The work contains autobiographical details, the narration is from the first person.
The narrator, Ray Smith, a young man from the “beatnik” generation, travels around America in passing cars and freight trains, often sleeps in the open air and lives on odd jobs, content with the few that the Sky and the Law of Dharma bestow upon him.
Like many “beatniks,” Rei is passionate about the religious and philosophical teachings of ancient India and China. He writes poetry and considers himself a follower of the Buddha, practices Inaction and seeks Samadhi - spiritual enlightenment that leads the one who is on the right path to nirvana. For a whole year, Ray observes strict chastity, as he believes that "love passion is the immediate cause of birth, which is a source of suffering and leads to death." However, detaching himself from the phenomenal world of “names and forms”, he is far from not noticing its beauty, and in relations with people he tries to be sincere and be guided by the rule contained in the Diamond Sutra: “Be merciful, not holding in the mind of the concept of mercy, for mercy is just a word, and no more. "
In the fall of 1955, on one of the streets of San Francisco, Rei met Jeffy Ryder, who is widely known in the circles of "beatniks", jazz musicians and bohemian poets. Jeffy, the son of a lumberjack, grew up with his sister in the forest, worked on logging, was a farmer, went to college, studied Indian mythology, Chinese and Japanese, and discovered the teachings of Zen Buddhism. Having abandoned his scientific career, he still maintains contact with the philologists of the University of California, translates verses of ancient Chinese poets, attends lectures at the Buddhist association, speaks at poetry evenings with his own poems. Jeffy is an unusually popular figure. His experience with the altered states of consciousness achieved through drug use, a cheerful and nonchalant disposition, wit, as well as relaxedness in dealing with young adventurers involved in a spiritual search and longing for “getting rid of attachments” made Jeffy a real hero in the eyes of friends and admirers West coast. It was he who introduced into circulation the expression “vagabonds of the Dharma”. All his belongings fit in a backpack and consists mainly of books in oriental languages and climbing equipment, since Jeffy spends most of his time in the mountains.
Ray and Jeffy become inseparable friends. Ray settles in the suburb of San Francisco with poet Alwah Goldbuck and spends time in meditation, friendly drinking and reading, as the house is literally packed with books - "from Catullus to Ezra Pound." Jeffy lives a mile from Goldbook's home, not far from the University of California campus. He rents a summer house, the interior of which is characterized by extreme asceticism: on the floor are wicker mats, and instead of the desktop - boxes of orange. One evening, Jeffy comes to Ray and Alvah on a bicycle accompanied by a twenty-year-old girl who she calls Princess to show her friends elements of the sexual practice of Tibetan Tantrism, and when the girl eagerly surrenders to him in front of Ray and Alvah, Jeffy invites them to join him and get involved in practical the wisdom of tantra. Ray is embarrassed, he has long liked the Princess, but he never made love in anyone's presence. In addition, Ray does not want to break the vow of chastity.However, Jeffy convinces Ray not to trust either Buddhism or any other philosophy that denies sex. In the arms of Princess Rey, she forgets that the manifested world is but an illusion and is born of ignorance and suffering. A girl considers herself a Bodhisattva,
Jeffy invites Ray to the mountains. Henry Morley, an avid climber who works as a librarian at the university, takes them in his car. Henry is an intellectual, but he is quite eccentric and extremely absent-minded. When they start climbing to the top of the Matterhorn, it turns out that Henry had forgotten his sleeping bag. But this does not upset him at all. He lags behind Ray and Jeffery and remains on the shore of a beautiful mountain lake, not intending to move on, because he just got sick of climbing to the top. Rhea is frightened by Jeffy's desperate determination and fearlessness, and he does not dare to follow his example when he climbs higher and higher. Rhea horrifies the grandeur and emptiness of the surrounding space, and he recalls the dictum of one of the patriarchs of Zen Buddhism: "Having reached the top of the mountain, continue to rise." When he sees Jeffy fleeing with giant leaps from the mountain he conquered, Rei experiences ecstasy and follows his example. Only now is the true meaning of the Zen statement revealed to him, and he joyfully accepts this terrible and beautiful world of mountains as it is.
Returning to the city, Ray dreams of devoting his time and energy to prayers for all life in complete solitude, for he is convinced that in our world this is the only appropriate occupation for a person seeking spiritual development. His desire to leave is further strengthened after he visits his old friend Cody, from whom he learns that his girlfriend, Rosie, suddenly went crazy and tried to open her veins. Rosa has the obsession that all her friends, including Jeffy and Ray, must be arrested for their sins. Ray tries to dissuade Rosie, but she stands her ground. After a while, she commits suicide by throwing herself from the roof of the house. Ray leaves for Los Angeles, but cannot stay in the poisoned atmosphere of an industrial city and hitchhikes around the country. Christmas is coming, and Ray arrives at his parent's home in North Carolina, where his mother, brother and sister live. The house is located in a picturesque area, surrounded by coniferous forests, where Rei spends whole days and nights in prayer, meditation and meditation. One night, he attains Enlightenment and realizes that he is absolutely free and everything in the world is done for good, and Truth is above the tree of the Buddha and the cross of Christ. Spring is coming. In a state of peace, Rei realizes that it is this world that is the Sky to which everyone aspires, as to something beyond. Rei tells himself that if he could completely abandon his "I" and direct his efforts towards the awakening, liberation, and bliss of all living beings, he would realize that "ecstasy is what is." Ray's family does not understand his spiritual aspirations and reproaches him for having departed from the Christian faith in which he was born. Ray bitterly realizes that he cannot break through to the souls of these people. Once in a state of mystical trance, he clearly sees how to heal his mother, who is coughing. Mother is recovering from the remedy Rei gives her. But Ray tries not to think about what he performed the “miracle”, and leaves for California to Jeffy, intending to return home next Christmas.
Jeffy is about to set sail for Japan on a Japanese cargo ship, and his friends are setting off on a grand trip. The fun continues for several days. All the girlfriends of Jeffy are going, his sister Rod comes with his fiancé. Everyone drinks wine, the girls dance naked, and Rei reflects on the Path of all living things, immersed in the stream of formation and doomed to die. When the ship leaves, Jeffy leaves the cabin, carrying in his arms his last girlfriend, whom he called Psyche. She begs him to take her with her to Japan, but Jeffy is implacable: he follows only one law - the Dharma. He throws her overboard, into the water, from where friends pull her. No one can resist tears. Ray miss Jeffy with his inexhaustible optimism. One night, during a meditation, Rei sees Avalokiteshvara, who tells him that he, Rei, “is endowed with strength and power to remind people that they are absolutely free.” Ray goes to the mountains, and on the way back he turns to God with the words: “God, I love You. Take care of us all. ”
