OPEN SILENCE: AN APPLICATION OF THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY TO LITERARY CREATION by EDWARD A R LIVINGS Principal Supervisor: Professor John McLaren Secondary Supervisor: Mr Laurie Clancy A thesis submitted in complete fulfilment of the requirements for PhD, 2006. School of Communication, Culture and Languages Victoria University of Technology © Edward A R Livings, 2006 Above the senses are the objects of desire, above the objects of desire mind, above the mind intellect, above the intellect manifest nature. Above manifest nature the unmanifest seed, above the unmanifest seed, God. God is the goal; beyond Him nothing. From the Kāthak Branch of the Wedas (Katha-Upanishad)1 1 Shree Purohit Swāmi and W B Yeats, trans., The Ten Principal Upanishads (1937; London: Faber and Faber, 1985) 32. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to acknowledge the efforts of my supervisors Professor John McLaren and Laurie Clancy and those of John Jenkins, Jordie Albiston and Joanna Steer, all of whom contributed, directly or indirectly, to the production of this thesis and to whom I am most grateful. I hope the quality of the dissertation reflects the input of these people, who have so ably assisted in its production. Any faults found within the thesis are attributable to me only. 3 ABSTRACT Open Silence: An Application of the Perennial Philosophy to Literary Creation is a dissertation that combines a creative component, which is a long, narrative poem, with a framing essay that is an exegesis on the creative component. The poem, entitled The Silence Inside the World, tells the story of four characters, an albino woman in a coma, an immortal wizard, a dead painter, and an unborn soul, as they strive to comprehend the bizarre, dream-like realm in which they find themselves. The narrative utilizes various metaphysical elements of the Perennial Philosophy for the creation of character, event and setting, and also uses the concept of Imagination as the power and place of creative endeavour. The poem comprises 8,170 lines of blank verse arranged in three-line stanzas, for a total of 62,816 words.2 The exegesis accompanying The Silence Inside the World explains the creative value to the writer of the philosophy underlying the work. It does this by examining the artistic and critical experiences arising out of the writing of the poem. The first half of the exegesis, entitled ‘Intentions: Tzimtzum’, explores the biographical background of the author, those influences not only on the motivation to write such a creative text, but also on the original desire to investigate such creativity and spirituality in the first place. It also examines those elements of the Perennial Philosophy felt necessary for incorporation into the creative component. The section then delineates the factors Harold Bloom considers necessary for the creation of strong work and considers how the intended creative project may fulfil these requirements. Finally, ‘Intentions’ presents those creative, mythic and symbolic 2 Word count includes title page and chapter titles. 4 materials gleaned from the critical process that are likely to be prove useful for the creative component. The shorter, second half of the essay, entitled ‘Reflections: Tikkun’, examines the intricacies of the drafting process for the poem and for the thesis as a whole, as well as the lessons gathered from the project and its overall success. The section ends with suggestions for further work not only for the present author, but also for others, writers and critics alike. The full exegesis, which comprises the segments ‘Introduction’, ‘Intentions: Tzimtzum’, ‘Reflections: Tikkun’, and ‘Conclusion’, totals 37,077 words. 5 STUDENT DECLARATION I, Edward Arthur Ronald Livings, declare that the PhD thesis entitled Open Silence: An Application of the Perennial Philosophy to Literary Creation is no more than 100,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, figures, appendices, references and footnotes. This thesis contains no material that has been submitted previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other academic degree or diploma. Except where otherwise indicated, this thesis is my own work. Signed: ………………………………………………. Date: …………………………. 6 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................2 ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................3 STUDENT DECLARATION................................................................................................5 CONTENTS...........................................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................9 INTENTIONS: TZIMTZUM 1.1 On the Crooked Path......................................................................................15 1.2 First Tricks.....................................................................................................21 1.3 Dare Seize......................................................................................................28 1.4 Leap of Tradition ...........................................................................................34 1.5 Pens at Ten Paces...........................................................................................51 1.6 Applied Intuition............................................................................................81 1.7 Upaya Ensemble ............................................................................................91 THE SILENCE INSIDE THE WORLD 1. Beyond the Last Gate.....................................................................................106 2. Two Gifts.......................................................................................................114 3. Stone and Blood.............................................................................................121 4. The Service of Names....................................................................................130 5. The Soul Mirror .............................................................................................136 6. Blood Seeds...................................................................................................142 7. The Striking of Shadow .................................................................................149 8. The Story Game .............................................................................................159 9. Zane’s Story...................................................................................................168 10. Jessie’s Tale...................................................................................................172 11. Remesh’s Account.........................................................................................174 12. Murga Flight ..................................................................................................180 13. Of Crooked Signs...........................................................................................185 14. Leap and Echo................................................................................................191 15. Matters of Trust .............................................................................................198 16. A Vow for Fate ..............................................................................................206 7 17. Broken Hope..................................................................................................214 18. The Ice Temple ..............................................................................................223 19. Above the Abyss............................................................................................231 20. To Meddle......................................................................................................240 21. The Cave of the Scylarii ................................................................................245 22. Serpent Song..................................................................................................251 23. The Design in Stars........................................................................................255 24. The Sentinel Tree...........................................................................................265 25. Shultar’s Secrets............................................................................................274 26. The Next Breath.............................................................................................283 27. Only Chance...................................................................................................293 28. The Garden of Play ........................................................................................297 29. A Vision of Rescue ........................................................................................305 30. The Death of Shultar......................................................................................311 31. Facets of Awe ................................................................................................317 32. Birth of a God ................................................................................................322 33. Closer to Home ..............................................................................................328 34. The Call of Dust and Flame...........................................................................340