Gautama Buddha and Siddhartha

Siddhartha and Govinda’s routes to discover enlightenment vary greatly. Siddhartha believes that one must find their own enlightenment. Siddhartha begins to believe that enlightenment cannot be taught early in his life. While he is still a boy living with his father, Siddhartha, “Had begun to suspect that his worthy father and his other teachers, the wise Brahmins, had already passed on to him the bulk and best of their wisdom…his intellect was not satisfied, his soul was not at peace” (5). Siddhartha doesn’t think that the teachers can teach him anything more and he is still a young boy. Later, Siddhartha leaves his friend to progress his life. After they meet the Gotama, Siddhartha says, “Always, oh

Their journey as samanas and students in the stages of life leads them to questioning the path that they were following. Although, Siddhartha did learn and become much more knowledgeable after knowing the teachings from the samanas, he didn’t quite agree with their beliefs in retaining enlightenment. "[Siddhartha] is drawn by his goal, for he does not allow anything to enter his mind which opposes his goal. That is what Siddhartha learned from the Samanas. It is what fools call magic and what they think is caused by demons...there are no demons...everyone can reach his goal if he can think, wait, and fast." With this new found attitude Siddhartha sets out once again, with many new experiences and lessons waiting ahead for him.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse discusses the many paths of teaching that relate to Hinduism that Siddhartha followed on his journey through life and how each path helped him realize what he wanted with his life. Siddhartha follows many teachings or paths in which to reach his spiritual destination, which at the beginning was to reach Nirvana.

As with the Brahmins, Siddhartha’s experience with the Samanas is not a fulfilling one. Hesse writes, “he slipped out of his Self in a thousand different forms. He was animal, carcass, stone, wood, water, and each time he reawakened” (Pg-15). Siddhartha learned a great deal from the Samanas, yet he was still unable to reach enlightenment. During his time with the Samanas, Siddhartha never saw or heard of a single person achieving enlightenment. Feeling disillusioned with the teachings of others, Siddhartha decided to leave the Samanas, and seek out the venerable Buddha. Siddhartha seeks out the Buddha and hears his sermon, but he ultimately decides to seek his own path to enlightenment. In leaving the Buddha, Siddhartha begins to follow a Buddhist path. Siddhartha says, “But there is one thing that this clear, worthy instruction does not contain; it does not contain the secret of what the Illustrious One himself experienced he alone among hundreds of thousands" (Pg-34). In this part of his journey, Siddhartha realizes that no one can teach him how to achieve enlightenment. As Gautama did before him, Siddhartha heads out to find his own path to enlightenment.

When Siddhartha leaves and joins the Samanas we begin to understand the origin of where his suffering is coming from; which is all seen as the second noble truth. In his search for enlightenment Siddhartha hoped that by joining the samanas that he would be liberated from

There have been many teachers in one’s lifetime, some more important than others. These teachers and instructors affect different people in different ways, and lessons are learned that are important to prepare for real life situations. In the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, a young Brahmin named Siddhartha is not content with his current spiritual self. Siddhartha is directed to spiritual enlightenment and Nirvana because of his guidance and teaching from Kamala, Kamaswami, and Vasudeva.

But, Siddhartha would always have a part of the Samana in him, and this is relayed by Kamala when she says, “She was not surprised when she learned that Siddhartha had disappeared […] Was he not a Samana, without a home, a pilgrim? She had felt it more than ever at their last meeting, and in the midst of her pain

Siddhartha & Govinda left to join the Samanas to set themselves free for enlightenment. The Samanas put out the idea that you must eliminate “the self” so one can achieve spiritual fulfillment one day.

