Why do people wake up?
Is it to improve cognition and break through confusion?
Is it to explore the way of the world and get rid of pain?
If you don't understand this question, then you might as well go and read the story of Siddhartha.
In the book, it is said that Siddhartha, an aristocratic young man, once wanted to get rid of himself and comprehend the path through penance and by following the Buddha.
But in the process, instead of attaining spiritual detachment, he lived a more painful and confused life.
It wasn't until he fell into the world, tasted all the flavors of the world, and found himself on the way to lose himself, that he truly understood the meaning of awakening and completed self-redemption.
So, what is the purpose of awakening?
Hesse, the author of Siddhartha, said something that I think is the best answer:
The awakened man has only one obligation, to find himself, to hold on to himself, and to go along his own path, wherever he leads.
One
There is a saying in the ancient Greek temple of Delphi:
Know yourself.
This sentence seems simple, but many people have never really understood the deep meaning of this sentence throughout their lives.
We all think we know ourselves.
But they never know where their inner happiness comes from, where their pain comes from, and what is the point of living?
So no matter how rich they live and how respectful their status is, many people still can't know themselves and become themselves.
In the book "Siddhartha", it is written that the young and handsome Siddhartha was born at the top of the material pyramid.
He came from the most noble Brahmin of the four castes in India, and was well educated from an early age, and his virtues and intellect were also admired by the world.
Following this path, Siddhartha will surely become a respected king of Brahmin.
However, such a smooth life did not make Siddhartha feel happy.
He often felt uneasy and restless because his current life was not what he really wanted.
And the love of his parents, the love of his friends, and the wisdom of the book could not bring him eternal happiness, peace, and satisfaction.
He longs for a higher wisdom and a perfect and beautiful self.
In order to pursue this self, he resolutely gave up his noble status and a prosperous life to join the ranks of ascetics.
In the process of penance, he endured exposure to the sun, rain, thorns, cold and hunger, and these pains made him thinner and thinner.
But Siddhartha accepted everything willingly.
Because he knows that in order to be liberated, one must first experience suffering, which is the necessary price to become oneself.
In real life, many people don't want to take the time to think about what kind of life they want, even if they live a muddy life.
They refuse to think and are afraid of being different, so they prefer to live in worldly standards rather than be themselves.
As the book says:
Most of them are like fallen leaves, tumbling and fluttering in the air, and finally stumbling back to dust. A very small number of people are like stars in the sky, moving along a fixed trajectory. No wind can shake him, and he has his own law and track in his heart.
The life of all people is extremely short, some people live like leaves in the wind, and some people live a colorful life.
If you don't want to live your life in a deep sleep, like Siddhartha, take the initiative to think and take the initiative to fight with pain.
Only then can you awaken and become part of this very few.
Two
During his ascetic career, Siddhartha learned many methods of self-denial and cultivation to overcome hunger, pain, thirst, and exhaustion.
At the same time, he gradually lost himself.
For Hongchen, his eyes were contemptuous; For love and hate, lust, happiness, he thinks they are nothing.
In his opinion, everything is rotting, the world is bitter, and life is torture.
So his only goal is to fall into nothingness, no joy or sorrow, no pain and no desire.
But the more he ran towards this goal, the more he found that this end point was unattainable.
He clearly perceived:
Penance could give him a short escape and rest, but when he woke up from his hallucinations, he found that everything was still the same.
He did not become a wise man, did not accumulate knowledge, and did not enter a higher realm.
This thought made him feel painful.
Just as he was hesitating, he met the World-Honored Buddha Gautama.
He listened to Gautama's lectures, but he still couldn't find salvation through preaching.
So he decided to go into the world, to experience all things in the world, to slowly get closer to his true self.
He met the famous prostitute Gamora and studied the Book of Love with her;
He became acquainted with the wealthy merchant Gamoshwami and learned business with him;
He tasted wealth, lust and power, but also the childishness and timidity of the world.
