Tim-

I don't have my translation handy, but from what I remember of the
Wanderer, its metaphysics are sort of dualistic: earth is a place of
bitter breast care, transient, impermanent (tricksy, false).  The
sufferings we endure here in this land are the consequences of constant
mutability.  Only in heaven is that mutability overthrown.  Heaven, the
place of no change, is the place of happiness and rest.  One might
argue (and many have) that this worldview reflects more of the monastic
scribes than it does the Wanderer's original poet.  Whether or not this
matters I leave to more capable hands.

Comparing the Wanderer to Buddhist metaphysics, this duality makes
quite a difference: Buddhist cosmology dictates that not even the
lifespan of gods is permanent, and that everything necessarily changes
according to laws of interdependent origination (this happens, so that
happens, neither cause nor effect distinct or ultimately separable.)
This unity of heaven and earth, through the figure of constant,
interlinked change, is productive of both suffering and the cessation
of suffering.  The sharp division in the Anglo-Saxon poem, on the other
hand, renders the changes that produce suffering as strictly sub-lunary
phenomena, to be abandoned and escaped in heaven after death.  The poem
sounds Christian in many ways; on the other hand, maybe the memory of a
massacre and the painful absence of friends and caregivers prompts a
theodicy that sounds Christian enough to be confusing to later readers.

Once again, we must wonder about the monastic scribes.  As a cautionary
note, some excellent readings of The Wanderer and The Seafarer, and
their cousin poem The Dream of the Rood, read the action of the poem as
figurative of monastic exile, of long vigils in the chapel, of cold
hours spent far from the human comfort of cities.  Perhaps the monastic
scribes and the original poets of these Anglo-Saxon poems are not so
far removed from one another.

I really like this poem, Tim, and I thank you for bringing the website
to my attention.  I could not find your translation there -- all I
found was a searchable text of the Anglo-Saxon, which is also very
good.  Do I need further instructions?

Sincerely,
Jon

Wel bith tham the him are seceth, / frofre to Faeder on heofonum, /
thaer us eal seo faestnung stondeth

(with apologies to the A-S consonants that the e-mail program couldn't
recognize.)

On Thursday, March 6, 2003, at 06:07  AM, Tim Romano wrote:

> Yo Mo Fo
> Take a look at my translation of the Anglo-Saxon poem known as "The
> Wanderer" and you'll see a western mind struggling with the memory of a
> massacre and the destruction of his paideuma. Is his resignation
> comparable
> to the Buddhist worldview?
> Tim
> www.aimsdata.com/tim
>
>
> At 11:15 PM 3/5/03, Peter Bi wrote:
>> O Mi Tu Fo
>>
>> --- these famous Buddhism words mean nothing. And this is exactly
>> Buddha
>> would suggest one to face tragedies like Nanjing Massacre, Holocaust,
>> or
>> Dresden Bombing.  I found this is kind of sorry that in western
>> cultures,
>> there is lack of good solutions for treating unfairness, death and
>> sadness
>> etc. "Forgiveness", for example, comes with the implication that
>> one's side
>> is right and the other is wrong. "Memorial", would not only ask one to
>> remember the glory but also to extend one's hatred to the next
>> generations.
>>
>> If Pound was here, would he have another look at Buddhism ? (I read in
>> several places that he might not like it.) Anyway, in history, there
>> is
>> never a war under the name of Buddha, not even a complaint of
>> unfairness!
>> (correct me), although the whole religion or philosophy, which
>> consists of
>> hundreds, if not thousands, times more pages than the Bibles, is
>> dedicated
>> to the topics.
>>
>> (To the above two concept: Buddhism does not accept "rightness" at
>> the first
>> place and "memorizing" is especially harmful for the peace of mind.)
>>
>>
>> Hongguang
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Jennifer Wilson" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2003 6:54 PM
>> Subject: Pound's nomination to Writers Corner
>>
>>
>> > Several years ago Pound was nominated to the Writers Corner of the
>> Cathedral
>> > of St. John the Divine in New York.  His nomination was subsequently
>> > rescinded when a member of the congregation circulated a petition
>> noting
>> > intention to demonstrate.  She was a converted Jew and several of
>> her
>> family
>> > members had perished in the Holocaust.  Because the Cathedral
>> considers
>> > itself a national ecumenical institution, church leaders determined
>> in
>> > conference with others in the community that a reversal was in the
>> best
>> > interest of the church.
>> >        Although the Writers Corner is a program of rather recent
>> vintage,
>> the
>> > reversal of a nomination was and is unprecedented.  Perhaps in a
>> gesture
>> of
>> > protest, E. L. Doctorow made note in his induction of F. Scott
>> Fitzgerald
>> the
>> > evening that Pound would have been inducted, that Fitzgerald was
>> > anti-Semitic.
>> >        In response to the rescission, Donald Hall, the Elector who
>> nominated
>> > Pound, resigned in protest.  I have a letter from him describing the
>> events.
>> > A recent phone conversation with Elector Carolyn Kizer generated her
>> comment:
>> > "Disgraceful."  I have also visited with Lynn Chase, who endowed the
>> Writers
>> > Corner, and Daniel Hoffman, who chaired the nomination committee.
>> At the
>> > time Hoffman noted that he would maintain the blank stone for
>> Pound's
>> > eventual inclusion, but in our recent phone conversation he didn't
>> sound
>> > optimistic.
>> >        I would be most grateful for any information you may be able
>> to
>> offer
>> > on this nouveau Bolingen.
>> >
>> > Jennifer Wilson
>