Download Siddhartha * Background Information on the Novel, Buddhism

Siddhartha
HINDUISM
• 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: 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
• The caste system 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—priests & scholars
2. Kshatriyas—rulers & warriors (royalty)
3. Vaisyas—farmers & merchants
4. Sudras—peasants & laborers
5. Untouchables—those who engage in menial
or religiously impure tasks (despised by all other
castes)
BUDDHISM
•Hesse’s Siddhartha is a ficticious story of
Siddhartha Gotama, the man known as the Buddha.
•The real man was born an Indian prince in
approximately 623 BC.
•He was born a Hindu, so 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 selfdenial 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 Bohdi 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
“As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind,
even so the wise are the not ruffled by praise or blame”
Buddha = “Awakened One” (Enlightened One)
(Over 600 million Buddhists in the world)
 Buddhist value love, wisdom, goodness, calm, and
self-controlled
 Buddhist believe following the Eightfold Path leads to
life beyond the grave
4 NOBLE TRUTHS:
(Buddha believes life is ruled
by these 4 noble truths…)
You need to
KNOW these
!!!!!!!!
•Life is filled with suffering (Life is suffering)
•Suffering is caused by people’s wants (Suffering comes
from desires)
•Suffering can be ended if people want things, like more
pleasure or more power (If you get rid of desires,
suffering will cease)
•To stop and wanting things, people must fallow 8 basic
laws, called the Eightfold Path (Follow the Eightfold Path)
Buddhist believe a person is successful when he has given
his best effort
Ex. When a healthy ant successfully carries a grain of
rice, it is a great achievement. For a healthy horse to carry
a grain of rice, it is not all that terrific. The ant has put
effort into the job; it has fulfilled its purpose as an ant.
When this truth is achieved, the ant is no longer just an
ant…he has moved into the realm of Truth --- it has become
the greatest ant in the world.
 Buddhist believe a person should greet each day with joy
and all people with gladness
 Buddhist believe a person must keep an open, warm, and
loving heart
There is suffering…
There is a cause...
There is a cure…
The path happens by following the 8-fold path:
What Is Buddhism's Eightfold Path?
It is immersing
yourself in The Way…
Eightfold Path:
 Right Seeing (to see and to understand things as they really are)
 Right Purpose (commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement)
 Right Speech (to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk
only when necessary)
 Right Action (to act kindly, compassionately, honestly, and respectfully, so as
not to bring harm to others)
 Right Livelihood (To earn one's living in a righteous way so wealth is gained
legally and peacefully)
 Right Effort (To free one’s mind from evil and work with self-discipline,
honesty, benevolence, and kindness )
 Right Concentration (To practice appropriate and wholesome forms of
meditation)
 Right Mindfulness (to see things as they are, with clear consciousness)
The Structure of Siddhartha
I. The Awakening and Rebirth
• In Siddhartha’s “Awakening” in Chapter Four
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.