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Chapter 1
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
After “the little Santa Teresa bum,” the next Dharma Bum that Ray meets is Japhy Ryder, who coined the very phrase “Dharma Bum.” Japhy grew up in the woods in Oregon, studied American Indian mythology and Zen Buddhist philosophy in college. At the same time, he was also interested in anarchism and learned to and play anarchist worker songs, along with Indian and American Indian folksongs, on the guitar. Presently, Ray gives a beautiful woman drugs in exchange for a ride from Santa Barbara to San Francisco, where he meets the gregarious Japhy. They get beers, and that evening Ray goes to Japhy’s poetry reading. All the other poets are dressed up and pretentious, but Japhy is wearing hardy hiking clothes that fit his athleticism and good looks.
Ray clearly admires Japhy’s unique upbringing and character, which fit nicely with the countercultural Dharma Bum lifestyle. Moreover, the fact that Japhy invented the phrase “Dharma Bum” suggests that he is an authority on that way of life. At the poetry reading, Ray draws a contrast between most of the poets, who treat their literature as art and seem preoccupied with the way others will evaluate it, and Japhy, who seems more interested in expressing himself than impressing others. Again, this makes it clear that Ray sees Japhy as a uniquely authentic or pure person.
Themes
Later, Japhy calls Ray a Bodhisattva and tells him about all the different schools of Buddhism and their mythologies. Ray is mostly interested in two of the Four Noble Truths, which are among Buddhism’s most important teachings. Namely, he’s drawn to the first (“All life is suffering”) and the third (“The suppression of suffering can be achieved”).
Although Ray and Japhy are united by an interest in Buddhism, Ray primarily views the religion as an individual spiritual practice, whereas Japhy is more interested in learning about its cultural, historical, and doctrinal diversity. Ray’s comment that Japhy is a Bodhisattva, someone who’s committed their life to the Buddhist path of enlightenment, reinforces the idea that Japhy is perhaps more serious about the Buddhist tradition that Ray is. However, Ray’s understanding of the Four Noble Truths helps illustrate his mission: he wants to learn to overcome suffering by accepting that it’s inevitable.
Themes
Ray notices Warren Coughlin, a college friend of Japhy’s, among the poets. Japhy whispers to Ray that Warren is the reincarnation of a great Buddhist scholar, whereas Ray is just like a goat, or a “mudface.” Ray says that he’s more into Mahayana Buddhism than Zen Buddhism, which he considers a cruel intellectual game. But over the course of a long, provocative conversation, Japhy convinces him otherwise.
Japhy’s nonsensical insult humorously underlines the contrast that Ray feels between himself, an everyday Buddhist hobo, and Japhy, who seems to everyone like an enlightened and holy figure. Nevertheless, Japhy and Ray also seem to share a special bond, as evidenced by Japhy’s belief that Ray could be a Bodhisattva. When Japhy convinces Ray to take Zen Buddhism seriously, this reaffirms both Japhy’s wisdom and the value that their budding friendship will bring to Ray’s life.
Themes
The poetry reading is a lively celebration of fresh San Francisco talent. Ray collects change for the poets and serves wine. A poet named Alvah Goldbrook drunkenly and passionately recites one of his poems, inspiring the audience to chant along and brining another poet, Rheinhold Cacoethes, to tears. When it’s Japhy’s turn, he reads poems about different American Indian gods, wandering Buddhist monks, and American office workers. Ray appreciates Japhy’s clear, heroic vision more than the other poets’ refined intellectualism. He notes that Rosie Buchanan, a beautiful writer who’s dating his friend Cody, is in the audience. After the event, everyone goes to dinner in Chinatown, and Japhy tells Ray stories about Chinese Buddhism. Enthralled, Ray randomly asks the restaurant’s cook about Buddhism, but the cook doesn’t care, which Japhy says is perfectly Zen.
The rowdy poetry reading exemplifies the way that Ray and Japhy’s shared interests—so far, Buddhism and poetry—can become the basis for building a larger community of likeminded people. Indeed, most of the friends Ray visits throughout the book (including Cody and Rosie) are part of this network of writers and Buddhists. Ray’s enthusiastic conversation with the Chinese cook reflects his thrill at finding people who share his interest in Buddhism. However, he also seems to assume that the cook must know about Buddhism just because he’s Chinese, which hints that Ray struggles to separate his own specific interest in Buddhism from other people’s much broader and more complex lives. In other words, because he’s so obsessed with Buddhism, Ray turns the Chinese restaurant and cook into elements of his own fantasy—he struggles to view them on their own terms, or through any lens besides Buddhism.
Themes
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