Siddhartha Chooses a New Path...Again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPSfQVkHMcU

Siddhartha's New Realization

    Alien (adjective): Alien is belonging to a foreign nation.
    (Page 31, "The reason why I do not know anything about myself, the reason why Siddhartha has remained alien and unknown to myself is due to one thing-I was afraid of myself, I was fleeing from myself.")

Ostracize (Verb): To ostracize is to exclude someone from a society or a group.
(Page 37, "...condemned to be disregarded and ostracized from the thoughts, because it was not reality.")

Atman (Noun): Atman is a word used in Hinduism, which means the spiritual life principle of the universe, especially when regarded as inherent in the real self of the individual.
(Page 31, "I was seeking Brahman, Atman, I wished to destroy myself, to get away from myself, in order to find in the unknown innermost, the nucleus of all things.")

Mutilate (Verb): To mutilate is to inflict a violent and disfiguring injury.
(Page 32, "I will no longer mutilate and destroy myself in order to find a secret behind the ruins.")

Enthrall (verb): Enthrall is to capture the fascinated attention.
(Page 37, "Siddhartha learned something new on every step of his path, for the world was transformed and he was enthralled.")

Erudition (Noun): Erudition is the quality of having or showing great knowledge.

    (Page 39, "No, this world of thought was still on this side, and it led to no goal when one destroyed the sense of the incidental Self but fed it with thoughts and erudition.")

     Siddhartha has finally understood spiritual enlightenment and found his true "self" in this chapter. He suddenly saw the world's beauty and started discovering who and what he is. He realised that enlightenment cannot be reached by relying on teachers or by ignoring the world, and these thoughts  prompted Siddhartha's greater understanding of himself. My opinion is similar to Siddhartha's. Once, my math teacher explained a formula to our class, and everybody except me could understand the formula and solve the problems. So, I asked my friends for help, but I still could not understand the formula. I was extremely disappointed with myself when my parents' explanation didn't help me, either.  Eventually, I thought about it again on my own, and I could understood the formula perfectly. Teachers help us a lot, but sometimes you have to believe in yourself instead of relying on others.

The Flaw of Gotama's Teachings

   There were important words in this chapter, and those include:
Ascetic (noun): Ascetics are people who are characterised by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.
(Page 20, "The two young ascetics, in their search for Gotama's abode, had been referred to this district...")

Illustrious (adjective): Illustrious is well known, respected, and admired for past achievements.
(Page 26, "O Illustrious One, in one thing above all have I admired your teachings. Everything is completely clear and proved.")

Countenance (noun): Countenance is a facial expression.
(Page 22, "His peaceful countenance was netiher happy nor sad. He seemed to be smiling gently inwardly.")

Allegiance (noun): Allegiance is loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause.
(Page 26, "And now my friend will remain with you; he has sworn allegiance to you.")

Meditation(noun): Meditation is the action of thinking deeply or focusing one's mind for a period of time in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation.
(Page 21, "Here and there they sat under the trees, lost in meditation or engaged in spirited talk.")

Grove (noun): Grove is a small wood, orchard, or group of trees.
(Page 25, "Siddhartha wandered through the grove deep in thought.")

    I had several questions in this chapter: Who will Siddhartha eventually follow after this long journey? Will Siddhartha find his true "self", and spiritual enlightenment in the end? How would Siddhartha define true "self" or spiritual enlightenment?

New Journey, New Decision, New Path

       After Siddhartha and Govinda have been with the Samanas for three years, Govinda is proud of the spiritual improvements they have both achieved since joining. Siddhartha, on the other hand, was still dissatisfied because the path of self-denial did not provide a permanent solution for him. He realises that the Samanas have been as unsuccessful as the Brahmins. At this time, a new holy man, named Gotama the Buddha appeared. According to page 16, "Gotama, the Buddha had conquered in himself the sorrows of the world and had brought to a standstill the cycle of rebirth." Govinda convinced Siddhartha they both should leave the Samanas and seek out Gotama. Siddhartha agrees, and he hypnotizes the elder Samana with his gaze.

      The questions I have for this part of the text are: how could Siddhartha conquer the elder Samana with merely one simple gaze? According to Siddhartha, he never achieved his true goal of enlightenment. He always found his Self again after losing it through asceticism. Would this new journey with Gotama help Siddhartha find true spiritual enlightenment? How would Gotama be different from the Satamas? The Samanas tortured themself for self-denial. Is this a suitable way to discover spiritual enlightenment?

     In my opinion, Siddhartha has a certain power over the Samana and he is already spiritually superior because he was able to hypnotize the elder Samana with one mesmerizing gaze. Siddhartha is closer to spiritual enlightenment than the Samanas. Also, when Siddhartha waited in his father's room to leave the Brahmins, he gazed steadily to get his father's approval. This may suggest that Siddhartha has astonishing strength of will and determination to reach his goal. Once, I have heard from a Buddhist that Buddha believed that the cause of suffering is the craving for something that can never be satisfied. I believe that Gotama would not torture himself to find spiritual enlightenment, unlike the Samanas. The Samanas believe that enlightenment can be found only through self-denial and worldly desires.

Gospel According to Malchus

The Gospel According to Malchus

I accompanied the soldiers to arrest Jesus of Nazareth,

Who calls himself as the King of Jews.                                 

Then, a man asked, “Whom seek ye?”

We answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

He replied, “I am he.”

Jesus was neither armed nor vicious looking, nor threatening,

But with an extremely calm and peaceful face.

All of the sudden, one of his disciples struck my ear.

