Place and the scale of space must be measured against our bodies and their capabilities. Gary Snyder More Quotes by Gary Snyder More Quotes From Gary Snyder With no surroundings there can be no path, and with no path one cannot become free. Gary Snyder surroundingspath I see a vision of a great rucksack revolution thousands or even millions of young Americans wandering around with rucksacks, going up to mountains to pray, making children laugh and old men glad, making young girls happy and old girls happier, all of 'em Zen Lunatics who go about writing poems that happen to appear in their heads for no reason and also by being kind and also by strange unexpected acts keep giving visions of eternal freedom to everybody and to all living creatures. Gary Snyder girlwritingchildren Being the Stream Meditation is not just a rest or retreat from the turmoil of the stream or the impurity of the world. It is a way of being the stream, so that one can be at home in both the white water and the eddies. Meditation may take one out of the world, but it also puts one totally into it. Gary Snyder whitehomewater What is any religion? A little ritual, a little superstition, and some magic. It's not a strictly spiritual affair; it has psychological roles to fulfill. You might not want it to be a religion based on your own experience but that's like wanting to clean up your dreams Gary Snyder magicspiritualdream Lay down these words Before your mind like rocks. placed solid, by hands In choice of place, set Before the body of the mind in space and time: Solidity of bark, leaf, or wall riprap of things: Cobble of milky way. straying planets, These poems, people, lost ponies with Dragging saddles -- and rocky sure-foot trails. The worlds like an endless four-dimensional Game of Go. ants and pebbles In the thin loam, each rock a word a creek-washed stone Granite: ingrained with torment of fire and weight Crystal and sediment linked hot all change, in thoughts, As well as things. Gary Snyder wallspacefire After weeks of watching the roof leak I fixed it tonight by moving a single board Gary Snyder boardsnaturemoving You don't want to be victimized by your lesser talents. Gary Snyder talentwant In the belly of the furnace of creativity is a sexual fire; the flames twine about each other in fear and delight. The same sort of coiling, at a cooler, slower pace, is what the life of this planet looks like. The enormous spirals of typhoons, the twists and turns of mountain ranges and gorges, the waves and the deep ocean currents - a dragonlike writhing. Gary Snyder creativityoceanlife O, ah! The awareness of emptiness brings forth a heart of compassion! Gary Snyder emptinesscompassionheart Human beings everywhere in the world are affected by the global media now. Still, what I have noticed in the east Asia, in the indigenous world, Alaska in particular, and in back country farm and ranch country, is a higher sense of etiquette, and more respectful manners. Urban middle class cosmopolitan world peoples of all races have become speedy and rude. This is a pretty big generalization though. Gary Snyder rudecountryworld I never find words right away. Poems for me always begin with images and rhythms, shapes, feelings, forms, dances in the back of my mind. Gary Snyder shapesmindfeelings True affluence is not needing anything. Gary Snyder affluence Our relation to the natural world takes place in a place. Gary Snyder naturalhomeworld Ko Un's poems evoke the open creativity and fluidity of nature, and funny turns and twists of Mind. Mind is sometimes registered in Buddhist terms - Buddhist practice being part of Ko Un's background. Ko Un writes spare, short-line lyrics direct to the point, but often intricate in both wit and meaning. Ko Un has now traveled worldwide and is not only a major spokesman for all Korean culture, but a voice for Planet Earth Watershed as well. Gary Snyder buddhistcreativitywriting Burning the small dead branches broke from beneath thick spreading whitebark pine. A hundred summers snowmelt rock and air hiss in a twisted bough. Gary Snyder rocksairsummer Clouds sink down the hills Coffee is hot again. The dog Turns and turns about, stops and sleeps. Gary Snyder coffeedogsleep I pledge allegiance to the soil Gary Snyder turtlesecosystemsislands The Buddha taught that all life is suffering. We might also say that life, being both attractive and constantly dangerous, is intoxicating and ultimately toxic. 'Toxic' comes from toxicon, Pendell tells us, with a root meaning of 'a poisoned arrow.' All organic life is struck by the arrows of real and psychic poisons. This is understood by any true, that is to say, not self-deluding, spiritual path. Gary Snyder realselfspiritual A reading is a kind of communion. The poet articulates the semi-known for the tribe. Gary Snyder tribeskindreading Clambering up the Cold Mountain path, The Cold Mountain trail goes on and on: The long gorge choked with scree and boulders, The wide creek, the mist-blurred grass. The moss is slippery, though there's been no rain The pine sings, but there's no wind. Who can leap the world's ties And sit with me among the white clouds? Gary Snyder raincloudswind
