Herman Hesse's Siddhartha

[lit_chicka]

I need to write a short paper on Siddhartha's attitude towards teachers. Please tell me what you think about this topic. Thanks !!!

[billyjack]

the thing with hesse, i think, is that he considers teachings to be synonymous with words...and words are synomymous with thoughts. buddhist philosophy attempts to recognize thought as thought, and to therebye not put too much emphasis on thought. we need thought like we need food, shelter, water, and air, but for hesse and the buddhist, none of these is more important than the other. so, hesse's feelings toward teaching are similar to the buddhist feeling toward thought, ie, get rid of it, and find nirvana.

[Timur]

Siddhartha's attitude towards teachers is allways one of dissatisfaction.He learns from all those whom he meets( even Kamala) yet they never really have the answer to his most burning question. They impart knowledge which he absorbs like a sponge but they do not impart any wisdom. That is untill he meets the ferryman who never really tries to teach him anything except how to listen to the voice of eternity.

[blazeofglory]

I need to write a short paper on Siddhartha's attitude towards teachers. Please tell me what you think about this topic. Thanks !!!

Siddhartha is a character who is moving toward Nirvana. When it comes to a question of teaching certain things can not be taught. This is explicit in his discussion with the Buddha. He wanted to know Buddha nature. Something the Buddha is in substance, not the words of the Buddha. Buddha nature is something that must be realized and that can not be expressed in words.