/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.10809207]

Did this book change you?

[Anonymous No.10809212]

>>10809207
I thought so, but turns out it didn't.

[Anonymous No.10809229]

not remotely, but it was a good read

[Anonymous No.10809265]

>>10809207
No but it turned someone I know into a faggot

[Anonymous No.10809268]

>>10809212
books don’t change personality structure, biologically directed habits do

[Anonymous No.10809271]

>>10809207
If a book changes you, it only means you have no experience actively living in the world yourself. What changed me was traveling out in the middle of the desert alone for four months. It was so quiet.

[Anonymous No.10809272]

>>10809207
No, but I had to read it for high school. It’s in my current queue to reread, maybe it’ll be better this time around

[Anonymous No.10809299]

>>10809268
What changes biologically directed habits?

[Anonymous No.10809303]

>>10809207
Serious question.

Why would it?

Also
What book doesn't affect the reader?

[Anonymous No.10809310]

>>10809299
Testosterone.
Weight lifting.
Trying to appeal to a mate.
Trying to acquire social power.
Etc.

[Anonymous No.10809319]

>>10809271
>traveling out in the middle of the desert alone for four months.
Wow. You sure lived your life to the fullest and didn't just waste it being alone.

[Anonymous No.10809368]

>>10809319
>waste it being alone.

[Anonymous No.10809374]

>>10809310
How do you change your behavior if you don't change your ideas or personality?

[Anonymous No.10809456]

>>10809374
Its called growing up and maturing.

It happens if you believe its happening oe or not

Im not sure what you are trying to imply.
Care to clarify?

[Anonymous No.10809478]

>>10809207
I was in a train in the evening, it was already getting dark, and people were being noisy, so I put in headphones and put Camille Saint-Saëns' "Le cygne" from his "Carnaval des animaux" on loop (I had recently stumbled upon and taken quite a liking to it) as I read this.
I'm not sure if it changed me, but I found the prose very comfy and the story very relaxing. It made me forget the noisy and disorderly co-passengers, the journey I still had ahead, and my petty worries about the future. All of this seemed to have also transferred to Le cygne, so that whenever I listen to it, I think of this and forget my worries.

[Anonymous No.10809484]

>>10809207
No. It was shit tier meme philosophy.

[Anonymous No.10809492]

>>10809268
>>10809310

[Anonymous No.10809521]

>>10809268
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malleability_of_intelligence

[Anonymous No.10809524]

>>10809207
It made me substantially less interested in buddhism. Siddhartha is a bit a dickhead.

[Anonymous No.10809535]

>>10809207
I found somewhat superficial relative to the importance of its subject matter, and I had already integrated its basic message from phsychedelic messages, but yeah, it does a good job of distilling the importance of thinking for yourself instead of falling for meme self-improvement philosophies :^)

[Anonymous No.10809537]

>>10809268

[Anonymous No.10809546]

I've tried reading it after I've already read a bunch of sutras and books on buddhism and related, and this didn't do it for me at all, it looks very stupid in comparisson. I don't blame Hesse at all, I'm sure it's a brilliant book to westerners who never got around to know anything on buddhism, but I couldn't get past the first chapters.

[Anonymous No.10809551]

>>10809319
Nah, Desert Anon is cool

[Anonymous No.10809560]

>>10809271
>Changed me
how?

[Anonymous No.10809576]

>>10809207
No, but actual Buddhism did.
This guy in particular:
https://www.youtube.com/user/yuttadhammo/videos

[Anonymous No.10809582]

>>10809478
Le cygne is pretty great isn't it

[Anonymous No.10809588]

>>10809265
>No but it turned someone I know into a faggot
How so?

[Anonymous No.10809603]

>>10809546
This. It really doesn't have anything to do with Buddhism.

[Anonymous No.10809635]

>>10809212
Exactly my experience. But whenever I read books like this (basically about eastern buddhist/monkish/ascetic characters) I get that feeling that everything is going to change. It's happening to me again right now and I hope it sticks this time.

[Anonymous No.10809679]

>>10809319
Different strokes for different folks I guess. It really just forced me to revolve my life around more basic things. I’ve been lots of places for different amounts of time and they’ve all done something to slightly alter me. Change doesn’t have to be something massive, but in the end it’s still there.

>>10809560
A few things. First, I had to find all of my own water, and it’s quite alarming at first being somewhere that constantly wants to kill you with thirst. My life began to revolve around something I’d never even thought twice about before. It was also just watching the milky way overhead every night. That combined with the fact that you hear nothing but wind and maybe a bird or insect every now and then really forced me to confront my own thoughts. The lack of distracting things that normally take your attention away from yourself in everyday life was no longer there. When your mind is the only other person you have to talk to in a quiet place, you’d better get to know him quickly.

