Week 6: The Dharma Bums

One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the different explorations of religion. It is refreshing and entertaining to read their interpretations of the world and religion. While both focus primarily on Buddhism, there are different elements on which they choose to focus, and none is portrayed as more correct than the other.

Ray’s version of Buddhism involves a great deal of private meditation. He uses every opportunity to slip into the woods and be alone. Even when he returns to the east coast to spend Christmas with his family, he refuses to sleep in their house or spend his time with them. Later in the book, he begins to close his eyes and meditate while in a group setting, which unsettles many of his friends and their children. He also feels that celibacy is important since “lust [is] the direct cause of birth which [is] the direct cause of suffering and death” (29). He is repulsed at first by Japhy’s practice of yabyum and continually makes a point of staying away from girls. He is somewhat of a hypocrite, though, because he ends up appreciating his baths with Princess, and he bugs Japhy at one point for having so many girls and not sharing. He also doesn’t keep his body pure as many Buddhists do. He constantly drinks, to his friends’ chagrin. Japhy eats more purely, and he is more interested in actions than words.

The metaphor of climbing a mountain as a religious experience is one thing these characters have in common. When they climb the Matterhorn, Japhy makes it to the top by letting go and running while Ray fails because he is afraid of falling, so he clings to the rock. “Clinging” is a common word used in Buddhism to describe the inability to let go of the material world. Ray recognizes later that you can’t fall off a mountain. Their adventure helps to enlighten him.
At the end of the book, Japhy goes off to Japan so he can study with the great Buddhist masters while Ray works as a fire lookout on Desolation Peak. Each ends up finding his own way to personal fulfillment. The book ends with Ray descending Desolation Peak and giving thanks to the mountain for showing him enlightenment.

Ray is not a pure Buddhist; he doesn’t study in Japan or follow every tenet of the practice. He even mixes some Judeo-Christian belief into it, saying that Jesus preaches love, and he thanks God at the end. This mix of religion is the particular spirituality that suits Ray, so it is complete and perfect. We, as readers, hold nothing against him for this inventive conglomeration of beliefs.