Leonard Cohen- a mystic
outsider?
or a Spiritual Seeker?
While I was in the
midst of working on my presentation about St. Francis of Assisi I could hear
Leonard Cohen playing on the stereo in the living room. This is the song:(From Ten New Songs, 2001
Sony) #09
Boogie Street
O
crown of Light, O Darkened One, O crown
of Light, O Darkened One,
I
never thought we'd meet, I
never thought we'd meet,
You
kiss my lips, and then its done: You
kiss my lips, and then its done:
I'm
back on Boogie Street. I'm
back on Boogie Street.
A
sip of wine a cigarette, So
come, my friends, be not afraid.
and
then its time to go We
are so lightly here.
I
tidied up the kitchenette; It
is in love that we are made;
I
tuned the old banjo. In
love we disappear.
I'm
wanted at the traffic-jam. Though
all the maps of blood and flesh
They're
saving me a seat. Are
posted on your door,
I'm
what I am, and what I am, There's
no one who has told us yet
Is
back on Boogie Street. What
Boogie Street is for.
And
O my love, I still recall O
crown of Light, O Darkened One,
The
pleasures that we knew; I never
thought we'd meet,
The
rivers and the waterfall, You
kiss my lips, and then its done:
Wherein
I bathed with you. I'm back
on Boogie Street.
Bewildered
by your beauty there,
I'd
kneel to dry your feet.
By
such instructions you prepare
A
man for Boogie Street.
Well, I thought,
this sounds like a familiar theme. Is it
just me? Is he talking about ascent/descent--one of the more common of mystical
symbols? This strikes me as a mystical poem.
Although, to be
sure, Cohen writes about love, politics, heartbreak etc. I find that many of
his, more recent, love songs don't make (complete) sense in a strict:
human-to-human way. I have always felt a
strong spiritual element to his work.
Indeed, he spent five years living in a Zen monastery in CA. and
practiced Za-Zen for many years previous.(Guardian Interview, 2001)--n.b. all
the songs quoted here are since he started his practice of Zen--- Does this
point to him being a mystic or a seeker?
From
Class One notes (refers to slide 15?)
Attempt
at a Working Definition for Mysticism:
A] Mysticism is a
cultural and linguistic means of expressing the human relationship with the
ultimate source of the universe.
- Yes
B] Its a
religious language (mystical language)--can be art/music/dance/etc.
-Yes
C] It invites
others to share in its reality and adopt its perspective.
-Yes, its in the nature of music and
poetry to share the reality. I guess out of sharing comes the desire to have
people understand and adopt the perspective.
But, I don't think wanting people to adopt the perspective is a top
priority.
D] Mysticism
always has a philosophic or theological component in that the mystic makes
definite "truth" claims of his or her propositions.
-I'm not sure how to interpret this point: the songs are a
product of his experience-- that is a truth we cannot deny. Other 'truth'
statements I don't see-- with the possible exception of 'unknowing'-- "no
one has told us yet- what Boogie Street is for". I believe that through
the breadth of his work one can discern a quest for understanding. But he
doesn't make the claim that his experience is universal or that there exists a
certain 'way'. However, in Anthem ( as in the rest of the songs in the album
The Future which was recorded before his time in the monastery) he does make
claims regarding the brokenness of humanity and the worthlessness of the hollow
offering-- this seems almost prophetic.
(from
The Future, 1992 Sony)
Anthem
The
birds they sang Can't run no more
at
the break of day with the lawless crowd
Start
again while
the killers in high places
I
heard them say say
their prayers out loud.
Don't
dwell on what But they've
summoned up
has
past away a
thundercloud
or
what is yet to be. and
they're going to hear from me.
The
wars they will Ring
the bells that still can ring.
be
fought again Forget
your perfect offering.
The
holy dove There
is a crack in everything.
be
caught again That's
how the light gets in.
bought
and sold
and
bought again You
can add up the parts
the
dove is never free. but
you won't have the sum
You can
strike up the march,
Ring
the bells that still can ring. there is no drum
Forget
your perfect offering. Every heart
There
is a crack in everything. to love will come
That's
how the light gets in. but like a refugee.
We
asked for signs
the
signs were sent:
the
birth betrayed
the
marriage spent
the
widowhood
of
every government-
signs
for all to see.
