Classics Without All the Class discussion

In this thread, please discuss and ask questions about anything that happens in part one. This is from the chapter called "The Son of the Brahman" to the chapter named "Awakening."

Please DO NOT discuss anything from Part Two in this thread. There is a separate thread for that.

I admire Siddhartha for wanting to know more about himself before making a commitment to Buddha. If he lives as a common man he will likely run into difficult situations, make many mistakes and learn from them . Perhaps in time he will feel ready to make that commitment to Buddha. I feel like this story could happen in any religion as so many people struggle to find deeper meaning and reassurance that they are on the right track, ever hopeful that they will reach that place where they have an inner peace and understanding. On part 2.

Amazing how he could hypnotize his way out of the Samanas and waited his father out to go on his journey.

He had complete respect for his father. I'm not sure he did for the Samana. I understand where he was coming from.

I was glad Siddhartha had that moment of doubt and icy despair in the last pages of Part 1. He seemed a bit too robotic up until that point. I was definitely surprised that Govinda gave himself over to Gotama without consulting with Siddhartha first as devoted as he was to Siddhartha.

Karen wrote: "I was glad Siddhartha had that moment of doubt and icy despair in the last pages of Part 1. He seemed a bit too robotic up until that point. I was definitely surprised that Govinda gave himself o..."

I think that, ultimately, Govinda is a follower. He attached himself to Siddhartha because he was the "holiest," but then he met the Buddha and saw someone even more spiritually advanced.

The difference between Govinda and Siddhartha is that Govinda thought he could follow someone else's path to enlightenment, and Siddhartha believed he had to find his own. Govinda wasn't prepared to follow him into the unknown. He wanted a path that was tried and true.

However, Siddartha does point out that Govinda chooses this path on his own, without speaking to him, a show of doing something for himself, not just because his friend does it. Granted, he thought Siddartha would be doing this also, but he is not afraid to move forward even when he finds that his friend is not coming along.