Quest tomorrow on Chapters 7-12 of Siddhartha
Vocab, content questions, and AP rhetoric style questions

Chapters 11-12 vocab

Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues
Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence.
Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what
you think the underlined words mean on the lines provided.
1. Their vanities, desires and trivialities no longer seemed absurd to him; they had
become understandable, lovable and even worthy of respect.
_________________________________________________________________
2. The men of the world were equal to the thinkers in every other respect and were often
superior to them, just as animals in their tenacious undeviating actions in cases of
necessity may often seem superior to human beings.
_________________________________________________________________
3. He remembered how once, as a youth, he had compelled his father to let him go and
join the ascetics, how he had taken leave of him, how he had gone and never returned.
_________________________________________________________________
4. He mentioned everything, he could tell him everything, even the most painful things;
he could disclose everything.
_________________________________________________________________
5. They all belonged to each other: the lament of those who yearn, the laughter of the
wise, the cry of indignation, and the groan of the dying.
_________________________________________________________________
6. "But most of all, I have learned from this river and from my predecessor, Vasudeva."
_________________________________________________________________
7. "Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate
always sounds foolish."
_________________________________________________________________
8. "During deep meditation, it is possible to dispel time, to see simultaneously all the
past, present, and future...."
_________________________________________________________________
9. The river seemed like a god to him and for many years he did not know that every
wind, every cloud, every bird, every beetle is equally divine and knows and can teach
just as well as the esteemed river.
_________________________________________________________________
10. Govinda said: "But what you call thing, is it something real, something intrinsic? Is it
not only the illusion of Maya, only image and appearance?"
_________________________________________________________________

Tomorrow: 

• Period 7 - Upper Level B - 26 Computers; Projector;
• Period 8 - NC/DC East 112 -- (32) PCs + Proj;

Chapter 11 and 12 discussion questions

Chapter 11

2. Siddhartha loved his son so much that he wanted to “keep him from suffering, pain,

and disappointment”. In the process Siddhartha makes himself and his son

miserable. Why wasn’t this working?

3. Vasudeva tells Siddhartha that his son is not in a “place where he can prosper”. Why can’t he prosper there?

4. How has Siddhartha become like the child-like people? How is he different?

Chapter 12

2. Even though the Buddha forbade his followers from binding their hearts “to earthly

things with love”. Siddhartha says that love seems to be “the most important

thing”. How does Siddhartha explain the apparent contradiction? Interpret

Siddhartha’s explanation in your own words.

3. According to the novel, in what ways might inner peace be outwardly apparent? What

do Govinda and Kamala both recognize in Siddhartha that was apparent in Vasudeva

and the Buddha?

The Buddha went on his way, modestly and deep in his thoughts, his calm face was

neither happy nor sad, it seemed to smile quietly and inwardly. With his hidden smile,

the Buddha strolled on quietly, calmly, and not unlike a healthy child. He wore his robe

and placed his feet much like all the other monks did, according to an exact rule. But

his face and his gait, his gaze lowered quietly, his motionless hands hanging down, and

even every fi nger of his dangling hands bespoke peace, expressed perfection--they did

not search, or imitate—as they breathed softly with a calm that did not wither, with a

light that did not fade, and with a peace that was intangible. (p. 30).

They heard his voice and it was also perfected, wholly calm and full of peace. (p. 31)

Vasudeva ‘s smile was shining brightly, and fl oating radiantly over all the wrinkles of his

old face just as the Om was fl oating in the air over all the voices of the river. His smile

was shining brightly when he looked at this friend, and the same smile now started to

shine brightly on Siddhartha’s face as well. His wound now blossomed, and his suffering

was radiant; his self had taken fl ight into the unity. (p. 103)

Siddhartha watched him leave with deep joy and intense solemnity; he saw that

Vasudeva’s steps were full of peace, that his head was fi lled with radiance, and that his

whole body was fi lled with light. (p. 104)

Govinda thinks about Siddhartha in Chapter Twelve:

His teachings may be strange and his words may sound foolish, but a purity, calmness,

mirth, mildness, and holiness that I have found in no one else since our exalted teacher’s

death shines out of his gaze, hands, skin, and hair. (p. 111)

And Govinda saw that the smile of this mask, the smile of unity on the fl owing forms,

the smile of coexistence in the thousand births and deaths, the smile of Siddhartha, was

exactly the same type of smile as the quiet, delicate, impenetrable, wise, sometimesbenevolent,

sometimes-mocking, thousand-fold smile of Gotama, the Buddha, as he

himself had looked upon it with reverence a hundred times. Govinda knew that perfected

ones smiled like this.” (p. 112)

Find a passage from chapters 9 or 10 which you feel contains some widsom which you can relate to. Perhaps it speaks to your own personal development or relationships within your own family, perhaps involving parents and their children. 

