Rating: 
Summary: Thank maya for Jack's flaws.
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Changeless Time
Review: Glad to see kind folk jump in to defend a true literary master. One who is more commonly dismissed by the American scholastic establishment than overrated by it. Point blank-do a worldwide deity count and start at the beginning of human existence. Now divide that number by the ones who had a full grown beard, then by the ones who were left handed, and then by the ones who were lactose intolerant, and then ... ... with whatever flag, or president, or hockey player you just know is going to take the home team all the way this year. People, anyone that tells you that Christ & Buddha couldn’t have been similar better be one old son of a gun. If they read their Socrates they would know that the only thing we know about Christ is what got through the King James filter and ditto for Buddha and the innumerable self-serving(yuppie in the U.S.) translations of his teachings. Kerouac is great and should be cherished because of his amazing grasp on such material. It is this obvious understanding he has that makes him more guilty than most of us. Kerouac’s hypocrisy(or any other fault or sin) is more defined to the reader simply because the man understands where God stops & man starts within the confines of these doctrines. But I guess something like that would be too hard to understand if you think that general American academic establishment ...like T.S. Eliot is end of all literature.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST of Kerouac's work
Review: He did not realize these notebooks would be published, so this is Kerouac at his very core. I have been an avid, hungry devotee of Kerouac's work not since reading On the Road, but since getting my hands of a copy of THIS BOOK. Some of the Dharma is the most inspirational book I own - dare I say even more inspiring than my Bible - his random poems about everything ranging from vulgar liquids all conjoined in your earthly body, to the serious issue of the Boddhisatva... Every writer, reader, English teacher, English learner should all read at least parts of this book at some point in their lives.
Rating:
Summary: Jack... beatnik love
Review: In all consideration, this Kirkus fellow sees Jack's work as something to be embarrassingly indulged in. I disagree wholeheartedly. Jack Kerouac could not be more insightful. He seems to express all the random feelings one would have in life. He explores language and snakes through the river of life in a completely authentic way. Some of the Dharma is just one example of his many masterpieces. To read any one of Kerouac's books is an adventure into a mind that not only wants to experience life but wants to be drunk and sick with it.
Rating:
Summary: Hope People Are Ready For This. . .
Review: O boy, what a novel to review -- or is this a novel? Actually it's not. It's a collection of random notes on Zen Buddhism, and some sections made its way to other books (i.e. Dharma Bums). This was claimed to be a Kerouac novel the editors refused to publish; and I can see why --"It's Ahead of its time." I recommend approaching this book (?) not with the objective of reading it front to back, but instead back to front or front to middle -- you get the picture. However, those approaching it as a novel will not understand it; it's typically a coffee table book.
Rating:
Summary: that editorial review
Review: Obviously "kirkus" translates to incompetent moron. I have never witnessed a more inept, bungling, and egocentric review as the editorial review above. Obviously this writer is an authority on religion. Perhaps he/she could enlighten us all with the actual origin of life. Religion is based on interpretation, and those that criticize others only display there own insecurities and arrogance. Kerouac is best experienced when read or viewed with an open mind. His sense of freedom and spontaneity are felt in his words and his life. He is one of the most widely read and profoundly influential writers in the American canon. While it is an assumption, the aforementioned critic is not such a celebrated writer, and his review gives too much credit to himself, and it gives too little to Jack Kerouac. {I just felt the need to defend Kerouac from opinionated, insubstantial, religious criticism}
Rating:
Summary: Some of the Dharma unlocks new doors to Kerouac's genius.
Review: Some of the Dharma, a maze of journal entries, prayers, thoughts, meditations set in a typeset facsimile of the original manuscript by the author is so vast and informed, it is hard to key in on the text with just a perusory glance in time for the hasty review written anonymously by Kirkus.What it does is reveal Kerouac for the wandering soul he truly was. He was set apart from the writers of his time (other than his fellow Beat writers),so that his Buddhist texts were rejected in 1950's America.They are every bit as profound, mystical, and holy as those who practice Buddhism on a lifetime basis. Kerouac was an experimenter in his prose, his life, and his faith. That all religions tie into one Universal belief succintly displays Kerouac's objective in this book. It develops Kerouac's vast grasp of intellect in ways that On the Road doesn't. That is the true heart and gem of this book
Rating: 
Summary: Odd, but strangely useful.
Review: The way this book is written is somewhat mad. It's mostly just clips & paragraphs of Kerouac's thoughts on Buddhism. It's interesting, but more for its view into Kerouacs mind and how he went through the same troubles most of us go through in our Buddhist practice. It is a clear example of how important it is to follow the precepts. If you continue to drink and practice Buddhism, you might end up like Kerouac, i.e. a bitter, alcoholic catholic.
Rating:
Summary: Odd, but strangely useful.
Review: 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 !
Rating:
Summary: Metaphysical Poet
Review: What is so unusual and valuable about this book is that it represents a prolonged experiment in inventing fresh ways to express metaphysical ideas in English prose and poetry. Most philosophers are poor prose stylists and most prose stylists steer clear of weighty metaphysics. But in this book we find a passionate, inventive prose stylist deeply engaged with pondering such topics as the One and the Many, substance and the composite nature of objects, time and space, the relation of thought and perception to reality, the nature of desire and happiness, mortality and immortality. He approaches these topics through a starting point in Buddhism but going wherever his mind takes him. The book contains many gems of expression as Kerouac pours his ponderings into his strange, striking prose. To criticize this book because Kerouac's scholarship is weak is to miss its point.
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