In March, 2007, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet (1974) Gary Snyder granted JEM the right to reproduce and distribute in Braille all of his copyrighted poems and prose works to anyone regardless of citizenship. A large portion of his published works are now available in BRF format.
Smokey the Bear Sutra, written in 1969 reproduced below, was never copyrighted by Ajarn Snyder and, for many years, was only available by printed broadside in bookstores or at libraries.
Dear Ajarn Snyder –
I have read your poems and prose for nearly 40 years and have a few editions about that vintage. I am a US Library of Congress Certified Braille Transcriber now living in Khon Kaen, Thailand .
I would like to request a waiver of copyright such that I can make available Braille transcriptions of your copyrighted poems / prose with your permission. I can now do so under Section 121 of US Copyright Law but this is a cumbersome process. With a waiver I could make such transcriptions (available) for persons who are blind who are not US citizens. The Section 121 copyright exceptions only apply to US citizens.
Attached you will find my Braille version of ‘Smokey the Bear Sutra’. I have had a handwritten copy for many years. Before the Internet I copied it in pencil from the rare book archives at the New York Public Library and at UC Berkeley.
March 27, 2007
Dear (JEM)
Please feel free to put any of my poetry you choose into a braille format. Consider this my waiver, if it's enough, or if there's a form to sign I'll sign it. I wish you the best of luck and the best of Thailand, what a fine place to be. I checked out your website..it's fascinating.
Yours truly,
Gary Snyder
Ravens in the afternoon control burn smoky haze
croaking away.
Coyotes yipping in the starry early dawn.
SMOKEY THE BEAR SUTRA
BY GARY SNYDER
Once in the Jurassic about 150 million years ago,
the Great Sun Buddha in this corner of the Infinite
Void gave a discourse to all the assembled elements
and energies: to the standing beings, the walking beings,
the flying beings, and the sitting beings--even the grasses,
to the number of thirteen billion, each one born from a seed,
assembled there: a Discourse concerning
Enlightenment on the planet Earth.
"In some future time, there will be a continent called
America. It will have great centers of power called
such as Pyramid Lake, Walden Pond, Mt. Rainier, Big Sur,
Everglades, and so forth; and powerful nerves and channels
such as Columbia River, Mississippi River, and
Grand Canyon. The human race in that era will get into troubles all over
its head, and practically wreck everything in spite of
its own strong intelligent Buddha-nature."
"The twisting strata of the great mountains and the
pulsings of volcanoes are my love burning deep in the earth.
My obstinate compassion is schist and basalt and
granite, to be mountains, to bring down the rain. In that
future American Era I shall enter a new form; to cure
the world of loveless knowledge that seeks with blind hunger:
and mindless rage eating food that will not fill it."
And he showed himself in his true form of
SMOKEY THE BEAR
A handsome smokey-colored brown bear standing on his
hind legs, showing that he is aroused and watchful.
Bearing in his right paw the Shovel that digs to the
truth beneath appearances; cuts the roots of useless attachments,
and flings damp sand on the fires of greed and war;
His left paw in the mudra of Comradely Display--indicating
that all creatures have the full right to live to their limits
and that of deer, rabbits, chipmunks, snakes, dandelions,
and lizards all grow in the realm of the Dharma;
Wearing the blue work overalls symbolic of slaves and
laborers, the countless men oppressed by a civilization that
claims to save but often destroys;
Wearing the broad-brimmed hat of the west, symbolic of
the forces that guard
the wilderness, which is
the Natural State of the Dharma and the true path of man on Earth:
all true paths lead through mountains--
With a halo of smoke and flame behind, the forest fires
of the kali-yuga, fires caused by the stupidity of those who think things
can be gained and lost whereas in truth all is contained vast
and free in the Blue Sky and Green Earth of One Mind;
Round-bellied to show his kind nature and that the great
earth has food enough for everyone who loves her and trusts her;
Trampling underfoot wasteful freeways and needless
suburbs, smashing the worms of capitalism
and totalitarianism;
Indicating the task: his followers, becoming free of cars,
houses, canned foods, universities, and shoes, master the Three
Mysteries of their own Body, Speech, and Mind; and fearlessly
chop down the rotten trees and prune out the sick limbs of
this country America and then burn the leftover trash.
Wrathful but calm. Austere but Comic. Smokey the Bear will
Illuminate those who would help him; but for those who would
hinder or slander him...
HE WILL PUT THEM OUT.
Thus his great Mantra:
Namah samanta vajranam chanda maharoshana
Sphataya hum traka ham mam
"I DEDICATE MYSELF TO THE UNIVERSAL DIAMOND
BE THIS RAGING FURY BE DESTROYED"
And he will protect those who love the woods and rivers,
Gods and animals, hobos and madmen, prisoners and sick
people, musicians, playful women, and hopeful
children:
And if anyone is threatened by advertising, air pollution, television,
or the police, they should chant SMOKEY THE BEAR'S WAR SPELL:
DROWN THEIR BUTTS
CRUSH THEIR BUTTS
DROWN THEIR BUTTS
CRUSH THEIR BUTTS
And SMOKEY THE BEAR will surely appear to put the enemy out with his
vajra-shovel.
Now those who recite this Sutra and then try to put it in practice will
accumulate merit as countless as the sands of Arizona and Nevada.
Will help save the planet Earth from total oil slick.
Will enter the age of harmony of man and nature.
Will win the tender love and caresses of men, women, and beasts.
Will always have ripened blackberries to eat and a sunny spot
under a pine tree to sit at.
AND IN THE END WILL WIN HIGHEST PERFECT ENLIGHTENMENT
...thus we have heard...
(may be reproduced free forever)
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