Personal Mythology Addition: Dune

As the first literary addition to my personal mythology, I'd like to add Dune by Frank Herbert. Not because it’s especially meaningful to me on a personal level, but because I think it exemplifies the potential of human creativity on a level above most other literary works. I’m not exactly sure what Frank Herbert was smoking when he wrote this book but he managed to achieve something completely otherworldly. And since I value the imagination as one of the cures to what ails us, Dune has always stuck with me as a remarkable achievement. Here are a few of my more specific thoughts about this great work of art…

• Dune is, in my opinion, one of the greatest science fiction books ever written because it does what science fiction is supposed to do, which is to create a world that does not yet exist but still seems plausible. As a reader of Dune, you are immediately aware that you’re in a strange and unfamiliar world. The names of things (“the Orange Catholic Bible,” “the Mentats,” and the Butlerian Jihad,” for example) are strange abstractions of today’s language, so that they are both evocative and foreign at the same time. The cultures and the technologies, meanwhile, feel exotic and new, which is what one would expect with a span of 20,000 years separating the events of the novel from the present day. This sense that the reader gets of exploring a new world, with just a touch of familiarity, makes for a pretty thrilling read.

• Dune is clearly an intellectual feat. It contains a fully imagined world with detailed accounts of its politics, history, religion, and geography. And it reveals pretty relevant messages about cultural conflict, power, oppression, and the struggle for resources. But I gotta say. Most important is the fact that Dune has action and suspense. For all of its intellectual qualities, this book is actually a pretty good page-turner.

• In many ways, Herbert paints a fairly bleak portrait of human nature. The book's characters seem to be almost completely driven by self-interest, and the ending is foreboding of dark days to come. And yet, there is something strangely comforting about Herbert’s vision as well. First, is simply the fact that throughout the centuries mankind has found a way to survive. And in the process of surviving we've managed to develop some incredible technologies that allow us to shape the natural environment and transport us across space. And I think the book also presents a fairly optimistic vision of the human mind and its yet-to-be realized potential. The events of Dune take place at a time when “thinking machines” have been outlawed, and men and women have been forced to develop their minds (I'll leave out the details for anyone interested in reading the book, but let's just say that the results are expectedly bizarre). So amidst the darkness, there is a somewhat reassuring message.

• The book was also made into a controversial movie, which was a huge box-office disaster, and of which I’m a big fan. I mean, who better to make the flim adaptation of this freaky book than David Lynch? My recomendation, however, for anyone interested in exploring the world of Dune is to definitely read the book before watching the movie. The movie is more of a visual accompaniment to the book, and does not stand well on its own as a storytelling device. This is fine since I’m not really sure the book could ever be made into a good film. In any case, the images of Lynch’s film are ridiculously imaginative and haunting, and in many ways actually improve upon the book.

• My last point is another recommendation for anyone interested in looking further into Dune. If you plan on reading the 5 sequel books that Herbert wrote, do so at your own risk. The first book, in my opinion, tells the story that needs to be told. And it was clearly the result of an inspired artist. The other 5 books just become more bizarre and directionless as they go on, and really spoil the mood set by the first book. But that’s just my take. A lot of people seem to really enjoy all of Herbert’s books. So what do I know.

In any case, Dune is now officially a part of my personal mythology. Since it's a work of art that deals with our human nature and where it may take us in the distant future, I'll be placing it in the philosophy section. Keep an eye out for more additions from the art world in the future.

Hermann Hesse and Siddhartha

 

"From that hour Siddhartha ceased to fight against his destiny. There shone in his face the serenity of knowledge, of one who is no longer confronted with conflict of desires, who has found salvation, who is in harmony with the stream of events, with the stream of live, full of sympathy and compassion, surrendering himself to the stream, belonging to the unity of all things."

