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Buddhism a philosophy essay
Buddhism as a philosophy
Buddhism a philosophy essay
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Through out the novel Siddhartha had constantly taken risks that he believed would lead him to nirvana. He would take these risks even if it meant leaving his family, his best friend, and having to live as a poor man searching for himself. Siddhartha has many teachers during his journey. Although he had many teachers he believed that with or without them he would have learned what he needed to learn to obtain nirvana.
The first teacher that Siddhartha had was the Samanas. Siddhartha followed their path for a few years, and learned much from them. He had accomplished the eightfold path and the four noble truths in a short time. Although he had learned much he came to a decision to leave the Samanas. Siddhartha was grateful for they’re teachings, but in the end he believed he could have learned everything that they had taught him on his own.
Siddhartha and Govinda journeyed to the town where the illustrious one lived. The two men listened to his words of wisdom and Govinda considered this way of life. Govinda believed Buddha was his teacher that would lead him to nirvana. Siddharth...
In this paper, I will be explaining how Siddhartha had arrived at the Four Noble Truths. The first paragraph contains how Siddhartha’s life was full of suffering, pain, and sorrow. The second paragraph will be the cause of suffering is the desire for things that are really illusions in Siddhartha’s life. Following, in the third paragraph I will be explaining how the only way to cure suffering is to overcome desire. Finally, I will be explaining that the only way to overcome desire is to follow the Eightfold Path.
Although Siddhartha felt dissatisfied with his stay with the Samanas, in reflection there were a lot of things that he took from his experience with them. He mastered the art of self-denial and many ways of losing the Self, which was very important. He became patient enough to wait for anything and learned to live without food or any other necessities. Siddhartha makes his first significant step towards attaining Nirvana when he leaves the Brahmins to live with the Samanas. Although he could never truly attain Nirvana with the Samanas, the major step is that he began to question his method to attain enlightenment.
In Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, a young man leaves his prosperous Brahmin family because he is spiritually dissatisfied. A solemn, divine traveler, Siddhartha is entirely consumed by his quest for spiritual enlightenment. One could argue whether or not the acquisitive Siddhartha is a hero. By accurately following steps in Joseph Campbell’s “Heroic Quest Model” and abiding by the dictionary definition of a hero, however, Siddhartha is indeed considered a heroic figure.
76). All of the spiritual aspects Siddhartha gained as being a Brahmin’s son and a Samana was turning into a memory because of his new pleasures. Siddhartha was not a man like he used to be. He went down a path that caused him to lose his kindness and became arrogant. Even though Siddhartha felt superior compared to the people around him, he had a feeling of becoming more like them. Also, he became extremely unhappy and hated himself for how he was. The teachings he learned from Kamaswami only lead to negative effects on Siddhartha. He did not gain a sense of enlightenment from having pleasure of being rich and gambling money. Siddhartha realized he needed to continue down a different path if he wanted to discover enlightenment. He felt this in his heart that made him reach for a new goal: “A path lies before you which you are called to follow. The gods await you” (83). Siddhartha went through a life of pleasures that only decreased his hope of reaching full
Siddhartha’s childhood friend, Govinda, educated him about the importance of choosing a path in his own life. Govinda had always been a step behind Siddhartha, following every decision he made. The one time he stepped out on his own, to accept the Buddha, he was merely following the path of thousands of others. Siddhartha saw this and he learned that he had to listen to himself even if he wound up making a wrong decision. Meeting with Govinda at the end of the novel reinforced his thought that one had to have experience in order to attain Nirvana -- not someone else’s knowledge. After following Gotama for years Govinda still hadn’t reached peace although Siddhartha had. Siddhartha had done things many would consider wrong and immoral and yet he reached something that many others wanted so desperately because he had experience.
