“The Father touched Siddhartha's shoulder.
"You will," he spoke, "go into the forest and be a Samana.
When you'll have found blissfulness in the forest, then come back and teach me
to be blissful. If you'll find disappointment, then return and let us once
again make offerings to the gods together. Go now and kiss your mother, tell
her where you are going to. But for me it is time to go to the river and to
perform the first ablution." “
This passage shows a father’s support for his son’s
wishes even if he doesn’t agree completely with them. Siddahartha’s father
would have rather have his son stay with him but he noticed his son wanted
something else and wanted to leave in search of enlightenment. The father knew
his son wouldn’t leave without his permission so he could have prevented it but
he wants his son to be happy and if he forced him to stay Siddahartha wouldn’t be
happy.
I chose this passage because it reminds me of my
father. My father always tries to give me advice on things but at the end of
the day he lets me decide. He does this as a way of letting me go through
things on my own and hoping that I will learn from my mistakes.
1. Why does Siddahartha leave his father?
Siddahartha lefts his father to joing
the ascetics; he wanted to become a Samana. Even though he was loved by
everyone and viewed as the perfect son Siddhartha wasn’t happy with himself, he
felt limited with his father and craved higher learning.
3. If
Siddhartha never lived with Kamala and the people in the city would he have
reached Enlightenment faster?
I don’t think so. One of the messages in this story is
experience; and going through different types of experiences help people
realize what’s important and what’s not. In his time living with Kamala he
picked up bad habits such as drinking and gambling. These tough times played a
huge role in helping him reach Enlightenment faster.
4. What is the significance of the river?
I believe the river signifies change, a new chapter
in Siddahartha’s life. Siddahartha passes by the river when he leaves being a
samama and also when he stops being a materialist.
8. Who is Vasudeva?
Vasudeva is the ferryman who helps and gives
Siddhartha this new knowledge and point of view of things.
10. Why does Siddahartha decide not to follow
Buddha?
Siddahartha decides not to follow Buddha because
after his long journey and all the experiences he went through he finally reaches
enlightenment and decides to go into “oneness”.
I think you are right about the river. I said it represented knowledge. That is because Vasudeva always told always told him to refer to the river when he was looking for wisdom. Like you said, it was also a new chapter in his life because it is almost as if he chose the river over other religions such as Buddhism. Good observation.
ReplyDeleteI dont agree with the father at all. I know his son had his own path in life, but a father should never leave his son. Growing up with no father is one of the worst things a child can experience. I would have let my son go, but would have tried to stay in his life some way.
ReplyDeleteJeremy Howard
Siddhartha never had any emotional attachment for his father right from his childhoods as i guess.
ReplyDelete