Siddhartha

1. Brahman, Brahmin (noun):

a member of the priestly caste in India that controls the Vedic religious tradition

“Joy leapt in his father’s heart at that son, so quick to learn, so eager for knowledge; he saw a great sage and priest developing in him, a prince among the Brahmans.”

2. Atman (noun):

the deepest part of the soul that manifests the godhead in every person

“And where was Atman to be found, where did He dwell, where did His eternal heart beat, where else but in one’s own self, deep within oneself, in that indestructible something that each man bore inside him?”

3. self (noun):

personhood; one’s identity; the soul; Atman

“But where, where was this self, this innermost thing, this ultimate thing? It was not flesh and bone, it was not thought or consciousness: thus the sages taught.”

4. Samana (noun):

in India, an ascetic religious mendicant

“Once, samanas had passed through Siddhartha’s town, itinerant ascetics, three dried-up, burnt-out men, neither old nor young, with dusty and bloody shoulders, nearly nude, scorched by the sun, surrounded by solitude, strangers and enemies to the world, outsiders and emaciated jackals in the realm of human beings.”

5. ascetic (noun):

one who rejects worldly things and lives very simply, especially one who focuses on spirituality

“On the evening of that day they overtook the ascetics, the dried-out ascetics, and offered to accompany them and obey them.”

6. fast (verb):

to refrain from eating; in spiritual practice, a form of denial of the physical in order to focus on the spiritual

“He ate only once a day, and the food was never cooked. He fasted for fifteen days. He fasted for twenty-eight days. The flesh wasted away from his thighs and cheeks.”

7. nirvana (noun):

the unification of the soul with the godhead; in Buddhism, the ending of the suffering of the separate person and unification with all reality

“He will become seventy and eighty, and you and I shall become just as old, and shall do exercises, and shall fast, and shall meditate. But we shall never attain nirvana, not he, not we.”

8. Veda (noun):

one of the sacred books at the heart of Hinduism

“I have questioned the Brahmans, year after year, and I have questioned the sacred Vedas, year after year.”

9. Buddha, buddha (noun):

a fully enlightened and awakened person; the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gotama

“[…] a man had appeared, Gotama by name, the Sublime One, the Buddha, who had overcome the sorrow of the world within himself, bringing the wheel of rebirths to a halt.”

10. alms (noun):

charitable donations of money, food, or clothing

“In the town of Savatthi every child knew the name of Buddha the Sublime One, and every household was prepared to fill the alms bowl of Gotama’s disciples, who begged in silence.”

11. mendicant (noun):

a beggar, especially a religious ascetic

“Even the Buddha himself, the Enlightened One, used to make his mendicant rounds in the morning.”

12. monk (noun):

a member of a religious group dedicated to spiritual contemplation

“On every path in the splendid grove yellow-robed monks were walking, they were sitting here and there under the trees, immersed in contemplation or in spiritual conversation […].”

13. awakening (noun):

in spirituality, becoming aware of one’s true nature

“Siddhartha opened his eyes and looked around him; a smile spread over his face, and a profound sensation of awakening from lengthy dreams flowed through him down to his toes.” 

14. enlightenment (noun):

the release from ignorance or illusion; in Buddhism, a waking up to the true nature of oneself and reality

“Why had Gotama once, in the hour of hours, sat down beneath the bo tree, where he received enlightenment?”

15. courtesan (noun):

a prostitute trained to entertain men of high birth or great wealth

“He asked the next person who came his way about the grove and that woman’s name, and he learned that it was the grove of Kamala, the renowned courtesan, and that, in addition to the grove, she owned a house in town.”

16. samsara (noun):

the soul’s repeating cycle of birth and death in the physical world; the state of being trapped in the realm of physical desires and suffering

“He was tightly entangled in samsara; he had imbibed disgust and death from all sides, as a sponge soaks up water until it is full.”