Lord of the Flies: Simon and the Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama was born the son of a king in India during the sixth century B.C. He immersed himself in deep spiritual meditation to gain a higher level of understanding. He became known as the Buddha or "enlightened one." A similarity to this is found in William Golding's the Lord of the Flies. The character Simon, from the very beginning looks at the island on which they land, with great admiration and respect. He also is found on countless occasions committing selfless acts. By comparing the lives of these two figures, one can see how Simon evolves from a simple British schoolboy into a spiritual figure, and why he was not as successful as Buddha.

Siddhartha Gautama was born into a time when India was a land of religious and political turmoil. Early in his life, even at 13 years, he would be found in a trance contemplating matter such as why the frog is consumed while the snake is discarded. His father was disturbed by Siddhartha's seemingly morbid preoccupations. He would be found deep in though about the problems of suffering, death and the inequities of the human existence. One night he was in an intense state of meditation when "He achieved a radical breakthrough, an absolute clear perception of the real spiritual enigmas of life and the unique religious means of dealing with them. This realization culminated in a transcending mystical experience - his own enlightened (bodhi) - which simultaneously confirmed the integrity of his insight and unqualified spiritual salvation. At this point he became the Buddha" (Buddha, The). He then set forth to spread the word and to preach how others may find the path to their enlightenment as well. He saw the weakness of man and how their desires clouded the path of purity. He began to lay down four simple points, which he called the four noble truths. They say that all of your life is suffering, and the craving for life leads to the downfall of man. Also, only by detachment from life can one escape suffering and find salvation, and one must perform right and just acts and meditation. This simple outline helped people see how sensible his teachings were. He was able to attain many followers with his use of logic, feeling, and ethics in the deliverance of his speeches. One day a group of young men went for a picnic in the woods. "Since all the men were married save one, a girl friend was invited to keep the bachelor company. But when the men plunged