More
from Class 1-What is Mysticism-Discussion & Slides
A] Common Elements of Mystical
Language: "use the language of their culture , time and religious
tradition" (re-slide
16)
- He is certainly steeped in the
vernacular of the day; indeed, he has set the tone for many young poets.
Regarding religious tradition, throughout his career he's used many Jewish and
Christian images. I think he could be a good example of the religious
perspective and challenges felt by many people today-- On the one hand
embracing the essence and the expressed symbolism; on the other hand being
suspicious of 'organized' religions and their long history of human weakness.
But this could be typical of practitioners of Zen
- I think there is an influence of Zen in
the lyrics he has written since he left the Zen Monastery. "Making objects, Out of
thoughts, Making more By thinking not" (I am certainly no expert on Zen,
so I leave it up for Will to decide if this is a suitable example)
B] Mystical Language: Individualization (re-slide 17)
- Cohen's writing is unique.
C] The Mystical Tradition (re-slide 18), 1-Mystics read and study mystical
literature, 2- The place of study in mystical life means ...often
intergenerational and intercultural dialogue between different mystics,
1
and 2] I don't know, he has certainly read religious writings (as evidence by
his use of Biblical imagery), but (in the research I've done)I haven't heard
him discuss this topic.
3-Mystics
often seek to advance the discussion or to deepen the common perception of
religious life.
3] Quite outside of his
time in a Buddhist monastery, I believe you can see a development of thought in
his poems- which point to a deepening of religious life/thought.
D] Mystic Symbols: Ascent, Quest,
Rebirth, Sexual Love, Nature and Alchemy (re-slide 19)
- Ascent is a
common theme(body-logos-source and back again)
As is sexual/romantic love. The quest or
journey to a lesser extent-- however 'ascent' implies journey.
E] Stages on the Mystical Way (purging
of soul and mind, reception of God's presence, brief union, desertion, new
life)//Levels (re-slides
20-21)
-Difficult to say. I see
descriptions of a brief union and the following desertion in many of his
poems-- "And he covered me, And I saw within, My lawless heart and my
wedding ring. I did not know, And I
could not see who was there, Who was hunting me" (By the Rivers Dark from 10
New Songs)
F] Active and Contemplative (re-slide 22):
1] Contemplative: accepting the
divine presence of God, Union is the highest form and is a fleeting experience.
-Like everything else we've
discussed-- this is open to debate, I see clear signs of acceptance "I see
my life in full review it was never me it was always you."(There for You, from the album
Dear Heather). Also, the
fleeting union as described above in Boogie Street "You kiss my lips, and
then its done: I'm back on Boogie Street."
2] Active: prepare the soul to
receive God, life of Sacrament, Verbal Prayer, most religious experiences.
-Not knowing his internal
life, we can point to his time in the Monastery as evidence of an active life.
"I was interested in surrendering to
that kind of routine. If you surrender to the schedule, and get used to its
demands, it is a great luxury not to have to think about what you are doing
next."(Guardian interview, 2001)
G] 2 Types of Mystical Conversation (re-slide 23)
1]The Way of Love: Sees love of God
as the great motive for seeing God, uses sexual/romantic images, mystic
experiences the Self-even when the Self disappears as an independent entity,
loss of the Self in the Other the highest form of grace.
- I don't see direct evidence
that the love of God motivates him to see God. --I don't know what drove him to
write the songs --love of God moves one to create and share his/her experience
God?
-Sexual
and romantic love abound as images in his work.
-Re-
the experience of Self when Self disappears in love "All busy in the
sunlight the flecks did float and dance, And I was tumbled up with them in
formless circumstance." (Love Itself, from 10 New Songs). Is it Cohens perspective that this is the highest fo m of
grace? There is no direct evidence, except that in many of his songs he morns
the absence and remembers the union with joy "And O my love, I still
recall-The pleasures that we knew; The
rivers and the waterfall, Wherein I bathed with you. Bewildered by your beauty
there, I'd kneel to dry your feet." (Boogie Street, 10 New Songs)
2] Intellectual
-I definitely see Cohen as
representing the Way of Love rather than as the intellectual.
