(2 of 4)
Buddhism breaks down the illusion of the "I" and shows that it does not exist. What exists is disjointed sets of mind, matter (or body) and their interactions produced anew at every moment by nonself causes. There is no "I" that existed in the past existing now or in the future to go through the torment of these nonself causes.
TIN SWE Thaketa Myo, Burma
Sir:
When I saw TIME'S "Guilt & Anxiety" cover, I did a double take. Over the years, I'd been working (on and off) on a series of paintings based on the human emotions (nature of man, if you please). Naturally, Munch's painting of The Cry on a magazine cover struck me as a bit breathtaking.
The article, too, is excellent, and an unusual venture for a news magazine. It explains, without saying so, the present generation's obsession with security.
Here is an oil study of Security (From the Cradle to the Grave).
JACOB BURCK Editorial Cartoonist Chicago Sun-Times Chicago
Sir:
How terribly inappropriate, your cover for Good Friday and Easter week!
ALBA LEONE Belmont, Mass.
Sir:
The cover story was indeed TIMELY, since Good Friday and Easter are the Christian's acknowledgment that Christ died and rose to effect a release of man from guilt of sin and therefore from his anxieties.
D. L. MARSHALL Kansas City, Kans.
Dzhaz in the U.S.S.R.
Sir:
Your item concerning jazz in the U.S.S.R. sounds so fantastic that I have decided to write to you about it because mention is made of me.
I honestly was greatly impressed by Trombone Player Frank Witters and his orchestra when they came to Moscow in 1926 (Sidney Bechet, the musician you mentioned, joined the group later). I did make up my mind to form a jazz orchestra of my own, but I didn't quit the Moscow Conservatory as your item asserts. I finished it in 1930 as a pianist in Professor Blumenfeld's class. The works of Gershwin, Kern, Rodgers and Porter are widely popular in our country. They are frequently performed in concert halls and over the radio. We are also well familiar with U.S. jazz orchestras, ranging from Duke Ellington to Gerry Mulligan. Incidentally, I played Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with a symphony orchestra a few days ago in Stalino while touring the Donets coal region.
Our factories cannot keep up with the rapidly increasing demand for variety and jazz music recordings. This gave birth to a black market, where, by the way, duplicates of Soviet jazz recordings and popular songs were sold as well as of U.S. music. Being a member of the editorial board at the Central Sound-Recording Studios, I know for sure that our factories are now expanding production. Things look black for the black market.
Last, I was surprised that you lost your sense of humor, so typical of you Americans. Leonid Utesov was joking when he spoke in his article about the priority of Odessa in creating Dixieland. What he really meant was that musical improvisation has existed since time immemorial, and notably in Odessa, where he spent his youth and heard musicians improvising popular folk tunes.
ALEXANDER TSFASMAN Honored Artist of the RSFSR Moscow
View Through the Tube
Sir: