Buddhism in the Novel

The religion of Buddhism forms the foundation upon which Hesse's novel, Siddhartha, is built. Just as the Buddhist religion centers on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, the character of Gotama in the novel is the one who has achieved enlightenment and who has many followers, including Govinda. Hesse connects Siddhartha to the actual Buddha through name; Gautama Buddha was also given the name Siddhartha.

The Middle Way is the center practice upon which Buddhism surrounds itself, and it was discovered by Gautama Buddha. It means taking the middle path, or finding a balance between self-mortification and self-indulgence, in order to achieve Nirvana (the end of all suffering and the understanding of the true nature of all things). In the novel, Siddhartha eventually takes this path in the third part of the novel and attains enlightenment by the river.

In real life, the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path as a cure for these truths. The truths consist of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering (the Noble Eightfold Path). In the novel, Gotama teaches these concepts to his followers. The chapters in the novel mirror this idea as well. The first four chapters follow the four noble truths, and the last eight parallel the Noble Eightfold Path as Siddhartha travels through these concepts toward enlightenment.