Download Siddhartha – Background Information on the Novel, Buddhism

Siddhartha –
Background
Information on the
Novel, Buddhism,
Hinduism,
Religious Allegory,
and Herman Hesse
NOVEL BACKGROUND - Setting
SETTING - The setting is India, as Siddhartha
encounters the Buddha (563 BC – 483 BC)
•The caste system in India has kept social
changes to a minimum, making this story as
possible today as it was almost 2500 years ago.
•The immediate setting changes several times
as Siddhartha moves throughout civilization as
a member of most of the castes.
•The major settings are the city, the river, the
desert and his parents’ home.
The Structure of Siddhartha
I. The Awakening and Rebirth
• Siddhartha’s “Awakening” in Chapter Four is
that no one can teach him the way to himself.
Siddhartha feels “like a newborn baby”.
• In Chapter Eight, in desperation, Siddhartha lets
himself fall into the river just as he hears the word,
“Om.” As a result, he becomes “awakened” and is
like “a little child.”
•Both mark turning points in Siddhartha’s
development. Siddhartha experiences an
“awakening” and is symbolically young again.
The Structure of Siddhartha
II. The River
•Siddhartha was born “in the sun of the riverbank.”
He leaves home and joins the Samanas,
representing an extreme in religious asceticism.
• In Chapter Four, Siddhartha crosses the river at
another turning point in his life. He has just left his
best friend and the best teacher with the best
teaching (the Buddha).
•At Chapter Eight, Siddhartha returns to the river
and begins to lead a modest life in which he avoids
both extremes.
The Structure of Siddhartha
III. Govinda
• In Chapter 4, Govinda and Siddhartha part
• In Chapter8, Govinda finds Siddhartha by
the river.
• Govinda returns again in Chapter Twelve to
confirm Siddhartha’s change.
• Govinda serves a structural reminder,
returning every four chapters to acknowledge
Siddhartha’s attainment of a new level.
HINDUISM AND THE NOVEL
• Possibly the oldest religion in the world.
•The concept of “perfection” can be related to the
idea of reincarnation, which according to
Hinduism is a series of births and deaths.
•During these successive lives, you accumulate
good karma by doing good; being hurtful and
selfish accumulates bad karma. Your karma
determines your “placement” in the next life.
Upon reincarnation, you will be higher or lower on
the karmic ladder. The farther up the karmic
ladder, the closer you are to perfection or Nirvana.
HINDUISM AND THE NOVEL
•One of the structures of Hinduism is the caste
system which divides people into social classes.
• Castes are strict and hereditary. People are born
into a caste and remain there throughout their
lives. There are five classes:
1. Brahmin—the priest class
2. Nobility—royalty
3. Merchants—those who engage in trade
4. Servants
5. Untouchables—those who deal with any
type of human waste, disposal of carcasses, etc.
HINDUISM AND THE NOVEL
The Four Life Stages
1. the student – this stage is characterized by the
individual being engaged in learning.
2. the householder – thhe individual engages in
the domestic duties of maintaining a household.
3. the retired person – When an individual is at or
near the end of his life. He has already been a
householder and a student.
4. the ascetic – this is a stage wherein the
individual dedicates all his energy to spiritual
goals and rejects worldly pleasures.
HINDUISM AND THE NOVEL
The Four Life Goals
1.DHARMA - the practice of virtue. What is virtuous
depends most on your caste and your stage in life.
2. ARTHA is the goal of success and achieving
success. This is also relative to caste. It is spiritually
significant for you to be successful at your craft or
trade. Seen in his work with Kamaswami.
3. KAMA - the pursuit of pleasure. Siddhartha
pursues this goal with “Kamala.”
4. MOKSHA - is a rejection of all the life-affirming
goals and a pursuit of release from life.
HINDUISM AND THE NOVEL
The Four Life Goals and Stages – Meaning
•Like the first three life stages, the first three life goals
are life-affirming goals, and the last in both groups is
life-negating.
•The first three (in both sets) celebrate life and confirm
the participation in certain life duties as necessary to
spiritual development.
•The last item in each set, the life-negating item,
typically is a rejection of worldly pleasures and goals.
BUDDHISM
•The story of Hesse’s Siddhartha is similar to what
is known about Siddhartha Gotama, the man who
came to be known as the Buddha.
•The real man was born an Indian prince in
approximately 623 BC.
