The vagabonds of Dharma

Growing up in Oregon, I didn’t feel American at all. I was alien to provincial ideals, to prohibitions related to sex… But then I discovered Buddhism and realized that I had lived before, many centuries ago, and now I was being punished for the mistakes and sins of that time. Such was my fate - to be born in America, where no one has fun and no one believes in anything, especially freedom.” These are the words of Jeff Ryder, one of the main characters of “The Dharma Wanderers,” which best express the spirit of this book. Jack Kerouac published the book in 1958. A year earlier, the novel “On the Road” was published, of which “The Dharma Wanderers” is a kind of continuation. This novel, like “On the Road,” is autobiographical - most of the characters have real prototypes. Ray Smith (Kerouac), a Buddhist, and his fellow poets seek spiritual peace by wandering and meditating in the mountains, far from civilization.