Bibliofreakblog

Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha by Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac wrote Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha in 1955 but it never made it to publication until 2008.  And frankly, I can see why.  And its not because Americans weren’t interested in Buddhism–America’s love affair with Eastern spirituality goes back to the 1800’s.

More catechism than historical fiction, the most notable thing about this short book is the number of lists.  God(s) know, Buddhists love their lists.  

Let’s talk about the five senses!  The four directions!  The 8-fold path!  The four Noble Truths!  The five elements!  

That said, this makes for a great introduction to Buddhism.  I think that this would work really well in a classroom setting, especially because there is at least some semblance of a story arc.

Kerouac begins with Prince Gautama’s restlessness, which leads to his leaving his wife, son, father, and kingdom for the life of a monk.  Kerouac quickly recounts his rendezvous with the ascetics and gets  to his teachings.  As the years go on, the Buddha attracts more and more followers.  

I found his death at the end to be really well done, and quite lovely.  It’s widely known that the Buddha died after eating some bad pork.  In Kerouac’s telling, the Buddha knew it would kill him, but took it anyways, as the Buddhists are instructed to never turn down any offerings of food (and since they go around begging for food, that’s probably smart of them most of the time).  Upon his death, Kerouac writes:

“The moon paled.  The rivers sobbed.  A mental breeze bowed the down the trees.  Like the great elephant robbed of his tusks or like the ox king spoiled of his horns, or like Heaven without the sun and moon or as the lily beaten down by the hail, thus was the world bereaved when Buddha died.”

Now, I don’t actually know how much of that is Kerouac’s own original words.  His author’s note in the beginning explains that much of what he has written comes directly from the Sutras and other ancient sources on the life of the Buddha.  He says that it’s a mixture of quotes, quotes with words that have been changed, and his own words.

This is perhaps why I think this would be so good in a classroom setting.  It’s very well researched and fairly easy to understand.  

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t find I learned anything new (except perhaps that bit about Buddha knowing the pork was rancid before hand).  Since I listened to it on CD, I found my mind wandering a lot of the time.

 
Buy Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha on Amazon 

If you like this book/author, you might like:

(my reviews in blue)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M Pirsig
Buddha by Karen Armstrong
The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions  by Karen Armstrong
Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh: Essential Writings by Thich Nhat Hanh
A Lifetime of Peace: Essential Writings by and about Thich Nhat Hanh by Thich Nhat Hanh
Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha
Going Home: Jesus and the Buddha as Brothers by Thich Nhat Hanh
Deep River  by Shusaku Endo
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
The Masks of God, Vol. 2: Oriental Mythology by Joseph Campbell
History of Religious Ideas, Volume 2: From Gautama Buddha to the Triumph of Christianity  by Mircea Eliade 
Yoga: Immortality and Freedom  by Mircea Eliade
The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus by The Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama’s Little Book of Inner Peace: The Essential Life and Teachings by the Dalai Lama
Tao of Pooh and Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff
The Yoga of Jesus: Understanding the Hidden Teachings of the Gospels by Paramahansa Yogananda 
A Life of Jesus by Shusaku Endo
Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment by Deepak Chopra
The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
The Life of the Buddha : According to the Pali Canon by Bhikku Nanamoli
An Introduction to Zen Buddhism by D.T. Suzuki

Other works by Jack Kerouac*:

On the Road
On the Road: The Original Scroll 
The Dharma Bums 
Dr. Sax
Desolation Angels
Big Sur 
Orpheus Emerged
Windblown World: The Journals of Jack Kerouac 1947-1954 
Old Angel Midnight 
Vanity of Duluoz: An Adventurous Education, 1935-46
The Scripture of the Golden Eternity 
Scattered Poems 
Visions of Gerard
Mexico City Blues: 242 Choruses
Lonesome Traveler 
Pomes All Sizes
Maggie Cassidy
Satori in Paris 
Tristessa 
Good Blonde 
Visions of Cody
The Subterraneans
Heaven and Other Poems
Book of Sketches 
Book of Blues 
Book of Dreams 
Book of Haikus
Pic
Atop an Underwood: Early Stories and Other Writings
The Town and the City
Kerouac: Selected Letters: Volume 1: 1940-1956 
Kerouac: Selected Letters: Volume 2: 1957-1969
Beat Generation: The Lost Work 
The Portable Jack Kerouac 

With Albert Saijo and Lew Welch:

Trip Trap

With Paul Maher, Jr.:

Empty Phantoms: Interviews and Encounters with Jack Kerouac
 

With William S. Burroughs:

And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

*NOTE: This list is not exhaustive.  For the most part in only contains works still in print, though you can still find many of his other works used.