Explain why you chose the passage you did and how it is that you can connect with and relate to this wisdom. Try to use an anecdote or in some way talk about a real-life event or relationship that helps you reflect on this wisdom.

Read 11 and 12 this weekend. Use the handout to guide your reading and your vocabulary preparation.

The questions below are Due Friday, December 4.

Also, you must hand in your essay through turnitin.com by Monday, December 7, or have your grade for the paper and the semester replaced with an incomplete (IC).

Wesley

Siddhartha

December 3, 2015

Chapters 9-10

1.      What is it that brings Siddhartha feelings of love, enchantment, and gratitude?

2.      Who is Vasudeva?

3.      What is the first "secret from the river" that Siddhartha learns?

4.      Why do some people mistake Siddhartha and Vasudeva for brothers?

5.      Explain the metaphor, “I looked at my life and found that it also was a river” (p. 84).

What insight did Siddhartha gain from this realization?

6.      Explain how Siddhartha’s observations of Kamala as she lay dying reinforced his belief that time does not exist.

7.       Vasudeva observes, “You have experienced suffering...but I see that no sadness has entered your heart” (p. 89). Why has no sadness entered Siddhartha’s heart?

8.       Approximately how old is Siddhartha as he begins his life as a ferryman, and which of the Four Life Stages of Hinduism would Siddhartha now be entering

 The Four Life Stages

• the student – this stage is characterized by the individual being engaged in learning.

• the householder – this stage is characterized by the individual being engaged in the

domestic duties of maintaining a household.

• the retired person – this stage occurs when an individual is at or near the end of his

life. He has already been a householder and a student.

• the ascetic – this is a stage wherein the individual dedicates all his energy to spiritual

goals and rejects worldly pleasures.

9.      What one word does the river pronounce "when one is successful in hearing all its ten

thousand voices at the same time"?

10.   How does Siddhartha's son behave while living in the hut by the river?

11.  What does Vasudeva suggest Siddhartha should do for his son?

VOCABULARY ASSIGNMENT 5 Siddhartha

Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence.

Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what

you think the underlined words mean on the lines provided.

1. You have already learned from the river that it is good to strive downwards, to sink,

to seek the depths.

_________________________________________________________________

2. I am not a learned man; I do not know how to talk and think. I only know how to

listen and be devout; otherwise I have learned nothing.

_________________________________________________________________

3. I have taken thousands of people across and to all of them my river has been nothing

but a hindrance on their journey.

_________________________________________________________________

4. As time went on his smile began to resemble the ferryman's, was almost equally

radiant, almost equally full of happiness, equally lighting up through a thousand little

wrinkles, equally childish, equally senile.

_________________________________________________________________

5. Something emanated from the ferry and from both ferrymen that many of the

travelers felt.

_________________________________________________________________

6. Siddhartha treated him with consideration and left him alone, for he respected his

grief.

_________________________________________________________________

7. One day, when young Siddhartha was distressing his father with his defiance and

temper and had broken both rice bowls, Vasudeva took his friend aside in the

evening and talked to him.

_________________________________________________________________

8. Do you not compel this arrogant, spoilt boy to live in a hut with two old banana

eaters, to whom even rice is a dainty, whose thoughts cannot be the same as his, ....

_________________________________________________________________

9. He felt a deep love for the runaway boy, like a wound, and yet felt at the same time

that this wound was not intended to fester in him, but that it should heal.

_________________________________________________________________

10. And when he felt the wound smarting, he whispered the word Om, filled himself with

Om.

_________________________________________________________________

Mr. Wesley

AP English Lang and Comp 7

2 December 2015

George Orwell’s Reinforcing Rhetoric

            Rhetoric is a valuable mechanism used both consciously and intuitively in writing. Successful authors use rhetorical methods to “show not tell” a story. Without these tools, their writing would be dull, and their audience would have difficulty understanding the themes and morals of the story. George Orwell used these skills to frighten many people with the message of his novel 1984: do not let your government take control of you. In 1984, Orwell used parallelism, imagery, and repetition to enhance the reader’s perception of Winston’s helplessness, fear, and confusion.

