When Cohen was asked by a fan "What does Christ mean to you?", he wrote back: "Dear Walter, Last year I tried to put it this way: Was looking at the crucifix. Got something in my eye. A Light that doesn't need to live and doesn't need to die. What's written in the Book of Love is strangely incomplete, 'til witnessed here in time and blood a thousand kisses deep." He seems to be saying that what's written in the old testament is incomplete until it is witnessed in the crucifixion (blood) of Christ and his love. He says that he's talking about Christ, and Christ's blood on the cross while he lovingly helped humanity is one of the most central parts of Christianity. I don't think his use of the word "blood" can mean anything else. And he poetically refers to the deep sacrificial love of Christ as "blood a thousand kisses deep." Also, Jesus said that he didn't come to replace the law, but to "fulfill" the law ... and Cohen seems to be saying a similar thing: that Jesus makes the incomplete old testament become complete through his deep sacrificial love. Plus Cohen conveys the important concept that it's important for us to witness this. For example, at almost every single Mass, the last supper with Christ talking about his blood is re-enacted for several minutes so everyone attending is witnessing it. Sometimes non-Christians don't understand that, and likewise don't understand why Christians put much emphasis on re-tracing, describing and illustrating the specific things of the time of Jesus's passion and crucifixion. Or why Christians primarily use such a somber symbol as a crucifixion cross. But Cohen not only gets it: he says that it's a major part of what Christ means to him too - to witness Christ's immense sacrificial love on the cross. I'm not saying that Cohen became fully Christian. He was unable to commit to hardly anything except for writing songs, so for him to commit long-term to a different religion than what he was raised in was probably not at all doable for him. He said the only reason he was at the zen monastery was because of his affection for the roshi teacher there, and the schedule gave him some structure that he craved, while still allowing him to indulge his vices - for example: the roshi and monks would get drunk on hard alcohol. But he didn't connect much with the philosophy or teachings - and gravitated mostly towards Judaism and Christ. Despite his having love for individual women, he couldn't commit to any of them. Likewise, he said he had mystical experiences of Christ, and also that Christ was "unparalelled" in all of history in his teachings and wisdom. But despite those two rather incredible things, he didn't really pursue it or reap the benefits of pursuing it. My guess is that he would have been much happier if he had pursued it. And that he also would have been happier if he had either committed to one woman or at least stopped having casual sex with random people. The latter is a recipe for unhappiness. He's definitely one of the great songwriters of all time, and managed to poetically capture the essence of Christianity better than most poets and songwriters. And also capture other aspects of the human condition. Some of his political songs are excellent. His song about the French resistance is brilliant. And he also was able to make beautiful music to accompany the lyrics. I'm certainly a fan of his and thankful for him. Here's a link to a copy of the transcript from a Google Groups page from 2004 from around the time of Cohen’s online chat with fans: groups.google.com/g/alt.meditation.transcendental/c/OASW9qE5MIs Here is a paywalled article in Danish advertising the online chat event prior to its occurrence: politiken.dk/kultur/art4945100/Chat-med-Leonard-Cohen Here is a paywalled article in Norwegian with a transcript of the chat: www.vg.no/rampelys/musikk/i/xRPl5X/live-chat-med-cohen-18-oktober
When Cohen was asked by a fan "What does Christ mean to you?", he wrote back: "Dear Walter, Last year I tried to put it this way: Was looking at the crucifix. Got something in my eye. A Light that doesn't need to live and doesn't need to die. What's written in the Book of Love is strangely incomplete, 'til witnessed here in time and blood a thousand kisses deep." He seems to be saying that what's written in the old testament is incomplete until it is witnessed in the crucifixion (blood) of Christ and his love. He says that he's talking about Christ, and Christ's blood on the cross while he lovingly helped humanity is one of the most central parts of Christianity. I don't think his use of the word "blood" can mean anything else. And he poetically refers to the deep sacrificial love of Christ as "blood a thousand kisses deep."
Also, Jesus said that he didn't come to replace the law, but to "fulfill" the law ... and Cohen seems to be saying a similar thing: that Jesus makes the incomplete old testament become complete through his deep sacrificial love. Plus Cohen conveys the important concept that it's important for us to witness this. For example, at almost every single Mass, the last supper with Christ talking about his blood is re-enacted for several minutes so everyone attending is witnessing it. Sometimes non-Christians don't understand that, and likewise don't understand why Christians put much emphasis on re-tracing, describing and illustrating the specific things of the time of Jesus's passion and crucifixion. Or why Christians primarily use such a somber symbol as a crucifixion cross. But Cohen not only gets it: he says that it's a major part of what Christ means to him too - to witness Christ's immense sacrificial love on the cross.
I'm not saying that Cohen became fully Christian. He was unable to commit to hardly anything except for writing songs, so for him to commit long-term to a different religion than what he was raised in was probably not at all doable for him. He said the only reason he was at the zen monastery was because of his affection for the roshi teacher there, and the schedule gave him some structure that he craved, while still allowing him to indulge his vices - for example: the roshi and monks would get drunk on hard alcohol. But he didn't connect much with the philosophy or teachings - and gravitated mostly towards Judaism and Christ.
Despite his having love for individual women, he couldn't commit to any of them. Likewise, he said he had mystical experiences of Christ, and also that Christ was "unparalelled" in all of history in his teachings and wisdom. But despite those two rather incredible things, he didn't really pursue it or reap the benefits of pursuing it. My guess is that he would have been much happier if he had pursued it. And that he also would have been happier if he had either committed to one woman or at least stopped having casual sex with random people. The latter is a recipe for unhappiness.
He's definitely one of the great songwriters of all time, and managed to poetically capture the essence of Christianity better than most poets and songwriters. And also capture other aspects of the human condition. Some of his political songs are excellent. His song about the French resistance is brilliant. And he also was able to make beautiful music to accompany the lyrics. I'm certainly a fan of his and thankful for him.
Here's a link to a copy of the transcript from a Google Groups page from 2004 from around the time of Cohen’s online chat with fans:
groups.google.com/g/alt.meditation.transcendental/c/OASW9qE5MIs
Here is a paywalled article in Danish advertising the online chat event prior to its occurrence:
politiken.dk/kultur/art4945100/Chat-med-Leonard-Cohen
Here is a paywalled article in Norwegian with a transcript of the chat:
www.vg.no/rampelys/musikk/i/xRPl5X/live-chat-med-cohen-18-oktober
love these videos.
Profound and poignant abstract of Leonard Cohen’s life ❤️💔
New Skin for the Old Ceremony, very nice, ritual murder, this guy insanely overrated