--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do not seek to walk on water,\" said…" description: "\"“I do not seek to walk on water,\" said Siddhartha. \"Let [them] be content with such feats!”\" — Hermann Hesse" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hermann-hesse-130_siddhartha_i-do-not-seek-to-walk-on-water-said-sidd_2514836.png" --- # I do not seek to walk on water," said Siddhartha. "Let… ![“I do not seek to walk on water," said Siddhartha. "Let [them] be content with such feats!” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hermann-hesse-130_siddhartha_i-do-not-seek-to-walk-on-water-said-sidd_2514836.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hermann-hesse-130_siddhartha_i-do-not-seek-to-walk-on-water-said-sidd_2514836.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hermann-hesse-130_siddhartha_i-do-not-seek-to-walk-on-water-said-sidd_2514836.png) > ““I do not seek to walk on water," said Siddhartha. "Let \[them\] be content with such feats!”” [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker rejects impossible miracles, urging acceptance of ordinary human limits. **In simple terms:** Don’t chase impossible feats; accept realistic abilities. Key Takeaway Focus on attainable goals. Themes humility acceptance human limits Mood contemplative steady Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal ambition - spiritual practice - everyday challenges Key Concepts existentialism self‑acceptance Questions to Reflect On - What realistic goals inspire you? - How do you balance aspiration with humility? A Different Perspective Even modest achievements can inspire complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Siddhartha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siddhartha/) ## Related quotes > [I have no desire to walk on water," said Siddhartha. "Let the old shramanas satisfy themselves with such skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-have-no-desire-to-walk-on-water-said-siddhartha-let-the-old/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Conversation between Siddhartha, who has temporarily given up all worldly possessions in order to experience total poverty first hand, talks to a merchant. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/conversation-between-siddhartha-who-has-temporarily-given-up-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/wisdom-cannot-be-imparted-wisdom-that-a-wise-man-attempts-to-impart/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Siddhartha stopped fighting his fate this very hour, and he stopped suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/siddhartha-stopped-fighting-his-fate-this-very-hour-and-he-stopped/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [You do not really love me — you love nobody. Is that not true?" "Maybe," said Siddhartha wearily. "I am like you. You cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/you-do-not-really-love-me-you-love-nobody-is-that-not-true-maybe-said/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Seeking nothing, emulating nothing, breathing gently, he moved in an atmosphere of imperishable calm, impresihable light, inviolable peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/seeking-nothing-emulating-nothing-breathing-gently-he-moved-in-an/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [I have always thirsted for knowledge, I have always been full of questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-have-always-thirsted-for-knowledge-i-have-always-been-full-of/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [He looked around, as if he was seeing the world for the first time. Beautiful was the world, colorful was the world, strange and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/he-looked-around-as-if-he-was-seeing-the-world-for-the-first-time/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Siddhartha has one single goal-to become empty, to become empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow-to let the Self die. No longer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/siddhartha-has-one-single-goal-to-become-empty-to-become-empty-of/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Having been pondering while slowly walking along, he now stopped as these thoughts caught hold of him, and right away another thought sprang forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/having-been-pondering-while-slowly-walking-along-he-now-stopped-as/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Ephemeral, highly ephemeral is the world of formations; ephemeral, highly ephemeral are our clothes and hairstyles, and our hair and our bodies themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/ephemeral-highly-ephemeral-is-the-world-of-formations-ephemeral/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“He sat thus, lost in meditation, thinking Om, his soul as the arrow directed at Brahman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/he-sat-thus-lost-in-meditation-thinking-om-his-soul-as-the-arrow/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Whether it is good or evil, whether life in itself is pain or pleasure, whether it is uncertain-that it may perhaps be this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/whether-it-is-good-or-evil-whether-life-in-itself-is-pain-or-pleasure/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [I want to learn from myself, want to be my student, want to get to know myself, the secret of Siddhartha.