Last week for English class we finished our book Siddartha. Our project to review the book was to take 8 photos summarizing a section in the book and write a paragraph about each photo.
Once there was a man who was sad because he defied his morals and became corrupt. His name was Siddartha. He traveled to the city from the forest in hopes of expanding his knowledge and learning on his own. He met a beautiful woman who told him he must be rich in order to do well in the city. Siddartha set out to make his fortune, and did very well. He acquired lots of money and became close friends with the woman in the city. Slowly his unique way of thinking about life distorted into the stereotypical simplistic human citizen mind. He began to gamble away his riches in hopes of being able to return to his old self.
Siddartha traveled to the forest because he was so disgusted with himself. He wanted to put his past life in the city behind him and continue to learn. He traveled through the woods and had lots of thoughts. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do next, but he knew that he didn’t want to return to the city. He was so alone and uncertain that he even considered suicide.
Unfortunately, before Siddartha was able to end his life, he tripped over a root in the ground and fell unconscious. He slept for many days and when he awoke he was very surprised to see his childhood friend Govinda. They talked and caught up for a while. Govinda had seen Siddartha sleeping on the forest floor and went to wake him. Govinda saw how deep of a sleep Siddartha was in and decided to wait for him to awake on his own. During the wait, Govinda had also fallen asleep. After a while, Govinda went to return to his group of traveling Samanas that he had left in order to stay and protect Siddartha.
After his meeting with Govinda, Siddartha did a lot of thinking. He considered his life and everything he had done. Siddartha knew that this moment would define the rest of his life. He could return to the city with his money and live out an unfulfilling life. He could go with Govinda and become a samana again, where he would study the teachings of others. Or he could return to the other side of the river to the forest and live on his own. He could learn more for himself and would be free to do whatever he wanted.
So Siddartha traveled to the river. There he met the ferryman. It was the same ferryman that had taken Siddartha across the river when he was a young man. He still had the same green kayaks. As the ferryman was taking Siddatha across the river, Siddartha confessed to not having any money and offered his clothing in payment. The ferryman declined graciously and said it wouldn’t be a problem. Siddartha reminded the ferryman of many years ago when he had taken him across the river for free also, since the samana Siddartha had no money to give. The Ferryman still didn’t mind the lack of payment and insisted that Siddartha stay with him for the night since Siddartha had nowhere else to go.
When the Ferryman and Siddartha arrived on the other side of the river, it was growing dark and the two men went to the Ferryman’s home. He allowed Siddartha to sleep where his once beautiful wife had slept. They had a good night and in the morning, Siddartha asked the Ferryman to teach him his trade. The Ferryman obliged and that is how they came to live together. The Ferryman taught Siddartha the ways of ferrying and also the meaning of the river.
Siddartha is now happy; he has a great friend who he enjoys living with and his job is peaceful and enjoyable. He is able to continue learning like he wanted. He discusses everything with the Ferryman and is still trying to grasp the meaning of the river. His life is perfect for him, but unfortunately for Siddartha, that doesn’t last long. One day when he was awaiting potential customers on the other side of the river, he was very surprised to see someone he hadn’t seen in a very long time.
He was approached by a desperate Kamala. She had been walking through the forest to cross the river in order to see the Buddha before he died. On her way, she was bitten by a poisonous snake and was forced to hurriedly run away, in hopes of living long enough to reach the Buddha. She also had her son with her; Siddartha had never seen him before and was surprised but excited to finally meet him. When she reached Siddartha at the river, she collapsed and soon died. Siddartha took his son and began to raise him. Unfortunately, his son was a spoiled brat and hated his father’s lifestyle of not needing material possessions. Suddenly Siddartha’s life got much more complicated, but with help from the Ferryman and the river, he was able to get through it.