[Anonymous No.10809749]

>>10809310
Whens the last time you had an actual conversation with someone of the opposite sex?

[Anonymous No.10809757]

>>10809588
He got into yoga and joined the peace corps

[Anonymous No.10809770]

>>10809757
yikes, can't see how that's related to Siddhartha.

[Anonymous No.10809793]

>>10809757
Yoga is a good thing though.

[Anonymous No.10809800]

>>10809770
It was the book that seemed to change him. I read it upon his recommendation and desu I can't find it the least bit memorable myself. He also got me to read the Dharma Bums. Meanwhile during that period I recommend him brothers karamazov and finished The idiot.

[Anonymous No.10809815]

>>10809793
Sure thing, pal

[Anonymous No.10809816]

>>10809492
>>10809749
This is me.
Half of my friends are female.

Im not sure what either of you two are implying.

[Anonymous No.10809841]

>>10809816
dyel

[Anonymous No.10809875]

>>10809815
How is yoga not a good thing?

>>10809816
I don't think I believe you, perhaps if you take off your pants and show us your firm little buttocks. For real though, your statement >>10809268 does paint you as a kind of simpleton, so don't be too surprised at the ridicule you received.

[Anonymous No.10809881]

>>10809816
Looking great for 6 months. Start doing some abs and chest though. Either way.
>Half of my friends are female.
Why on earth?

[Anonymous No.10809884]

>>10809816
He's implying you're a faggot. The fact you uploaded a picture seeking the approval of others proves it, faggot

[Anonymous No.10810033]

>>10809207
No. It's pseudo philosophy at it's finest.

[Anonymous No.10810056]

>>10809635
meditating every single day is the key to making it stick. Even if its just 7-10 minutes a day, you have to do it every day with out missing.

[Anonymous No.10810120]

>>10809816
Well at least you've got something going for you. Shame you're a moron.

[Anonymous No.10810228]

>>10809546
Hesse was quite knowledgeable on the eastern philosophy of buddhism

[Anonymous No.10810237]

>>10809875
That wasnt me.

>>10809310
I was just responding with examples here.

>>10810120
Im actually not a moron

>>10809884
We all seek approval eventually.

>>10809881
They are fun to tease, and give me a more feminem perspective on life.

[Anonymous No.10810240]

Yes. I read it when I was young and I really liked it. Still in my top 3 favorite books.

[Anonymous No.10810278]

>>10810237
>Im actually not a moron

k

[Anonymous No.10810326]

>>10810237
>more feminem perspective on life
Kek buddy you got a long way to go

[Anonymous No.10810354]

>>10809207
Steppenwolf did more so than this, but both honestly contained ideas I already contemplated. I will say I was absolutely fascinated by how ahead of his time Hesse was though.

[Anonymous No.10810491]

>>10810354
he was into jung

[Anonymous No.10810513]

>>10809207
No, I was older than 14 when I read it.

[Anonymous No.10810544]

>>10810491
Still, he predicted WW2 and frankly captured the current disgruntled and estranged feeling we see this generation struggle with. I honestly thought Steppenwolf's climax was beautifully written. I'm not going to jump onto this 'Hesse is a genius' train, but I have been pretty amazed by some of his work and think /lit/ shits on him a little too much.

[Anonymous No.10810552]

>>10810544
>he predicted WW2
A blind, deaf man with downs syndrome could have predicted World War 2.

[Anonymous No.10810567]

>>10810552
And yet Allied Politicians somehow didn't.

[Anonymous No.10810657]

>>10810567
Was Neville Chamberlain the greatest brainlet of all time?

[Anonymous No.10810736]

>>10810326
>not being spiritualy balanced
>>10810278
>playing ad hominem and not debating the topic

Fuck off lol

[Anonymous No.10810737]

>>10809679
That's great, I gotta try it sometime

[Anonymous No.10810743]

Tl;dr this for me

[Anonymous No.10810958]

>>10809207
I enjoyed it but don’t remember anything besides “time is a flat circle”

[Anonymous No.10811028]

>>10810737
Oh definitely, but make sure you know what you're doing and go on shorter trips first to build up your skill-base. It takes practice like anything else but people seem to forget that mankind has been doing this since the beginning of time.

