Path: eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!i2pn.org!i2pn2.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: will.dockery@gmail.com (W.Dockery)
Newsgroups: alt.arts.poetry.comments,rec.arts.poems
Subject: Re: Dharma Bums
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2024 23:45:16 +0000
Organization: novaBBS
Message-ID: <fb520479b3474aa9dd5539c83f3d03c8@www.novabbs.com>
References: <qtgrva$vob$1@novabbs.com> <a5484312-00a7-4875-bab8-1c5f3ef9cf0fn@googlegroups.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Injection-Info: i2pn2.org;
	logging-data="4182123"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@i2pn2.org";
	posting-account="Vf9CM7g99yqfGvzEHTw0bhrjcIfvzYBBhUuRma0rLuQ";
User-Agent: Rocksolid Light
X-Rslight-Posting-User: acd0b3e3614eaa6f47211734e4cbca3bfd42bebc
X-Rslight-Site: $2y$10$VAVlIc/SwfmBSZocM.f12e/N8v0MiaP08a5x.a3g1euEkC8N1Tv3a
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 4.0.0

Zod wrote:

>  I consider myself one of the Dharma Bums, still and all.
>
> https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Dharma-Bums-PKD3CSSDJ3DQ
>
>
> *******************************
> Erica Schlecht wrote:
> A True Dharma Bum One of the most powerful quotes in the entire book
> that I feel sums up what it is to be a dharma bum, “ I felt free and
> therefore I was free”.  This quote from Ray Smith shows that a dharma
> bum must always believe in oneself and take the journey to becoming a
> Dharma bum from within.  Although one can learn from fellow dharma bums
> such as the Saint Teresa bum, Han Shan, and Japhy the ultimate truth of
> being Dharma bum comes from within. Saint Teresa Bum is the “first
> genuine dharma bum” that Ray Smith, the main character is Dharma Bums
> has ever met.  The book starts off with Smith jumping into a box car
> where he runs into the Saint Teresa bum
>
> In chapter 24 the same idea is brought up, "Maybe I'll be rich and work
> and make a lot of money and live in a big house." But a minute later:
> "And who wants to enslave himself to a lot of all that, though?”
> (Chapter 24).  Jack Kerouac’s writing about this shows that dharma bums
> do not need to fit into the mold of working society to be happy.  At the
> same time a dharma bum is not one that sits around doing nothing, but
> one who constantly searches for oneself in nature and the things around
> him.  This is shown in another quote from the book, “by God, you're
> right, all those sedentary bums sitting around on pillows hearing the
> cry of a triumphant mountain smasher, they don't deserve it” (Chapter
> 12).  Smith discusses what he has learned from Japhy here, “I realized I
> had indeed learned from Japhy how to cast off the evils for the world
> and the city and find my true pure soul, just as long as I had a decent
> pack on my back. I got back to my camp and spread the sleeping bag and
> thanked the Lord for all He was giving me” (156). Japhy has taught Smith
> that the Lord gives us all that we need and to look within the find true
> Dharma Bum peace. Being a Dharma Bum is not something that can be
> defined as one particular thing.  Following certain procedures such as
> disposing of worldly possessions to look within and find oneself is a
> good step, but cannot truly define one’s journey.
>
> **************************************

Again, good find, Zod.