            Parallelism was used between pages 221 and 224 to emphasize Winston’s emotions when he realized he had no control over his fate. In this passage, he and Julia were caught by the Thought Police for attempting to rebel against the Party. Winston had recently ceased reading Goldstein’s book to Julia when “there was a sound of trampling boots below, inside the house and outside. The yard seemed to be full of men. Something was being dragged across the stones” (222).  Orwell made these sentences short to convey the feeling of panic in Winston’s mind; not only were the Thought Police going to kill him, but they were going to murder the girl he loved. This fear was further expressed by abrupt shifts in focus between paragraphs. Like Winston’s thoughts, the paragraphs do not flow together; they jump from one subject to another because there is so much occurring at once. In one paragraph, Winston observes Julia’s “face, upside down, yellow and contorted, with the eyes shut, and still with a smear of rouge on either cheek” but in the next paragraph he “noticed that he badly wanted to urinate” and “that the clock on the mantelpiece said nine, meaning twenty-one” (224). Winston switches from thinking about Julia, himself, the Thought Police, the glass paperweight, the woman outside, the time, and his bladder. Winston is distressed and confused, which is expressed by the parallelism of the passage.

            Fear, a side effect of confusion, is demonstrated by imagery throughout the passage. When the Thought Police surround Julia and Winston in the room, Orwell focuses on one “man with a smooth prizefighter’s jowl in which the mouth was only a slit” to help the reader make the inference that these people are dangerous, strong, and experienced (223). This not only explains Winston’s fear, but it makes the audience fearful as well. Orwell helps readers imagine the violence in the scene by providing similes that are relatable. For example, when a guard attacks Julia, his fist hits her “solar plexus, doubling her like a pocket ruler. She was thrashing about on the floor, fighting for her breath” (223). The audience can imagine Julia being punched in the stomach, folding over in pain, collapsing to the ground, and gasping for air. Imagery is more entertaining to a reader than a statement like the fact that “no one had hit [Winston] yet” because readers can picture the scenario clearly and accurately in their minds (223). They can almost feel the sense of helplessness Winston experiences as Julia is getting beaten up right in front of him. It is understandable that “even in his terror it was as though he could feel the pain in his own body, the deadly pain which nevertheless was less urgent than the struggle to get back her breath” (223). Winston wants to help Julia, yet he is too afraid of getting hurt to help her. He is willing to let her die because he doesn’t want to be tortured, even though he knows intuitively they will torture and shoot him anyway.

            Repetition of the word “dead” in this section of 1984 further emphasizes Winston’s mixed emotions. He vowed when he joined “The Brotherhood” to sacrifice anything for the rebellion, even his life. Ever since this promise, he knew inevitably that his death would be the result of rebellious actions. While Winston was being attacked by the Thought Police, he was using doublethink: a method of thinking which involves understanding two opposing viewpoints at the same time. He was surprised that they were there, but at the same time, he had been anticipating it. On page 221, Winston finishes reading “The Book,”  and proclaims that “We are the dead.” Julia and the telescreen both repeat this phrase, which is significant because it is startling yet not surprising. From the beginning they knew they were dead, yet they were shocked when the telescreen told them they were dead. Even Winston thought “It was starting, it was starting at last!” while he trembled in fear (221). This is doublethink because Winston seems as if he was excited to die, yet he was afraid.  Doublethink further adds to the confusion of the passage

 George Orwell used the rhetorical methods of  repetition, imagery, and parallelism in 1984 to express the panic and confusion in the scene. Short sentences, vivid details, and repeated phrases help readers accurately comprehend not only the scenario, but the moral of the entire novel. Orwell’s message is clear; he wants his audience to be afraid of Winston’s helplessness so that humans can prevent governments from taking power away from people in the future. If citizens of a country are aware of injustice and willing to fight it, the government cannot take control of them like the “The Party” took control in Oceania.

Mr. Wesley

AP English Period 7

17 November 2015

Orwell’s Predictions Are Upon Us Today

            George Orwell wrote the famous novel 1984 based upon his beliefs on what could happen in our worlds future. Unfortunately, many of his predictions were proven true as they are still present in our society today. The most prevalent issue that Orwell addressed in 1984 was the government’s use of surveillance programs to spy on its citizens. Another important issue that Orwell touched upon was how Oceania was continuously at war for no apparent reason. Although our society is oblivious to these issues, they are still relevant and should be exposed.

            Safety of a country’s citizens is always a top priority, but Oceania went far beyond measures to ensure a false sense of security to its citizens. They used barbaric methods on their people to ensure that they wouldn’t betray the party but would betray their fellow comrades and presumed loved ones. We could say that the surveillance program currently used in the United States is a poor mans version of the one that Orwell depicted in Oceania. After all, “the governments collection of sensitive information is itself an invasion of privacy” (American Civil Liberties Union), so how long will it take before the government starts using more extreme approaches like Oceania used to ensure “safety” of us? Hopefully never, but all the signs indicate that we could end up living in an Orwellian like society in the future.

The United States implemented its newest surveillance program called PRISM in 2007. The program flew under the radar throughout the mainstream media, but that changed quickly. The program was created to “collect private electronic data belonging to users of major internet services” (Everything you need to know about PRISM). Presentation slides were leaked by a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor and it showed that the NSA had direct access to many major internet servers. This was a very big deal since the NSA is violating “the constitutional rights of US citizens” (Everything you need to know about PRISM). This act by the US government is almost equivalent to the thought police in Oceania “snooping into peoples windows” (Orwell 2). Even though what the thought police were doing to the Oceanians was much more intense than what the US government is doing to its citizens, it is still the same concept. They are spying on their citizens and denying them privacy. The US and Oceania also used similar means to gather information from “enemies” of the state.

            The United States has a maximum security prison in Guantanamo Bay. It’s notorious for its high profile prisoners and the methods they use on the prisoners to gain information. Guantanamo Bay is extremely similar to room 101, which the party would use to torture people who committed thoughtcrime or who they thought were an enemy of the state. Many of the people who the party would torture were so horrified that they would “pour forth a confession of real and imaginary crimes” (Orwell 240)  just to avoid the brutal beatings that they were given consistently. The methods that the Party and the United States use are very similar. Winston would go to room 101 and be severely beaten then “left to recuperate for a few hours, and then taken out and beaten again” (Orwell 241). However, in Guantanamo Bay, the people being tortured are alleged terrorists and criminals, not innocent civilians of the United States. Regardless, the methods used on these people are inhumane, and not all of them are proven guilty. One suspected terrorist named Murat Kurnaz was taken to Guantanamo Bay after he traveled to Pakistan from Germany after 9/11. He was taken prisoner by the United States even though “there seemed to be ample evidence that Kurnaz was an innocent man with no connection to terrorism” (CBS). Kurnaz was “held underwater, shocked, and suspended from the ceiling” (CBS). It’s absurd that our government would do this to someone who was evidently innocent. Furthermore, it shockingly resembles how the Party would treat the citizens of Oceania. It’s chilling to think about, but how long could it be before the government uses these brutal means on citizens who are suspected of committing a petty crime? It’s an insoluble question, but one thing is for sure: our government is a minor form of the one that Orwell created in 1984. Besides torturing people aimlessly and spying on our citizens, our government does other things that Orwell indirectly warned us would happen.

            Just like Oceania, the United States has also been at war constantly even though we really “have no material cause for fighting” (Orwell 186). Along with the people of Oceania, war is just a part of being an American since we have “been at war 93% of the time – 222 out of 239 years – since 1776” (InfoWars). Since there is no reason for war now, it seems that we are fighting to keep our “economy existing by and for continuous warfare” (Orwell 197). Since we are at war regularly, it takes a toll on many families who lose loved ones in pointless combat. We could have taken a hint from 1984 and realized that our battles being fought currently are “between combatants who are unable to destroy one another” (Orwell 186). Instead, we are spending 610 billion dollars on our military, which is more “than the next 7 countries combined” (NBC). Although the “attacks of September 11, 2001, helped accelerate the drive to war in 2003” (Oxford Journals), we were not completely there to defeat the terrorists who were responsible for the attacks.  We were highly involved with oil in the Middle East, even though “the competition for raw materials is no longer a matter of life and death” (Orwell 187). We have a variety of other ways to supply energy to people, so fighting in the Middle East to “safeguard the Persian gulf and the regions oil producers” (Oxford Journals) is unnecessary, especially with all the troops being killed.

            Orwell astonishingly predicted many of the issues that our world face today. Even though our problems are not nearly the same magnitude as Oceania’s, they could definitely escalate to that in the future, especially given the similarity between the two nations. The issues that Orwell brought up in 1984 are definitely still relevant today and it will remain that way and possibly get even worse, unless we do something about it.

            

Today is work day; I need one more day to get all of the 1984 essays completed. 

Read the article on Om and finish the following for tomorrow, December 2

Wesley 4AP November 30, 2015 (Due beginning of class, Dec 2)

Read Siddhartha Chapters 7-8 pp. 75-100

Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean on the lines provided.

1. Many of these [things he had learned from the Samanas] he had retained; others were submerged and covered with dust._________________________________________________________________

2. Slowly, like moisture entering the dying tree trunk, slowly filling and rotting it, so did the world and inertia creep into Siddhartha's soul; ...._________________________________________________________________

3. Siddhartha wandered along a strange, twisted path of this last and most base declivity through the game of dice._________________________________________________________________

4. Weariness was written on Kamala's beautiful face, ... weariness and incipient old age, and concealed and not yet mentioned, perhaps not yet conscious fear--fear of the autumn of life, fear of old age, fear of death.

