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Kerouac Sanga


Jack Kerouac Series #1

20" X 24"

1998

original sold

(click on picture to make larger)

Kerouac Sanga jpg Kerouac Sanga large jpg

Notes on Kerouac Sanga

It seems to me that Jack Kerouac spent a great deal of time and energy trying to reconcile his fondness for Buddhism and it's lack of an external divinity, with his upbringing in a Catholic catechism. Many Western followers of the Buddha's teachings (the sanga) encounter this delemma. Although Kerouac studied mostly Zen (Cha'an) Buddhism, I have put in my portrayal a Tibetan guardian of Buddhism to represent the positive and negative psychological forces produced in trying to reconcile the concepts of Buddhism with the Western religious traditions.
The Holy Light...............is all there is to see.
The Holy Silence............is all there is to hear.
The Holy Odor...............is all there is to smell
The Holy Emptiness.......is all there is to taste.
The Holy Ecstasy...........is all there is to think.


Jack Kerouac,  Desolation Angels