Running Head: SIDDHARTHAS ENLIGHTENMENT JOURNEY AND MY SELFDEPRIVATION EXPERIENCE

Siddharthas Enlightenment Journey and My Self-Deprivation Experience Nicholas S. Portugal West Career & Technical Academy

Running Head: SIDDHARTHAS ENLIGHTENMENT JOURNEY AND MY SELFDEPRIVATION EXPERIENCE

It all began with my decision to self-discipline and abstain from sweets and desserts for six straight days. As the days elapsed, I discovered several resemblances and distinctions, which existed between Siddharthas journey to enlightenment and my own self-deprivation experience. I chose to regulate my daily consumption of these two items because I conceived sweets should only be enjoyed in moderation. In addition, I managed to exceed the typical intake recommended for people around my age, emanating in semi-high triglyceride levels. However, Siddharthas journey to enlightenment associated the following outcomes: achieving simplicity & purity, as well as a modest renewal from dispossessing himself of glory and intimate acclaim. Siddhartha initially acquired this eminency from his attractive faade and muscular physique whilst residing with the Brahmins, particularly his best friend Govinda. Most importantly, I perceived three prominent comparisons between Siddharthas enlightenment journey and my own, among them the following: experiencing new perceptions, becoming acquainted to selfdeprivation, and entirely committing to these new institutions in consideration of accomplishing our intentions, utilizing three quotes from the book Siddhartha. To begin, in Siddharthas adventures, he bears hardship to several new sensations and situations, such as breathing sparingly, which he is unfamiliar with. These encounters are relevant because they demonstrate how Siddhartha became accustomed to foreign strategies of recognizing enlightenment, as opposed to how he originally learned from the Brahmins through meditation practices. Its further described in the story: Siddhartha sat upright and learned how to breathe sparingly, learned how to get by with little breath and then learned how to halt his breathing. He learned, beginning with the breath, how to quiet his heartbeat, and then how to diminish his hearts beating until it was very little and then was almost nonexistent. (Pg. 22) In my experiences, while I used neither meditation nor breathing techniques related to Siddhartha, I

Running Head: SIDDHARTHAS ENLIGHTENMENT JOURNEY AND MY SELFDEPRIVATION EXPERIENCE

applied alternative methods. For instance, I listened to soothing music to help me diminish the constant cravings I had for sweets, which would occur mainly after eating dinner. The music relaxed my mind, and allowed me to focus my attention to more urgent tasks such as homework. Additionally, I realized after the second day, I became considerably adapted to omitting previously cherished goodies from my diet, almost like slowly turning a new leaf. At the same time, I eventually learned how to self-discipline myself by continually reminding myself of my commitment, and not subsiding to my surrounding temptations. Conclusively, I believe this quote symbolically represents the first phase of my personal self-deprivation experience. In the second place, after Siddhartha converted to the teachings of the oldest Samanas, he successfully mastered self-denial and practiced mystic contemplation. He envisioned himself as a heron, living the normal duration of its life, then finally bearing its tragic death. Accordingly, he realized the circular cycle of existence: Every time when he found himself awakened once more, whether the sun or moon was shining, he was once more himself within the cycle of existence. He felt thirst, he overcame his thirst, and then he felt new thirst. (Pg. 22) In my opinion, I supposed this statement was exactly comparable to my own ventures. During my selfdeprivation experience, I consistently had temptations during the third and fourth days of the week. As a result, I used unique approaches to overcome these constant lures by swimming laps in my pool, eating fruits as healthy alternatives, and doing my homework to focus my mind on other activities besides concerning myself with sweets or desserts. However, no matter how many substitute actions I did to relinquish those impeding thoughts, meanwhile, the delectable notions of simply indulging in those two items significantly grew, which was my new thirst. Furthermore, the third quote from the book Siddhartha, which was also comparable to my experience, explained: One goal loomed before Siddhartha, and only one: to become empty, to

Running Head: SIDDHARTHAS ENLIGHTENMENT JOURNEY AND MY SELFDEPRIVATION EXPERIENCE

be empty of thirst, of wishing, of dreamsempty of all joy and pain. He wanted the self to die, to no longer be an I, to find peace with an empty heart. His goal was to stand open to the wonder of thoughts conceived in self-dissolution. (Pg. 21) This statement straightforwardly recounts Siddharthas goal to embark on a journey to enlightenment. At the same time, this statement remained relevant to the main objective of my self-deprivation experience. Similarly, Siddharthas main goal of self-deprivation was experiencing satisfaction in self-dissolution from himself and the world around him. Likewise, I felt proud of myself because I was strong enough to avoid temptations by having strong willpower much like Siddhartha. Especially during the last two days of the week, which were my fifth and sixth, I had a moment to reminisce the previous four days, and realizing how difficult yet interesting this experience actually was. Finally, while I did not expound on the differences between Siddhartha and myself in this composition, I certainly compared three important similarities between our two self-deprivation experiences. The first quote from Siddhartha deemed relevant to my personal experience in terms of how abstaining from sweets and desserts accounted for a different feeling; I had to retrain my mind to say no, and achieve self-denial in this manner. Following this, the second statement explained how awakening from the abounding temptations of sweets was crucial to thoroughly maintaining my six day commitment. After attempting to overcome these constant cravings, I still had an inclination to fall back to my original habits. Last, my third and final quote summarized the purposes of both of our self-deprivation experiences. Overall, my main goal was achieved, because I taught my mind the value of self-denial, as Siddharthas purpose of destitution was to achieve personal enlightenment. In conclusion, could you discipline yourself for six straight days, understanding how increasingly difficult it is to reteach your mind to say no to something you really enjoy on a regular basis?