The most important aspect of this chapter was the setting which was the river. Siddhartha asked the ferryman if he could learn about the river as the ferryman’s apprentice. Vasudeva graciously accepted. Siddhartha was astounded by the ferryman’s profound ability to listen. The key to learning from the river, according to Vasudeva, was listening. The river taught the two men about life. Siddhartha learned to listen to the river, and his emotions continued to open up and embrace the world, without selfish desires. He begun to realize the importance of himself as a part of a greater whole. The river was like Siddhartha himself, and the life of any person. It was unchanging and yet it was always changing within, deeper inside beneath the surface.
