On Consciousness.
December 5, 2012 § 12 Comments
Worthy of love and admiration were these people in their blind loyalty, their blind strength and tenacity. They lacked nothing; there was nothing the knowledgeable one, the thinker, had to put above them except for one little thing, a tiny, small thing: the consciousness, the conscious thought of the oneness of all life.
And Siddhartha even doubted in many an hour, whether this knowledge, this thought was to be valued thus highly, whether it might not also perhaps be a childish idea of the thinking people, of the thinking and childlike people. In all other respects, the worldly people were of equal rank to the writer men, were often far superior to them; just as animals too can, after all, in some moments, seem to be superior to humans in their tough, unrelenting performance of what is necessary.
Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha.
I think you’re awesome, Archana.
Haha! But I didn’t write this!!
I first read Herman Hesse many years ago and was drawn in to the amazing depth of insight he portrayed. I think I learned more about Buddhism at that time from “Siddhartha” than any other source. The first of his books I read was “Narsiss and Goldmund” and I thought the conflict between the contemplative life and the world of action was depicted brilliantly in the two characters. I never forget the tree in the opening pages!!! Interesting passage you’ve posted, food for thought indeed!! Tahnks, Kevin
I’m glad you liked it and could connect to it.
🙂
great share!
🙂
glad feeling superior and being superior are 2 different things
Sure they are. What’s.the context?
just relating to the words up there
Ah! Okay!
(Praise be for Unthinking Man
He makes us glad we’re not like him
He makes us wish we COULD be like him)
(And anyway he does think a bit
It’s just another cheat)
It is. The Unthinking Learned man is an illusion.