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“I can think. I can wait. I can fast.”

Siddhartha realizes that the once disavowed world of appearances are not illusions but actually a manifestation of the Self. This leads him to explore his sexuality for the first time after meeting the beautiful courtesan Kamala who counsels him on the worldly life. I’m reminded of the Charvaka-Lokayata materialist philosophy of hedonism in these chapters.

Interesting so far. Siddhartha and Govinda start out in a Brahmin household with highly ritualized dharma akin to the Purva Mimamsa tradition, but S yearns to have a more direct contact with The Self (Brahman). He spends time with ascetic “Samanas” who are like Jains but does not achieve liberation. Then he then meets “The Buddha” but decides to skip the transmitted teachings in favor of direct insight.

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