Siddhartha at Last?
Siddhartha experiences a rebirth. What really saves him? I think that's why Govinda is there right after, to make him see another path. Another life he could've had, who knows, maybe it would've been worse than the one he has been living. He recognizes that he has been living in the transitory, or the temporary, but isnt everything transitory? Everything is temporary, everything will eventually come to an end. I think he probably means materialistic things, but maybe sometimes you have to live a life totally wrong for you, to find the right one.
Saver Favor
Those things that help you through even the darkness of times. Or that give you hope to keep moving on, a force so strong that people devote their lives to. Sometimes it can be a curse that controls us, or a gift that saves us. Whatever you believe in, fight for, or live for it basically does the same for everyone.
I think that believeing in something is necessary. Whether it be a person or many, an object, an idea. It could save someone just like the sound of Om saved Siddhartha. There comes a point in our lives where everything just seems to tumble down, and for me sometimes believeing that everything serves a purpose or the biggest cliche of them all, everything happens for a reason helps. Everybody tells me that it isn't comforting at all, but it works for me, everybody should do what works for them.
My 3rd grade science teacher Ms.Tobin always said, "fair isn't what he or she gets, it's what he or she needs" usually it would just frustrate me because Justin was allowed to chew gum and I wasn't. Now I understand, I mean if meditating and thinking works for Siddhartha, thats cool. And if going to church every day (seriously everyday works for my grandma then so be it. It frustrates me that we all complicate the world so much with our "religious differences" or "ways of life" when really it's all the same.
Going back to my last blog post, Siddhartha rebirths again, and while describing it I can relate it to how people feel when they go on those journeys. Like the guy we heard last class who walked across North America. Even though their motives are totally different, they experience similar feelings.
Don't Let it Pass By? *Hero*
"For a long time Siddhartha had lived the life of the world without belonging to it."
The first sentence to this chapter, it kept me thinking for a while. To me, Siddhartha is a misfit. He doesn't really fit in anywhere, (well except the Samanas) but he doesn't really care. I mean he's envious of ordinary people yet he doesn't try to be like them, he doesn't want to. Overtime he became wealthy, had servants, a house but his experiences turned to memories. He still kept "secret knowledge of the Self, of the eternal Self, that was neither body nor consciousness." Which is probably the most important part of him, part of us.
Siddhartha reminds me of one of my dad's favorite musicians, Cat Stevens. Cat Stevens was definitely a misfit, he didn't feel like he fit in anywhere, even in the outcasts. Maybe Siddhartha and Cat felt or feel like they're just letting their life pass by, they're not really living. That's probably why people "all of the sudden" make these drastic changes in their lives. Some because they're no happy, others because they might feel like life is just time passing by. Overall I think it's to have a drastic change like metamorphosis.So that's why I think he turned to religion, to Islam. He had "everything" for ordinary people I guess...
money,fame, power, looks...
But it wasn't enough.
I think it's cool people do that, now that I think about it I know so many people who go on those kind of journeys. Before I thought of them like weird hippies who throw everything away to marry some australian and go backpacking in Europe. I guess I understand their motives, well at least some of them, at the same time I think it's kind of selfish, they are running away.
I Cat Stevens he was like Siddhartha, and Christoper McCandless, those things didn't fulfill them, they were living the life of the world without belonging to it, like Siddhartha would say.
The first sentence to this chapter, it kept me thinking for a while. To me, Siddhartha is a misfit. He doesn't really fit in anywhere, (well except the Samanas) but he doesn't really care. I mean he's envious of ordinary people yet he doesn't try to be like them, he doesn't want to. Overtime he became wealthy, had servants, a house but his experiences turned to memories. He still kept "secret knowledge of the Self, of the eternal Self, that was neither body nor consciousness." Which is probably the most important part of him, part of us.
