Thursday, October 18, 2007

The Historical Buddha vs. Hesse's Siddhartha

Hermann Hesse was fascinated by Eastern thought and had a good grasp on understanding Hinduism and Buddhism when he wrote Siddhartha. Some critics claim that the fictional character of Siddhartha in Hesse's novel Siddhartha is modeled after the Historical Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama.

Your task will be to create a double bubble map where you compare and contrast the Historical Buddha with Hesse's fictional Siddhartha. The frame of your map should contain key quotations from Hesse's text for your comparison as well as bridge maps that make analogies with relating factors between the two Siddharthas. Your frame should also contain your opinions regarding which aspects of the Historical Buddha were well portrayed in Hesse's novel. You may also wish to comment in the frame about why Hesse included both a Siddhartha and a Gotama character in his novel.

To learn about the Historical Buddha's life, click on your classmates' Buddhism blogs and review the brief outline of his life below.

The Historical Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha)

1. His father shielded Gautama from suffering within castle walls.
2. Gautama goes out and sees cripple, old person, and corpse.
3. Studied with teachers but not satisfied.
4. Became ascetic—practicing self-denial
5. Sat under Bodhi tree and meditated for one week
6. Buddha—awakened one
7. Gave first sermon in Deer Park where he outlined The Four Noble Truths.

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