Govinda, Siddhartha dearest friend and confident, is often viewed as his Siddhartha’s follower, or as his shadow. In the beginning, Siddhartha goes with Gotama to hear the teachings of the Buddha, and Govinda remains with Buddha to become his disciple. Siddhartha believes that each person must find his or her own way to

Siddhartha resolved that he would first go to the Samanas, ascetics that hard lives of self-denial of all comforts and pleasures in order to rid themselves of desire and those emotions that would hinder them on the journey to discovering Atman. Although joining these extremist monks was a high ambition, Siddhartha knew that he would succeed as a Samana, for he believed that the path of the ascetic would aid him on his journey of self-discovery. As his time with the Samanas lengthened, Siddhartha began to take pride in the knowledge that he was not blinded by the material world like everybody else was; he saw the world for what it truly was -- bitter lies and misery. Despite the fact that Siddhartha was becoming a great Samana, revered by even the older monks, he felt that what he had learned from them he could have learned on his own and in less time. Once again, he was not satisfied with the path that he was on and aspired to achieve even greater heights by parting from the Samanas. This ambition is plainly displayed when Siddhartha’s friend Govinda, who had become a Samana as well, proclaimed that Siddhartha would have learned to walk on water had he stayed with the ascetics. Siddhartha simply says that he would “let old

After three years, Siddhartha realizes that he is not progressing toward his goal. He had learned all the Samanas could teach, and "he lost himself a thousand times and for days on end he dwelt in non-being. But although the paths took him away from Self, in the end they always led back to it" (15-16). Siddhartha discovers this was not the path he sought; escaping from one's Self did not bring one to salvation. His wisdom grew when he accepted there was another path and this short escape from Self is experienced by others in a quite different way such as people who drink numbing their senses like he did with the Samanas. He sees that in truth, there is no learning and that his questioning and thirst for knowledge could not be satisfied by teaching. Seeking another path, Siddhartha hears of a Buddha named Gotama, and with Govinda, who also chooses to leave, ventures to see him.

Siddhartha ignores the ways of other spiritual groups, and goes on his own path, and I break away from mean spirited people. In part one, Siddhartha decides after trying the way of the Samanas, that it is not for him, and Govinda follows. In this quote, Siddhartha explains to Govinda, that although Govinda believes that the samanas will help them attain wisdom and enlightenment, he has noticed that all of them are old and frail, even unhappy. “He has lived for sixty years and has not reached the nirvana. He'll turn seventy and eighty, and you and me, we will grow just as old and will do our exercises, and will fast, and will meditate. But we will not reach the nirvana, he won't and we won't.” (Hesse 20). This leaves Siddhartha to believe that although they may have pushed away their desires for human contact, and ousted their needs for food and shelter, they have still not reached enlightenment, even as old men. They then try to make way with the Buddha. Siddhartha is bewildered by the fact

Siddhartha was a significant person in history for the reason of formulating the religion of Buddhism and teaching what he has learned over the years to a small, growing community whose members came to see him as “Buddha” which means teacher. His teachings included the Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, and The Middle Way which spread and became one of the most common religions in Asia.

Siddharta Gautama was twenty-nine years old when he abandoned his family to search for a means to bring to an end his and other’s suffering after studying meditation for many years. At age thirty-five, Siddharta Gautama sat down under the shade of a fig tree to meditate and he determined to meditate until he reached enlightenment. After seven weeks he received the Great Enlightenment which he referred to as the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path. Henceforth he became known as the Buddha.

In the novel Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, Siddhartha, the handsome and respected son of a Brahmin, lives with his father in ancient India. Everyone in the village expects Siddhartha to be a successful Brahmin like his father. Siddhartha and Govinda end of joining the Samanas who believe the path to enlightenment can be reached through asceticism, a rejection of the body and physical desire. Siddhartha, however, is still dissatisfied. The path of self-denial does not provide a permanent solution for him. Siddhartha hears about Gotama, the Buddha who has attained the total spiritual enlightenment called Nirvana. After a while Siddhartha doesn't believe Buddhism is the way to attain enlightenment so he decides to leave Govinda and Gotama and continues his search for the meaning of life. He finds a beautiful woman named Kamala who teaches him the the pleasures of life and love. Siddhartha gets a job with a merchant named kamaswami. He understands that the material world is slowly killing him without providing him with the enlightenment for which he has been searching. One night, he decides to leave it all behind and departs without notifying either Kamala or Kamaswami. He then meets up with the ferry man Vasudeva and wants to attain the same in peace as the man. Siddhartha works on the river and soon takes in spiritual enlightenment from the river. After many years on the river Siddhartha finally attains true enlightenment ano runs into Govinda who sees Siddhartha's enlightenment through kissing him on the forehead.