What is the theme in The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac?

The predominant theme of the novel is the personal voyage of Ray Smith, the narrator and primary protagonist, on a path leading to enlightenment. The novel opens with a summarization of Buddhist philosophy with a focus on two elements. First, all life is suffering, and second, the suppression of suffering can be achieved. Ray, an East Coast beat writer of some repute is living a life of active dissipation, which has left him unsatisfied and searching for a better way. He has realized that all life is, indeed, suffering, and he wants to believe that the suffering can be suppressed. To this end, he has embarked on a path of asceticism and the study of Buddhist philosophy. Ray's asceticism is perhaps not traditionally ascetic, as his typical excesses are somewhat egregious. N