1. If you had to say what the four most important things about this chapter were, what would you say? Why?
2. Discuss the role of the river in this reading.
3. Siddhartha finds himself "full of cheerful love" (83). Where do you suppose this feeling of being full of cheerful love came from?
4. Find a sentence from the reading you would like to comment on, and comment on it.
14 comments:
Sang Eun
4. Find a sentence from the reading you would like to comment on, and comment on it.
"I do not know, I know it as little as you."
Siddhartha said the sentence to Govinda when Govinda asked him what he was doing. I think that Siddhartha is trying to walk the samana's way, but he knows that he actually is not. Also, he now has realized the real truth about himself and things around him. He knows that what he had wanted have been a desire also, which he wanted to get rid of. He understood that becoming like Buddha requires a lot. He had also experienced a wealthy life with Kamala when living with Kamaswami. Thus, he isn't sure about himself whether what he really pursues or wants. I think that's why he answered back to Govinda that he knows little about what he is doing.
Heather Rhee
Q4
A
On page 82, Siddhartha says that he is pilgriming. Govinda ansewers
"O Siddhartha, you do not look like a pilgrim. You wear rich man' clothes, you wear a noble man's shoes, and your hair, which smells of fragrant water, is not the hair of a pilgrim, not the hair of samana."
I wanted to comment about this passage because I had this question in my mind while I was reading the book. Siddhartha seems like he is not traning anymore. He wears clothes and he sleeps. But still, he says that he is pilgriming to Govinda. He is wearing a rich-man looking clothes but he is not a rich man so it was not understandable again.
To be honest, pages between 82 and 83 was so confusing for me.
Siddhartha says some things which makes no sence at all in this part of the book. He says that he doesn't know who he is, he is keep moving right now, he is not a samana, and he is not a rich man. All of these statments were hard to understand because he was not making clear conclusions all the time.
Govinda might have a same opinion with me. I think this is why he was keep asking questions to Siddarhtha. However, he still said that he believes Siddarhtha.
"You said you are pilgriming, and I believe you"
I was able to see his loyalty from this behavior.
2. Discuss the role of the river in this reading.
The role of the river can be best represented with the quote, "...he heard the voice and metaphor of flowing water as strong and lovely..."
The "metaphor" part of the river hits it right on the nose! The river is a metaphore for the state of Siddhartha's soul. In the beginning of the reading, he looks into it and it "mirrors a fearful emptiness in his soul." He thinks about the green color and the way the river just keeps moving on and on so sluggishly...
Then, after he's fallen asleep beside it, he wakes up and sees that it is steady. It is constantly "moving downhill" but it never stops, never seems to become disheartened and continues on. Siddhartha sees the river as himself again, but possitively. He sees that he is moving downhill steadily, but he is not upset by it, because he knows that he will continue on, like the river, just moving forward until he reaches a bigger thing.
Yeena Sung
1. If you had to say what the four most important things about this chapter were, what would you say? Why?
One of the most important things about the chapter is Siddhartha’s new decision, the meeting with Govinda, the solution to his problem, and the recognition of the things that he has been doing. I believe Siddhartha’s new mind set that he is going to live a life without suffering is an important part of this chapter because it makes a turning point to his journey. Also, because he met Govinda, he remember how he was before when he was young so it gives him a thought that he should train himself to be like that. In addition, the part where Siddhartha figures the answer to the problem is important because he has been worrying about the problem and it made him fall into the wrong side of life.
2. Discuss the role of the river in this reading.
I agree with Laura but I also think that the role of the river is a kind of a way for Siddartha to take a good sleep and wake up as a new kind of person. He also meets Govinda his friend when he was a sammana. I think the river is a kind of a transportation that Siddartha took inorder to move on like anyother people. He did not wanted to be rich or wealthy and he also didn't wanted to go back to the village again. After, Siddartha gets into the river he falls into a deep sleep and when he wakes up, he sees himself infront of Govinda and after meeting him, he gets full of cheerful love.
#4
Find a sentence from the reading you would like to comment on, and comment on it.
"Gazing down, he fet entirely filled with the wish to let go and go under in this water."
I think this sentence is sort of refering to earlier in the book. Earlier in the book he compared himself to a rock choosing a course and droping steadily instead of like a leaf that sways back and forth till hiting the ground. I think through this book sadartha is rather like a rock he can't fall or drop half way. If he chooses to be rich he becomes corrupt with power and sinks till he reaches the level or at least almost the level of his teacher. When he choses to be a samana he becomes laiden with disgust of the child people. Any path he choses is the extreme ther is no middle ground for him because there is no middle ground for truth.
4. Find a sentence from the reading you would like to comment on, and comment on it.
pg 80 "Govinda had aged, he too, but his face still had the old features, it spoke zeal, of loyalty, of seeking, of anxiety."
This to me was an interesting sentence in the book. Siddartha at this point has been traveling the journey of his life and then sees this monk in a yellow robe, a stranger to him. But he soon comes to realize it is Govinda. Now, earlier in the book Siddartha had decided not to follow the Sublime One, although his close and dear friend did. He had not seen him since this last incident and now saw him as a stranger.
