Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Dharma Bums, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Enlightenment and Nature
Counterculture and Freedom
Friendship
Literature and Authenticity
Inclusion, Exclusion, and Community
Summary
Analysis
Two days later, the party is still going. Japhy and Ray are eager to start their hike, so they pack their things and sneak off toward the mountains. Japhy excitedly proclaims that they should take a trip to Alaska later, in the winter, and he talks about his plan to write a never-ending poem about the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. They hike up a steep road, past some houses, and then find a spectacular view of the whole Bay Area. Japhy starts dreaming about forming a tribe of roaming Dharma Bums and starting the Dharma Press to publish their poetry.
Fed up with material pleasures, Ray and Japhy go back out into the wilderness in order to refocus their energies on their spiritual growth and well-being. Japhy’s aspiration to write a long poem about his native Pacific Northwest reflects his view of what art should do: faithfully capture the beauty of the world as people authentically see it, so that they can communicate that beauty to contemporary readers and future generations. He sees this as a collective movement, not just an individual project, which shows that he imagines his Buddhist and artistic values as a way of building a new kind of society.
Themes
Ray asks Japhy why God—or Tathagata, the Buddhist equivalent—would allow cruelty in the world. Japhy responds that Tathagata didn’t really create the world and that asking why is meaningless: things just exist. In turn, he asks Ray what he believes about death. Ray says that it’ll send them to “nirvana Heaven,” and Japhy points out that Ray’s worldview is still basically Christian. Ray agrees and suggests that Christ was one of the Buddhas.
Japhy sees that Ray is combining Buddhist teachings with the religious concepts and questions that he’s inherited from Christianity—like the problem of evil and the concept of nirvana (heaven) as an afterlife. This shows how Ray has adapted Buddhism to his own circumstances, and it suggests that all major religions grapple with the same fundamental issues in different ways.
Themes
Japhy starts talking about Japan, where he recalls that Rol Sturlason is currently climbing a mountain. When Japhy arrives in Japan, he plans to wear traditional robes so that he can “feel real Oriental.” Ray points out that, according to Alvah Goldbrook, Japanese people are obsessed with Western clothing and philosophy. Japhy thinks this is a sign that, soon, “East’ll meet West.” He hopes that everyone will be able to unite and roam around the world like Dharma Bums.
Just like Ray’s belief in both Christian and Buddhist principles, Japhy’s belief that “East’ll meet West” and start a global revolution suggests that the geographical, cultural, and political divisions that people draw among ourselves are essentially artificial. Instead, Ray and Japhy see all people as fundamentally connected and united by their humanity. They also see themselves as uniquely capable of understanding and communicating this universal truth, in order to start the global revolution. However, Alvah’s comment suggests that they’re not the only ones who believe this—in fact, their beliefs are heavily shaped by their specific experiences as white American men who have never been to Asia.
Themes
Looking at Mount Tamalpais on the horizon, Japhy silently composes poetry. He and Ray follow a dirt road through idyllic, green fields that give way to a damp, fragrant forest of redwood trees. Japhy complains that the other Americans in Japan—the people who are funding his trip—don’t appreciate the real America, or its poetry. They spend endless money imitating Japanese culture but don’t read poetry or accept the modest, conscious lifestyle that Buddhism really teaches. But he’s still excited to go, even if he’ll probably miss California.
As Japhy and Ray absorb the natural beauty of the California woods, Japhy declares that he is the true authority on the “real” America and Japan. Ironically, he presents himself as wiser than the people who are supposed to teach him in Japan. He only thinks this way because he defines his particular areas of interest (poetry, Buddhism, minimalism, and survivalism) as more authentic or “real” than the elements of Japanese and American culture that these expatriates focus on. In other words, he believes that authentic culture is the culture he likes, even in a country that is not his. Although this way of thinking might be common, it still shows that Japhy is in many ways more attracted to his idea of Japan than the actual place.
Themes
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Ray and Japhy follow a series of hidden trails into the endless wilderness of Muir Woods. Eventually, they come up to an amphitheater and rest for awhile. Once again, Japhy starts talking about working as a lookout in the magnificent Cascades, which was like a religious experience. He pities everyone who’s still partying at Sean’s house, and they set off again. After half an hour, they reach a meadow with a clear view of Mount Tamalpais. In the afternoon, Japhy observes wildlife, and Ray explores the area. For dinner, Japhy cooks a delicious pea and bacon soup with foraged mushrooms.
Ray’s journey to the Cascades, which involves following in Japhy’s footsteps, promises to elevate his knowledge and practice of Buddhism to the next level. In this sense, it's a close parallel to Japhy’s trip to Japan: when they part ways after this hike, they will independently go off in search of enlightenment. Both of these trips are solitary pursuits, even if Ray and Japhy’s friendship has taught them both how to better engage in their separate journeys.
Themes
That night, Ray dreams about a stoic hobo showing up at a vibrant, filthy market in China. He realizes that this person is Japhy, and he wonders if Japhy will ever come back from Asia. In the morning, Japhy is already making breakfast when Ray tells him about the dream. They eat salami and cheese, and Ray again praises Japhy’s ingenuity, energy, and optimism.
In his dream, Ray equates Japhy’s wisdom with his becoming Chinese. By using ethnicity as a blanket metaphor for Buddhist wisdom, however, Ray imposes his own fantasy on an enormous and diverse group of people. He seems to view Asian people as examples of a wise and spiritual type, rather than as individuals with distinct experiences and beliefs. This suggests that, like Japhy, Ray thinks of “East meets West” as “Western” people adopting certain elements of “Eastern” cultures, but not necessarily forming any meaningful community with East Asian people.
Themes
Late in the morning, Ray and Japhy reach an even more beautiful meadow, and then they turn down the treacherously steep two-mile trail toward Stinson Beach. When they arrive, they buy wine from a grocery store and drink it on the beach. They swim and have lunch—salami and cheese again. Relaxing on the beach, Japhy says that he feels like they’re doing something powerful by rejecting materialistic mainstream culture and living a saintly life of prayer. Gazing out on the ocean toward Japan, he almost regrets his decision to leave.
This scene echoes the book’s opening chapter, when Ray drank and swam in the ocean in Santa Barbara. But now, Ray and Japhy are together, which shows how important their friendship has become—and, in particular, how important Japhy’s wisdom has become to Ray’s sense of self over the course of the book. Once more, they proclaim that their lifestyle choices are a rebellion against the values of mainstream culture, which prioritizes work over prayer and accumulation over freedom. Meanwhile, Japhy’s pang of regret about leaving for Japan reflects his worry that he won’t be able to keep up the same lifestyle there—and, more importantly, that he won’t have friends like Ray to share the experience with.
Themes
