Hayden Long
PHIL 2
Dr. Howard
CRP-Siddhartha
3/7/18
Journey to Enlightenment The story of Siddhartha is an interesting one, first following two young aspiring men who leave home in order to find a spiritual connection. The quest for this “purpose for life” sees the two young men develop throughout their lives, but mainly focuses on Siddhartha and the complications he encountered along the way. The story has an overarching theme, identifying that understanding isn’t through material items, facts and knowledge, or relationships but rather all of these experiences and the lessons learned from them develop Siddhartha into a better-rounded individual who eventually finds enlightenment towards the end of the book. This search for truth is difficult and frustrating to attain, but it is necessary in order to understand peace in one’s heart and mind. Siddhartha has many points that reflect Buddhist teachings, and the stories between the two may be different; overall the same conclusion prevails in that enlightenment cannot be taught or gained through material wealth, but rather through the journey and experiences one has had to reach Nirvana. One of the main points of the story was obviously Siddhartha’s journey to …show more content…
Through this journey, one may find the answer to why they were created and what their purpose is. However, this is not enlightenment, as this quest to find purpose is a stepping stone on the journey to enlightenment. “Searching means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.” (Hesse, Hermann, Siddhartha, p. 128). This quote shows that the process is not a step by step, but rather a random journey filled with lessons that will be learned through the
PHIL 2
Dr. Howard
CRP-Siddhartha
3/7/18
Journey to Enlightenment The story of Siddhartha is an interesting one, first following two young aspiring men who leave home in order to find a spiritual connection. The quest for this “purpose for life” sees the two young men develop throughout their lives, but mainly focuses on Siddhartha and the complications he encountered along the way. The story has an overarching theme, identifying that understanding isn’t through material items, facts and knowledge, or relationships but rather all of these experiences and the lessons learned from them develop Siddhartha into a better-rounded individual who eventually finds enlightenment towards the end of the book. This search for truth is difficult and frustrating to attain, but it is necessary in order to understand peace in one’s heart and mind. Siddhartha has many points that reflect Buddhist teachings, and the stories between the two may be different; overall the same conclusion prevails in that enlightenment cannot be taught or gained through material wealth, but rather through the journey and experiences one has had to reach Nirvana. One of the main points of the story was obviously Siddhartha’s journey to …show more content…
Through this journey, one may find the answer to why they were created and what their purpose is. However, this is not enlightenment, as this quest to find purpose is a stepping stone on the journey to enlightenment. “Searching means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.” (Hesse, Hermann, Siddhartha, p. 128). This quote shows that the process is not a step by step, but rather a random journey filled with lessons that will be learned through the