Siddhartha reminds me of one of my dad's favorite musicians, Cat Stevens. Cat Stevens was definitely a misfit, he didn't feel like he fit in anywhere, even in the outcasts. Maybe Siddhartha and Cat felt or feel like they're just letting their life pass by, they're not really living. That's probably why people "all of the sudden" make these drastic changes in their lives. Some because they're no happy, others because they might feel like life is just time passing by. Overall I think it's to have a drastic change like metamorphosis.So that's why I think he turned to religion, to Islam. He had "everything" for ordinary people I guess...
money,fame, power, looks...
But it wasn't enough.
I think it's cool people do that, now that I think about it I know so many people who go on those kind of journeys. Before I thought of them like weird hippies who throw everything away to marry some australian and go backpacking in Europe. I guess I understand their motives, well at least some of them, at the same time I think it's kind of selfish, they are running away.
I Cat Stevens he was like Siddhartha, and Christoper McCandless, those things didn't fulfill them, they were living the life of the world without belonging to it, like Siddhartha would say.
Spiritual Awakening Feels Like the Last Day of School
I thought this picture was like the image I had in my mind while reading this chapter. I'm going to make the same connection from one of my previous posts, this chapter reminded me of "Into the Wild" when Alexander Supertramp/Christopher McCandless goes out into the real wild for the first time. Everything is beautiful and apreciated. Which is funny because it has always been there, but neither of them had ever really seen it, they've just looked. Christopher knew what he wanted to do, he knew he would find himself, or reinvent himself. I think maybe Siddhartha is on the journey to do the same thing.
I also thought that this chapter related a lot to agape, love for everything. Siddhartha loves everything right now; the trees, flowers, colors, etc. On page 32, Siddhartha talks about leaving behind his studying of teaching and instead learn from himself. "I will learn from myself, be my own pupil". I can relate to this because sometimes we have to make mistakes to learn from ourselves, and we need to really get to know who we are, what ambitions we have, to truly learn.
It also reminded me of a quote Alber Einstein said, "Never memorize something you can look up"( Even though it doesn't really relate to Siddhartha, I don't think it was his point.) If we were to live by this now, school would probably be pointless, yikes.
Back to Siddhartha...
Then just like McCandless when he can't cross the river to get food, realizes he's alone and is so little in nature. I think that this whole awakening is like the last day of school, you no longer follow the teaching of others and it's a time to really find and explore yourself. I think it's an exciting but terrifying thing.
Got-ama?
This chapter starts out with Siddhartha and Govinda in Savathi. Just with the first page I noticed something different to modern day, which is that the first door Govinda & Siddhartha knocked on welcomed them and helped them. It's kind of like the myth we read last class "Baucis and Philemon",
about Zuess and Hermes when they come to earth and nobody opens up or them except for the poor family.
about Zuess and Hermes when they come to earth and nobody opens up or them except for the poor family.
So I guess I think that part was cool because they didn't have to go looking all day, it's probably since they're in a really religious town. I noticed that Govinda seemed a lot more enthusiatic about seeing Buddha, Siddhartha seemed all business. My suspicions were confirmed on page 22, "Siddhartha did not reply. He was not very curious about the teachings. He did not think they would teach him anything new." But at the same time Siddhartha loves him and is kind of breath taken from all the peace he radiates.
Something thats hard to adjust for me is that The Illustrious One, Gotama, & the Buddha are all the same person? I'm pretty sure its all one but it's confusing me a little when reading.
When Govinda decides to stay and become a follower I felt proud of him just like Siddhartha because he finally chose his own path, he wasn't following Siddhartha, it was like he was becoming who he wanted and doing what he wanted. (Even if that meant following someone else.)
My favorite quote in this chapter was when Siddhartha ran into the Buddha in the woods and talked to him about the flaw, and Buddha responded in a part saying;
"Opinions mean nothing; they may be beautiful or ugly, clever or foolish, anyone can embrace or reject them"(Page 27).
I think this is really important especially for kids my age. So much time is spent on worrying about what other people think about you. When at the end of the day you're the one who decides if those opinions really count. This reminded me of the book"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". In it, it talks about the circle of no control, basically things we have no control over. In this case opinions of other people. Then there's the circle of personal control,things we can control like either crying about what people think of me, or brush it off and maybe even use it as constructive criticism.
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