Christine Gao #6
K. Kassakatis
C&C Honors World Literature
17 September 2015
Siddhartha Socratic Seminar Questions
1. While Siddhartha’s journey is uniquely his own, it is also everyone’s journey. What connections to Siddhartha’s journey toward shaping and understanding his identity can you see within your own?
Siddhartha’s life journey is representative of the worldly human desire to find meaning and success within oneself. In his youth Siddhartha is eager to achieve spiritual enlightenment, attempting to satisfy his desire for knowledge and acquire the answers to the aspects of life. Like all individuals, Siddhartha must overcome the hardships and difficulties presented by the path of life. Through every ‘rebirth’ after each phase of his …show more content…
Some believe that Siddhartha’s journey is simply a circle or cyclical in nature. How might this journey be seen this way?
Siddhartha’s life journey can be seen as a cycle in the transitory periods of his life. From the days of his youth as the beloved son of a Brahmin and as a Samana practicing the torturous lifestyle of an ascetic; to a wealthy gambler and a humble ferryman; these were all momentary phases of Siddhartha’s life, all of which would cycle back to a single starting point. Siddhartha is first aware of his imminent mortality during his time within the city, stuck in the ‘senseless cycle’ of suffering, rebirth, and more suffering. During this time as a gambling addict, Siddhartha:
“…went eagerly after business and pressed his debtors for payment, for he wanted to play again, he wanted to squander again… and whenever he awakened from this hateful spell, when he saw his face reflected in the mirror on the wall of his bedroom, grown older and uglier… he fled again, fled to a new game of chance… and from there back again to the urge for acquiring and hoarding wealth” (80).
As Siddhartha progresses through each development of his journey, he cycles through rich and poor, through spiritual and emotional growth. Through his series of failures and enlightenments, the full circle of Samsara is completed multiple times throughout Siddhartha’s