Buddhism in Fight Club Essay -- Literary Analysis

â€Å"Whenever we find one who has come unscathed through every test in childhood, youth, and manhood, we shall set him as a Ruler to watch over the commonwealth; he will be honoured in life, and after death receive the highest tribute of funeral rites and other memorials.† Great philosophers like Plato and Machiavelli raised a lot of arguments in how a true guardian is like. Although there have been some oppositions on how guardians should execute duties, it is noticeable that both philosophers agree that a true guardian is more than just a leader. A true guardian assumes active responsibility to the society of which he or she is part. As discussed in Plato’s The Republic and Machiavelli’s The Prince, guardians are leaders that don’t own any possessions and they are active in ruling the society. True guardians are enlightened from shadows of lies. These rulers desire to offer his people a better world to live in. True Guardians must be very skillful in fighting. Siddhartha Gautama is a great example of a true guardian. 'Siddhattha Gautama' means descendant of Gotama who is efficacious in achieving aims. He later became known as Buddha, which means "one who is intuitive, awakened, or enlightened." But how does one achieve enlightenment and what do you do after gaining it? Siddhartha Gautama was born in Lumbini, near the Nepalese-Indian border. Asita, a famous wise sage, predicted that he would become a great king or a great religious teacher. Siddhartha’s father, King Suddhodana, wished for his son to be a king so he shielded him from religious teachings or any knowledge of human sufferings. King Suddhodana evidently thought that any contact with unpleasantness might prompt Siddartha to seek a life of renunciation as a religious... ...mber 8, 2010, http://www.san.beck.org/EC9-Buddha.html. Sanderson Beck, â€Å"Buddha and Buddhism,† accessed December 8, 2010, http://www.san.beck.org/EC9-Buddha.html. Buddhist-Tourism.Com, â€Å"Buddhism Statistics,† accessed December 8, 2010, http://www.buddhist-tourism.com/buddhism/buddhism-statistics.html. Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club (W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2005), 46. Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club (W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2005), 41. Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club (W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2005), 43. Robin Chew, â€Å"The Essences of Buddha’s Teachings, accessed December 6, 2010, http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/buddha2.html. Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club (W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2005), 48-49. TeachingsOfBuddha.com, â€Å"Do Not Believe in Anything,† accessed December 10, 2010, http://www.teachingsofthebuddha.com/do-not-believe-anything.htm.