What I like about this sentence is the language. I enjoy the imagery of depicting the correct oldness and age of Govinida. I think here the author is attempting to depict the changes in his appearance and maybe by describing his features, at the same time describing his new characteristics in his personality.
I think it is interesting how the author talks about Govinda's face and what it "spoke." Here, when the author says spoke, I believe he is saying what his "personality" said, spoke, showed. He said his face showed zeal. Zeal is a feeling of strong eagerness and this is something that I do not think Govinda possessed before following the Buddha. Now after following his own opinions, he has this new characteristic of eagerness. The author also says his face speaks of loyalty, seeking and anxiety. This loyalty brings the question of Loyalty to himself? Loyalty to his teacher the Buddha? Loyalty to the friendship with Siddartha? Seeking is something that interests me...I think it is meant to depict seeking...well im not sure when you're a Buddha aren't you supposed to not develop an ego and not have any desires?? So what would he be seeking for. Maybe he is seeking for his true self? Finally, anxiety. Anxiety is the state of worry and nervousness. I think this state of Anxiety is from not seeing his close friend Siddartha and the anxiety of surviving on his own. He no longer had the desire to follow and pursue all the wantings of Siddartha.
3. Siddhartha finds himself "full of cheerful love" (83). Where do you suppose this feeling of being full of cheerful love came from?
Even though he really regrets what he has done the past years, he feels much better by telling himself that going through all the experiences was good and also was a teaching. He feels afresh and very a new person by letting every past get away from him.
4. Find a sentence from the reading you would like to comment on, and comment on it.
"And yet this Siddartha had been transformed all the same, had been renewed, had strangely slept his fill, was strangely awake, cheerful, and curious."
I like this sentence because it is like Siddartha is being reborn and he has just awaken. In the couple pages before, it was very depressing to listen to Siddartha's suffering and how he wanted to kill himself. But this sentence perks you right back up and it is a brighter outlook on life from Siddartha's point of view and it makes you feel a lot better about his life and it gives off hope for a better life and that everything will turn out alright. Even though Siddartha had gone through the worst and everything was about to end, it is all worth it to hear those reassuring words that everything turned out okay and we don't have to worry anymore.
Question #4
Find a sentence from the reading you would like to comment on, and comment on it.
"Siddhartha reached the large river in the forest, the same river across whick a ferryman had once ferried him when Siddhartha had been a young man coming from Gautama's town. He now halted at this river, stood hesitantly on the bank."
I found this section/quote interesting because this was a place that Siddhartha had an emotional connection with, and a good one. The last time he was here, he was pleased with he friendliness of the ferryman and how he trusted that Siddhartha would repay him.At that time, that situation had brought Siddhartha great joy and usually when you go to a place that has a happy emotional connection like that it cheers you up a bit. Although, in Siddhartha's case; even when he sees the river where the ferryman had been so kind and spoke of its beauty, all Siddhartha thinks about is how there are no more destinations.
Sung Kun Kim
2. Discuss the role of the river in this reading.
- " In the water a dreadful emptiness mirrored a fearful emptiness in his soul. Yes, he was at the end. Nothing was left for him but to snuff himself out, but to shatter the failed formation of his life, toss it at the feet of snickering gods."
- Siddhartha looks into the mirror and sees the reflection of himself. He sees nothing but his failed life he had spent. The river makes Siddhartha looking back at himself and feel remorse. Later, when Siddhartha meets Govinda surprisingly and talk with him, the river makes him think again. He finds the reason of why he had spent such a time. He was full of pride, always the most intellectual one and this made him far from his priesthood. The river's role in this chapter is a mirror that makes Siddhartha look back and change himself.
Ka Yeon Nam
3. Siddhartha finds himself "full of cheerful love" (83).Where do you suppose this feeling of being full of cheerful love came from?
Siddhartha fell in a sleep under a tree. The sleep was deep with no dreams and it felt to him as if he had a very good rest. when he woke up again, it took him a while to remeber where he was and what happened before on his life. He also met Govinda, who left him to be with the buddha. Siddhartha found himself "full of cheerful love" because he was able to forget what happened before and reach for a new goal. He also met Govinda, who was his friend and who respected him very much.
Answer to #4
"He too would grow old, he too would die someday - Siddhartha was ephemeral, every formation was ephemeral."
This for me is an interesting sentence. Siddhartha has, himself, realized that his life is divided in to short-lived, or ephemeral, periods - one of priesthood, one of asceticism, and one of lust. He is excited about this "new" Siddhartha, this new personality that will arise.
This also means that he considers himself, in totality, as ephemeral. There are people such as Buddha, Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln who could be considered, arguably, not ephemeral. This is because we remember them, and cherish their once existence. But Siddhartha considers himself insignificant, not to say that he has low self-esteem, but to say that he has a greater understanding and perspective on the world
Post a Comment