hermann hesse's siddhartha  

The story of Hesse’s Siddhartha is similar in some aspects 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 BCE He was born a Hindu, and many of his teachings have their roots in that religion. Certainly, it is clear that freedom of interpretation is a strong aspect of Hinduism that led the way for Buddhism to grow up alongside it.

Near or at the age of twenty-nine, Siddhartha Gotama left his family and the comforts of wealth and walked the world for six years as an ascetic. During this time, he practiced extreme austerity and self-mortification. After almost dying of starvation and sickness, he concluded that he would not find salvation in this manner. He decided that there were no known ways that could lead him to himself. He then began his own individual path that avoided both extremes of self-mortification and self-indulgence, often referred to as the middle way. Siddhartha Gotama found enlightenment while meditating under the fabled Banyan tree. While there, legend has it that Mara, the destroyer, attempted to divert Siddhartha Gotama from his goal. Mara sent his daughters (Desire, Pleasure, and Delight) to seduce him, but Siddhartha overcame these and all of Mara’s other attempts at distraction from his goal of enlightenment.

In Siddhartha, there is only a brief mention of the four main doctrines (or the four Noble Truths) and the Eightfold Path. The book is divided into 12 chapters, and, as a result, some readers contend that the protagonist’s development by chapter follows a parallel with the 12 steps of the Buddhist teaching. Each chapter, the theory contends, matches the equivalent step in the Noble Truths or the Eightfold Path. Regardless of the actual applicability of this theory, it is helpful to be aware of the basic tenants of Buddha’s teachings. This allows the reader to support or deny the connection based on a true knowledge of the items being compared.

The Four Noble Truths

1. existence is suffering

2. suffering arises from desire

3. suffering ends when desire ends

4. the way to end desire is to follow the Eight-Fold path

The Eight-Fold Path to Nirvana consists of the following:

1. right belief

2. right resolve

3. right speech

4. right conduct

5. right occupation

6. right effort

7. right contemplation

8. right ecstasy

Hesse’s Siddhartha shares his name with the Buddha, and they both grow up in comfort and privilege. The name, “Siddhartha,” means, “one who reaches his goal.” Both leave home seeking a religious goal and both spent years with the ascetics in search of that goal. Hesse’s protagonist then takes a divergent path from what is known of the Buddha’s life. Hesse’s character has to fi nd a balance within himself, and he has to experience both the “good” and the “bad” in life in order to find that balance.

Hesse’s Siddhartha has to do a great deal of self-searching in order to find his own peace. Hesse named his protagonist Siddhartha most likely with the intention of making connections with the historical Buddha, but in having his character meet and move on from the Buddha, Hesse’s character establishes his own individuality.