of women being seperated from men. Maybe the ultimate friend for a man is a woman and the poet is warning of the dangers of studying without them.

I have a feeling LC would support you on that. And I guess (or hope) that he had his tongue in his chick when he made his famous wish for women to take over, in his 1968 New York Times interview. I, for one, am not for matriarchy in place of patriarchy, but for true equality. I also believe it’s where the world is heading, gradually, grudgingly, and in spite of strong opposite reaction. The walls are falling and the leaf cannot be put back.

And finally, I was under the impression that this is obvious, but detecting certain undertones in your postings, and perhaps in some other people’s, I feel I’d better clarify this point. I never claim that my tradition is better, only that it’s different. And I do question it constantly. And if I enter this game of “Let Us Compare Mythologies” it’s not in order to come out with a winner, only in order to explore the variety of human experience. My only wish is to clarify the picture as best as I can.

[lazariuk]

Jack,

I have a feeling LC would support you on that. And I guess (or hope) that he had his tongue in his chick when he made his famous wish for women to take over,

That certainly would be the time that such wishes might come to my mind. javascript:emoticon(':P')

Thank you DB for expressing your personal truths with such clarity and I have nothing but respect for the ground you are stating as the ground that you will walk on.

Sorry that I cannot supply that reference about the Book of Esther. That was why I was asking you about it,

Jack

[lazariuk]

Jack,

To your first question: “Bible” is not a Jewish word, as you know,.

BTW If I ask you a question it is because I am wanting to know something. Please do not use the words "as you know" about me very much because the chances are great that I did not know as in the above. I never received much of an education and only know the things that I do know by feeding a curiousity that makes me spit out a lot of questions. I do read a lot of Martin Buber and he used the word Bible a lot and he was Jewish and so I thought it was a word that Jews used.

Jack

[tomsakic]

There is an interview somewhere where Leonard speaks about what attracted him to begin the study with Roshi. He says and I'm paraphrasing that Roshi was the only person that he knew who was both completely comfortable with himself and with others and Leonard wanted to learn how he became this way.

He obviously used this answer many times, as he said this "If Roshi was in Heidelberg" comparation in Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (which I just saw yesterday). He said that Roshi deeply did NOT care who Leonard really is - and that's the deepest level (or true Zen, as you said Joe, Roshi indeed seems little detached). What reminds me of great lines:

Yes, and here's to the few
Who forgive what you do
And the fewer who don't even care

Friends are those who forgive what you do and who care, but even more, real friends are those who don't even care what you do or who you are. Taking you as who you simply are.



As for BoM I.3, it was really always unclear to me, as it was for Joe. I particularly didn't see the meaning of last sentence in the context of a man's breaking everything to reach his soul, and then realising the soul is supposed to be like that, and trying to return back all borders, but he cannot put back the leaf. So thanks, DBCohen, as always, for putting the last sentence (which is comparing soul/man process with Torah obviously) into the context. Study is indeed dialogical process.

Also, leaf-veil-wall sequence seems very persuasive in your intepretation, Mat. Veil is always conected with a woman (particularly in old, traditionalistic cultures), the wall is also the border (woman being behind it) ... and now the leaf, which was the craziest part, fits so well with the Eden reference. My previous ideas did go in the direction of Nature/Civilisation dichotomy, because the subject of the poem did succeed in putting back the veil and the wall, but the elaf, Nature, cannot be put back to the tree.

[tomsakic]

Maybe I was a bit too quick with the 'throne' parallel between psalm I.1 in BoM and 'Roshi at 89' in BoL. But maybe the parallel still holds , in which case 'Haltingly he moves toward his throne' would take on a totally different, humoristic meaning.

In 'Roshi at 89'

He's sitting in the throne-room
.......... on his great Original Face

should be matched with

His stomach's very happy
.......... The prunes are working well

So 'throne' here means the can, WC, toilet. Throne is used commonly with that meaning in french. I didn't know that it is the case also in english.

In zen, buttocks get special attention and denomination ( here Roshi's 'great Original Face') -- the reason probably being that you spend a lot of time sitting-- Master Deshimaru, when describing the correct posture for zazen and the correct lower back arch, used to say that in zazen your anus should be smiling at the sun...

Well, we also say in Croatian "throne" for toilette There's also saying "I am going there where even the king goes naked", which even derrived into "I'm going to the caesar's place"

"Great original face" is actually very funny. I heard many times face/ass comparation in everyday's speech. I think that's why Zen is sometimes shocking in its openess and directness. "In zazen your anus should be smiling at the sun" But that's simple taking the life as it really is. - Now, is that the same throne from BoMercy... I'm not sure, the context of that book is overall very serious, unlike BoL.

