Siddartha's Journey: With Buddah

Quote:" You are clever O samana, you know how to speak cleverly my friend,. Beware of too much cleverness!" (34). This quote reflects how Siddhartha's yearning for knowledge actually helps him through out his journey. By using his mind, Siddhartha overcomes many of the obstacles he faces in later chapters. His mind helps him find the inner self that he has been searching for through out the whole novel.

Physically: During this part of his journey, Siddhartha is still thin due to the Samana belief that one must stave themselves to not feel suffering. In the beginning of the chapter, he and Govinda are in a small town where they meet a woman who has seen Buddha. She gives them a description of how Buddha acts and looks when he is in town asking for food. They then leave her home and fall asleep in the in the woods. When they wake up, they see many of Buddha's followers in the forest. They then see Buddha walking completely at peace and follow him into town and back to the grove where he teaches. That night both Siddhartha and Govinda listened to Buddha's teachings and Govinda decided to become one of his many followers, while Siddhartha thought it was best he and Govinda part their separate ways. After he leaves his old friend, he speaks with Buddha about his teachings.

Mentally: At this point in his journey Siddhartha is in a good place mentally. He is no longer upset about trying to over come suffering. He does not agree with Buddha's teaching that one must overcome suffering by going through the eight fold path to get past suffering and accepting the four noble truths. He does agree that life is a chain and that every experience is interconnected with other experiences. Siddharthda believes that by following Buddha, he may not gain enlightenment. At the end of their conversation Siddhartha realizes that he has lost his friend, but he has found himself through speaking with Buddha.

Spiritually: Siddhartha still has not gained his enlightenment, but he has found himself. Finding who he really is has made him elated. He now feels more complete on his journey towards enlightenment and Nirvana.  Emotionally, at first he is pensive about what Buddha is teaching. Then he feels sad about leaving his best friend, but after  he finds Siddhartha feels happy especially when his discussion with Buddha is over.   

Socially: After leaving the Samanas, Govinada and Siddhartha meet new people. They first meet the women who kindly gives them food when they asked. They then meet the man everyone is talking so highly about, Buddha. Siddhartha's social status is pretty much the same as it was when he and Govinda were among the Samanas.