Are we animals or "fallen angels"? (video)

Funny Pets; Jack Kerouac; Dhr. Seven, Ellie Askew, CC Liu, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

You won't remember time spent working in the office...Climb that goddamn mountain!

Jack Kerouac by Tom Palumbo circa 1956

American Buddhist Jack Kerouac asked: "Are we fallen angels who didn't want to believe that nothing is nothing and so were born to lose our loved ones and dear friends one by one and finally our own life, to see it proved?"

We are not mere animals. For we have the power to choose (in a moral dimension), to act or refrain from acting regardless of what provokes us -- and these volitional actions are our karma, which makes our future. We are reborn countless times according to our deeds.

Karma is made by the intention behind deeds.

Karma -- it's everywhere we're going to be. In Buddhist terms, we are surely more "fallen angels" (devas) of a sort, evolving and devolving, if the Buddhist Genesis (Agganna Sutra) account is to be taken literally.

JACK WHO-A-WHACK? Kerouac (1922-1969) was an American novelist and poet considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. He is recognized for his method of spontaneous prose, covering topics such as Buddhism, drugs, Catholic spirituality, jazz, promiscuity, poverty, and travel. He became an underground celebrity and, with other beat poets, a progenitor of the hippie movement. Since his death his literary prestige has grown, and previously unseen work has been published. He wrote, On the Road, The Dharma Bums, Mexico City Blues, and much more.