The struggle to find enlightenment is ever present in Hesse's Siddhartha. Siddhartha wanders the land in search of enlightenment over the course of years, but is never satisfied with what he finds. He even leaves the Buddha, someone who knows enlightenment and experiences it firsthand, in his quest to find what he is looking for. Siddhartha is an individual in his society who believes that true enlightenment is discovered by one's self. His experiences lead to his enlightenment, going from the extremes of pious believer to the gambling merchant, where he finally settles on the medium, a ferryman. Ultimately, Hesse rejects Eastern religion and philosophy through Siddhartha because Siddhartha finds enlightenment on his own, not with the Buddha or other spiritual groups.

Siddhartha leaves the Buddha because he realizes that wisdom cannot be communicated to other people. He states that attempting to teach wisdom to others sounds foolish...