H] Transformation: the mystic issues
into a new style of life, participant emerges as 'servant' or person of
'compassion'-- thus, the flight of the 'alone to the alone' becomes the flight
of the 'alone to other'(slide 24)
- There is an interesting progression in his
work (I again I am aware of the self motivating influence of finding what you
seek):
"Your servant
here, he has been told to say it clear to say it cold: Its over it ain't going
any further"(The
Future, from The Future)
As I've gone through the L. Cohen c.d.'s I've
noticed a kind of transition from the highly visual poems (like Take This Waltz
"Now in Vienna there are ten pretty women. There's a shoulder where Death
comes to cry. There's a lobby with
nine-hundred windows. There's a tree where the doves come to die. There's a
piece that was torn from the morning, and it hangs in the gallery of frost" from I'm Your Man, 1988 CBS) - to prophetic poems like
Anthem(1992)(above)-- to acceptance /ascension poems like Boogie Street and You
Have Loved Enough (2001)-- and There for You (2004). Does this dynamic
progression point to a mystical transformation--the flight of the 'Alone to the
Alone' to 'Alone to the other'?
Other Issues:
The mixture of spiritual with worldly
poetry and art-- does this negate
the possibility that Cohen could be a mystic? What about the Sufi poets who mix the two?
No typical religious path, i.e. from
Judaism to Zen- secular in between?
Is it necessary for a mystic to travel on
a known religious path?
What does a modern mystic look like?
Clearly the elder on Mt. Athos fits the model of mystic better
than Cohen.
Is it possible to
reach a definitive conclusion?
Cohen doesn't address the issue at all (in
the research I've done), so I assume he doesn't see himself as a mystic. He doesn't see himself as a true poet (in one
interview he calls himself a 'fake poet', the highest praise I've heard him use
is to call himself a minor poet -perhaps you agree)(unfortunately I can't
re-find that interview-I didn't think I'd be referring back to it). I don't think it matters, so much, whether
he's a mystic or not. What is
interesting is to think about how mysticism might emerge in today's culture.
(From
Ten New Songs, 2001 Sony) #08
You Have Loved
Enough
I
said I'd be your lover. And
when the hunger for you touch
You
laughed at what I said. Rises
from the hunger,
I
lost my job forever. You
whisper, "You have loved enough,
I
was counted with the dead. Now
let me be the Lover."
I
swept the marble chambers, I
swept the marble chambers,
But
you sent me down below. But you sent
me down below.
You
kept from believing You
kept from believing
Until
you let me know: Until
you let me know:
That
I am not the one who loves- That I
am not the one who loves-
Its
love that seizes me. Its
love that seizes me.
When
hatred with his package comes, When
hatred with his package comes,
You
forbid delivery. You forbid
delivery.
(from
Dear Heather, 2004 Sony)
There For You
When
it all went down Eating
food
And
the pain came through And
drinking wine
I
get it now A
body that
I
was there for you I
thought was mine
Don't
ask me how Dressed
as Arab
I
know it's true Dressed
as Jew
I
get it now O
mask of iron
I
was there for you I
was there for you
I
make my plans Moods
of glory
Like
I always do Moods
so foul
But
when I look back The
world comes through
I
was there for you A
bloody towel
I
walk the streets And
death is old
Like
I used to do But
it's always new
And
I freeze with fear I
freeze with fear
But
I'm there for you And
I'm there for you
I
see my life I
see it clear
In
full review I
always knew
It
was never me It
was never me
It
was always you I
was there for you
You
sent me here I was
there for you
You
sent me there My
darling one
Breaking
things And by
your law
I
can't repair It
all was done
Making
objects
Out
of thoughts
Making
more
By
thinking not
Sources:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5422403
/ interview on Fresh Air--May 22, 2006.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/life/story/0,,573496,00.html#article_continue/
interview on October 14, 2001.
http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/
Cohen,
Leonard. 1988. I'm Your Man. CBS Records. CD
Cohen,
Leonard. 1992. The Future. Sony Music Entertainment. CD
Cohen,
Leonard. 2001. Ten New Songs. Sony Music Entertainment. CD
Cohen,
Leonard. 2004. Dear Heather. Sony BGM Music Entertainment. CD
Miller, Glen. Class One Slides and Lecture 01-03-07. BTS- Topics in Mysticism.