Aphorism

We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.
Joseph Campbell


I think that what this author is trying to say is not to live life so perfectly, because not everything is going to go the way you want. Life doesn't come with pencil and eraser, so why write it? Life isn't a draft that you can edit whenever you want. Life was made to live it, not to plan it. Not everything goes the way we want it. We as people have to live in the present, not keep worrying about the future. When I read this I thought of myself. I thought of it as more of a warning than just something written on a webpage. I'm always thinking about what my future will be. It made me doubt everything I've always planned. How do I know if that will really happen? If I live in the future, how will my present actually be if I'm not really in it? I have to live in today, not in tomorrow. Worrying so much about the future is a waste of time. My life has never been how I planned it. Sometimes it got better than what I expected, but sometimes it was worse. So why keep planning it? You will never know what turns might your life take. You have to accept life as it is, not keep wishing for something that might not even happen. Receive what you get with a smile, and never complain for what you didn't get, because who knows? It might get better. 

Siddhartha Part 4

"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path."
                                            -Siddhartha Gautama

In the last part of the book, Siddhartha finds what he was looking for; enlightenment. Siddhartha has always been very wise, but there have been a lot of teachings that had never popped on his mind before. Curiosity was always part of Siddhartha's mind and soul, which made him much wiser than what he thought. He found out that everything he needed was in himself, all he had to do was dig deeper to find it. But, what was he really looking for? He didn't really make an effort to get the things he wanted, instead he tried to get the things he wasn't really searching for. As easy as that, his old self was been left behind as his new self was born.

Siddhartha meets Vasuveda, a wise man who turned out to be the reason of his search. He teaches him about the river, which has always symbolized a lot to Siddhartha. The river told Vasuveda and Siddhartha a lot of stories that made a click on his mind. When he went to the city to look for his son, something had changed in his mind. He remembered his childhood. He was very much like his sun; escaping from family to find something, just one thing that he was looking for. This reminded me of something that happened to me a while ago. I always thought that I was going to be different than my parents, but I now notice that isn't true.

Like Siddhartha's son, I have always tried to escape. But not the same type of escape. I try to escape from my own life. Like every normal person, I have problems, but that doesn't mean I know how to solve them. Instead I run away, like when a cat runs to hide when it hears thunder. I had never realized that my actions where a lot like my mother's. Like Siddhartha in search for his son, I hadn't actually payed attention to how similar we solve problems in our lives, even though I was almost sure I wasn't going to be like her. The only difference between my mom and I is maturity. Maturity is part of the processes of changing and solving problems, which is something I temporarily lack. Someday I will be able to stay and solve my problems, like a dog stays besides his owner even though he or she can sometimes be a pain in the butt.

Siddhartha isn't a common god that thinks he is superior, like Zeus, but human, just like you, me, and everybody else in this world. Siddhartha gives inspiration and wisdom; something that most people need. Siddhartha entered to the impossible and found what he was looking, in the middle of the ashes he was reborn and just like that went up there, just by entering the impossible. Like a man once said "the only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible" -Arthur Clarke.

Siddhartha Part 3

"I never see what has been done, I only see what remains to be done."    
                                                     - Siddhartha Gautama

Part 3 is a crucial part of the book. It starts off by introducing Kamaswami, Siddhartha's boss in starting a new life. He gets a new job and plans to spend his whole life with the beautiful Kamala. He starts getting a job and experiencing things of a common person's life, even if he didnt take it seriously. Even though his life at work is practically a game, his love life changes. He knows for sure that Kamala is the woman of his dreams because she has the same simplicity and inner peace that he does.

After a while he starts losing himself. He sees the world differently. All his Samana qualities where replaced by pleassure and pain, which was one of the characteristics of a rich, vain man. He escapes this plastic world and goes back to the forest; his home. When he gets there, something in the back of his mind was telling him something; Om. He repeated the word for hours until his trance was over. Here he sees Govinda, his old friend taking care of him. After Govinda leaves, Siddhartha contemplates the simple flow of the river and compares it to his life.

This section really reminded me of the Tao. You can clearly see the example of non action when Siddhartha compares the flow of the river. Its like if Siddhartha followed the Tao. He followed the way and the beliefs that this book shows. The Tao is like a river. It has obstacles but always finds a way to pass through them. Siddhartha sees his future like this, just like the teachings of the Tao.

Siddhartha- Part 2

"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve love and affection"
                                                                -Siddhartha Gautama 

Part 2 includes one of the most life blowing and revealing chapters of the book. Here Siddhartha finds Buddha, the man that knows all. He captivated everyone with his words, including Siddhartha himself. After a while, Siddhartha didn't feel Buddha's words. He thought that enlightenment shouldn't be teached, but experienced on its own. Govinda thought otherwise. He "knew" that he would find enlightenment by following Buddha, and not Siddhartha.

Siddhartha was left sad, alone, depressed, and with nothing left to search for. On the way he meets a ferryman, or the man that can save his life. While crossing the river, Siddhartha dreams about having sexual encounters with Govinda who turns into a woman. After this long and life-changing dream, Siddhartha finds his next dream; Learning for love. He searches for love every single place he goes to until he finds Kamala, the love of his life. He experiences all types of love with her, from the worst to the best types. He sees that love means everything to him, and he is completely determined to find what he wants. This love and determination reminded me of a movie; Man in the Chair.

