Siddhartha And Historical Buddha Comparison

The author, Hermann Hesse, narrates the book Siddhartha about a son of a Brahmin who struggles to find the void missing in his life, enlightenment, which is the belief in one’s own power or knowledge for human reasoning through religion, politics, and education. This is important to Siddhartha because he wants to gain happiness, peace, and satisfaction within his heart and soul. The young, curious Siddhartha makes a precarious attempt in leaving behind his family, home and town just to search for the quest of enlightenment along with his friend, Govinda. Through the failed attempts in gaining enlightenment from the Samanas and Buddhism, he suddenly comes to a realization that enlightenment can only be achieved through his own personal belief, not based off a teaching or a religious belief. Through reading Siddhartha, modern-day readers can understand Hermann Hesse’s attempt in having readers understand the key similarities, and differences, between the idea and lifestyle of Siddhartha and the historical Buddha. From this comparison, readers can acknowledge why differences are very important and which set of teachings best suits their lifestyle. The
He went through physical and emotional pain, similar to Siddhartha’s experience. The historical Buddha says, “As I took such small quantity of solid and liquid food, my body became extremely emaciated…My eye-balls appear deep sunk in their sockets, being devoid of food…My belly’s skin clung to the backbone…Whatsoever ascetics or Brahmins of the past have experienced acute, painful, sharp and piercing sensations, they must have experience...”4 He tries to reject himself from the material world by eating less, which results in the malnourishment and the weakening of the body. However, due to the experience of the self-denial the self and the world, the historical Buddha views this process of enlightenment as