The pain and shock ran through my ears.

My vision became blurry, and blood spurted across my cheeks.

I felt fury, revenge, and embarrassment at the same time.

I was beyond self-control and rational thoughts.

It was a violent abuse, worse than my master’s.

I locked eyes with the vile man.

I was ready to draw my sword, but Jesus said,

“Put up thy sword into the sheath,” to his cruel friend.

“The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?”

I was astonished by his response, and released my grip on my sword.

I was confused by the reasons we were seizing him.

According to Caiaphas, Jesus was threatening and dangerous.

My master’s beliefs contradicted Jesus’ true actions.

All I saw was Jesus saving his enemy, who tried to arrest him.

As we bound him, I still wondered why he was not resisting.

We first led him to Annas, but some disciples,

Including the man who struck my ear, followed us.

Suddenly, he stopped at the door in the palace,

And the vile disciple did not follow us anymore.

When I looked back, he was standing with an extremely guilty face.

Some Jews surrounded him and asked,

“Art not thou also one of his disciples?”

He denied the fact, and his statement astonished me.

Although I was sure he was denying it because of fear,

I asked him the same question.

“Did not I see thee in the garden with him?”

Yet again, he refused to acknowledge it as truth.

I could see through his eyes that he was ashamed and guilty,

But desperate to not be accused as Jesus’ accomplice.

The Spiritual Journey of Self-Discovery

      Siddhartha reminds me of Chris McCandless from Into the Wild. Although Chris McCandless got high grades from a satisfactory university, he ceased communicating with his family, gave away his college fund, and began traveling. He dreamed of living in Alaska, far away from the city to "find himself." His adventure into a wild area without planning, experience or supplies such as money or a compass caused him to end his life. He wanted to travel and enjoy the freedom because he opposed to a lot of societies, routines, and values. 

  This situation is similar in Siddhartha. In the first pages of the book, it seems like Siddhartha is a perfect person. He was a son of a Brahman, wise, handsome, and strong. However, Siddhartha was not happy nor peaceful, because the Brahman teachings did not give him spiritual enlightenment. Siddhartha believes,"The Brahmins and their holy books knew everything; they had gone into everything-the creation of the world, the origin of speech, food, inhalation, exhalation, the arrangement of the senses, the acts of gods-but was it worth while knowing all these things if they did not know the one important thing, the only important thing?" (Page 4) He strongly desired to be a Samana, despite his father's opposition. Eventually, his father gave him permission and he became a Samana to understand life and its meaning in the deepest levels. Although life of a Samana was not easy, he continued to practice self-denial and meditation. According to page 12, Siddhartha learned a great deal from the Samanas; he learned many ways of losing the Self. He travelled along the path of self-denial through pain, through hunger, thirst and fatigue.

  Siddhartha made me think of what I really want in life, and I realised that I should follow my own path through dedication, and achieve my goal little by little. (In that way, Siddhartha is also related to the Tao.) Siddhartha's passion of becoming a Samana and finding spiritual enlightment was extremely strong. Siddhartha and I have different personalities. He had deep thoughts and he was very patient to achieve his goal. He would travel without relying on anybody else. On the other hand, I ask a lot of people for their help, or come up with a new goal if the former did not work out. In conclusion, Siddartha taught me that religious teachings doesn't necessarily lead to one finding the true inner "self." Also, I noticed that, in Siddhartha's case, knowledge and wisdom come from experience, not books. Siddhartha could solve his unanswered questions through his journey, and this is similar to the Tao's teachings.

The Tao of the Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Tao of the Very Hungry Caterpillar

One day in the garden under the glistering sun, a newborn came out of the dirt.

The caterpillar was very, very hungry. As soon as he came out of the dirt, he began searching for food.

The first day,

he ate one piece of candy,

but he was still hungry.

The second day, he ate two cookies,

but he was still hungry.

The third day, he ate three lollipops, but he was still hungry.

The fourth day, he ate four cakes, but he was still hungry.

The fifth day, he ate five chocolates, but he was still hungry. Before he knew it, the caterpillar grew and grew.

Ant: The Tao in this part is practicing through non-action. The caterpillar doesn’t realize he is growing constantly because eating is a natural habit for living things.

Suddenly, the caterpillar‘s stomach hurt so much.

“Maybe my stomach is hurting so much because I ate so much junk food. I should try eating healthy vegetables and leaves from now on.”

Ant: The Tao in this part is about the difficulty the caterpillar is facing when he took things lightly. He didn’t think about his stomach, instead he kept on eating unhealthy junk food. As a result, the caterpillar suffers and hurts his stomach.

From that day, the caterpillar began eating leaves and fruits from the trees in the garden. The caterpillar felt much better after eating healthy food.

Ant: This part is Taoist in the way that the caterpillar does not attempt anything very big, stops being greedy, and thus achieves greatness. Because his stomachache stopped, he was a healthy caterpillar again.

One day, the caterpillar began building a cocoon around his body. By the time the caterpillar was inside the cocoon, he was very big.

   After seven days, the cocoon began to crack and the caterpillar in the cocoon came out. But the creature that came out of that cocoon was no longer a caterpillar. Instead, it was a beautiful, gorgeous butterfly with colorful wings.

Ant: The Tao in this part is the scientific nature. In the universe, the difficult things are done as if they are easy. It seems like an extremely complicated and scientific process when the caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly. However, this great act was made up of small deeds. As the caterpillar eats and eats, it begins developing and growing. In conclusion, the caterpillar achieved great acts in little things.