ENLIGHTENMENT DRAWN FROM AN UNQUIET MIND
I just finished listening to Siddhartha. It is a beautiful story of one man's quest for peace and contentment. During his journey he exposes himself to every manner of living: first he follows the Buddhist path through meditation, learning, and asceticism; next he seeks lessons in lovemaking from a courtesan and knowledge of business and money from a successful merchant; finally, he learns empathy by embracing the son he has never known and gains enlightenment through the strength and wisdom of nature.
I found this tale to be very illuminative because (although I am an athiest) if I ever chose a religion to follow, it would be Buddhism. What fascinated my the most about this audio book was the essay included at the end. It gives the listener an idea of the mindset of Hermann Hesse when he wrote the novel. Hesse suffered all his life from depression and even attempted suicide. He sought psychotherapy and became a friend of Carl Jung, even receiving treatment from him. I find that I can connect more with Hesse than with his hero; even so far as our shared pursuits of what Siddhartha achieves.
I highly recommend this book. If you've never read it, you should. And if you have, you should listen to this audio version. Check your library. That's where I found it. And if you do, please let me know what you think.
I found this tale to be very illuminative because (although I am an athiest) if I ever chose a religion to follow, it would be Buddhism. What fascinated my the most about this audio book was the essay included at the end. It gives the listener an idea of the mindset of Hermann Hesse when he wrote the novel. Hesse suffered all his life from depression and even attempted suicide. He sought psychotherapy and became a friend of Carl Jung, even receiving treatment from him. I find that I can connect more with Hesse than with his hero; even so far as our shared pursuits of what Siddhartha achieves.
I highly recommend this book. If you've never read it, you should. And if you have, you should listen to this audio version. Check your library. That's where I found it. And if you do, please let me know what you think.
1 comment:
what's great about buddhism is that you can be an atheist buddhist. buddhism is more a philosophy of life than a theistic religion. it'd be like christianity, if christians used the life and words of christ as an example that all people could follow instead of elevating him to the idea of son of god. as a matter of fact- you probably already know this- it is rumored that christ got all the good stuff from spending time with buddhists during the 30 (or however many) years of his life that the bible doesn't account for.
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