Man in the Chair is a movie about a kid (Cameron) who is making a movie for a scholarship, and finds a man of older age, Flash, to help him. The man is stubborn and grumpy, but as the movie goes on, you can see that he actually has a huge heart. Flash reminded me of Siddhartha in a lot of ways, but only if I payed attention closely. Siddhartha is a very closed up person. You could pretty much think that he isn't capable of love. But in the end, everyone is capable of love. Flash is one of the most lovable people I could meet, or at least watch in a movie. Siddhartha loves kamala with all his heart, even if he says he isn't.

Siddhartha's capability of love is so big and so hidden at the same time, that you can barely catch it. He loves her and you can see it. He is determined to have her by his side, no matter what happens. It's like the love that Flash feels for Cameron. Even though its a different type of love, you feel the extract same vibe from both the movie and the book. They both show love, but in different ways. Love is different in every person, and Siddhartha's love for Kamala is as valid as the love Flash feels for Cameron. They both love each other, and thats what counts, isn't it?

Siddhartha- Part 1

"Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters the most."

                                                                                                     -Siddhartha Gautama

Part one of Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is crucial for the understanding of the book. It begins by introducing Siddhartha, a young man from the Brahman village, one of the most elite communities of all time. He's handsome, intelligent, and from a great family. His life is practically perfect. But, did he really have all he needed? He's missing something, and this time he is going to search for it even if it is the last thing he does. All his life he's gotten whatever he wanted with just a snap. This time he's going to find it on his own, but first he has to know what exactly he's looking for. He meditates for a long time until he he knows what he's looking for; the feeling of having absolutely nothing.

He knew one place where he is going to find what he's looking for; the Samana cult. He waited for the Samanas to get to town. When they got there, Siddhartha joined them as soon as possible. He told his dad about his new life plan, but just like expected, his father disapproved. Not even that stopped him from leaving. When his father realized that, he finally let him go to fulfill his destiny. Then he joins the Samanas, which made his life completely different. After a while he was standing on the death cliff and about to fall. He learned to die and reborn; making his heartbeat stop and his breath decrease. He kept doing this, determined to find what he wanted.

This part reminds me of many people I've met throughout my life. Siddhartha reminds me of my cousin, Santiago. In a way, they are nothing alike. My cousin is not the perfect role model, well atleast not to strangers. You might be thinking, why do I see my cousin as Siddhartha? I see their determination. When you know that someone is willing to do whatever it takes to fullfill his or her dream, it inspires you. Siddhartha is a man with alot of power in his hands. He has the globe in his shoulders, which is a pretty big responsability. When I read the book, I felt like if Siddhartha was willing to sacrifice anything to get the knowledge he wanted, even with the dissaproval of his family. 

This reminded me of my cousin because during his whole life, he felt like if he had the world in his hands. The pressure of my family didnt stop him from doing what he wanted to do the most; meet his sister. No one was there for him to support or encourage him to do the right thing. Everyone told him that he would never find her, but he had enough courage to keep looking. He sent her "emails" and looked all around the map, but he didnt find her. After a while, an email had popped up on his phone. It was his sister, who was completely willing to meet him. They met and spent christmas together, just how a real family is. Again, he had the determination to keep looking, just like Siddhartha currently is in part one of the story. 

Confucius 4.14

4.14 The Master said, "Do not be concerned that you lack an official position, but rather concern yourself with the means by which you might become established. Do not be concerned that no one has heard of you, but rather strive to become a person worthy of being known."

I think that this saying has the three theories that we learned made by Confucius. It involved Ren (仁), Li (裡) and Yi (易). This saying explains that it doesn't really matter if no one has heard of you.
You have to be worthy of looking forward to being a good person, but not expecting fame in return.

What this mainly means is that you don't have to be famous around the world so that others see you as a good person. You don't need to rely on others to do what you know is the right thing, and it doesn't matter if you are famous or not, you can do whatever good thing you think is right. This involves morals and ethics to know what you are doing is right. You don't need to have a special position to become a good person, you just can, and that will make you worthy of being known. As you read above you can clearly see my examples of Yi, Li and Ren. As you might now, Yi is morality, Li is ethics and fairness, and Ren is giving something without expecting anything in return. I thought that this was a great example of all of them and i hope you see why.

I would compare this aphorism to me. Ive had experiences like this before, when you start out of zero and then become the best. I was a great horse back rider, I jumped and I entered competitions all the time. My horse was beautiful. It was white and huge and her name was Hipanema. She was getting quite old after the years, but I still believed in her. I had this jumping competition in about 2 months and I practiced hors non stop. I could feel my horse trip after she jumped, but I didnt pay attention to it. After a week of practicing, hipanema broke her leg. As you know, if a horse breaks a leg he can never jump again. The competition was in about a month now and I had no horse. I was so nervous and mey coach even told me I wouldnt do it and I would make a fail of myself. About a week before a friend lend me her horse, Oly, for the competition. I was sure I was going to lost because of my lack of practice with the horse but it didnt happen.

I entered to the competition and all my family was so nervous, even more than me. They said I was going to lose and they definetely didnt trust me. After all the horses passed they announced the winners. I won first place for the first time and I won. I compare to this because in the begining no one believed in me, but I won for the first time in my horse with a lot of confidence. Now I'm worthty of being known.