_________________________________________________________________

5. Without knowing it, he had endeavored and longed all these years to be like all these other people, ... and yet his life had been much more wretched and poorer than theirs, for their aims were not his, not their sorrows his.

_________________________________________________________________

6. He was full of ennui, full of misery, full of death; there was nothing left in the world that could attract him, that could give him pleasure and solace.

_________________________________________________________________

7. "I know you, Govinda, from your father's house and from the Brahmins' school ...and from our sojourn with the Samanas and from that hour in the grove of Jetavana when you swore allegiance to the Illustrious One."

_________________________________________________________________

8. "Remember, my dear Govinda, the world of appearances is transitory, the style of our clothes and hair is extremely transitory."_________________________________________________________________

9. He had learned these three arts [fasting, waiting, and thinking] and nothing else during the diligent, assiduous years of his youth.

_________________________________________________________________

10. As a young man, I was attracted to expiation. I lived in the woods, suffered heat and cold. I learned to fast, I learned to conquer my body. _________________________________________________________________

Part II: Please asnswer the question and include an embedded quote with the corresponding page number.

1. What becomes of Siddhartha's "glorious, exalted awakening" that he had experienced in his youth?

2. When Siddhartha's soul goes to sleep, what becomes more awakened?

3. What are some of the things Siddhartha learns to do while living in the town after meeting Kamala and Kamaswami?

4. In what game does Siddhartha become increasingly involved?

5. What does Siddhartha dream when he becomes dissatisfied with his gambling life?

6. What discovery does Kamala make after the disappearance of Siddhartha?

7. For what does Siddhartha passionately wish when he leaves Kamala and the town?

8. What sound comes to Siddhartha that awakens his "slumbering soul"?

9. Who does Siddhartha see when he awakes from his long sleep?

10. What things does Siddhartha claim he has had to experience "just in order to become a

child again and begin anew"?

Read the following passage from Chapter Five of Siddhartha carefully before you choose your answers:

“When the day began, Siddhartha asked his host, the ferryman, to get him across the river. The ferryman got him across the river on his bamboo-raft while the wide water had a reddish sheen in the morning light.

“This is a beautiful river,” he said to his companion.

“Yes,” said the ferryman, “a very beautiful river, I love it more than anything. Often I have listened to it, often I have looked into its eyes, and always I have learned from it. One can learn much from a river.”

“I thank you, my benefactor,” spoke Siddhartha, disembarking on the other side of the river. “I have no gift I could give you for your hospitality, good sir, and also no payment for your work. I am a man without a home, a son of a Brahmin and a Samana.”

“I did see it,” spoke the ferryman, “and I expected no payment from you and no gift in exchange for hospitality. You will give me the gift another time.”

“Do you think so?” asked Siddhartha amusedly.

“Surely. This too, I have learned from the river: everything comes again! You too, Samana, will come again. Now farewell! Let your friendship be my reward. May you think of me when you make offerings to the gods.”

Smiling, they parted. Smiling, Siddhartha was happy about the friendship and the kindness of the ferryman. “He is like Govinda,” he thought with a smile,” all I meet on my path are like Govinda. All are thankful, though they are the ones who would have a right to receive thanks. They are all submissive; they all want to be friends, happily obeying and not thinking much. People are all like children.”

11. The ferryman’s statement of personification explicates

(A) the river.

(B) the hut.

(C) the bamboo raft.

(D) their future meeting.

(E) the path to perfection.

12. What future relationship between the two men is foreshadowed in the passage above?

(A) Siddhartha will bring the ferryman a gift.

(B) Siddhartha will return to learn from the river.

(C) Siddhartha will return to the Samanas.

(D) Siddhartha will return home.

(E) Siddhartha will be the ferryman’s mentor.

13. Siddhartha’s attitude toward the ferryman could best be described as

(A) distant.

(B) estranged.

(C) dismissive.

(D) blasé.

(E) sentimental.

14. Siddhartha states, “They are all submissive, they all want to be friends, happily obeying and not thinking much. People are all like children.” This passage contains an example of what type of figurative language?

(A) analogy

(B) simile

(C) metaphor

(D) hyperbole

(E) allusion

A number of people need to take Siddhartha quiz ch 1-6 from last Tuesday, so we will have a quiet work day while they take their quiz and I work on grading essays.

Megan Mahats Niko
Kelsey
Griffin
Alyson
Kay



Michael
Isaac
Kim
Vicky
Brandon
Lara

I should be able to hand back 1984 papers tomorrow. 

Read about the holy word om. It is significant in the reading of chapter 8.

