Chapter 4. Awakening

Table of Contents
Ideas of Interest from "Awakening"
The Reading Selection from "Awakening"
Topics Worth Investigating

Buddha, Antiquities Project

Ideas of Interest from "Awakening"

  1. In the context of this chapter, what is the difference between "my self" and "myself"? Does Siddhartha make sense when he says he tried to "free my self" from "myself"?

  2. Explain what Siddhartha means when he says as a Samana, he sought Atman in mediation, but he lost his self. Is he implying that the self that can be thought cannot be the self which is sought?

  3. In the first chapter, Siddhartha's father asked Siddhartha to return home after his time with the Samanas regardless of whether Siddhartha found blissfulness or disappointment. Siddhartha had always obeyed his father. Explain, in this instance, why Siddhartha did not obey his father's request.