[Diane]

Simon said:

Finally a second postulate could be that choosing to describe the poetics of zen with the help of biblical judaic style, LC in fact is stressing his craving for the perception of enchantment in a universal way. Enchantment which is what poets dwell upon. Poetry is a perception before it is an expression. I interpret Leonard Cohen as someone extremely sensitive to the multi-layered poetry of the instant. His prayer, maybe, is trying to say that perception matters more than expression. Perception of the enchantment of every moment as the antidote to the appearent non sense, depressive human condition. Perception of the enchantment of every moment as self defence for the human brain against the incomprensibility of the mystery of birth and death. Poetical perception of enchantment as balance in the chaos. Such is the mercy he may be praying for.

I loved reading that, Simon.

I, too hope Diane joins this discussion

Thanks for the thought, Joe, but I don't do analyses of literary texts, not since the terrifying Miss Henkel made us write two lengthy essays a week. This is all over my head, but it's excellent to read the thoughts of you learned people, thanks.

It is, as Lizzy said:

Sorta like a eureka Cliff Notes

Yes. .

Tom said:

He said that Roshi deeply did NOT care who Leonard really is

When you meditate for a period of time, you come to realise how much of your personality is false; a habit, a mighty shield, an artifice, a vehicle for gaining or deflecting attention. When you become conscious of the artifice, it dissolves far more thoroughly when you show it to someone and they honour what they see behind it. Maybe that is even closer to what Leonard means when he says Roshi "deeply didn't care who I was".

Diane

[lazariuk]

Jack,

And now, forgive me if I intrude on your conversation with Lizzy, but since you seem to refer to me in it, I guess I may be allowed a response. .

and no you are not forgiven and I think it was very rude of you to intrude. I personally appreciate forgivness and may in time but to be perfectly frank I find it a lot easier to forgive people who ask for forgivness after they have done something wrong and have seen that they have done so rather than people who ask forgivness and then do what they are asking to be forgiven for.

I mentioned to Lizzy that I was wondering about you and it was you in particular because it was you who introduced the poem after thanking Lizzy for the focus that she had brought you and so I told her that I was wondering if her presense would make you question a tradition that made a place of study an uncomfortable place for a woman.

A response to me from you to what I wrote wasn't called for. Believe me, nothing that you can possibly say to me would make me wonder all the less. How you behave will speak sufficient volumns.

Rest assured that I wonder about everyone in this room as I am sure that some may wonder about me. That doesn't seem to me to be very important and I think it would drive us crazy if we start worrying about what they may be wondering.

While we are on the subject I plan to continue having a conversation with Lizzy in this room if I haven't frightened her away with this little outburst. Right now having a conversation with her here is very important to me and I intend to treat it with all of the respect that it deserves. I might be trying to get her horse I am well aware that what we say to each other might be disruptive and will likely focus on the subject being discussed here and the people involved. I am not going to ask to be forgiven for that.

A short while ago someone sent me a picture that was taken about 45 years ago. It was a class picture and I see why they sent it to me and I found it to be very funny. It was a school class picture of a class that I was in. What was funny was that when the picture was taken they didn't want me in the picture because I tended to be too disruptive and so I was told to go sit at my desk while the picture was taken. The person taking the photo, maybe accidently maybe not, included me in the picture and so there I was making a funny face at the camera from my place at my desk while everyone else was crowded around the teacher by her desk. You see I have a long history of being disruptive and it's a bit late for me to be still feeling bad about that.

And DB if it means anything to you I like you and I have a lot of respect for you. I read out what you wrote to a friend of mine and we both agreed that you write and express yourself very well even though what you write might not be necessary. But if my opinion of you matters to you then you should know that when I wish to communicate something to you I will be very direct and if I am asking a question it will probably be a very direct question. I write that because I asked you what a Jew means when he uses the word Bible. The answer you gave while being filled with a lot of very interesting information still didn't seem to answer my question. I could be more direct and ask you what you mean when you use the word Bible but I wanted to get a sense of what the word means to most Jews i.e. what Leonard Cohen would be referring to , what martin Buber would be referring to etc. If you feel more comfortable speaking only for yourself that will be very fine with me but I don't really need you to tell me what Catholics and others mean.

Jack

" You got to sit close to the teacher
if you want to learn anything" Bob Dylan

[Simon]

This is what it’s like to study without a friend.

This may also refer to the Third Jewel of Buddhism, the Sangha, or third Refuge. It is made very clear from the quote below that companionship is also central in Buddhism. No doubt that if «the admonition against studying the Torah without a friend is well known in Jewish tradition.» LC recognized the same admonition in the Third Jewel of Buddhism.

