Can anyone tell me the relationship between Hesse's Siddhartha and Buddhism?? It's a research paper topic and i have no idea where to start.

It is believed that Siddhartha was the given name of the man we now call "Buddha." From what I have read about Buddha there are a few similarities between his life and Hesse's story of Siddhartha. Though Hesse's novel is not considered a biography of Buddha, or even a loose interpretation, there is an obvious connection to Buddhism and the lifestyle that this religion encompasses. From the biographies of Hesse I have read, he was interested in this religion and did indeed travel to Asia, however by all reports this experience and trip were not pleasurable.

you aren't by any chance from Babson College are you???

you may want to have a look at Martin Kaplan's interesting paper in the Hesse Page Journal at http://hesse.projects.ucsb.edu/projects/hesse/papers/papers.html

i think siddhartha is more universal ,it is the story of the self which varies from each self, in it there is refusal for the absolute and the elleged truth that is laid upon us by the outside, it is indeed the experiance of a journey inside the self to find the only self that you can truly understand and that is your self.

Post deleted by Gunther

It is based on Buddha's life (Buddha was known as Siddartha) and much of the wisdom that Siddartha acquires is in accord with the philophies of Buddhism. What interested me was that Buddha was also referred to in the novel by Siddartha, and Gotama (another name for Buddha) is a revered spiritual leader in the novel whom Siddartha meets. I thought that if Siddhartha represents Buddha then how can he be refering to Buddha as someone separate to himself and also interacting with Gotama? However, I believe these three constructions of Buddha can co-exist in the novel according to the perception of time that Siddartha reveals at the end of the novel. Also Buddha is constructed to refer to certain wisdom and teachings, Gotama to show Buddha's serenity and power, and Siddartha as "the everyman Buddha" showing every human has the capabilitiy of finding enlightenment (and the significance of acknowledging your darker side). Good luck with your assignment.

There is a belief in buddhism there have been many Buddhas before Siddartha and many Buddhas since. The relevance of Siddartha, not the Siddartha in Hesse's work mind you, was that he was the first to present the path to enlightenment and the 4 noble truths to others. He could be thought to be the first bodhisattva.

there is in my opinion a fairly significant relationsip between hesses book a and buddhism. Firstly their is the ideaof riencarnation. Where the life we live is one which is their to fix the mystakes of the last. Therefore through each life you attain a higher being. Like in siddartha.Where he is near the tree and falls asleep and wakes up a new man. As well in buddishm the relationship with nature is a highly respected one. In all he journey is the desntination is perhaps the most justified thing to say about this book. I hope it helps.

there is in my opinion a fairly significant relationsip between hesses book a and buddhism. Firstly their is the idea of riencarnation. Where the life we live is one which is their to fix the mystakes of the last. Therefore through each life you attain a higher being. Like in siddartha.Where he is near the tree and falls asleep and wakes up a new man. As well in buddishm the relationship with nature is a highly respected one. In all he journey is the desntination is perhaps the most justified thing to say about this book. I hope it helps.