Siddhartha

1. Why does Siddhartha decide not to follow Buddha?
Siddhartha wants to take his own path. He feels that he must experience inorder to learn and feels by having someone teach you is not the same. He feels that Buddha can not help him and that his way isn't right for him.

2. Why does Siddhartha leave his father?
Siddhartha left the palace because he wanted to explore the outside world but his father didn't want that his father wanted to teach him about being king. He wanted to know what life was like for people who lived outside the palace walls. He realized that people get old, sick and eventually everyone must die.

3. What is the identity of Vasudeva?
Vasudeva is an enlightened ferryman who guides Siddhartha to a transcendent understanding of himself and the universe. He is closely connected to the river, and he helps Siddhartha learn how to listen to the river’s secrets.

4. What is the significance of the river?
The river represents the continuous flow of life whether it's the past, the present or the future. Siddhartha sleeps by the river, and when he awakes he feels he has been reborn.

5. If Siddhartha never lived with Kamala and the people in the city would he have reached Enlightenment faster?
No, he would have never reached enlightenment because he would of stood in the city and he did not want to deny himself any physical experience.