From Attachment to Enlightenment: A Buddhist Reading of Saul Bellow's Herzog
| Autor: | Yuan-ching Lin, 林源慶 |
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| Rok vydání: | 1993 |
| Druh dokumentu: | 學位論文 ; thesis |
| Popis: | 81 Through the Buddhist perspective, this thesis attempts to investigate Saul Bellow's Herzog, exploring the protagonist's suffering in terms of attachment (upadana) and demonstrating the possibility of his awakening from wisdom (prajna) and compassion (karuna) in comparison with a similar experience of a Buddhist spiritual journey from ignorance and attachment to detachment and enlightenment. Chapter Two will introduce the Buddhist concept of suffering (dukkha), including the category of suffering, the causes of dukkha such as desire (tanha) and attachment, the ignorance (avijja) toward the nature of impermanence (anitya) and nonself (anatman), the concept of deed (kamma), and the path leading to the cessation of suffering, the enlightenment. This chapter proffers the clarification of fundamental Buddhist theory and notions employed in this thesis. In Chapter 3, the focus will aim at the relationship between suffering and attachment, demonstrating that Herzog's suffering and alienation stem from his attachments to self, discursive thinking and language, and sex. At the same time, some Buddhist concepts such as defilements (klesa), precepts (sila), the category of deed (kamma) concerning its time of operation, the non-virtuous kamma of sexual misconduct, etc. will be further scrutinized and applied to illustrate Herzog's attachments and sufferings. Finally, Chapter Four will deal with the enlightenment of Herzog. It includes the significance of Buddhist enlightenment and Herzog's enlightenment in terms of "living in solitude," "returning home," and "Ten Oxherding Pictures." In this chapter, to further justify the possibility of Herzog's enlightenment, we also intend to treat of his wisdom (prajna), compassion (karuna), and his non-attachment to self, thought, and language. It is Herzog's prajna-wisdom (Buddha-nature) that leads to his self-knowledge and his insight into the nature of things, kindling his compassion for all beings, and his renunciation of attachments. |
| Databáze: | Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations |
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