appear precisely in the context of that mysterious quality ofn”empty” that the poet cites — not in despair (as we persist innmisreading) but in hope.nWhat we want to believe Eliot said, that the vision of eyesnin the rose is empty men’s only hope, is not at all what henhas said. What he has said is that this vision may be the hopenonly of empty men, that men are hopeful only whennemptied — emptied of all illusion, emptied of the notion ofnself, emptied of the consuming desire that has — as in thenBuddha’s Fire Sermon that forms the core of The WastenLand—set all the objects of this world on fire. This isnexactly what takes place in the unfinished SweeneynAgonistes, with its grim insistence that life consists only ofn”birth, copulation, and death,” and its explicit epigraphnfrom the mystical poet St. John of the Cross:nHence the soul cannot be possessed of divine unionnuntil it has divested itself of the love of creatednthings.nThe Buddha had a term for this, what Eliot callsnA condition of complete simplicityn(Costing not less than everything) . . .nThe term is sunyatd. It means emptiness.nThis emptiness is not the same as existential nothingnessn(it is its exact opposite) though the fashionable nothingworldndoes figure heavily in Eliot’s work as an object ofnsatire:nIn the land of lobelias and tennis flannelsnThe rabbit shall burrow and the thorn revisit.nThe nettle shall flourish on the gravel court.nAnd the wind shall say: “Here were decentngodless people:nTheir only monument the asphalt roadnAnd a thousand lost golf balls.”nThe Buddhists’ emptiness is a form of cosmic modesty. Nornis there really any doubt that Eliot actually possessed it.n(“Poetry is a mug’s game.”) By contrast, Allen Ginsbergnand Robert Duncan (who both have tried to siphon off forntheir own aggrandizement the New Age faddishness ofnTantrism-mania) are certainly mugs — reveling in the KalinYuga (the Age of Putrefaction) whose prophets they presumento be. But they are not poets.nOpening the heritage of the West to the East, Eliot wasnable to renew the faith purchased for us with the blood ofnChrist, and sonHere the impossible unionnOf spheres of existence is actual . . .nand it is the divine body that can make such a union for us ifnwe still desire it.nPerhaps, as Eliot intimated so slyly after all his poems hadnbeen written, printed, and endlessly explained by thosenwhose self-importance depends upon such things, he hasn’tnbeen found out yet? Perhaps it’s time he were?nA§ ^oes (he American family,n§0 goes our naflon.nThe strength and resilience of the American as, each month, its editors grapple with ftinda-nFamily is quite simply the single greatest asset mental issues affecting your family’s ftiture.nour nation possesses.nlong battered, neglected, maligned, and Each month, The Family m America wiU:ndivided, the American Family’s regeneration as a . joust witli the bureaucrats and martinets who muddlenpowerful center for values, achievement, and public poHcy affecting the American Family;nfulfillment is an unmistakable signal; a good . expose governmental tinkering and doublespeak onnidea whose time has come. Again. family issues;n„, ^, , Li. .. .1 .1. • probe the underlying statistics and trends running innThat s why a «e«; pubhcationis chronicling j^^^^ ^f j^^y f ^^ .^.nevents, floodlighting the issues, debunking the . .^^^^i j^e works and exceptional research of today’snbureaucrats and social experimenters, and |,es, a„d brightest scholars, writers, educators,ntalking common sense.nThis monthly publication is called rfe/•««//)/ If you think it’s important to be informednin America. about the forces that may affect the health andnShocking. Provocative. Eye-opening. Com- well-being of your family now and in the yearsnbative. Thoughtful. And, when necessary, ahead, the choice is a simple one.noutrageous. Take pen in hand, and subscribe now,nThe Family in America is all this and more Request your subscription-today.nrnFor fast ordering callntoll free (800) 892-0753 ILn(800) 435-0715 Outside ILnThe Family in AmericanABSOLUTELY “YES!” Count me in!nD Yes! Please enter my subscription to ThenFamily in America at $14.97 for 12 monthlynissues. 1 save $6.03 off the basic rate of $21.n• Payment enciosed n Biii me laternNamenAddressnnnCity State ZipnCanadian and foreign orders add $6 per year,npayable in U.S. funds onlynPlease allow 4-6 weeks for your first copy tonarrive. Mail coupon to: PC. Box 416, Mt. Morris, ILn61054 jp 3g8nSEPTEH/IBER 1988/ 17n