by Existential Warrior » Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:09 am
I just completed Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse which was an easy, powerful read. I was surprised to see how similar it was to J. Krishnamurti's philosophy; Hermann Hesse basically shows the only way for one to achieve enlightenment is through actual experience rather than a lecture by a guru of some kind. The Siddhartha in Hesse's novel is a different character from the actual, historical Buddha. The historical Buddha in Hesse's novel is called by his last name, Gotama. However, Siddhartha (first name of Buddha yet a separate character) provides a similar tale of enlightenment in the same vein of Gotama's past journey (i.g., he rejected the caste system and sought his own means of enlightenment). Interestingly enough, the Siddhartha in this tale repudiates Gotama, for Siddhartha believes true enlightenment comes from personal experience plus following one's own path. It was an existential novel in many ways, but I personally, well as of now, believe it did a better job capturing the essence Eastern thought.
I am on volume 7 of Buddha by Tezuka right now. It is good, and it has made me interested in studying Buddhist thought. I am more interested in its actual philosophy rather than tradition (e.g., clothes + culture).
I recently finished The Plague and The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus not too long ago, and they were great. Granted, I do not want to read The Fall by Camus even though it's in my schedule. I will most likely skip this due to it's overly flashy, exuberant prose, and move onto Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil.
Finally, I have been fighting through Immanuel Kant. I am reading Kant's Prolegomena alongside a Routlidge Guide on Critique of Pure Reason. It is really my introduction to metaphysics. I chose to start with Kant because of how he reconciles empiricism and rationalism into one awesome philosophy.
100% free 
