"Demian"

My teacher recommended me to read Demian by Hermann Hesse. Hesse was very much influenced with the East, particularily with beliefs stressed by Buddha, In Demian an underlying point is to be in perfect harmony, for you to basically be perfect, you must give up all desire.What do you guys think of this book or others or Hermann Hesse himself?More importantly, does anyone believe as one of their beliefs or morals that giving up desire is important or needed or anything like that?

If happiness is having all your desires fulfilled, then there's two ways to bring that about:1) Fulfill your desires.
2) Reduce the number of desires that you have.It's a novel approach, anyway. I don't think there is a one of us that doesn't have some needless desire we couldn't get rid of. But in many ways it seems like solving the problem of not having shoes by getting rid of your feet.

I bet Buddha would say if you desire shoes walk barefoot.

"What are shoes compared to the Path?"

yeah, I knew it.

Chris, I remember years ago when I was your age, I used to have a friend who went to Hebrew School. He was Jewish, and on Fridays, we would go get a six pack of beer and hang out...he was reading a couple of Hesses books at that time. I remember Siddhartha, and I also remember reading Narcissus and Goldmund. I was not a religious seeker so much as I was a free spirit that liked lazy Fridays and a few beers to go along with them. Of course, my friend was as much like Goldmund as I was like Narcissus. Now, years later, my friend is married and is a respectable Jewish Torah scholar. He is grounded in what he believes, and so am I. I think that for a young man such as yourself that professes to be Christian yet who is still impressionable that it is a good thing and also a wise thing to expand your mind and your awareness concepts of what others have written. Hesse is a great author for mind/spirit expansion. Another good author is Carlos Castaneda. Check out this link:Carlos Castaneda Don Juan Teachings Many fundamentalist christian parents fear that if their kids read anything that is not christian, it will warp their minds. I think that the opposite is true. If you read a lot of other views besides the beliefs that you were raised with, you will have the mental ammunition to more accurately decide for yourself what you believe and why you believe that way. Keep those grades up, Porcelain...If God did not want us to think, He would not have given us a mind!This message has been edited by Phatboy, 10-17-2004 11:12 AM

Can I get a big "Amen, Brother."

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

I bet Jesus would say if you desire sex BURN IN HELL. But seriously... just remember the old saying... "I cried when I had no shoes, until I saw a man with no feet. And then I laughed, really loud."

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"If I had to write ten jokes about potholders, I don't think I could do it. But I could write ten jokes about Catholicism in the next twenty minutes. I guess I'm drawn to religion because I can be provocative without harming something people really care about, like their cars."
-George Meyer, Simpsons writer

Read any good books lately, Dan?
One of my great fears in life is that my Diabetes will become bad enough that they have to amputate my feet. The thought of you laughing would not annoy me so much if God blessed you with some good jokes! This message has been edited by Phatboy, 10-13-2004 04:48 AM