Mountains
From Ray Smith’s perspective as a Buddhist, mountains represent the unchanging natural order of the universe (dharma), and climbing mountains becomes a metaphor for the tough, constant battle of improving oneself in…
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Alcohol
For Ray Smith, alcohol represents the emptiness and vice of human civilization, which he contrasts with the apparent purity and virtue of the life he creates when he goes off to live alone in…
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Japhy’s Prayer Beads
While Japhy and Ray are climbing Mount Matterhorn, Japhy gifts Ray a string of prayer beads as a token of their friendship. The beads come to represent Japhy's wisdom and the way friendship, knowledge…
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