Some of the Dharma [Hardcover]

Jack Kerouac (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

Written during a critical period of his life, "Some of the Dharma" is a key volume in Jack Kerouac's vast autobiographical canon. He began writing it in 1953 as reading notes on Buddhism intended for his friend, poet Allen Ginsberg. As Kerouac's Buddhist study and 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 which Kerouac so painstakingly gave the book on his manual typewriter is re-created in this typeset facsimile.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Begun in December 1951 as a notebook for his Buddhist studies, this work records Kerouac's reactions to a variety of Buddhist texts. Over the course of five years, it grew to include poems, prayers, dialogs, meditations, and notes on his reading, as well as commentary on family, friends, and meaningful concerns in his life. Readers of Kerouac's novels may find some of the discussions of Buddhist doctrines tedious and repetitive, but those who persevere will be rewarded with interesting insights into Kerouac's struggle with alcoholism, his occasional thoughts of suicide, and his disturbing tendency toward misogyny. Long anticipated by Kerouac scholars, this major work belongs in all literature collections.?William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib.,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

More ersatz Buddhism from postwar America's most overrated author. ``Dharma'' is a Buddhist term meaning, roughly, ``law.'' Some of the Dharma purports to be a journal of meditations on that subject, but Kerouac is unable to keep his mind on track, resulting in a work that's ultimately chaotic. His technique seems sound enough: He takes a classic Buddhist philosophical statement and then decodes it for his own use. Unfortunately, his interpretations are usually far from the point, as Kerouac is unable to separate Hinduism, Taoism, and even Catholicism from Buddhism, with repeated incorrect assessments of how the Tao affects Buddhahood (it does not) or how Jesus was a Buddha-like figure (by most accounts he was not). Furthermore, Kerouac, by his own admission, is unable to stay sober long enough to attain any real enlightenment. He sets forth the goals of not drinking, meditating regularly, and abstaining from sex, but he makes lame excuses for his falling off the wagon, and his rationalizations for avoiding sex devolve into plain misogyny, such as his statement ``PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES F*** you all,'' or his observation that jazz cannot possibly be a high art form if women can perform it. Kerouac's various conceits, e.g., that he is a greater writer than Joyce (whose term for verse- -pome--he steals) or Burroughs (whose ``cut-up'' technique it appears Kerouac is trying to approximate), are downright absurd. Comparing himself as an artist to Mozart on the one hand, while unable to get his manuscripts published (a continual obsession in the journals) on the other, often renders Kerouac laughable. If the reader is left wondering what all this has to do with Buddhism, the answer is, very little. If you're searching for real Buddhism, pick up Suzuki; if you must indulge your guilty pleasures with more Kerouac, reread On the Road. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670848778
• ISBN-13: 978-0670848775
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), the central figure of the Beat Generation, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1922 and died in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1969. Among his many novels are On the Road, The Dharma Bums, Big Sur, and Visions of Cody.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Value Kerouac as Kerouac, Not as a Tulku, April 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Some of the Dharma (Hardcover)

I agree with most of my fellow reviewers that the Kirkus review is rather harsh. To attack Kerouac on the basis of his alcoholism, his Catholic upbringing, and his lack of being able to live up to the aspirations of Buddhism is more a critique of him as a person rather than him as a writer. This book (if you read the foreword) was more a series of personal notes to Allen Ginsberg, rather than a finished piece of work for publication. To compare it with, say, 'On the Road,' is like comparing Camus's 'First Man' with 'The Stranger'- one is a preliminary sketch, the other a polished novel. If you read this, read it as a study of someone who was struggling to understand buddhism within his own personal context, not as a manual to buddhism. Read it as poetry, not scripture. Value it as a personal journey, a personal struggle. If you want to view it as a text on buddhism primarily, view it as something which enriches your own faith and desire for liberation.

Learning to benefit from all things, good or bad, is part of the path to liberation. Learn to benefit from this, and you WILL benefit from it.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thank maya for Jack's flaws., February 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Some of the Dharma (Hardcover)

By way of providing a balance to Kirkus' rather grouchy review of Kerouac's "Book of the Dharma":

Kerouac's being unable definitively to seperate Buddhism from Hinduism and Taoism is hardly his fault. Early Hinduism is the religion which lies behind Buddhism, and all Vedic faiths. Tibetan Buddhism adopted and adapted Mongol imagery and concepts, and Sino-Japanese Buddhism is infused with Taoism and Confucianism. As for its connection with Catholicism, this is the religion Kerouac was brought up in, and which he struggled to reconcile with Buddhism for many years. It left him, perhaps with an overexaggerated sense of the first Noble Truth: "All life is suffering". The Buddhist text that Kerouac first encountered, Dwight Goddard's "A Buddhist Bible," is an eclectic collection of scripture drawn from all of these Buddhist traditions.

Christ claimed a path to redemption from suffering - so did Buddha - room for comparison at least?

Attacking Kerouac for his alcoholism is rather below the belt - can't a drunk be religious? Can he not aspire above his own weakness? Anxious and neurotic this text may be, even interminably confused, but then so is John Bunyan's "Confessions": at least it's vexedness indicates Kerouac's engagement with serious metaphysical questions.

Even so, one for die hard fans, I should imagine. B.Moderate.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a book to grow with, July 3, 2000

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Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Some of the Dharma (Paperback)

This is one of my all time favorite books. It's a journal that spans years, with thoughts that are illuminating. Not a book to be read cover to cover, it's a companion in a journey, and it will spark the light of truth in you...it's certainly added to my life and growth, for which I'm thankful. No one is perfect, and Kerouac never claimed to be. This is a record of his struggle and search for enlightenment. Should those who judge his method and life ever attain 10% of what this man achieved, it will surprise me. "The Book of Pure Truth consists of a bunch of mirrors bound in a volume". You tell 'em Jack !