He fell at the feet of lust, greed, and inertia, and in this absurd cycle of reincarnation, he became exhausted, old, and weak.
When he awoke from his unbearable intoxication again, Siddhartha glimpsed his mess in the mirror.
Such a self and such a life made him feel ashamed and disgusted from the bottom of his heart.
Finally, late one night, he left the city and decided to jump into the river to end his worthless life.
But just as his life was about to end, a voice from the bottom of his heart suddenly woke him up.
He suddenly woke up:
"I must experience greed, the pursuit of wealth, the experience of disgust, the abyss of despair, and learn to resist them."
It was also at that moment that he saw through, sobered up, became a new Siddhartha, and embarked on the path of self-awakening.
Throughout Siddhartha's life, he lost himself many times and went astray.
But in the end, he woke up from these experiences and realized the true meaning of life.
Confusion and loss are the only way to grow.
So why should you be afraid of going astray, so you should demand that every step you take must be right?
There is only one life, so it is better to experience it boldly and experience it.
Only in this way will it be possible for you to identify your mistakes and find your true self in the process of continuous attempts.
Three
After Siddhartha's suicide attempt, he lived by the river with a ferryman.
The ferryman knew the confusion in Siddhartha's heart, so he told him that the river knows everything, and that he can learn everything by asking the river for advice.
So Siddhartha listened to the sound of the river every day by the river and pondered the truth of life.
Gradually, his heart began to become at peace, and he realized the true meaning of "there is no past, no future, everything is essence and present".
But all this still did not make Siddhartha find fulfillment, and the suffering continued.
Once, the ferryman accidentally rescued Gamora from being bitten by a snake, as well as a young boy.
And this boy is none other than the son of Gamora and Siddhartha.
Gamora was poisoned and died, leaving little Siddhartha to live with the two boatmen.
Siddhartha loved this son immensely, and in order to keep him by his side, he endured his son's disgust and torture over and over again.
Even so, he couldn't keep little Siddhartha.
Finally, after a fierce argument between the two, little Siddhartha left angrily.
Siddhartha thought about his son, and at the same time he remembered his father's heartache when he left home as a teenager.
For a moment, the images of the father, himself and his son crossed in his mind, and he finally realized:
All unendured suffering, unattained salvation will come again, and suffering will never change.
He no longer wrestles with fate, nor against will, he knows that being tortured is the fate of all, so he embraces everything that is not perfect.
He no longer hears only mourning and laughter, and his soul is no longer obsessed with one voice, but begins to listen to everything.
At this moment, Siddhartha finally realized:
To look at the world, to interpret it, or to despise it, may be the business of the thinker. The only thing I do is love the world. Not to despise the world, not to hate the world and to myself, but to love, wonder and awe, to all that exists and to myself.
In embracing all things, returning to one's true self is the path to enlightenment that Siddhartha has sought for half a lifetime.
There is a saying that when the beautiful leaves fall, the veins of life can be seen.
The hardships and hardships, pains and regrets, joys and joys that we experience in our lives are actually like these gorgeous leaves.
From the very beginning, they have flourished in our lives.
We have to look at them one by one, pick them one by one, and then we can get in touch with the real self hidden under the leaves.
So, don't complain about the suffering and loss in your life, the suffering of life hides your path to yourself.
When you approach them with a tolerant and accepting mindset, you can transcend pain and become a better version of yourself.
American writer Henry Miller once commented on "Siddhartha":
It is a more potent medicine than the Bible New Testament.
For more than 100 years since its inception in 1922, it has still been held up by countless people who are confused.
That's the beauty of this book.
What it tells us is never just a story of a Buddha.
Rather, through Siddhartha's life, we are taught how to find ourselves and be true to ourselves.
When you really understand this, you can also achieve self-awareness, and then you will be able to deal with all the variables of life with greater wisdom.
Encourage your friends.