[Anonymous No.10811030]

>>10809207
I don’t blame the nazi’s for banning his shitty books

[Anonymous No.10811106]

>>10809816
>pussylips
Lmaoing@yourlifedotcom

[Anonymous No.10811199]

>>10809816
/fitlit/

[Anonymous No.10811309]

I read this when I was a sophmore, and I remember it just further strengthened my desire to "be myself" and to prioritize independence. There's an excerpt about how "Siddartha suddenly felt like he knew what he had to do" that felt really alleviating to read. Just imagining to one day have it all fall into place.

[Anonymous No.10811336]

>>10809816
this guy is beta
you are beta

[Anonymous No.10811450]

>>10809212
The question and this reply form a really sad short story. I feel the same way and I keep trying to identify why it didn't. I think it's that I stopped moving. When I left my country to go to college in america, it was a start. I never felt more free than being able to learn about whatever I wanted from people who devote their lives to that topic. But the enthusiasm didn't keep me from getting depressed. Eventually I wasted my time there by spending as much time as I could sleeping, dreading conversations with anyone whose eyes I had to look into. I'm out now, unemployed and no less depressed. I can't do what Siddhartha kept doing and leave again because Siddhartha didn't have to deal with the realities of debt and the hollow infrastructure of modern life (instead of the idealized India imagined by a very clever German man).

[Anonymous No.10811515]

After all the hype I had read about this book I was honestly shocked and kinda pissed at how underwhelming it was

[Anonymous No.10811635]

>>10811336
i aint beta

[Anonymous No.10811745]

>>10809816
>>10809881
SIX MONTHS WTF

I have been lifting for like four years and still look dyel tier, except for looking reasonably fit.

[Anonymous No.10811749]

no

[Anonymous No.10811776]

>>10809207
Honestly, "The Glass Bead Game" had far more of an effect on me. Like he finally figured out a kunstlerroman was quite different than a bildungsroman.

[Anonymous No.10811802]

>>10809319
dumbest shit i ever read

[Anonymous No.10811837]

>>10809816
BASED retard

[Anonymous No.10811840]

>>10809207
>DUDE A RIVER IS LIKE ALWAYS THERE BUT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE THERE'S NEW WATER, JUST LIKE IN LIFE LMAO

God, no wonder his son hated him. From a young age reading this I always thought Siddhartha was a pretentious faggot. He was entirely self-absorbed.

[Anonymous No.10811848]

>>10809207
No, I thought it waS babby shit compared to its inspirations. A nice enough read, though. A step above reading self-help books.

[Anonymous No.10811854]

>>10811840
cursed ugly image

[Anonymous No.10812155]

>>10811745
>Hey Ive been Lifting 6 months now
Is what you said in the cbt thread on fit. Or have outed yourself now?

[Anonymous No.10812216]

Its Good YA
it belongs somewhere between lotr and notes from the underground

[Anonymous No.10813546]

>>10812216
Not even close to Notes, you fucking brainlet

[Anonymous No.10813566]

>>10809268
>biological determinists

[Anonymous No.10813572]

>>10809816
>hurr look at my body
>hurr I have female friends
>hurr I am better than you
>still posts on /lit/

[Anonymous No.10813580]

>>10809816
u have no abs and your neck looks like an alien from startrek

[Anonymous No.10813681]

>>10809816
Looking good boi. You really fired up the chainsmoking muffin tops of /lit/

[Anonymous No.10813691]

>>10812216
Legit, except LOTR is actually patrician

[Anonymous No.10813889]

>>10813546
You missunderstood what i wrote. I meant that it should be read at the Reading level of someone whos previous task is reading LOTR, followed by reading notes. t. Autistic list maker

[Anonymous No.10813929]

>>10809456
You know exactly what I'm implying, and you've just admitted you're wrong.

[Anonymous No.10813974]

>>10809265
that tends to be the thing with liking hesse. many such cases. sad.

[Anonymous No.10814010]

>>10813974
Hesse should be balanced by Junger or someone similar.

[Anonymous No.10814253]

>>10809207
I don't even remember the book. So kinda like maybe it did? Kinda like maybe it didn't you know?

[Anonymous No.10814304]

>>10813929
I'm not separating the two distinctions, Im rather showing what it encompasses, I still don't know what you mean.

Please elaborate

[Anonymous No.10814322]

>>10813572
I like writing and /lit/ is one of my few outlets of sharing my work

[Anonymous No.10814360]

>>10810228
It doesn't show in the book.

[Anonymous No.10814644]

>>10809207
In highschool we had to read it. My teacher asked us what a flower in the book represented. No one answered for a minute. Then the fat Chinese kid jumped out of his chair and yelled "A VAGINA!" He was right and it was so out of nowhere that I will always have this memory.

