Some of the Dharma

Some of the Dharma
by Jack Kerouac

Some of the Dharma
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Book Summary Information

Author: Jack Kerouac
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-11-01
ISBN: 0140287078
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Book Reviews of Some of the Dharma

Book Review: When you want to be refreshed...
Summary: 5 Stars

This text deserves five stars for what it is. It's a brilliant republication of Kerouac's Buddhism notebooks. When you open up the book, you can tell that the publishers went through a great deal of effort to preserve the style of the notebooks by using the same stylish spacing. It's fun just to flip through to look at the various spacings of the text. They did as good of a job as they possibly could by rendering it into typeset.

As far as what's inside, there are passages of brilliance. This is not a novel, but rather a book of spiritual musings. The depth of Kerouac's understanding of Buddhism is impressive. And as someone who also lives in the West, I admire his interpretations and frankly get more out of them than I do those who lived in the East. It's not the technicalities of the Buddhist teachings, though there are plenty of those, but rather the way that they became manifest in Kerouac's life that make this book so insightful. His understanding of Buddhism as a Western writer obviously goes very far...

This book is playful, it's fun, it's unusual, and I keep it on a special place on my shelf. It's one of the few books that I return to time and time again that I do not keep a bookmark for. I simply open up to any given page and start reading. I usually read a few pages at a time and I find myself spiritually stronger and more aware after doing so. I read this book as a reminder for what's important in life. As such, this book does what the best books should.

Summary of Some of the Dharma

Written during a critical period of his life, Some of the Dharma is a key volume for understanding Kerouac and the spiritual underpinnings of his work.

While his future masterpiece, On the Road, languished on the desks of unresponsive editors, Kerouac turned to Buddhist practice, and in 1953 began compiling reading notes on the subject intended for his friend Allen Ginsberg. As Kerouac's Buddhist meditation practice intensified, what had begun as notes evolved into a vast and all-encompassing work of nonfiction into which he poured his life, incorporating poems, haiku, prayers, journal entries, meditations, fragments of letters, ideas about writing, overheard conversations, sketches, blues, and more. The final manuscript, completed in 1956, was as visually complex as the writing: each page was unique, typed in patterns and interlocking shapes. The elaborate form that Kerouac so painstakingly gave the book on his manual typewriter is re-created in this typeset facsimile. Passionate and playful, filled with humor, insight, sorrow, and struggle, Some of the Dharma is one of Kerouac's most profound and original works.

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