Ommm. It's often the first and last sound in your ears in a yoga class. But what does it mean? Perhaps you've heard it defined as "the sound of the universe" -- but what does that really mean?

Turns out, a lot -- and yet, like many spiritual (and especially yogic) things, it's not so easy to define. "It's big. Om is nebulous, and it's vague. It can mean almost anything," says Yoganand Michael Carroll, dean of the Kripalu School of Yoga.

For starters, it's all about sacred threes. Most faiths have trinities in their roots and Hinduism, where om was born, is no different. Even though it's usually pronounced seamlessly so it rhymes with "home," om is made up of three syllables: A, U, and M, or, phonetically, "aaah," "oooh," and "mmm." Experts say these syllables can represent a slew of trios, including: the heavens, earth, and the underworld; the Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva (aka creator god, sustainer god, and destroyer god); and the waking, dreaming, and dreamless states -- "to represent all of consciousness," says Yoganand.

The sound appears to have first cropped up in the Upanishads, a collection of sacred texts that inform Hinduism. The Mandukya Upanishad, which is entirely devoted to om, begins like this: "Om is the imperishable word. Om is the universe, and this is the exposition of om. The past, the present, and the future, all that was, all that is, all that will be is om. Likewise, all else that may exist beyond the bounds of time, that too is om." That pretty much covers it; om is big indeed.

Om is also considered the mother of the bija, or "seed" mantras -- short, potent sounds that correlate to each chakra and fuel longer chants (like, say, Om Namah Shivaya). Depending on who you talk to, it relates to either the third eye or the crown chakra, connecting us to the Divine. No wonder its core to some Buddhist systems and other Indian religions. Some say it's even among the sounds recorded in deep space -- on NASA's website, Earth itself sounds a bit om-y.

Some scholars say that the shape of the visual om symbol embodies each of its syllables -- the three is the Sanskrit letter for "ahh," that same three with the mini S on it is "oooh," and the bindhi and half-moon at the top are the "mmm." Some say the symbol is connected to Ganesh, the Hindu half-elephant god who removes obstacles, because if you squint, you can see his rotund curves and graceful trunk represented.

Many layers of meaning are there for the delving, yet om has endured in popularity simply because of its vibration -- how we feel when we chant it. "The sound itself seems to calm the nervous system," says Stephen Cope, founder of Kripalu's Institute for Extraordinary Living, and author, most recently, of The Great Work of Your Life: A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling. "Like all chants, it gathers and focuses the mind, and in that state it's not vulnerable to the rising of the odd thought that will create grasping or aversion. It shifts us out of our ordinary discursive mind and into a more contemplative mode."

It also unites us as a group. "When we sound om together, we're aligning body/mind/spirit; we're aligning with one another; we're aligning with the universe because it's the sound of the universe and we're referencing something real," saysBhavani Lorraine Nelson, who leads workshops around the world on the power of the voice and is the creator of the CD series Meditation Made Possible. "It's a very grounding and peaceful sound. One teacher said that if you simply go through life chanting om, the very air around you will sparkle."

That sense of infinity you feel as that final "mmm" gradually fades into nothing is enhanced by what many call the fourth syllable of om (sorry, trinity-lovers!): silence. "So often in my classes we will sound om, letting those three-voiced parts go very consciously through the cathedral of the mouth, and then sit for a moment in that silence after and simply observe what that feels like," Bhavani says.

Yoganand says that chanting om also creates a link with those who have practiced before us. "It's a sound that validates oneness and harmony," he says. "We chant it because yogis have for thousands of years. And when we chant it, we're connecting with those yogis in a ritual way, and drawing upon the support of the practices they've been doing for a long, long time."

Ommm.

Om 101

• For one tiny sound, om is deeply complex. Apply these simple mouth adjustments just as you would shift an asana to maximize its potency.
• For "ahh," relax the jaw. The sound rises from the belly, lips are parted, and the tongue doesn't touch the palate.
• In "oooh," the lips gently come together as the sound moves from the abdomen into the heart.
• During "mmm," the tongue floats to the roof of the mouth, and the lips come together to create a buzzing in the head. Some say this syllable goes on twice as long as the others.
• Silence -- or om's "fourth syllable" -- follows while the sound fades into nothing. Observe how you feel now.

Valerie Reiss is a writer, editor, speaker, consultant, and Kripalu Yoga instructor in Brooklyn, New York. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, the Huffington Post, Women's Health, Natural Health, Yoga Journal, Beliefnet, Vegetarian Times, and more. She keeps a gratitude blog, wrote Yoga Journal's NYC blog, Samadhi and the City, and has blogged for Lime.com and others. As Holistic Living & Blogs Editor at Beliefnet.com she also co-wrote the popular Fresh Living blog. She was previously Articles Editor at Breathe, a yoga-inspired lifestyle magazine. A native New Yorker, Valerie has an M.S. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. from Beloit College. She's also working on a book about yoga, cancer, and some of life's other humbling hilarities.

