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Chapter 27 - Playing with the Perfections

Some Developments in Ginsberg’s Buddhist Poetics

from Part IV - Major Themes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2026

Erik Mortenson
Affiliation:
Lake Michigan College
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Summary

This chapter explores Ginsberg’s poetic adaptations of Mahayana Buddhist ethical teachings known as the Six Perfections. It considers: 1) how Buddhism began (for Allen Ginsberg) and what wisdom within it drew him to develop his poetic sensitivities; 2) how generosity of spirit implicit within a Buddhist ethical framework (known as the Six Paramitas) relates to the continuous syncretism within his work; 3) how liberal openness in his work is essentially a practice of patience; 4) how Buddhist non-Manichean critique became, increasingly, the central ethical constraint of the writing; 5) how joyful humor makes Ginsberg’s evangelism tolerable to secular liberals; and 6) what it means to say that concentration is a form of consecration in Ginsberg’s work.

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