The Ghost of Kurt Cobain 5

Kurt Cobain / Photo Courtesy Alice Wheeler, April 2004

No "poet of grunge rock" could have been a devout practitioner of Shinto, whose central tenet is physical cleanliness. But  Kurt Cobain's tale fits eerily well into that world of larger, older stories.
For instance, Siddhartha Gotama was his own form of anemic royalty, when, at the age of 29, he left his home, family, and title to find an answer to human suffering. He renounced the world he knew, fasted, searched, attained wisdom, and reached nirvana. He became known as the Buddha, the supremely enlightened being. Kurt Cobain addressed his suicide note to an imaginary childhood friend, someone he'd often talk to as a young, haunted boy. The friend's name was Boddah.
But this isn't religion we're talking about, it's pop culture: prepackaged, market-tested, owned, and directed by massive corporations that exploit the desires and neuroses of a young and impressionable public. Still, memory lingers, just like the word itself in the chorus of "Come As You Are." And, that ghost is out there. Whether it's sad, pissed-off, or exuberant, it's not going away until we do. One of the best aspects of punk rock, at least the American version Kurt Cobain grew up with, was the power of its audience -- the scene, the community. Japanese religious experts say it's very difficult for a foreigner to embrace Shintoism; unlike most other religions, there is no one book that will teach a person how to practice the faith. It's transmitted from generation to generation, as people experience the rituals together. Which is what we're still doing, you and I, right now.