This year I'm reading the Dover Thrift Editions translated by Stanley Appelbaum, but most of my quotes are copied and pasted from the Standard Ebook, click here to read it free online.
Talking
From chapter 10, "The Son:"
"Neither one talked about what had happened today, neither one mentioned the boy’s name, neither one spoke about him running away, neither one spoke about the wound."
Siddhartha didn't talk about his pain or the causes of his depressions, so he continued to suffer. Until Chapter 11, "Om:"
"Siddhartha sat down next to the old man, slowly he started talking. What they had never talked about, he now told him of, of his walk to the city, at that time, of the burning wound, of his envy at the sight of happy fathers, of his knowledge of the foolishness of such wishes, of his futile fight against them. He reported everything, he was able to say everything, even the most embarrassing parts, everything could be said, everything shown, everything he could tell. He presented his wound, also told how he fled today, how he ferried across the water, a childish runaway, willing to walk to the city, how the river had laughed."
Hesse did psychoanalysis through one of Jung's students. Is it a surprise that sharing and talking helps Siddhartha? I randomly noticed I was mildly depressed a couple years ago. One thing I did was intentionally calling and talking to a few people I was closest with. They may not have even realized I was using them for a therapy session. I'm tempted to say it worked. Talking is a very healthy activity for an unhealthy mind. Siddhartha retelling his story is a cathartic activity. It frees his mind. Once free, he can open his mind to Vasudeva and the voices. (What about Govinda?)
Part I
Day 1, 20 Dec- Chapter 1: "The Son of the Brahmin"
Day 2, 21 Dec- Chapter 2: "With the Samanas"
Day 3, 22 Dec- Chapter 3: "Gotama"
Day 4, 23 Dec- Chapter 4: "Awakening"
Part II
Day 5, 24 Dec- Chapter 5: "Kamala"
Day 6, 25 Dec- Chapter 6: "With the Childlike People"
Day 7, 26 Dec- Chapter 7: "Sansara"
Day 8, 27 Dec- Chapter 8: "By the River"
Day 9, 28 Dec- Chapter 9: "The Ferryman"
Day 10, 29 Dec- Chapter 10: "The Son"
Day 11, 30 Dec- Chapter 11: "Om"
Day 12, 31 Dec- Chapter 12: "Govinda"
We are so near the end here, and Siddhartha is less judgmental of the simple folks. He sees how they fit together in the big river endlessly and eternally seeking the goals of river mouths and falls and the sea ...
ReplyDeleteIt's not right or wrong. It just is. And the one way he says the wise guy differs is, wise guys know they're one with Atman. And what's so important about that, he wonders ... and maybe even then the simple people know this, too.
This book is partly about the torture of overthinking that comes with a clever brain, and Gotama warned Siddhartha about this waaaaaay back when in the book.