The Scripture of the Golden Eternity (City Lights Pocket Poets Series) [Paperback]

Jack Kerouac (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

These classic Kerouac meditations, zen koans, and prose poems express the poet’s beatific quest for peace and joy through oneness with the universe.

Editorial Reviews

Review

All These Selfnesses Have Already Vanished.
Are You Tightwad And Are You Mean, Those Are
The Awakened Buddha To Show The Way, The
Beyond The Reach Of Change And Fear, Beyond
Cats Yawn Because They Realize
The Cause Of The World's Woe Is Birth,
Discard Such Definite Imaginations Of Phenomena
A Disturbed And Frightened Man Is Like The
Do You Think The Emptiness Of The Sky Will Ever
Eight Hundred And Four Thousand Myriads Of
Even In Dreams Be Kind, Because Anyway There Is
The Everlasting And Tranquil Essence, Look Around
Everything's Alright, Form Is Emptiness And
Give A Gift To Your Brother, But There's No Gift
God Is Not Outside Us But Is Just Us, The
The God Of The American Plateau Indian Was
He Is Called A Yogi, He Is Called A Priest,
He Who Loves All Life With His Pity And
I Am The Golden Eternity In Mortal Animate Form
I Remember That I'm Supposed To Be A Man And
I Was Awakened To Show The Way, Chose To
I Was Smelling Flowers In The Yard, And When
If The Golden Eternity Was Anything Other Than
If We Were Not All The Golden Eternity We
Imaginary Judgments About Things, In This
It Came On Time.
Kindness And Sympathy, Understanding And
The Lesson Was Taught Long Ago In The Other
Look At Your Little Finger, The Emptiness Of It Is
Love Is All In All, Said Sainte Therese, Choosing
Meditate Outdoors. The Dark Trees At Night
A Mosquito As Big As Mount Everest Is Much
Mother Kali Eats Herself Back. All Things But
O Everlasting Eternity, All Things And All Truth
Perfectly Selfless, The Beauty Of It, The Butterfly
The Point Is We're Waiting, Not How Comfortable
The Realizer. Entertain No Imaginations Whatever,
Roaring Dreams Take Place In A Perfectly Silent
The Scripture Of The Golden Eternity
The Second Teaching From The Golden Eternity
The Secret God-grin In The Trees And In The Teapot,
Sociability Is A Big Smile, And A Big Smile Is
Stare Deep Into The World Before You As If It Were
Strictly Speaking, There Is No Me, Because All Is
That Sky, If It Was Anything Other Than An
The-attainer-to-that-which-everything-is,
There Is A Blessedness Surely To Be Believed,
There's No Need To Deny That Evil Thing Called
There's No System Of Teaching And No Reward
There's The World In The Daylight. If It Was
Things Dont Tire Of Going And Coming,
This Is The First Teaching From
This Is The Knowledge That Sees The Golden
This Truth Law Has No More Reality Than The World.
This World Is The Movie Of What Everything Is,
Though It Is Everything, Strictly Speaking
Up In Heaven You Wont Remember All These
What Does It Mean That Those Trees And
What Name Shall We Give It Which Hath No
When The Prince Of Kalinga Severed The
When You've Understood This Scripture, Throw It
The Womb Of Exuberant Fertility, Ashvhaghosha
The World Was Spun Out Of A Blade Of Grass:
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Paperback: 62 pages
• Publisher: City Lights Publishers (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872862917
• ISBN-13: 978-0872862913
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Anthologies
  • #81 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Single Authors > United States
  • #88 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > United States > Poetry

More About the Author

Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), the central figure of the Beat Generation, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1922 and died in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1969. Among his many novels are On the Road, The Dharma Bums, Big Sur, and Visions of Cody.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A 20th-century spiritual testament, June 7, 2002

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Scripture of the Golden Eternity (City Lights Pocket Poets Series) (Paperback)

"The Scripture of the Golden Eternity," by Jack Kerouac, is one of those books that you should read, then put aside and out of sight, and pick up and read again several months later (that's what I did). The "Scripture" consists of a series of numbered, meditation-like prose poems that explore the concept of the Golden Eternity. The City Lights edition contains both a 1970 introduction by Eric Mottram and a 1994 introduction by Anne Waldeman. According to the publication data page, the Scripture itself was first published in 1960 (although the introductions note that it was composed earlier, in 1956).

The Golden Eternity is an enigmatic concept that seems to transcend rational thought; it reminded me somewhat of the Tao. Kerouac uses many paradoxical statements to explore the Golden Eternity; his writing is sometimes funny. He also plays with words, using such terms as "the universal Thisness" and "the everlasting So." He even incorporates geometric symbols into one section of the Scripture.

Throughout are a multicultural constellation of references that give the Scripture a universalistic flavor. Buddha, Jesus, Shakespeare, Krishna, Kali, Einstein, and the Native American deity Coyote are just a few of the many references. He also finds insights in a butterfly, cats, and "your little finger."

Kerouac writes, "When you've understood this scripture, throw it / away. If you cant understand this scripture, / throw it away. I insist on your freedom." But whether you throw the book away, treasure it, or pass it on, chack out Kerouac's wonderfully written "Scripture."

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Golden Eternity, the Tao, Spirit, or Self, January 6, 2002

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Scripture of the Golden Eternity (City Lights Pocket Poets Series) (Paperback)

_When I first read this little book I thought that it was primarily Buddhist in essence. When I read it again a while later, I said,no, the spirit of this book is definately Taoist. When I read it next I said, this is a true Gnostic creation- who but a gnostic would have the audacity to compose an original scripture? Of course I was right all along, for this book cuts to the mystic heart of all true paths. This is the teaching that we are all one, for we are all emanations of the one Source, call it the Golden Eternity, the Tao, Spirit, or Self. It could be the "dazzling darkness" of Dionysis. It is the core truth of the one appearing as many that it may come to know itself. This was the unnamed IT that the beats were waiting for, it is the perennial lesson for all true mystics.

_Oh yes, the book is a small one. perfect books are often like that- take a look at the Tao te Ching....

_A man that can write a book like this doesn't have to hang around this old world too long- he's already paid his dues and learned his lessons. Like Lao Tze it is time to depart, for your work is done, and the decline of the country is painful and tiring to witness....

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Did I Create the Sky?...", April 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Scripture of the Golden Eternity (City Lights Pocket Poets Series) (Paperback)

beautifully written, these spiritual meditations are some of kerouac's best and most humble, opening up the quiet side of kerouac often overlooked, simply amazing