AGENDA “We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps.” ― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha 28 May 2013 Overview of our VERY last assignments! Notes on Buddhism Book Checkout Reading Time? 11 more class days!

Please take out your pink calendars!  Add the following notes to your calendars:  Switch Wednesday 5/29 with Thursday 5/30 (reading day on Wednesday-if you’ll be gone post-SMT, make up reading time at home!)  Friday, 5/31: Reading Journal #1 due AT BEGINNING OF CLASS (50 points) Class discussion- you should be through Chapter 4 by class Friday!  Friday, 6/7: Reading Journal #2 due BY THE END OF THE CLASS (75 points) Notice you have a lot of in-class reading time during Senior Boards week (late start funky schedules) Class discussion- you should be through Chapter 10 by class this Friday!  You should be finished with the book by 6/10  You’ll have a two part final: Discussion 6/10, MC 6/11  THEN YOU ARE DONE WITH SENIOR ENGLISH!

Book Checkout  Please write down the number and condition of your book on the sheet as it comes around

VERY BRIEF OVERVIEW OF A VERY COMPLEX TOPIC Or, what you need to know about Buddhism to understand the basics of Siddhartha

Very Brief Buddhism Overview  To do no evil; To cultivate good; To purify one's mind: This is the teaching of the Buddhas. Buddhism is not a religion-it’s a philosophy. Buddhists do not “worship” Buddha-they just try to follow his teachings because they see him as someone who has achieved Nirvana, or “enlightenment.”

The Buddha  The Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama to a wealthy family in approximately 566 BC.  When he was twenty-nine years old, he left the comforts of his home to seek the meaning of the suffering he saw around him.

The Buddha’s Life, Continued  After six years of arduous yogic training, he abandoned the way of self-mortification and instead sat in mindful meditation where he became “The Buddha.”  The Buddha wandered the plains of northeastern India for 45 years more, teaching the path, or “Dharma.”  In approximately 486 BC, at the age of 80, the Buddha died.

Teachings of Buddhism: The Four Noble Truths Life is suffering. Suffering is due to attachment Attachment can be overcome There is a path for accomplishing this. You can’t avoid it, but it’s why we feel “bad” To material things and relationships, which makes us “want” It’s called “The Eight-Fold Path”

The Eight-Fold Path  Right view  Right aspirations  Right speech  Right action  Right livelihood  Right effort  Right mindfulness  Right concentration  Understanding of the Four Noble truths and a true desire to free oneself from the attachments  Abstain from gossip, lying, hurtful behaviors (including those that hurt yourself), and making your living in a way that doesn’t hurt  Focusing on meditation and reflection to support your right views, aspirations, speech, and actions

Siddhartha Background Notes  The author Hermann Hesse was born in Germany on July 2, 1877  Born to parents who were from missionary families  Travelled to India in 1911, and became fascinated with the story of the Buddha  Married 3 times  Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946  Died in 1962

A Few Characters in Siddhartha  Siddhartha-our protagonist (not to be confused with "The” Siddhartha/Buddha)  Govinda- Siddhartha’s best friend (and that’s all)  Gotama-how “The” Buddha is referred to in the book

Setting  Siddhartha takes place at various places throughout India as Siddhartha goes along his path to find himself. From Siddhartha’s home town where he asks his father to leave, to the forest where Siddhartha learns from the Samanas to the end of the book where Siddhartha becomes the river ferryman and finally finds nirvana.

Language Challenges  Use resources from the book to help you define and understand some of the foreign words/concepts  Be prepared for some “adult” situations…and please handle them maturely. Some are used as symbols/metaphors…don’t take them literally.  Keep in mind that different cultures have different “norms”, and be respectful about how you discuss them.  Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.