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Wake Up

A Life of the Buddha

Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
In the mid-1950s Jack Kerouac, a lifelong Catholic, became fascinated with Buddhism, an interest that had a profound impact on his ideas of spirituality and later found expression in such books as Mexico City Blues and The Dharma Bums. Originally written in 1955 and now published for the first time in book form, Wake Up is Kerouac’s retelling of the life of Prince Siddartha Gotama, who as a young man abandoned his wealthy family and comfortable home for a lifelong search for Enlightenment. Distilled from a wide variety of canonical scriptures, Wake Up serves as both a penetrating account of the Buddha’s life and a concise primer on the principal teachings of Buddhism. This edition includes an insightful introduction by Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman that addresses Keroauc’s engagement with Buddhism in his work and his life.
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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Kerouac's Buddhist gospel is based on scriptures about the Buddha's life and teachings. Danny Campbell's slightly smoky voice--intelligent but unpretentious--fits this complex book by a sometimes difficult writer who, nevertheless, aims at appealing to the average listener. Campbell's expressive, clear, yet soft and intimate, delivery befits Kerouac's take on the Buddha, who speaks compassionately to a beloved disciple more often than he preaches to a crowd. But the material is full of difficult concepts, and foreign names and terms from Buddhist history and philosophy. Also, Kerouac quotes from outdated translations, making for awkward phrases and imperfect translations ("law" for "dharma"). Despite Campbell's efforts, and some profound passages, this spoken text remains hard to get into and, in places, hard to stay with. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 15, 2008
      Kerouac, Jack. Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha. Viking. Sept. 2008. 146p. REL~Though raised a devout Catholic, Kerouac became entranced by Buddhism after discovering Dwight Goddard's A Buddhist Bible in a public library. This offers for the first time in book form Jack's take on the Buddha's life and principle teachings.--Mike Rogers, LJ/LJX.

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  • English

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