Siddhartha

Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, depicts the journey and experiences of a man named Siddhartha, on his quest to reach enlightenment. Throughout the story, Siddhartha undergoes many epiphanies, experiences many different sides of life, and changes his idea of how to reach enlightenment several times. Once Siddhartha became a Buddha he was rather logical, scientific, and rational in his approach. He did not speak of supernatural phenomena or an afterlife, he dismissed the possibility of miracles; and he taught self-reliance. He had little use for rituals and formalistic laws, and urged each man to work out his own salvation. Nonetheless, at the end of the novel, can we say he is a good Buddhist?

The historical Gotama, like the figure in Siddhartha taught that love and deep attachment to anyone or anything was wrong, since it lead to suffering. Buddha never defined the state of Nirvana, as he understood it, beyond saying that in it the end of suffering is attained, and that this is accomplished by the absolute extinction of the will. The basic teaching of Buddha is formulated in the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The First Noble Truth is the fact of suffering. The Second Truth is that suffering arises from human desire for so

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As Siddhartha reflected upon his life, he noticed his constant change in perspective: “ It seemed to him as if the river had something special to tell him, something which he did not know, something which still awaited him. His constant change evolved him into the product of a religious, well-formed man. Siddhartha’s miraculous path towards enlightenment is portrayed in Herman Hess’s, Siddhartha. These reflect the external aspects of a person's life, which must not be neglected. Siddhartha then journeyed on alone and felt vulnerable as his past revealed his lost soul, “ I was afraid, I was fleeing from myself…” (Hesse, 38). As the rivers water’s are easily replenished, so too Siddhartha was rejuvenating after years of wrongdoing. And the Fourth Truth prescribes the manner of overcoming suffering and attaining true knowledge.

Subsequently, he ventured out into the world and explored his senses in a desperate attempt to investigate his spiritual needs. From that point on, Siddhartha grasped onto the river and formed a bond with its tranquility and lack of timely existence. Because of his will to find the answers he was given great knowledge, which is the foundation of Buddhism. The first two steps in the Eightfold Path, which leads to the end of, suffering, are right understanding and right resolution; a person must first discover and experience the correctness of the Four Noble Truths, and then resolve to follow the correct path. He felt aware within himself that the materialistic things including love itself, were insufficient; so ultimately “Then Siddhartha knew that the game was finished, that he could play it no longer…he smiled wearily, shook his head and said goodbye to all these things” (Hesse, 84).

Siddhartha’s transformations, “the shedding” of his false skin, the explorations of the “bird” and the merging with the eternal stream exemplified by the symbolism of the snake, the bird and the river form the foundation of Siddhartha. the old, the tired, despairing Siddhartha wanted to drown himself in this river; The new Siddhartha felt a deep love and happiness for this flowing water and decided that he would not leave it again so quickly” (Hesse, 100).

Approximate Word count = 1183
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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