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An Eastern Mind Attached To A Western Brain: The Influence Of Zen Buddhism On Jack Kerouac, Yuko Taniguchi

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

A great American author, Jack Kerouac, loved the Eastern philosophy, Zen Buddhism, which influenced fifteen years of his writing career. The theory of Zen Buddhism taught him what was in and out of human control as well as the true essence of nature. Kerouac reflected on and described his daily life of Zen Buddhism in his novels, and Zen Buddhism certainly became his spiritual inner home for fifteen years. However, searching for a true spirituality never settled him down emotionally; therefore his loss of faith in Zen Buddhism demolished his inner spiritual home, and his struggle began. My thesis examines …