1. Siddhartha and Buddhism

2. Hermann Hesse
B. 1877; d. 1962
German novelist, poet, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946, whose main theme is of breaking out of established civilization to find one’s own essential spirit. With his appeal for self-realization and his exploration into Eastern mysticism, Hesse became a cult figure in the troubled century in which he wrote.
Other novels include: Demian, Steppenwolf, and Narcissus and Goldmund.

3. Siddhartha
The novel, Siddhartha, was written in 1922, in the desolate times after the “Great War.” Few people could make sense of the devastation inflicted upon the world from so called “civilized” countries, and many people were searching for a guiding force out of the moral degradation left in the wake of World War I.
Hesse, writing during this time, left his mark in exploring Buddhist philosophy as a path towards salvation.

4. Siddhartha
This was also the time of Freud and Jung, and the idea of exploring the human psyche and inner consciousness was in vogue. Hesse himself was a disciple of Carl Jung.
The novel Siddhartha is a fairly transparent allegory of the life of the real Buddha, whose real name was Siddhartha Gautama.
The novel’s intent is didactic, in delivering the following Buddhist sutta, or teaching:

5. Siddhartha
A man who has left home and gone forth should not follow two extremes, namely self-indulgence (hedonism) and self-mortification (asceticism). Avoiding these two extremes, Buddha has discovered the middle path leading to vision, to knowledge, to calmness, to awakening, to nirvana.

6. The Life of Siddhartha Gautama
Gautama, the Buddha BCE
Siddhartha Gautama was born in the kingdom of the Sakyas, on the border of what is now Nepal and India. He was born into a life of luxury as a Khattiya, the warrior or ruling caste of Hindu. The name Siddhartha means, “One whose aim is accomplished.” (Hinduism dates back 4,000 years.)
The word “Buddha” means “awakened one.” This is similar to the word “Christ,” meaning “messiah.” As Christianity stems from Judaism, Buddhism stems from Hinduism. Like Jesus of Nazareth, Gautama was born into one faith, and built another from that foundation.

7. The Life of Siddhartha Gautama
The historic life of Siddhartha Gautama is cast in a series of significant events. The first of these is his mother’s dream of a white elephant entering her womb prior to his birth, signifying that he would be either a universal monarch or a Buddha. As a child, he was a sage, or yogi, who was capable of deep meditation.
The next is his early encounter with four signs that led him to question his life of ease. He saw an aged cripple, a sick and suffering man, a corpse and a wandering monk. His father tried to keep him home, away from the traumas of the world, and although he had married and had had a son, he decided to go off on a journey of self-discovery.

8. The Life of Siddhartha Gautama
The next stage of his journey is called the Great Renunciation. At age 29, he gave up his princely life and became a wandering Hindu ascetic. In a state of extreme self-mortification, and emaciation, he lost faith in this path. His companions left him, and he embarked on his own journey.

9. The Life of Siddhartha Gautama
The Great Enlightenment. Under a bodhi or bo tree he meditates. He’s tempted by Mara, the evil one, lord of the world of passion, but he resists, similar to the story of Christ in the wilderness, tempted by Satan. He is 35 years old when he forms the doctrine of Buddhism, after which, he gathers disciples who go forth, teaching.
He dies when he well past 80 years old.

10. Buddhism Basics The Four Noble Truths All life is full of suffering
Suffering is caused by desires, or samsara
There is freedom from samsara, or nirvana
Nirvana can be attained by following the Middle, or Noble Eightfold Path.

11. All Life is Full of Suffering
Buddhism Basics
All Life is Full of Suffering
Everything changes: A river continues to be a river, although it is changing every second. The change is so complete that the water that flows between the banks of the river today is not the same water that flowed in the river yesterday, but it is the same river. So in life we are constantly changing, although we seem to be the same person.

12. Suffering is Caused by Desires
Buddhism Basics
Suffering is Caused by Desires
Desires are the evils of samsara, and include: grasping, lust, hunger and thirst, craving, sloth, fear, doubt, hypocrisy, false glory, anger, delusion, ignorance, selfishness, greed, narcissism.
Samsara: Continuous rebirth due to desire, which includes even clinging to life itself, since life itself is ephemeral. Buddhists believe that all grasping is folly. The goal is to be “in the moment” and aware of each moment you have. Think: What if you wanted nothing? Were waiting for nothing? Would your life be more serene?

13. There is Freedom, or Nirvana
Buddhism Basics
There is Freedom, or Nirvana
Attainable during a human life. Nirvana means freedom from the cycle of rebirth (reincarnation) from the wheel of samsara.
Buddhists belief that there is NO unchanging soul, no self or ego, which is different from Hinduism.
Humans are composed of five aggregates: body, feelings, perception, predispositions, and consciousness, all of which are constantly changing, and constantly linked together with each other through karma, or thoughts or actions that have consequences.

