Siddartha's Lessons

I was listening to the book by Herman Hesse called "Siddartha". It is the story of the life of Buddha. Here are some of the resonating parts.

As a monk he learned patience, fasting, thinking. The benefit of fasting is you don't have to accept any work, just to get money so you can eat. You can be at peace with not eating and so choose the work you want. Patience encourages you not to drive, steer, take control, but rather to allow. "He sat and waited for the voice of his own heart."

"Where are you going?" It struck me that answering this question could be more telling than "How are you? How have you been?" Even between good friends that haven't seen eachother for a long time this is a better question. Instead of fine, you hear that a person is on a pilgrimage, picking up their grandchild, on their way to the doctor. The details in the answer reveal histories of marriages, children had, a health isuue, or taking a spiritual direction. {Similarly you can't ask a 2 year old, "How are you?" It's too abstract. So I ask, "What are you doing? What did you have for dinner?" Similar tactic of staying present to reveal an aspect of a person's life.}

"We are ephemeral formations. Now he stands beneath, changed." Everything changes.

"He might have been the best business man, but he wouldn't be Siddartha." The importance of follwoing your calling, being authentic. "You are unique in all the world" The Little Prince reminds us. Just be that!

He talked about a "senseless" life. He uses this to describe his time being fully engaged in his senses, consuming the consumable world. He was rich, he wore perfume, lived richly, had servants, did business. I thought it was an interesting play on words. He was innundating his senses, his spirit dragged along by the need to fulfill these senses. And yet, he considered the time "senseless". Then.... he came to his "senses" and found a more authentic path. Ahhh....

"A true seeker could accept no teaching if he truly wished to find. But a man who had found, could approve every teaching, everywhere, every goal. Nothing separated hiim from those who lived in the eternal."

He talks about the quality of deep listening between two friends. "He felt his own pain, anxiety, secret hope, revealing the wound was like bathing the wound in a river until cool. This motionless listener was god, eternity, the river absorbing his confession like a tree absorbs water and while he stopped identifying with the wound he saw his friend has always been that way. Everything could be said, shared, revealed. As he spoke on and on, his friend (Vasadave) listened with a silent face. As he spoke, Siddartha felt Vasadave's listening, he felt his own pains flowing across to him and it came back, each time cooled by the presence of his friend. The more he felt Vasadave's presence, it felt right just as it was. Everything in its place, Vasadave radiated love, serentity towards him. Vasadave lead Siddartha back to the river. "Listen again, hear more. Do you hear? Hear better."

Siddartha met Camala, a courtisan, to learn about love. He learned much about pleasure, but he learned about love, doing anything for another person including looking silly, from his relationship with his son. He never lost his heart so completely as when he lost his son.

The hard thing about being a parent is you can't know how to guide your child. You don't know to what they are called. You can't save them the suffering though you would do anything to. You wish you could pass on your learning. Save them the suffering. But this is not why you suffered, to save them. This is an experiential journey, and it is theirs to experience, as hard is that can be to witness. You cannot save another. No one is spared the path of figuring it out on his own. A man cannot take away the pain, cannot shield him from his destiny.

"Farewell" is "Fair thee well".
"Will you say a word to me, venerable one?" Seeking Govinda bids of wise Siddartha.
I think the one word should be "Govinda". Because we hold the key to our own riddle. We each must be authentic, and only YOU my love can know what that means to You. So.... venerable friend, I offer you, You. You are the key. You are the one who can answer your own question. The tool I offer is listening. Hear what your heart has to say. Act on it to the best of your ability in your imperfect human way, and this is all. So, I give you You.