The Sutra of the Poison Buddha
What is there to say about the Sutra? Not much, except that I helped make it…
From the original blurb:
\”The Sutra of the Poison Buddha is an act of naked, unashamed creation. Its editor, Ryan Valentine, is one of the untouchables; paid to hang off buildings at perilous heights, using principles fundamentally unchanged since the first human decided to climb an extraordinary high thing just because it was there. In that spirit, the Sutra was born, driven by the undeniable, primal urge to haul something into existence by its own bootstraps. Bringing together disparate contributors – students of psychology, law, occultists, philosophers, musicians and professional astrologers – the Sutra is a process, each volume a crossroads, a nexus on an open plane.
Its volumes of art, thought, ritual praxis and accounts of otherworldly interactions stand alone, as is. Whereas other books and the very written word itself contain the implication – indeed the need – for communication, the individual volumes exist solely for the pleasure of existing, rather than to be read and interacted with. As English poet and mystic Aleister Crowley wrote in 1904: “Write, & find ecstasy in writing! Work, & be our bed in working! Thrill with the joy of life & death!” The Sutra is composed of that joy, and even in its darker, more troubling dreams, is an evocation thereof. Feverishly composed, stitched together, completed only when complete, each volume being totally free and requiring nothing of the world, the work of many hands arranged and distilled into a potent aesthetic liquor.
Neither truly occult nor truly revelatory but somewhere between, under the hand of its editor, it remains as a resource, as found object in the virtual arena. Just as a natural feature serves no actual purpose, yet is still capable of bringing about an emotional response from those who perceive it, so it is with the Sutra. As such, it stands as Art, not due to intent or critical approval, but as a project, a strange attractor with its own inherent qualities, a line of flight and doorway both. As simple and mysterious as music, or a standing stone, its affective quality depends on the reader themselves – it is a signpost only, into the mutable infinity, the cornucopia of the Imagination.
Now re-released for download and easily browsable online, the issues of the Sutra are as when they were first created. Typographical errors lie in the text, even breakdowns in syntax, these are all preserved as character-marks, unique signifiers of the contributors\’ passage. We aim to continue our quiet revolution and hold true to our conviction that this information should be freely available to any and all who seek it.\”
Enjoy!