Tao Te Ching

The Power of Goodness, the Wisdom Beyond Words
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Kenneth Rexroth

1905 – 1982 CE

"Father of the Beats”

A philosophical anarchist, "Father of the Beats,” translator, Chinese scholar and translator; Rexroth introduced Allen Ginsberg to Gary Snyder, mentored Lawrence Ferlinghetti and testified on his behalf in his obscenity trial for publishing Ginsberg’s book, Howl. He appeared as a character in Kerouac’s book Dharma Bums and wrote the article on Literature for the Encyclopedia Britannica. A UC lecturer famously popular with students but cringingly infamous with administrators because of his inflammatory critiques of campus culture, he was a pacifist and conscientious objector during World War II while devotedly helping interred Japanese-Americans. His philosophy condensed into a view of society and culture as a “social lie” maintained to preserve the rich and powerful’s ability to exploit the majority

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Quotes by Kenneth Rexroth (10 quotes)

“Against the ruin of the world, there is only one defense—the creative act.”

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“Abelard was not only the greatest philosopher of his time but a crucial moment in the evolution of the humanitarian mind.”

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“Love slays what we have been,
That we may be what we were not.”

Themes: Love Progress

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“As the full moon rises / The swan sings in sleep / On the lake of the mind.”

Themes: Moon Mind

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“Fires / Burn in my heart / No smoke rises / No one knows.”

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“Man thrives where angels die of ecstasy and pigs die of disgust.”

Themes: Middle Way

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“Japanese poetry does what poetry does everywhere: it intensifies and exalts experience.”

Themes: Poetry

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“I write for one and only one purpose, to overcome the invincible ignorance of the traduced heart. […] I wish to speak to and for those who have had enough of the Social Lie, the Economics of Mass Murder, the Sexual Hoax, and the Domestication of Conspicuous Consumption.”

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“Making love with you
Is like drinking sea water.
The more I drink
The thirstier I become,
Until nothing can slake my thirst
But to drink the entire sea.”

Themes: Sex Water

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“Take off your dress and stockings;
Sit in the deep chair before the fire.
I will warm your feet in my hands;
I will warm your breasts and thighs with kisses.
I wish I could build a fire
In you that would never go out.
I wish I could be sure that deep in you
Was a magnet to draw you always home.”

Themes: Marriage

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