[Anonymous No.10814661]

>>10813681
gay

[Anonymous No.10814814]

Just started reading it today, read the first part. Anything I should know about the book? What should I expect?

[Anonymous No.10814817]

It was an interesting read but no it didn't change my life at all, in fact no book has ever made that much of an impact on me.

[Anonymous No.10814826]

Maybe, I'll never know

[Anonymous No.10814842]

>yfw time doesn't actually exist

[Anonymous No.10814884]

>>10809207
Loved it, changed me a little. Lots of books and experiences seem to push me in the same direction that I think is what I should aim for. I've had pivotal moments in life before I suppose but then those are supplemented by other experiences, which is what keeps me able to shift directions.

[Anonymous No.10814905]

How would this book even change you in 2018? Are you going to become a monk or a ascetic? I mean I'd love to escape all forms of materialism too but I live in the US where you need a job/career to survive day to day.

[Anonymous No.10815199]

>>10814905
Becoming more spiritual makes life lighter in spirit and less daunting when failure has commeth

[Anonymous No.10815272]

>>10811840
You mean Hesse, right?

[Anonymous No.10815980]

The biggest lesson I took from this book is to not fall into the same trap as Govinda. Don't search for enlightenment in the teachings of others. Enlightenment is something experienced, not learned.

[Anonymous No.10816017]

>>10809207
Not at all. All of his books are snoozefests

[Anonymous No.10816154]

>>10809212
exactly this.

[Anonymous No.10816187]

>>10810228
That's why I don't blame him. But the very limit of what westerners know of Buddhism has expanded throughout the decades. "Some guy" today knows more than Hesse back then. You know that to this day only 3% of tibetan scriptures made into western languages? And perhaps it is not so much about ammount of knowledge, but the fact that he was writing for people who were not knowledgeable at all.

[Anonymous No.10816229]

>>10815980

good point

>>10816187

no offense, but buddhist philosophy is pretty straightforward. There is not much to learn once you understand the basics, you get the general idea of it quickly.

[Anonymous No.10816417]

>>10809207
no

[Anonymous No.10816460]

>>10809207
Not too much.
Narcissus and Goldmund had a bigger impact on me.
Beneath the wheel is more relevant to modern times.
Hopefully starting Magister Levi next week.

[Anonymous No.10816502]

I hope you didn't read this in englisch.

just look at the words in German and the style of Hesse is apparent whereas it's completely ablated in English. first page makes it obvious enough

[Anonymous No.10816571]

>>10815272
Both.

[Anonymous No.10816820]

>>10809310
Can weight lifting change my life? Genuine question.

[Anonymous No.10816845]

>>10816820
It'll give you confidence around other men, and you'll be less intimidated to take lead.

[Anonymous No.10816850]

>>10816845
But that's till I'll get fit or does it change your mood?

[Anonymous No.10816853]

>>10816845
I need confidence around women not men kek what am I gonna do? try to fuck em? I'm not a faggot.

[Anonymous No.10816856]

>>10816853
>not being a faggot
>two thousand and eighteenth year of our lord

[Anonymous No.10816860]

>>10816856
>the times they are a-changin'

[Anonymous No.10816861]

>>10816850
it'll change how you view your self.
You'll see that you're still growing and you have room for improvement, and each new challenge is to prove worth.

>>10816853
lol the only reason you don't have confidence around woman is because you think theyd go after better men

[Anonymous No.10816864]

>>10816861
Thanks for the reply, anon :)

[Anonymous No.10816867]

>>10816861
lifting weights just made me depressed cuz now i have one less excuse for not getting laid and have to face the fact i have autism, although i do get laid slightly more maybe chance of gettin pussy went from 1% to 2% cuz every so often some really horny chick jumps my bones

[Anonymous No.10816875]

>>10816867
lifting weights has always been there, just because you turn a blind eye does not mean it disappears

you need to focus on your spirituality if you ever want to get laid

[Anonymous No.10816886]

>>10816875
>focus on your spirituality
but how?

[Anonymous No.10816910]

>>10816875
yeah it's definitely easier to get laid if u pretend to be religious

[Anonymous No.10816924]

>>10816910
religion=/= Spiritual worth
>>10816886
focusing on being in control of everyday motions, and emotions.

[Anonymous No.10817943]

>>10809816
Do you only work on shoulders and biceps? Everything else is very underdeveloped.

[Anonymous No.10817949]

I couldn't even be bothered finishing it.

