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
By August, the mountains sometimes look foreboding rather than beautiful, and Ray spends more time reading by the fire. Soon enough, it starts snowing again. One day, as Ray watches snow approaching from the north and rain from the south, an enormous rainbow forms right next to him. It seems like a sign from the divine, reminding him of his insignificance in relation to the beauty of the universe. Ray walks outside and finds the rainbow surrounding him; he can’t wait to tell Japhy about it. The storm clears, but then it starts raining heavily in the afternoon. The next morning, Ray calls out for Han Shan in the impenetrable fog and watches birds in the distance.
Like his vision of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara in the previous chapter, Ray sees this rainbow as a clear sign that his Buddhist religious practice—meditation in nature—is bringing him one step closer to the enlightenment he seeks. In Buddhism, this doesn’t mean becoming superior to other living beings, but rather getting rid of the individual ego and becoming one with the universe. Again, Ray interprets his experience by referring to the poet Han Shan. Ray feels he finally understands Han Shan, whose ascetic lifestyle he has finally replicated by living in meditation on a mountaintop.
Themes
When it’s officially time to leave, Ray realizes that he’ll never forget “the vision of the freedom of eternity” that the mountaintop gave him. He tours the property one last time and then has a stunning vision of a figure standing in the fog: it’s Japhy, the version who appeared in his dreams. Japhy yells, “Go away, thieves of the mind!” Ray thanks Japhy for sending him to Desolation Peak. Then, he thanks God and professes his love for Him. And finally, he says a prayer to thank his cabin, just like Japhy always used to do at every campsite. After the prayer, Ray says “Blah”—which he’s sure the universe will understand—and then sets off back down the trail, to the human world.
In the novel’s closing passage, Ray pays homage to Japhy, the friend and mentor whom he credits for all his spiritual progress throughout the book. Indeed, this book is more about Japhy’s influence on Ray than it is about Japhy or Ray alone. Therefore, it’s a testament not only to how Buddhism can bring people peace and serenity in a difficult world, but also the way friendship can help them learn and grow. Ray thanks the campsite for similar reasons: it’s made his spiritual realizations possible. To thank the universe, he says “Blah,” because the word appears empty and meaningless to people yet contains the same underlying reality as everything else. Ray is pointing out how people often miss the deeper truth of the things they encounter in everyday life, so they wrongly see meaningful things as meaningless.
Themes
