Jack Kerouac and his so-called "Dharma Bums- lived an extremely unconventional lifestyle, to say the least. Many scoff at their eccentric practices, dismissing them as frivolous, slothful and even immoral. "Ray Smith,"" "Japhy Rider,"" and "Alvah Goldbeck,"" among others, did not go about life without striving for some greater end. All professed to be devout Zen Buddhists in search of Enlightenment. It is disputable as to whether or not their carefree means of existence was motivated by desire to "follow the right path."" While I am not convinced that all aspects of the lifestyle served to enhance the Buddhist understanding, I do believe that the Dharma Bums had good intentions and lived the life of the sutra as best as they knew how and in turn, became more spiritually enlightened as a direct result. For the most part, the manner in which the Dharma Bums lived both aided in their search for enlightenment and also allowed the Buddhist way to dictate and form their eccentric lifestyles.
Section III of the Diamond Sutra says, " no Bodhisattva who is a real Bodhissattva cherishes the idea of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality."" In this principle, Ray is able to find solace from perceived ignorance. "This thinking has stopped, but because I had to think it no thinking had stopped, but there did come over me a wave of gladness to know that all this perturbation was just a dream already ended and I didn't have to worry because I wasn't I.-(35). Although .
2.
Alvah is criticizing his notions of Buddhism, Ray does not allow Alvah's insults to dwell within him. If he were an egotistical man, then he might be tempted to defend his beliefs .
by engaging in an all-out argument, thus disturbing his overall peace of mind. But, he resigns himself to the fact that Alvah was not criticizing him. .
"I am emptiness, I am not different from emptiness, neither is emptiness different from me; indeed, emptiness is me-(138).
One of the most important scriptures in Mahayana Buddhism is the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra text is considered to be the teachings of the Buddha just before he passed away. ... The word was first used by Buddha to explain the Dharma to the people. ... The skilful means is not the complete teachings of the Dharma. ... Skilful means gives every Buddhist the equal opportunity to understand the Dharma. ...
Guru Deva Rinpoche took birth in Aachen Hoshuu of of Ordos Mongolia in the year of Iron Dog 1910 to create great benefit for all sentient beings through flourishing the Dharma. ... Then he traveled to Tibet and studied at the great Monastic University of Drepung under Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche, Kyabje Yongzin Trijang Dorje Chang, Kyabje Yonzin Ling Rinpoche and Kyabje Gonsar Rinpoche and fully acquired all the qualities of the Sutras and Tantras. ... Also huge number of rare religious relics, books, sutras, thangkas and Buddhas which had been collected for 200 years, were destroyed completely. ...
"Householder" means that Shinran's honesty about himself would lead him to marry and have children, and yet pursue the Dharma as a householder. ... He stressed the Lotus Sutra instead of the Amida as the object of faith and taught his followers to chant "hail to the Lotus Sutra of the wonderful law." ... Nichiren stated that "just as the name of a country can bring to mind all the characteristics of that country, the title of the Lotus Sutra embodies all the merits and virtues of the Buddha expounded in the Sutra." ... On July 16, 1260 Nichiren presented his "Treatise on Spreading Pe...
For the monks, the notion of offering extends also to the giving of the dharma in the form of sermons, to the chanting of scriptures in rituals (which may also be thought of as magically protective and salutary), and to the recitation of sutras for the dead (Corless 57). ... Like other Chinese Buddhist sects, Chan first established itself as a lineage of masters emphasizing the teachings of a particular text, in this case the Lankavatara Sutra (Coomaraswamy 96). ... With the importance of lineages, Chan stressed the master-disciple relationship, and Bodhidharma was followed by a series of ...
The first path was one that was taught in the sutras according to the historical teachings. Morality, concentration, and wisdom were the heart of the sutra practice. ... All of the Dharma is based on Buddha's discovery that suffering is unnecessary. ... There are three parts of a Buddha that are very important; the body, the speech or dharma, and the mind. ... Both of these are also referred to as the Dharma. ...
Sunflower Sutra Sunflower Sutra is one of the most effective yet simultaneously beautiful stream of consciousness pieces that is available. Sunflower Sutra is effective both in packaging and shipping the message of Allen Ginsberg and in painting a picture that stimulates listeners to action through zeal finding and amplifying imagery and descriptions. ... The structure of Sunflower Sutra is crucial and an intentional device Allen Ginsberg utilized in ensuring that the listener received just the message that he intended him/her to receive. ... This is successfully achieved in Sunflower Su...
In the Ramayana there are many characters that portray dharma. ... In the end, keeping his promise was the proper thing to due in terms of dharma. Rama showed greats feats of dharma. ... A tragic example of poor practicing of dharma is that of Ravana. ... All of the characters actions proved to be a test of dharma. ...
In the sutras, we've heard, "All Dharmas are Buddhadharma." ... In Buddhism, encountering the Dharma is like that. 10,000 years of darkness is illuminated by a single flash of light. The thick layer of snow is melted by the sun-like Dharma. ... Sometimes, when we encounter the Dharma, it seems as though we are going against the flow. ... Did you know that this world, in which we live, according to the Vimalakirti Sutra, is considered the "pureland" of Shakyamuni Buddha? ...
The Svadharma is each individual's role they must play within the Dharma. It is the purpose for each of our lives and how we help to makeup the framework of the Dharma. ... We are kept in line with the Dharma by the chain of causes and effects called Karma. ... Wrong or bad actions result in undesirable consequences for yourself and so it is beneficial to behave correctly and uphold the Dharma. ... In his classic writings called yoga sutras he said that there are eight stages to realizing one's union with Brahman. ...
