I pledge allegiance to the soil of Turtle Island . . .

 

"I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
one ecosystem
in diversity
under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all."

Gary Snyder

"Turtle Island" is a translation of an Iroquois term referring to the continent of North America. "Joyful interpenetration" refers to the Mahayana Buddhist realization that the "self" is not a separate, individual substance. Rather, it is part of a vast web of beings, all of whom interlink and interpenetrate one another.

Photos: (Left) American flag and The Twin Owls, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, October 4, 2014; (R Top) Abandoned cabin in the ghost town of Ashcroft, CO, September 28, 2014; (R Bottom) Snow-covered Clark Peak and Aspen trees, Rawah WIlderness, CO, October 2, 2014

Gary Snyder's Critique of Postmodern Philosophy

 

"For all the talk of 'the other' in everybody's theory these days, when confronted with a genuine Other, the non-human realm, the response of the come-lately anti-nature intellectuals is to circle the wagons and declare that nature is really part of CULTURE. Which maybe is just a strategy to keep the budget within their specialties . . .

"[But] it is not impossible to get a pretty accurate picture of Nature with a little first-hand application - no big deal, I'd take these doubting professors out for a walk, show them a bit of the passing ecosystem show, and maybe get them to help clean up a creek."

Gary Snyder

Photos: (Top) Beargrass with Goat Rocks in the background, Mt. Rainier National Park, WA, July 26, 2014; (Middle) Cliff Paintbrush in the fog, Mt. Rainier National Park, WA, July 26, 2014; (Bottom) Vidae Falls, Crater Lake National Park, OR; July 28, 2014

The blue mountains walk to the kitchen and back to the shop

 

Last night I heard Beat poet Gary Snyder give a reading at Colorado State University.  His humility, humor, warmth and large-mindedness gave me hope that when I reach 84, I too have a chance to remain vibrant and youthful.  The fact that Snyder still goes hiking was evidenced by the mountain daypack he had on hand to haul his various books and papers around. No briefcase for THIS poet!

I've always loved Snyder's ability to interfuse the human and natural worlds in his poetry and prose, a gift that comes in part from his lifelong immersion in the study and practice of Zen Buddhism.  This interfusion is especially evident in the following passage, taken from an essay entitled "Blue Mountains Constantly Walking,"  based in part on the fact that he lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California:

"The blue mountains walk to the kitchen and back to the shop, to the desk, to the stove. We sit on the park bench and let the wind and rain drench us.  The blue mountains walk out to put another coin in the parking meter, and go on down to the 7-Eleven . . . [Zen master Dogen says] 'such mountains and waters of themselves become wise persons and sages' - become sidewalk vendors and noodlecooks, become marmots, ravens, graylings, carp, rattlesnakes, mosquitoes.  ALL beings are 'said' by the mountains and waters - even the clanking tread of a Caterpillar tractor, the gleam of the keys of a clarinet."

Photos: (Top) Mountains turned smoky-blue by forest fire smoke, Crater Lake National Park, OR; July 27, 2014; (Middle) Clouds reflected in Crater Lake; July 27, 2014; (Bottom) Mummy Mountain at sunset, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; September 15, 2014

More and more the mountains ARE my mind, an inner world to go to.

 

"Thinking I am unable to see it or know it - this enormous beauty - and yet, letting go, I AM simply it, being part of it, in me as well as outside."

"More and more the mountains ARE my mind, an inner world to go to."

Gary Snyder

Tonight I saw Gary Snyder do a reading at Colorado State University, just a few miles from my home.  It's hard to believe he is now 84 years old, considering how youthful his attitude and outlook on life are!

Photo: Yellow Paintbrush and Elephanthead, Snowy Range, WY; August 22, 2014

I pledge allegiance to the soil of Turtle Island.

I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
     one ecosystem
     in diversity
     under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all.

Gary Snyder

"Turtle Island" is a name for the North American continent, originating in the stories of some of the Northeastern Woodland Native American tribes.

Photo: Mount Rainier and Cliff Paintbrush; above Spray Park, Mount Rainier National Park, WA; July 28, 2013

The Earth is prickly enough to make you tough.

"Wide enough to keep you looking

 Open enough to keep you moving

 Dry enough to keep you honest

 Prickly enough to make you tough

 Green enough to go on living

 Old enough to give you dreams"

Gary Snyder, "Earth Verse"

Photo: Ball Cactus in bloom, with the Lumpy Ridge in the background; Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; May 13, 2013

Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.

"Nature is not a place to visit.  It is home."

Gary Snyder

Photo: The view from my front yard.  That's Greyrock on the horizon.  Larimer County, CO; October 23, 2012
ture

The Earth is Dry Enough to Keep You Honest, Prickly Enough to Make You Tough

 

                                                    Wide enough to keep you looking

                                                    Open enough to keep you moving

                                                    Dry enough to keep you honest

                                                    Prickly enough to make you tough

                                                    Green enough to go on living

                                                    Old enough to give you dreams

                                                    Gary Snyder, "Earth Verse"

Photo: Purple Prickly-Pear Cactus in last light, Canyonlands National Park, UT, November 26, 2011