In this blog post, we will examine the background behind the creation of Hermann Hesse’s ‘Siddhartha’, as well as the work’s themes and structural characteristics, and discuss the author’s spiritual inclinations and understanding of Buddhism as reflected in the work.

Hesse’s Travels and the Background of the Work’s Creation

It was in 1911, when Hermann Hesse was 34 years old, that he traveled to Malaysia, Sumatra, and other places before returning via Sri Lanka. These experiences took concrete form as a work of literature 11 years later, in 1922, and the result was ‘Siddhartha’, which bears the subtitle “A Poem of India.”
Hesse was, as he described himself, an Eastern-style seeker and hermit—a seeker who deconstructed himself through endless inner reflection. With Hesse, who endured persecution, exile, and the hardships of life as a refugee during the First and Second World Wars as an anti-war activist, the anguish of the wanderers of that era can be said to have come to an end. However, the anguish of the characters he portrayed will never end. This is because Hesse’s anguish is rooted in the very essence of human nature.
The author’s spirit of a seeker, combined with a journey to the East he undertook about a decade earlier, his long-standing interest in India, and his passion for Buddhism, culminated in the creation of ‘Siddhartha’.

The Focus of the Work and the Interpretation of Buddhism

However, what deserves attention here is the fact that ‘Siddhartha’ is not the highest or absolute realm that Hesse reached. This can be inferred from the fact that the title of the book is not ‘The Buddha’ but rather borrows the name the Buddha used before he renounced the world.
Hesse was more interested in the spiritual journey the Buddha undertook—from the afflictions of life that led him to renounce the world and seek enlightenment—than in the Buddha after his enlightenment. In other words, he focused not on enlightenment itself, but on the path to enlightenment and its mysteries. Therefore, as the subtitle suggests, this work is both a “poem of India” and a confession of Hesse’s desire to explore the inner world.
Hesse also had deep ties to India through his family background. Both his parents and his maternal grandparents had lived in India as Protestant missionaries, and his maternal grandfather, in particular, was a scholar of Indian languages. Consequently, Hesse was more familiar with India than almost any other writer. Due to these unique family ties, ‘Siddhartha’ is sometimes criticized as having been written merely to present a single aspect of India and Buddhism to Westerners, or as merely arousing superficial curiosity among Westerners by presenting a view of Buddhism filtered through the Protestant mindset.
However, such critiques stem from an oversight of Hesse’s seeker-like attitude, as mentioned earlier. Through this work, Hesse did not intend to introduce Buddhism to Westerners, uncover the essence of Buddhism, or extol Asia. If that had been his intention, he would have focused on the Buddha—the Enlightened One, the Pioneer, and the Liberated One—rather than on “Siddhartha,” who is still on the path of spiritual seeking.
Furthermore, the work has been criticized on the grounds that, by emphasizing “love” in the final chapter, it contradicts the Buddha’s teachings—which forbid love to prevent attachment to worldly ties—and thus suggests that Hesse did not properly understand Buddhism. However, this too can be regarded as the short-sightedness of critics who have failed to grasp the true essence of Buddhism. This is because the Buddha’s love, unlike the love that dwells in the minds of ordinary people, has its roots hidden deep within.

Character Development and Literary Techniques

The structure of this work is also unique. Originally, “Siddhartha” was the Buddha’s birth name; however, in this work, by having Siddhartha search for the Tathagata “Gotama,” the author effectively splits a single character into two distinct figures within the narrative. Furthermore, the fact that Siddhartha cannot quench his thirst for enlightenment even through the teachings of “Gotama”—who has already attained Buddhahood—and is thus compelled to seek the path on his own reveals the author’s intention to avoid using real names in this work.
This characterization can be seen as an adaptation of Buddhist teachings that transcend “time” into the work, and it deserves high praise as a masterful technique by the author that subtly conveys the essence of Buddhism: that “change is constancy,” “reincarnation is Nirvana,” and “the mind is the Buddha.” It is difficult to subtly express, as Hesse did, the endless cycle of reincarnation in which thousands of faces blend together on a single face, flowing like a river; this river then rises to the sky as water vapor, becomes clouds, and falls back to the earth.
A remark Hesse made toward the end of his life hints at the distant backdrop of this work. Hesse said:

“When I reflect deeply on what has had a lasting influence on me throughout my life, I can divide it into three main categories. One was the Christian yet thoroughly transnational family tradition in which I was raised; another was the teachings of the great scholars of mainland China; and the last was the historian Jacob Burckhardt, who had an incomparably profound influence on me during my boyhood.”