When he reached peacefulness, Siddhartha became the ferryman. He delivered people across the holy river just like Vasudeva once did and yet, deep within himself, there was an eternal peace. On the other hand, Govinda was still struggling with desire for knowledge and had not yet attained what he was seeking, so he came to learn from Siddhartha. Surprised when he heard Siddhartha mentioned the five considered teachers Siddhartha had during his quest for peace, Govinda thought Siddhartha was joking. Saw the confusion in his friend's face, Siddhartha told Govinda to bend and kiss him on the forehead and as Govinda did this, he understood everything Siddhartha had said. Siddhartha, whose smile was similar to the Illustrious One's, finally attained peace for his Self.
From the beginning of Siddhartha, Siddhartha shows that shows that he feels as if something is missing. He wants to be able to reach something that his father and the other elders are yet to achieve and that is enlightenment. He tends to go against what his father believes as well as his religion, he is taught by the samana even though everything in his life has told him that the samana is the wrong religion. It is clear that Siddhartha is ready to go on his journey to find enlightenment when he goes against what his father believes and tells him when he goes to stuff with the samanas. To be able to go against his own fathers ideas and beliefs showed that Siddhartha was very strong willed and determined. Siddhartha also shows his determination when he decides to leave the samanas because he comes to the realization that he does not need teachings or a teacher to show how to reach nirvana, he even goes to the extent of abandoning his own friend as well as the Buddha because he believes in his mind that he will be able to find nirvana on his own. On the other hand, there is Gilgamesh, the ruler of Uruk. In order for Gilgamesh to keep the people of Uruk alive he must be strong willed and he is but to the point where it perceived as arrogance to the people of Uruk. Gilgamesh believes that his one of the god even though he is only 2/3 god and 1/3 human. Even
Siddhartha's path lead him through constant re-evaluations, keeping him focused on himself. He began as the son of a wealthy Brahmin, sheltered from the real world and any experience with it, but having the best education he could obtain. He began his life at home, as a thinker, possessing wisdom and thoughts he had yet to earn through experience.
with long hair and an old torn loin cloth come to me. Many young men come to me,
One theme is that people can teach religious doctrine, but it may not lead one to find
Throughout the tale, Siddhartha strives to be one with Atman, or internal harmony/eternal self, but by his own attainment. Even when he is offered the insight of Gotama, the divine and perfect one, who is the embodiment of peace, truth, and happiness, he refuses following him and decides to attain Nirvana in his own way. In this, Siddhartha shows his prideful nature but also reveals a positive aspect: self-direction. He realizes that others' ways of teaching can only be applied to their past experiences, but is still reluctant to ac...
Siddhartha has the urge to become enlightened There was something telling him to endure on his journey to enlightenment and thus begins the Hero Journey This is the first step towards his journey After seeing the Samanas, he decides he wants to follow in their footsteps to learn more about himself and the world that he has been sheltered from his whole life When he tells his family about his decision of becoming and Samana they refuse to let him go, especially his father who has done most of
Siddhartha was not someone who was alienated by his culture, but someone who desired to know more than his culture could teach. Siddhartha decided to go beyond what he knew. He decided to leave home, so he could become his own person by learning, experiencing, and growing both as a person and spiritually. When Siddhartha first leaves his home he participates in something to a vision quest, where he fasted for long periods of times and hallucinated strange dreams. He then travels with the Samanas and goes through many towns witnessing their culture and beliefs without really experiencing any of it because as he says “happiness and beauty. All were doomed to decay… Life was pain” (SOURCE p14). While Siddhartha claimed that his goal was to become
he makes a number of choices, "turns", that put him on a path of his
Throughout history there have been countless numbers of teachers: artisans, craftsmen, ideologist, to name a few. They have all master some skill, gained some wisdom, or comprehended an idea. These teachers have achieved knowledge which allows them to excel and to be above and beyond regular people. Knowledge is something everyone strives for, and many desire. To achieve knowledge, one must have an eye-opening experience, and epiphany that leads to the increase of one’s intellect and skill set. In Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha, the main character, Siddhartha, goes in an almost never ending quest to achieve knowledge. Throughout this journey, Siddhartha encounters many teachers, whom which he learns a great deal, but fails to attain that knowledge he achieves for. However, each and every single one of them teaches him something which ultimately contribute to his final achievement of knowledge. As Siddhartha mentioned to his good friend Govinda: