Chapter 16 Summary

The next day, Ray sits in a park with Japhy, and they listen to some Christian street preachers. One preacher particularly inspires Ray, and he engages her in a brief discussion. Japhy seems uninterested in Christianity, although Ray tries to explain that Buddhism and Christianity are simply two aspects of the same thing. Ray expounds that, in fact, all theories and beliefs are aspects of a single reality.

Ray reflects on Rosie's death. He sees it as pointless and needless suffering. He wishes that he had somehow been able to reach through her craziness and talk to her to convince her of the illusory nature of suffering. He reflects that throughout his entire life his family, most of his friends and his girlfriends have tried to convince him to join mainstream society and become a worker and consumer. He recalls that he has...