the Western Lands
��������� �����text by william s. burroughsthe Road to the Western Lands is by definition the most dangerous road in the world, for it is a journey beyond Death, beyond the basic God standard of Fear and Danger.
it is the most heavily guarded road in the world, for it gives access to the gift that supersedes all other gifts: Immortality. the Road to the Western Lands is devious and unpredictable. today's easy passage may be tomorrow's death trap. the obvious road is almost always a fool's road, and beware the middle Roads, the roads of moderation, common sense and careful planning. however, there is a time for planning, moderation and common sense. a dangerous road. every pitfall, every error, every snare to which Everyman has been liable since the beginning, you are sure to meet on the road to the Western Lands.
to reach the Western Lands is to achieve freedom from fear. do you free yourself from fear by cowering in your physical body for eternity? your body is a boat to lay aside when you reach the far shore, or sell it if you can find a fool... it's full of holes... it's full of holes.
i want to reach the Western Lands - right in front of you, across the bubbling brook. it's a frozen sewer. it's known as the Duad, remember? all the filth and horror, fear, hate, disease and death of human history flows between you and the Western Lands. how long does it take a man to learn that he does not, cannot want what he "wants"? you have to be in hell to see heaven. glimpses from the Land of the Dead, flashes of serene timeless joy, a Joy as old as suffering and despair.