•He was born a Hindu, and many of his teachings
have their roots in that religion.
• Near age 29, Siddhartha Gotama left his family
and the comforts of wealth and walked the world
for six years as an ascetic where he practiced
extreme self-denial and self-mortification
BUDDHISM
•He decided that there were no known ways that
could lead him to himself.
• He began his own individual path that avoided
both extremes of self-mortification and selfindulgence, often referred to as the middle way.
• Siddhartha Gotama found enlightenment while
meditating under the fabled Banyan tree.
BUDDHISM
In short, the teachings of Siddhartha challenged
Hinduism in the following ways:
• Questioned the authority of the Brahmin class
• Rejected all caste divisions
• Condemned the developing philosophies
regarding “religion” (it is only what one does, not
what one believes, that matters).
• No God, nor any specific ritual, can bring
enlightenment
The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism
1. Suffering Exists (Life is Suffering): Humans
are self-centered which only leads to pain, misery,
sorrow, and unfulfillment.
2. Desire Causes Suffering: The need to refer all
things to ourselves causes suffering. We suffer
because our ego dupes us into believing that we
need that which is not permanent (body,
perspective, emotion, feeling, impulse are all very
real – it is our linking of these realities to a “self”
that is incorrect).
The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism
3. Cessation of Desire Brings the Cessation of
Suffering: One must see things as they really are,
not simply as they are for ourselves. Rather than
absorb everything into the ego for our own
pleasure, we must allow our connection with
reality to cause an outward flow – a universal
compassion toward all living creatures.
a. This is not a belief, it is an action.
4. The Cessation of Desire Is Found Through
the Eightfold Path: The observance of the truths
of the Eightfold Path is the heart of Buddhist life.
The Eight Fold Path of Buddhism
A. Wisdom
1) Right View – know the truth
2) Right Intention – resist self-centeredness
B. Ethical Conduct
3) Right Speech – refrain from unkind,
negative speech
4) Right Action – respect all life
5) Right Livelihood – work for the good of
others
The Eight Fold Path of Buddhism
C. Mental Discipline
6) Right Effort – exert oneself in freeing the
mind of evil (egocentric thought)
7) Right Awareness – elevate one’s thoughts
beyond the haze of emotion and mood
8) Right Meditation – practice the discipline
of meditation
D. GOAL = Nirvana (enlightenment) – an end to
the cycle of rebirths, release of the Earth-bound
self and the Buddhist equivalent of salvation.
Relation of Hinduism and Buddhism to the Novel
Allegory - a story that represents abstract ideas
or morals; both a literal and symbolic meaning.
1. For purposes of Hinduism and Buddhism, it
operates as a religious allegory.
2. For Hinduism – the novel and Siddhartha’s journey
mirror:
a. The four life stages
b. Four life goals
c. Journey of Siddhartha and Gita begins in innocence,
followed by knowledge ("sin"), which, together,
lead to a higher state of innocence accompanied by
increased awareness and consciousness.
Relation of Hinduism and Buddhism to the Novel
3. For Buddhism – the novel and Siddhartha’s
journey mirror in Buddhism:
a. Four Noble Truths and 8 Fold path
b. Both Siddhartha and Buddha are logical,
scientific, and rational in their approach.
c. They do not speak of supernatural phenomena or
an afterlife, and dismiss the possibility of miracles.
d. Both taught self-reliance.
e. love and a deep attachment to anyone or anything
was wrong, since it leads to suffering.
f. Life Journey was similar – from wealth to
poverty to wealth and then understanding.
Herman Hesse
• His Life:
– Born in Germany on July 2, 1877
– Both parents were Christian missionaries in
India
– Same religious fate was expected of Hesse; he
joined seminary
– Left the seminary in 1892; rebelled against
parents’ strict religious upbringing
– Due to death of his father and other pressures,
underwent psychoanalysis in 1915. Became
serious student of psychology (Freud & Jung)
and Eastern religions and philosophy.
Influence of Carl Jung
• Jung’s theories of archetypes and collective
unconscious influenced Hesse’s works
• Archetypes are symbols/patterns we contact
through art. These archetypes are part of our
collective unconscious: a uniting, primal
memory.
– Siddhartha contains several archetypal
characters.
– Siddhartha’s journey shares many
characteristics of the archetypal hero’s
journey