1. Siddhartha

2. HINDUISM Possibly the oldest religion in the world.
The concept of “perfection” can be related to the idea of reincarnation, which according to Hinduism is a series of births and deaths.
During these successive lives, you accumulate good karma by doing good; being hurtful and selfish accumulates bad karma. Your karma determines your “placement” in the next life.
Upon reincarnation, you will be higher or lower on the karmic ladder. The farther up the karmic ladder, the closer you are to perfection or Nirvana.

3. HINDUISM: The Four Life Goals
1.) DHARMA - the practice of virtue. What is virtuous depends most on your caste and your stage in life.
2.) ARTHA is the goal of success and achieving success. This is also relative to caste. It is spiritually significant for you to be successful at your craft or trade. Seen in his work with Kamaswami.
3.) KAMA - the pursuit of pleasure. Siddhartha pursues this goal with “Kamala.”
4.) MOKSHA - is a rejection of all the life-affirming goals and a pursuit of release from life.

4. HINDUISM The caste system divides people into social classes.
Castes are strict and hereditary. People are born into a caste and remain there throughout their lives.
There are five classes:
1. Brahmin—priests & scholars
2. Kshatriyas—rulers & warriors (royalty)
3. Vaisyas—farmers & merchants
4. Sudras—peasants & laborers
5. Untouchables—those who engage in menial
or religiously impure tasks (despised by all other
castes)

5. BUDDHISM
Hesse’s Siddhartha is a ficticious story of Siddhartha Gotama, the man known as the Buddha.
The real man was born an Indian prince in approximately 623 BC.
He was born a Hindu, so many of his teachings have their roots in that religion.
Near age 29, Siddhartha Gotama left his family and the comforts of wealth and walked the world for six years as an ascetic where he practiced extreme self-denial and self-mortification

6. BUDDHISM He decided that there were no known ways that
could lead him to himself.
He began his own individual path that avoided both extremes of self-mortification and self-indulgence, often referred to as the middle way.
Siddhartha Gotama found enlightenment while meditating under the fabled Bohdi tree.

7. BUDDHISM
In short, the teachings of Siddhartha challenged Hinduism in the following ways:
Questioned the authority of the Brahmin class
Rejected all caste divisions
Condemned the developing philosophies regarding “religion” (it is only what one does, not what one believes, that matters).
No God, nor any specific ritual, can bring enlightenment

8. (Over 600 million Buddhists in the world)
“As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind,
even so the wise are the not ruffled by praise or blame”
Buddha = “Awakened One” (Enlightened One)
(Over 600 million Buddhists in the world)
Buddhist value love, wisdom, goodness, calm, and self-controlled
Buddhist believe following the Eightfold Path leads to life beyond the grave

9. 4 NOBLE TRUTHS: (Buddha believes life is ruled
by these 4 noble truths…)
You need to KNOW these
!!!!!!!!
Life is filled with suffering (Life is suffering)
Suffering is caused by people’s wants (Suffering comes from desires)
Suffering can be ended if people want things, like more pleasure or more power (If you get rid of desires, suffering will cease)
To stop and wanting things, people must fallow 8 basic laws, called the Eightfold Path (Follow the Eightfold Path)

10. Buddhist believe a person must keep an open, warm, and loving heart
Buddhist believe a person is successful when he has given his best effort Ex. When a healthy ant successfully carries a grain of rice, it is a great achievement. For a healthy horse to carry a grain of rice, it is not all that terrific. The ant has put effort into the job; it has fulfilled its purpose as an ant. When this truth is achieved, the ant is no longer just an ant…he has moved into the realm of Truth --- it has become the greatest ant in the world.
Buddhist believe a person should greet each day with joy and all people with gladness
Buddhist believe a person must keep an open, warm, and loving heart

11. Click this link! The path happens by following the 8-fold path:
There is suffering… There is a cause There is a cure… It is immersing
yourself in The Way…
The path happens by following the 8-fold path:
What Is Buddhism's Eightfold Path?
Click this link!

12. Eightfold Path:
Right Seeing (to see and to understand things as they really are)
Right Purpose (commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement)
Right Speech (to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary)
Right Action (to act kindly, compassionately, honestly, and respectfully, so as not to bring harm to others)
Right Livelihood (To earn one's living in a righteous way so wealth is gained legally and peacefully)
Right Effort (To free one’s mind from evil and  work with self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness )
Right Concentration (To practice appropriate and wholesome forms of meditation)
Right Mindfulness (to see things as they are, with clear consciousness)

13. The Structure of Siddhartha
I. The Awakening and Rebirth
In Siddhartha’s “Awakening” in Chapter Four that no one can teach him the way to himself. Siddhartha feels “like a newborn baby”.
In Chapter Eight, in desperation, Siddhartha lets himself fall into the river just as he hears the word, “Om.” As a result, he becomes “awakened” and is like “a little child.”
Both mark turning points in Siddhartha’s development. Siddhartha experiences an “awakening” and is symbolically young again.

14. The Structure of Siddhartha
II. The River
Siddhartha was born “in the sun of the riverbank.” He leaves home and joins the Samanas, representing an extreme in religious asceticism.
In Chapter Four, Siddhartha crosses the river at another turning point in his life. He has just left his best friend and the best teacher with the best teaching (the Buddha).
At Chapter Eight, Siddhartha returns to the river and begins to lead a modest life in which he avoids both extremes.

15. The Structure of Siddhartha
III. Govinda
In Chapter 4, Govinda and Siddhartha part
In Chapter8, Govinda finds Siddhartha by the river.
Govinda returns again in Chapter Twelve to confirm Siddhartha’s change.
Govinda serves a structural reminder, returning every four chapters to acknowledge Siddhartha’s attainment of a new level.