Siddhartha Reading Blog (Section 4)

     After Siddhartha gave up wealth and riches, he decided he wanted to stay by the river that had saved him from suicide. The ferryman, who Siddhartha had met years before when he was still a Samana, allowed him to become his apprentice.   
     The 2 became very close. The ferryman, Vasudeva, was very wise and knew all the secrets of the river. He didn't talk much, but his eyes were full of joy and peace. 
     When Siddhartha had left Kamala she started following the Buddha while raising her son (who at this point was about 10). When she was making the pilgrimage to see Gotama as he was dying, she was bit by a snake by the ferry and died. She had been reunited with Siddhartha before she passed. The son was left with Siddhartha, but he was very unhappy. Although he was a bratty child, Siddhartha loved him and wanted to teach him. One morning Siddhartha woke and the boy had gone. He went looking for his son but Vasudeva told him that the boy needed to start his own life. 
     After his son ran away, Siddhartha was in pain for a very long time, his wound never healing. One day when his wound was at it's worst, Vasudeva told him to listen very closely to the river. As Siddhartha listened he began to hear the Om, and understood. His wound healed, and his face took that of the look of Vasudeva's. 
     When Vasudeva saw that Siddhartha understood the river he went into the woods and passed away. A few weeks later Govinda arrived at the ferry, and he and Siddhartha were reunited once more. Govinda saw that Siddhartha's smiling face was the same as Gotama's, and knew that Siddhartha had become the Buddha.    
      Towards the end of his story Siddhartha explains that to reach tranquility he had to go through each faze of his life, including becoming rich and greedy. He sinned, and he made mistakes, but he wouldn't take any of it back because he needed to know what that life was like to be able to reject it. I believe this to be a very true philosophy. People say you learn from your mistakes and you do. The Tao says knowledge comes from experience, and this is represented a lot throughout Siddhartha. He felt frustration, then revulsion, love, happiness, and deep sadness until he finally reached a point of what I believe was Nirvana. I think I understand what Nirvana is now. It's when you feel at peace with yourself and all of your surroundings, and are no longer bothered by the trivial details of life.
          I feel that achieving this state of being would be pretty difficult, because I'm always annoyed by something. This story, if it has truth behind it, proves that at least someone has done it.