All this meditation and stoicism stuff reminds me of when I was young and wondering whether double jumping could be possible. It just isnt

[Anonymous No.10819004]

>>10817949

everytime I try to meditate I just feel stupid

[Anonymous No.10820119]

>>10809310
So much truth. We're goal seeking creatures. You need a focal point to direct your energies. If you're a socially retarded manlet you won't be trying to change. You'll say you are, but you won't be.

>Change your mindset
You take ownership of your life and start building personal power
>Change your physical habits
You feel great all the time and that confidence starts to build
>Change your personal environment
You immediately free up a bunch of personal time because you're on top of your shit
>Change your family environment
You gain in confidence and free up a bunch of mental and emotional processing power
>Change your social standing
Successful and beneficial friendships start happening
>Increase social market value
Girls start happening
>Continue to develop game
Trade up the girls you're with until you gain abundance mentality
>Keep winning at life
Individuate.

[Anonymous No.10820151]

>>10820119
>If you're a socially retarded manlet you won't be trying to change.
sigil phrase
>You take ownership of your life and start building personal power
what does this mean? can I get an ownership slip? a deed of ownership are you going to mail it or do I have to imagine it?
>You feel great all the time and that confidence starts to build
I don't think I feel great when I do heavy leg day or while i'm running uphill
>You immediately free up a bunch of personal time because you're on top of your shit
aren't you one of those advocates of employment and being in school? I have more time as a NEET than I do involved with that stuff so how does all this follow?
>You gain in confidence and free up a bunch of mental and emotional processing power
How does one change the family environment? My parents are wealthier than me and don't listen to anything i suggest for them to do, when i'm nice they are just worse and when i'm cruel they are distant and ostracize me. It seems like we're seeing a pattern with your ideas
>Successful and beneficial friendships start happening
people are going to give me better looks, more money and friends because I have bigger muscles? I don't think this works that way
>Girls start happening
I don't think this is necessarily the case, gymceling is gymceling because of incels who are muscular
>Trade up the girls you're with until you gain abundance mentality
this seems like its a form of male hypergamy, isn't that sociopathic? also how does one trade up if their looks and social standing aren't better?
>individuate
how is individuating winning? are you saying the Koch brothers are highly individuated? also how do you individuate? what do you do? is it about your money and girls and friends? those are all acquired through socialized systems. individuating doesn't have anything to do with that

[Anonymous No.10820812]

>>10820151
Neets are cancer and you will never understand anything about life

[Anonymous No.10820913]

reminder that the goal is dispassion and the full sequence to get there is:
anicca->dukkha->anatta->abandonment->dispassion

[Anonymous No.10820932]

>>10819004
then youre doing it wrong

[Anonymous No.10821075]

>>10817943
Just the angle man, i have a bad chest desu.
My back is prob my best tbfh

[Anonymous No.10821245]

>>10809268
what, like, hormone therapy

[Anonymous No.10821493]

>>10809268
So how can you biologically make yourself not be such a massive faggot?

[Anonymous No.10821677]

>>10809319

you jelly cuz u dont have a desert transcendental story to impress rich mid 20s chicks like anon.

[Anonymous No.10821943]

>>10816875
>Is posting in a Siddhartha thread
>Biological determinist
>Talks about confidence in regards to looks
>Implies that brain is not part of the body
>Implies that only brain can be affected by his conception of res extensa
>Keeps contradicting himself
>Posts a fucking picture of himself naked in a bathroom
If it was a bait, you're oligophrenic, if it isn't you're even more oligophrenic. Just go back to /fit/ and assert your dominance among the rest of your pack.

[Anonymous No.10823262]

my boyfriend kissed me and then i suddenly understood everything

[Anonymous No.10823474]

>>10823262
>anon realizes he's gay

[Anonymous No.10824926]

>>10821493

for the sake of all of us involved let's pretend the inlying joke was that he can't, he wont, and he is already dead.

[Anonymous No.10824957]

>>10820151
you are too far gone

[Anonymous No.10824992]

It aroused an interest in Buddhism, and looking into that changed me.

[OP is an idiot No.10825046]

>>10820812
I'm in school and lift weights and am not a virgin, I'm embarrassing you in public because self-help people and gym bros are subhumans and its amusing to me
>>10824957
funny because I already lift and was just making fun of this mentality

[Anonymous No.10825500]

>>10809207
Yes, it did

[Anonymous No.10825586]

>>10809268
>biologically directed habits
Lmao

[Anonymous No.10825833]

Not in the slightest

[Anonymous No.10826376]

>>10809207
No, because I just looked up summaries of each chapter online and used those to bullshit my way through English class when we were told to read it.