With Dhivan

The Dharma is Like an Avocado! – The Buddhist Poetry of Gary Snyder
What's the point of poetry? What's it got to do with Buddhism? These questions get us thinking about the important of the arts for the spiritual life, one of the distinctive emphases of Triratna Buddhism.  Gary Snyder is a good way in, because his poetry is very Buddhist and very down to earth.

Gary Snyder, born in 1934 in California, came to fame among the Beats back in the 1950s – he was great friends with the poet Alan Ginsberg, whom Sangharakshita met in Kalimpong. But Snyder's poetry developed into something unique – an engagement with Zen Buddhism, with the environment, and with America. The language is straightforward, the thinking deep. There's a lot to enjoy.