Taking Refuge in the Sangha

Having taken refuge in the Buddha as an example and the dharma as path, then we take refuge in the sangha as companionship. That means that we have a lot of friends, fellow refugees, who are also confused, and who are working with the same guidelines as we are. Everybody is simultaneously struggling with their own discipline. As the members of the sangha experience a sense of dignity, and their sense of taking refuge in the Buddha, dharma, and sangha begins to evolve, they are able to act as a reminder and to provide feedback for each other. Your friends in the sangha provide a continual reference point which creates a continual learning process. They act as mirror reflections to remind you or warn you in living situations. That is the kind of companionship that is meant by sangha. We are all in the same boat; we share a sense of trust and a sense of larger-scale, organic friendship.

So taking refuge in the sangha means being willing to work with your fellow students-your brothers and sisters in the dharma-while being independent at the same time. Nobody imposes his or her heavy notions on the rest of the sangha. Instead, each member of the sangha is an individual who is on the path in a different way from all the others. It is because of that that you get constant feedback of all kinds: negative and positive, encouraging and discouraging. These very rich resources become available to you when you take refuge in the sangha, the fellowship of students. The sangha is the community of people who have the perfect right to cut through your trips and feed you with their wisdom, as well as the perfect right to demonstrate their own neurosis and be seen through by you. The companionship within the sangha is a kind of clean friendship-without expectation, without demand, but at the same time, fulfilling.

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche / Shambhala Sun / May 2001

For the full Shambhala Sun article >>>

Mat,

I enjoyed your poet's point of view on the leaf/veil/wall. Very interesting indeed. I guess we'll have to come back to it further in the book, as the question of the 'feminine' will surface more evidently in some of the psalms, where angels are females for example...

[DBCohen]

Gee, Jack, have you taken anything between writing your two earlier short postings and the later long one? It sure sounded like a somewhat different persona was coming out of your keyboard. Or is it getting that lovely childhood picture? Anyhow, thanks for teaching me manners; it’s always good to be reminded of those. However, this is a public room, and you must expect your private conversations to be overheard and commented upon by others. Also, I promise that from now on I will read your questions more carefully, and make sure to answer them directly to the point.

I remain, Sir, your most obedient servant,

D. B. Cohen

P. S.
Is all these really necessary? We still have such a long way to go on Book of Mercy. Why can’t we stay the course?

[lazariuk]

Gee, Jack, have you taken anything between writing your two earlier short postings and the later long one? It sure sounded like a somewhat different persona was coming out of your keyboard. Or is it getting that lovely childhood picture? Anyhow, thanks for teaching me manners; it’s always good to be reminded of those. However, this is a public room, and you must expect your private conversations to be overheard and commented upon by others. Also, I promise that from now on I will read your questions more carefully, and make sure to answer them directly to the point.

I see that my longer one accomplished considerable more.

I remain, Sir, your most obedient servant,

yes considerable more

P. S.
Is all these really necessary? We still have such a long way to go on Book of Mercy. Why can’t we stay the course?

When you get to my age you become a little more interested in dragging your heels to slow things a bit.

Jack[/quote]

[lazariuk]

P. S.
Is all these really necessary? We still have such a long way to go on Book of Mercy. Why can’t we stay the course?

When you get to my age you become a little more interested in dragging your heels to slow things a bit.

Jack

[/quote]

What I was really thinking was that I don't want it to go on any further until well after Lizzy comes back and we get a chance to discuss the page we are on.

Jack

[Joe Way]

mat james,

You answered my questions very thoughtfully and well. Thank you. I agree that the progress, if I can use that term, from Eden certainly makes sense in the struggle of a nation.

I turn now to some parallels with "Dance Me to The End of Love." This was, of course, written contemporarily with BoM (at least, first released at the same time). The language seems so similar..."lift me like an olive branch"-does an olive branch compare to a leaf? "Touch me with your glove" seems to reflect the same degree of removal as a veil-revealing the shape, form and sensation-yet withholding the direct connection.

Tom and Simon,

I am familiar with those quotes about Roshi, but I thought that there was one somewhere that spoke more directly to the paraphrase that I gave before. Perhaps, I'm wrong, but I'll keep looking.

Joe

[DBCohen]

Simon,

Thanks again for contributing the Buddhist perspective. It shows once more how, beyond the differences, human experience and expectations have a very common ground.

On the whole, it seems that the I.3 psalm remains quite enigmatic, like some other parts of the book. I think you are right, Joe, when you point out that it is difficult to understand the imagery in this psalm. The contributions made by Mat, Jack and Simon all point to certain possibilities, and I think that the story I quoted from The Book of Splendor also may have influenced the imagery, but somehow we can’t nail it down very clearly yet. Maybe something will come up as we go along. Thanks also to Tom and Diane.

Simon, would you please introduce I.4, whenever you’re ready?

Thanks,

DBC