Biography question concerning Burroughs
Billy Bones
refers to his interest in afterlife communication/messages and recall
reading somewhere that he made a pact with somebody (probably either
Gysin or Kells Elvins) whereby whoever died first would attempt to
contact the other person from the afterlife. The trouble is that I
can't find where I read it (or if indeed I made the whole thing up!)
If anyone remembers this that would be a great help, it's driving me
mad.
Spencer 忽帕
"Billy Bones" <mark.jack...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1169653701.3...@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com...
I would be very surprised if he did such a thing but my knowlege of "Uncle
Bill" is entirely from his own writing and readings. I have a copy of The
Western Lands but don't rate it very highly in his canon.
This phrase has 3 meanings.
1. The old Wild West.
2. The Boddhisattva's Pure Land of the Pure Land school of Mahayana
Devotional Buddhism.
3. The Egyptian Afterlife.
IMHO he meant 1 and 2 as he showed little interest in Egyptian Religion.
All forms of Buddhism teach anatman, no self or soul, therefore no
personality survives after death.
Rebirth is a result of one's karma from this life causing the birth of a
person who inherits this karma.
I have found nothing in his his works to suggest that he believed in the
survival of the personality after death.
Several people did make such pacts in the era of "Spiritualism" or Spiritism
as it is more correctly called.
Non of them were successful. Houdini and Conan-Doyle are a couple of names
that come to mind but I could be wrong.
Spencer
freddy
On Jan 24, 10:48 am, "Billy Bones" <mark.jacksondow...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Sounds like Houdini. Burroughs most definiteley DID believe in
spiritual immortality-see the Ted Morgan biography which is the best
anyway.
Dagon Productions
Spencer 忽帕 wrote:
> "Billy Bones" <mark.jack...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1169653701.3...@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com...
> | Can anyone help me out here. I'm writing a piece on burroughs that
> | refers to his interest in afterlife communication/messages and recall
> | reading somewhere that he made a pact with somebody (probably either
> | Gysin or Kells Elvins) whereby whoever died first would attempt to
> | contact the other person from the afterlife. The trouble is that I
> | can't find where I read it (or if indeed I made the whole thing up!)
> | If anyone remembers this that would be a great help, it's driving me
> | mad.
>
> I would be very surprised if he did such a thing but my knowlege of "Uncle
> Bill" is entirely from his own writing and readings. I have a copy of The
> Western Lands but don't rate it very highly in his canon.
> This phrase has 3 meanings.
> 1. The old Wild West.
> 2. The Boddhisattva's Pure Land of the Pure Land school of Mahayana
> Devotional Buddhism.
> 3. The Egyptian Afterlife.
>
> IMHO he meant 1 and 2 as he showed little interest in Egyptian Religion.
> All forms of Buddhism teach anatman, no self or soul, therefore no
> personality survives after death.
> Rebirth is a result of one's karma from this life causing the birth of a
> person who inherits this karma.
Though James seemed to follow Buddhism, I don't recall William ever
mentioning it in my meetings with him.
William was initiated into the Chaos Magick Organization The Illuminates
of Thanateros and definitely believed in spirits, tulpas/chaos
servitors... though as with Buddhism, I never heard him speak of the
afterlife.
> I have found nothing in his his works to suggest that he believed in the
> survival of the personality after death.
> Several people did make such pacts in the era of "Spiritualism" or Spiritism
> as it is more correctly called.
> Non of them were successful. Houdini and Conan-Doyle are a couple of names
> that come to mind but I could be wrong.
>
> Spencer
At the Magic Castle in Hollywood they hold a seance to contact Houdini
every Halloween... it has never been successful.
-Douglas