ORBIT-OnlineRepository ofBirkbeckInstitutionalTheses Enabling Open Access to Birkbeck’s Research Degree output Tightropes and tripwires: a Buddhist interpretation of suffering through attachment in Kafka’s work https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40080/ Version: Full Version Citation: Cerase, Damian Saverio (2014) Tightropes and tripwires: a Buddhist interpretation of suffering through attachment in Kafka’s work. [Thesis] (Unpublished) c 2020 The Author(s) All material available through ORBIT is protected by intellectual property law, including copy- right law. Any use made of the contents should comply with the relevant law. Deposit Guide Contact: email Research degree thesis Tightropes and tripwires: a Buddhist interpretation of suffering through attachment in Kafka’s work by Damian Saverio Cerase PhD in German Birkbeck College, University of London 1 Declaration The work presented in this thesis is the candidate’s own. _____________________________________ 2 Abstract The aim of the dissertation is to challenge perceptions of Kafka’s work as negative by developing more constructive readings of the accounts of suffering and abandonment which form an undeniable feature of his writing. The term ‘Kafkaesque’ is now in widespread use to indicate a situation or event characterised by frustration and torment, but this designation paints an unnecessarily bleak picture of Kafka’s fictional landscapes. One path towards a brighter view of his art is offered by Buddhism, which puts suffering at the centre of its philosophy and yet develops a positive spiritual outlook on life. It does so by giving clear reasons for suffering based on natural causes, leaving no room for mysterious or irresistible forces. From a Buddhist standpoint, the most formidable barrier to alleviating suffering is not presented by a powerful Court or an impregnable Castle, but by the human self or – more precisely – attachment to self. The Buddhist approach to Kafka reads his works in two complementary ways, for content (information) and form (expression). The first examines the close parallels between key Buddhist teachings (such as on suffering and emptiness) and predominant themes from Kafka’s writing (such as futile quests after recognition and justice); the second explores the gaps and paradoxes that confront Kafka’s characters and readers, and measures them against the absurd, nonsensical utterances (koans) used by Zen masters to nonplus their students and loosen their dependency on conventional modes of thinking. In this way, it will be shown that the suffering Kafka describes so relentlessly can be traced back to personal attachments rather than intervention by external agencies. 3 Acknowledgments In memory of my father, Eliodoro Cerase, and his example of selflessness. I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr Joanne Leal and Dr John Walker, for their astute guidance and support, and especially my wife, Chantawan, for her patience and fortitude throughout a long process. 4 Table of contents Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................... 7 1.1 Suffering and attachment ................................................. 7 1.1.1 Consensus: sentenced to suffering ....................................... 10 1.1.2 Dissident voices: resisting suffering ...................................... 15 1.1.3 Transformation: sleepwalking into suffering ......................... 22 1.2 A Buddhist approach ...................................................... 25 1.2.1 Content ................................................................................ 27 1.2.2 Delivery ................................................................................ 31 1.2.3 Methodology ......................................................................... 36 Chapter 2 Tightropes and tripwires ................................................ 40 2.1 The text as a tightrope ................................................... 40 2.1.1 The Three Universal Characteristics ..................................... 41 2.1.2 The Four Noble Truths ......................................................... 48 2.1.3 The Law of Dependent Origination ........................................ 54 2.1.4 Awakening and enlightenment ............................................. 67 2.2 The text as a tripwire ..................................................... 72 2.2.1 Koan effect ........................................................................... 73 2.2.2 Kafka’s koans ....................................................................... 77 2.3 Scope ............................................................................. 79 Chapter 3 Der Proceß ..................................................................... 84 3.1 Introduction ................................................................... 84 3.2 Tightropes (illocutionary approach) ................................ 88 3.2.1 Arrest ................................................................................... 89 3.2.2 The Court and its Law .......................................................... 94 3.2.3 Consequences ...................................................................... 98 3.2.4 Guidance ............................................................................ 101 3.2.5 Closure ............................................................................... 106 3.3 Tripwires (perlocutionary approach) ............................. 112 3.3.1 Arrest ................................................................................. 113 3.3.2 The Court and its law ......................................................... 115 3.3.3 Consequences .................................................................... 117 3.3.4 Guidance ............................................................................ 119 3.3.5 Closure ............................................................................... 130 3.4 Sleepwalking into suffering .......................................... 137 3.5 Conclusion ................................................................... 142 Chapter 4 The Zürau Aphorisms ................................................... 148 4.1 Introduction ................................................................. 148 4.2 Illocutionary messages ................................................. 150 4.3 Perlocutionary messages .............................................. 170 4.4 Conclusion ................................................................... 189 Chapter 5 Das Schloß ................................................................... 191 5.1 Introduction ................................................................. 191 5.2 Tightropes and tripwires .............................................. 196 5.2.1 Arrival and aims (action) .................................................... 198 5.2.2 Castle law (reflection) ......................................................... 201 5 5.2.3 Staking claims (action) ....................................................... 215 5.2.4 Village law (reflection) ......................................................... 220 5.2.5 Consequences (action) ........................................................ 231 5.2.6 Special law (reflection) ........................................................ 235 5.2.7 Letting go (action) ............................................................... 241 5.3 Sleepwalking into suffering .......................................... 248 5.4 Conclusion ................................................................... 253 Chapter 6 Ein Hungerkünstler (collection) ................................... 259 6.1 Introduction ................................................................. 259 6.2 Tightropes and tripwires .............................................. 262 6.2.1 Erstes Leid ......................................................................... 263 6.2.2 Eine kleine Frau .................................................................. 269 6.2.3 Ein Hungerkünstler ............................................................. 276 6.2.4 Josefine, die Sängerin oder Das Volk der Mäuse .................. 285 6.3 Sleepwalking into suffering .......................................... 299 6.4 Conclusion ................................................................... 301 Chapter 7 Conclusion ................................................................... 304 7.1 Change in perspective .................................................. 304 7.2 A new Kafkaesque ........................................................ 307 Appendix A Bibliography ................................................................. 311 A.1 Works by Franz Kafka .................................................. 311 A.2 Commentaries on Kafka ............................................... 311 A.3 Other literary references .............................................. 315 A.4 Buddhist texts .............................................................. 315 A.5 Works on Buddhism ..................................................... 315 6 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Suffering and attachment Human beings’ intellectual side is very important for their lives. Descartes said, ‘I think, therefore I am’. That is a human being. Originally, thinking is not good and not bad. But everybody becomes attached to their thinking, so they have a problem.1 Kafka’s work has been viewed from many angles and associated with many ideas, but despite the rich variation of readings there has still been