Siddhartha, goes on a lifelong journey of self-discovery in hope to find his enlightenment. Along the way, he encounters many people who try to teach him this enlightenment, undoubtedly the most important being the illustrious Buddha himself. Although Siddhartha rejects the Buddha's teachings, saying that both wisdom and enlightenment cannot be taught, we can see, nevertheless, that along his journey for enlightenment Siddhartha's enlightenment is encountered by the Four Noble Truths that are a central theme in Buddhism: suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the middle path. .
The First Noble Truth is The Truth of Suffering. If people examine their own experiences, or look at the world around them, they will see that life is full of suffering. In the novel, Siddhartha experiences the two forms of suffering - physical and mental. Physical suffering can come in many forms - disease, ageing, injury. Siddhartha experiences physical suffering as a young man when he joins the ascetics or Samanas. As a Samana, Siddhartha learns to fast, to tolerate extreme heat and cold, and to endure pain through meditation. Siddhartha's life as a samana is bitter, and he learns that "life [is] pain" (p.11). .
Siddhartha experiences mental pain in the second half of his life when he begins a contrasting existence of pleasure, and then again when he meets his only son. After leaving the Samanas, Siddhartha begins a life of decadence in the house of a wealthy merchant and in the company of a beautiful courtesan. Though at first Siddhartha remains apart from their daily troubles, as the years go by Siddhartha himself begins to value money, fine wine, and material possessions. Because of this "a thin mist, a weariness [settles] on Siddhartha," (p. 63) and he is engulfed in mental pain. Later, after ridding himself of the pain of the life of a wealthy merchant by becoming a simple ferryman, Siddhartha again experiences mental anguish when he meets his son.