14. There is Freedom, or Nirvana
Buddhism Basics
There is Freedom, or Nirvana
Nirvana is a living group of aggregates, where one becomes free from karma and samsara. It is described as a “cool cave, the place of bliss, the father shore.” It is where there is an extinction of the fire of illusion, passion and cravings. Not annihilation or nonexistence, but a place “unborn.”

15. The Middle, or Noble Eightfold Path
Buddhism Basics
The Middle, or Noble Eightfold Path
By avoiding extremes of asceticism or hedonism, one can find nirvana by pursuing the middle, or noble eightfold path, consisting of:
Right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right mode of living, right endeavor, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
To fend off the evils of desire, Buddhists also practice the 10 Great Virtues: Charity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, effort, patience, truth, determination, universal love, and equanimity.

16. Buddhism Basics
Siddhartha Gautama was against the Hindu caste system, and taught that virtues could help fight the evils of the world. He wanted to help those in poverty, and believed that men and women were equals, and all were capable of achieving nirvana. He taught that each individual must find his own journey towards it.
Buddhist are completely nonviolent, vegetarians, and revere all life forms. (Even the insect world!) There are no deities, only teachers or lamas, who help individuals find their own journey to eternal bliss.

17. Buddhist Quotes
The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology…. Buddhism answers this description…. If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism.
-Albert Einstein

18. Buddhist Quotes
I dreamt that I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?
-Chuang Tsu

19. Buddhist Quotes There is no fire like greed, No crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation,
No sickness like hunger of heart,
And no joy like to joy of freedom.
Health, contentment and trust
Are your greatest possessions,
And freedom your greatest joy.
Look within.
Be still.
Free from fear and attachment,
Know the sweet joy of living in the way.

20. Allegory
Allegory refers to a genre of literature where the entire story actually represents another tale or lesson.
Examples of simple allegory are parables and fables, where all of the characters and events in the story symbolize characters and events in the lesson to be learned.
A modern example of allegory is Animal Farm, by George Orwell, which is not only the story of animals on a farm staging a revolution against their human owners, but a thinly veiled satire of the Russian Revolution and Communist ideology.

21. Allegory
Allegory
Allegory is frequently didactic, or meant to teach a lesson.
It functions on symbolism: The characters and events in the allegorical story are directly connected to the didactic story through symbolic connections.
In its purest form, these connections are more direct than symbolic, as the genre shifts through parable to fable, the connections become more and more figurative.

22. Allegory
Allegory
In a pure allegory, such as the medieval morality play, Everyman, the connections are direct: The character, Everyman, is well, all of us. Death, who comes to visit him one day, is, well, death. The character known as Fellowship, is his not so loyal friend, and Good Deeds, is…well, you get the idea.

23. Allegory
In an almost pure allegory, such as Animal Farm, there are pretty direct symbolic connections between the main characters and the story of the the failure of communism. Farmer Jones represents Czar Nicholas II, Napoleon the pig is Stalin, Old Major the horse is Karl Marx, and Snowball is Trotsky.

24. Allegory
In parables and fables, the connections are more symbolic, and broader, and therefore perhaps more universal to human experiences.
In the Aesop fable of the ant and the grasshopper, for example, who is the ant and who is the grasshopper? Is there room for a broader interpretation than simply storing food away for winter?
In the Aesop fable, the Grasshopper is lazy and sings away all summer and autumn. The Ant, however, is industrious, and stores food away. The Grasshopper taunts the Ant, rather than heeding his warning, and dies in the cold. (Aesop was a Greek slave(?) in Roman times. His fables, written in Latin, were widely known in the middle ages and beyond.)
In the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:3-23) The sower is Jesus, spreading the Word of God. The seed that falls off the wayside is the word of God heard, but not understood. The birds that take it away are the wicked. The seed that falls on stone represents the Word that falls on ears of those who initially welcome it, but as soon as adversity (the sun) beats down on them, it wilts. The seed that fall in thorns and weeds is the Word falling into the ears of someone who allows deceit to choke it out, and the seed that falls on good ground, is the Word that comes to one ready to receive it, who understand and nurtures it, so that it bears fruit.

25. Allegory
In the famous New Testament passage, the Parable of the Sower (Mt. 13:3-23) Jesus explains that he uses parables because they are easily understood, and more universal. Without religious interpretation, however, the Parable of the Sower, can represent many examples of something missing its mark, not only the word of God.

26. Allegory
So…. Looking at the sutta that Siddhartha is meant to teach, can you drawn connections between the characters and events in the book? What might be the symbol for:
the ascetic life?
the hedonistic life?
the middle path?
Do you see evidence of pride or grasping that is pulling the main character into samsara? Where does he find salvation, and acceptance of the truth that everything changes? (Hint: There is your list of three for the essay!)