And so Hermann Hesse describes the bliss that his protagonist achieves at the conclusion of his immensely popular novel, Siddhartha. The book chronicles the spiritual journey of Siddhartha, an Indian man living during the time of the Buddha, from its meandering beginnings to its transcendent conclusion. I decided to read the book as one way of jump-starting my malnourished spirituality. And I think the book has helped in this respect. Siddhartha is an inspiring read. It's short, but when read slowly, a few pages leave one with more than enough to ponder for the rest of the day. (one side note: I made the mistake of choosing my copy of Siddhartha because it was a "like new" hardcover. As a result, I ended up reading one of the older and more disparaged translations...Hilda Rosner's 1951 version. In doing some online research, it appears that Susan Bernofsky's 2006 translation is receiving a lot of praise, so I would recommend this new version to anyone interested in reading the book). In any case, here are a some of my specific thoughts about this deservedly praised book...

• First, the novel is a great introduction to some of the philosophical traditions of Buddhism, a religion of particular interest to my own spirituality (for a basic primer on Buddhism as I have come to understand it, take a look here). Hesse actually organized his novella according to the principles of Buddha's path to enlightenment. The four chapters of Part One correlate with the Buddha's Four Noble Truths. The eight chapters of Part Two correspond to the Buddha's Eightfold Path. In reading the novel and acquainting myself with some of these basic principles of Buddhism, I'm struck by how compatible the religion is with many of my aims with this blog. Two basic principle of Buddhism are that 1) development takes place across the lifespan and 2) adult development requires a conscious effort towards self-improvement. The religion not only provides a clear mythological image of what a developed adult should look like - essentially, one never has to think too hard about 'What would Buddha do?' Chances are, the answer is well documented in Buddhist literature - but it also provides a detailed road map, one that is surprisingly relevant to the challenges of the modern world. So, thank you H. H. for igniting my interest in Buddhism. It's certainly a religion I'll be drawing from heavily as I continue to develop my personal mythology.

•  Second, Siddhartha's journey is yet another example of the sort of adult development and transformation that I love to highlight with this blog. Through his search for spiritual peace and enlightenment, Siddhartha goes through a series of what I might call "phases."Here's the brief rundown...
• Ascetisism: Born into privilege, a young adult Siddhartha leaves home against his father's wishes in order to lead a life of material deprivation.
• Desire: After realizing that the ascetic life provides only temporary relief from his suffering, Siddhartha comes to fully embrace his 'self,' his desires, and human life. For a little while he experiences some bliss, but eventually falls prey to the anxieties of human life.
• Transcendence: Siddhartha, weary from the trivial concerns of human life, and having no faith in the ascetic life, finds a simple occupation ferrying people across a river. Distanced from the dogma of religious teachers (even The Buddha), and with a better understanding of himself and the world, Siddhartha begins to find peace. He begins to internalize some deep revelations like how the river can be all places at once, and how every moment contains an eternity. Siddhartha's spiritual journey culminates with the moment of enlightenment described at the beginning of this post. Ultimately, while Siddhartha never joins the Buddha, he follows a path towards enlightenment that mirrors that of The Buddha. In this way the novel endorses the teachings of Buddhism, but also insists that we can only find peace through following our own personal journey.

Hermann Hesse 1877-1962

• Third, I wanted to point out that Hermann Hesse was going through some fascinating adult development of his own when he wrote the book. Having been attacked for his attempts to apply love and higher values to German politics, and living in an unhappy marriage, Hesse was looking to attain the peace and completeness of The Buddha described in his novel. Whether or not he was ever able to achieve the perfection that Siddhartha reaches, I can't say. Ultimately, however, I am left to wonder if Hesse's fixation with attaining spiritual perfection wasn't an unhealthy approach to adult development. This goal of perfection, in fact, may be my biggest problem with Buddhism, but more on that later.

So I guess my big question after reading Siddhartha and looking into Buddhism is how to incorporate Buddhist principles into my life in a satisfactory manner. I'm certainly not about to spend the next year of my life sitting beneath a tree seeking enlightenment. And yet, I don't want to be someone who strings up some Tibetan prayer flags and then goes back to the trivial concerns of my life. So where lies the balance? In the future, I'll be talking about which aspects of Buddhism work for me and which, well, don't.