Follow Kripalu on Twitter: www.twitter.com/KripaluCenter

Quiz on chapters 1-6

Documentary on the life of Buddha 

No Homework..Gobble Gobble!!

We will have a 50-60 point quiz tomorrow on the vocabulary and content of chapters 1-6 pof Siddhartha, so study the vocab words and discussion questions from your past several assignments,

Today we will focus on the The Hero's Journey (aka, The Quest)

First, focus on your current journey. Take ten minutes to respond to the following:

Journal Entry Two

Re-examine your goal from the first journal entry. What fears or weaknesses within you (inner obstacles) need to be overcome in order to attain this goal? Do not reflect on outside obstacles. What knowledge or skills do you lack at this point which may hinder your progress if not addressed?

Journal Entry Three

What mentor/helper do you have on your journey to guide you? What skills/talents does this person possess that you would like to acquire within yourself? What tools or gifts have you been given that will help you along the way? What strengths do you have available within you?

Now, let's take a look at the hero's journey as we so often see it represented in myths and movies:

First, lest review the archetypal pattern of The Quest (different name for a hero's journey 

Reviewe Chapters 5-6:

VOCABULARY ASSIGNMENT 3 Siddhartha

Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues

 Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence.

Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what

you think the underlined words mean on the lines provided.

1. ... but in previous times all this had been nothing to Siddhartha but a fleeting and

illusive veil before his eyes, regarded with distrust, condemned to be disregarded and

ostracized from the thoughts, because it was not reality, because reality lay on the

other side of the visible.

_________________________________________________________________

2. No, this world of thought was still on his side, and it led to no goal when one

destroyed the senses of the incidental Self but fed it with thoughts and erudition.

_________________________________________________________________

3. Then all the magic disappeared from the young woman's smiling face; he saw

nothing but the ardent glance of a passionate young woman.

_________________________________________________________________

4. He ... learned that it was the grove of Kamala, the well-known courtesan, and that

besides the grove she owned a house in the town.

_________________________________________________________________

5. Kamaswami is beginning to grow old and indolent. If you please him, he will place

great confidence in you.

_________________________________________________________________

6. Kamaswami came in, a supple, lively man, with graying hair, with clever, prudent

eyes and a sensual mouth.

_________________________________________________________________

7. And remembering Kamala's words, [Siddhartha] was never servile to the merchant,

but compelled him to treat him as an equal and even more than his equal.

_________________________________________________________________

8. "If I ever go there again, ... friendly people will receive me and I will be glad that I

did not previously display hastiness and displeasure."

_________________________________________________________________

9. He saw them scold and hurt each other; he saw them lament over pains at which the

Samana laughs, and suffer at deprivations which a Samana does not feel.

_________________________________________________________________

10. You are Kamala and no one else, and within you there is a stillness and sanctuary to

which you can retreat at any time and be yourself, just as I can.

________________________________________________________________

Answer the questions using a mix of your own words and embedded quotes with page #’s.

1. When Siddhartha decides to be "present" in the world, what does he begin to notice

about it?

2. After leaving the presence of the Buddha, what is it that Siddhartha believes he must

gain for himself?

3. What does Siddhartha's dream as he slept in the ferryman's straw hut.

4. The ferryman tells Siddhartha that one can learn much from something. What?

5. When Siddhartha is tempted by the woman in the village, what stops him from

proceeding?

6. Who is Kamala?

7. Who is Kamaswami? Why does Kamala send Siddhartha to him?

8. What services does Siddhartha say he can perform for Kamaswami?

9. What is Siddhartha's attitude toward business?

10. To what does Siddhartha compare those who have no "stillness and sanctuary to which

[they] can retreat at any time"?

Chapter 1-2 assignment from last week

Wesley 4AP

November 17, 2015

Day 1

Activity 1: What moves you?

“Everything had changed suddenly--the tone, the moral climate; you didn't know what to think, whom to listen to. As if all your life you had been led by the hand like a small child and suddenly you were on your own, you had to learn to walk by yourself. There was no one around, neither family nor people whose judgment you respected. At such a time you felt the need of committing yourself to something absolute--life or truth or beauty--of being ruled by it in place of the man-made rules that had been discarded. You needed to surrender to some such ultimate purpose more fully, more unreservedly than you had ever done in the old familiar, peaceful days, in the old life that was now abolished and gone for good.”

― Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago

Write about a time when "everything had changed suddenly" for you.

or

Write about following your bliss...but first you have to find your bliss.  What excites you? What gives your life meaning, purpose, vigor? If you're not sure, what do you think it could be? What would you most like to do/be with your life? What is your "bliss"? 

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself"
-- Joseph Campbell   

The usual hero is someone: from whom something has been taken who feels something is lacking from the normal experiences available or permitted to the members of his society

Was Winston or Julia heroic? Why or why not?

But Mr. Wesley, we did this freshman year! Wahhhhh!:  Revisiting The Hero’s Journey

The Hero's Journey Outline

The Hero’s Journey is a pattern of narrative identified by the American scholar Joseph Campbell that appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development.  It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization.

Its stages are:

1.        THE ORDINARY WORLD.  The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma.  The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history.  Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress.

2.        THE CALL TO ADVENTURE.  Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change.

3.        REFUSAL OF THE CALL.  The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly.  Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead.

4.        MEETING WITH THE MENTOR.  The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey.  Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and wisdom.

5.        CROSSING THE THRESHOLD.  At the end of Act One, the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.

6.        TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES.  The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the Special World.

7.        APPROACH.  The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Special world.

8.        THE ORDEAL.  Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear.  Out of the moment of death comes a new life.

9.        THE REWARD.  The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death.  There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again.

10.      THE ROAD BACK.  About three-fourths of the way through the story, the hero is driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure is brought home.  Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission.

11.     THE RESURRECTION.  At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home.  He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level.  By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.

12.       RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR.  The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed.

ASSIGNMENT 1 for chapters 1-2 (pp 3-24) of Siddhartha

Complete the vocabulary below as a pre-reading activity

Complete the questions while reading pp 3-24

VOCABULARY

Words you may have to look up online or in dictionary:

Samaṇa; The Pali word for shramana (a wandering monk; a shramana is one who renounces the world and leads an ascetic life for the purpose of spiritual development and liberation)

Brahmin

Brahman

Om:

Upanishads:

Samaveda/ vedas:

Atman:

Vocabulary Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence.

Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what

you think the underlined words mean on the lines provided.

1. Govinda knew that he would not become an ordinary Brahmin, a lazy sacrificial official, an avaricious dealer in magic sayings, a conceited worthless orator, a wicked sly priest, or just a good stupid sheep amongst a large herd. _________________________________________________________________

2. Did he not go continually to the holy springs with an insatiable thirst, to the sacrifices, to books, to the Brahmins' discourses? (two words)

_________________________________________________________________

3. Wandering ascetics, they were three thin worn-out men, neither old nor young, with dusty and bleeding shoulders, practically naked, scorched by the sun, solitary, strange and hostile--lean jackals in the world of men.

_________________________________________________________________

4. If you find bliss in the forest, come back and teach it to me. If you find disillusionment, come back, and we shall again offer sacrifices to the gods together.

 _________________________________________________________________

5. He waited with new thirst like a hunter at a chasm where the life cycle ends, where there is an end to causes, where painless eternity begins.

_________________________________________________________________

6. ... the hour was inevitable when he would again find himself, in sunshine or in moonlight, in shadow or in rain, and was again Self and Siddhartha, again felt the torment of the onerous life cycle.

_________________________________________________________________

7. What is the holding of breath? It is a flight from the Self, it is a temporary escape from the torment of Self. It is a temporary palliative against the pain and folly of life.

_________________________________________________________________

8. "How could it be that amongst so many learned men, amongst so many Brahmins, amongst so many austere and worthy Samanas, amongst so many seekers, so many devoted to inner life, so many holy men, none will find the right way?" _________________________________________________________________

9. Think, what meaning would our holy prayers have, the venerableness of the Brahmins, the holiness of the Samanas, if, as you say, there is no learning?

_________________________________________________________________

Assignment 1 Reading Questions: Complete these in your notebook. Provide page #’s for each answer.

Chapters 1-2

1.      Who is Govinda?

2.      How do the people of Siddhartha's home town feel about him?

3.      What has caused Siddhartha "to feel the seeds of discontent within him"?

4.      When Siddhartha first leaves home, where does he want to go to try to acquire more knowledge?

5.      Who accompanies Siddhartha on his journey to become Samana?

6.      What changes take place in Siddhartha while on the road with the Samanas?

7.      What is Siddhartha's "one single goal" on his first journey?

8.      With what two animals did Siddhartha associate himself through practicing "self-denial and meditation according to the Samana rules"?

9.      Who is Gotama?

10.  How does Siddhartha prove that he has mastered all that the Samana could teach him?