Essay Database

had one single goal--to become empty, to become empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow--to let the Self die. No longer to be Self, to experience the peace of an emptied heart, to experience pure thought... (Page 11, chapter 2) After hearing The Enlightened One speak, Siddhartha discovers that Gotama is the Buddha, yet he still does not choose to be admitted into the Buddha’s band of followers. Siddhartha’s good friend, Govinda, begs Siddhartha …

…he had “never loved any person, as he did this man.”(Page 20) Even though Siddhartha loved and revered the Buddha, he still rejected the Buddha because of a flaw in his doctrine, which enabled him to realize that one cannot become enlightened through teachings and helped him initialize the search for his inner ‘Self’. All of these reasons alter Siddhartha’s spiritual quest -- from avoiding his ‘Self’ to reaching out and searching for it.