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-want-to-learn-from-myself-want-to-be-my-student-want-to-get-to-know/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When someone is searching then it might easily happen that the only thing his eyes still see is that what he searches for, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-someone-is-searching-then-it-might-easily-happen-that-the-only/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More by Hermann Hesse > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The mistaken and unhappy notion that a man is an enduring unity is known to you. It is also known to you that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-mistaken-and-unhappy-notion-that-a-man-is-an-enduring-unity-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-bird-fights-its-way-out-of-the-egg-the-egg-is-the-world-who-would/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/everything-becomes-a-little-different-as-soon-as-it-is-spoken-out-loud/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“..it is useless for you to build walls and dormitories and chapels and churches. Death looks through the window and laughs..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-is-useless-for-you-to-build-walls-and-dormitories-and-chapels-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When the world is at peace, when all things are tranquil and all men obey their superiors in all their courses, then music can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-the-world-is-at-peace-when-all-things-are-tranquil-and-all-men/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A mere nothing suffices — and the lightning strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-mere-nothing-suffices-and-the-lightning-strikes/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“And if time is not real, then the dividing line that seems to lie between this world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-if-time-is-not-real-then-the-dividing-line-that-seems-to-lie/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/were-not-the-gods-forms-created-like-me-and-you-mortal-transient/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Explore all 951 Hermann Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More Siddhartha quotes > [You will become tired, Siddhartha." "I will become tired." "You will fall asleep, Siddhartha." "I will not fall asleep." "You will die, Siddhartha." "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-become-tired-siddhartha-i-will-become-tired-you-will-fall/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When someone is searching then it might easily happen that the only thing his eyes still see is that what he searches for, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-someone-is-searching-then-it-might-easily-happen-that-the-only/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The whole secret of existence is to have no fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-whole-secret-of-existence-is-to-have-no-fear/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [I want to learn from myself, want to be my student, want to get to know myself, the secret of Siddhartha.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-want-to-learn-from-myself-want-to-be-my-student-want-to-get-to-know/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Whether it is good or evil, whether life in itself is pain or pleasure, whether it is uncertain-that it may perhaps be this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/whether-it-is-good-or-evil-whether-life-in-itself-is-pain-or-pleasure/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Bodh Gaya is a land of enlightenment. Years ago, what Bodh Gaya got was Siddhartha but what Bodh Gaya gave to the world was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/bodh-gaya-is-a-land-of-enlightenment-years-ago-what-bodh-gaya-got-was/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [“He sat thus, lost in meditation, thinking Om, his soul as the arrow directed at Brahman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/he-sat-thus-lost-in-meditation-thinking-om-his-soul-as-the-arrow/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Ephemeral, highly ephemeral is the world of formations; ephemeral, highly ephemeral are our clothes and hairstyles, and our hair and our bodies themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/ephemeral-highly-ephemeral-is-the-world-of-formations-ephemeral/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-secret-of-health-for-both-mind-and-body-is-not-to-mourn-for-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/do-not-believe-in-anything-simply-because-you-have-heard-it-but-after/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [One particular aspect of Siddhartha’s revelation of the outside world has always struck me. Quite possibly he lived his first thirty years without any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/one-particular-aspect-of-siddhartha-s-revelation-of-the-outside-world/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [“Having been pondering while slowly walking along, he now stopped as these thoughts caught hold of him, and right away another thought sprang forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/having-been-pondering-while-slowly-walking-along-he-now-stopped-as/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Siddhartha has one single goal-to become empty, to become empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow-to let the Self die. No longer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/siddhartha-has-one-single-goal-to-become-empty-to-become-empty-of/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [He looked around, as if he was seeing the world for the first time. Beautiful was the world, colorful was the world, strange and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/he-looked-around-as-if-he-was-seeing-the-world-for-the-first-time/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [I have always thirsted for knowledge, I have always been full of questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-have-always-thirsted-for-knowledge-i-have-always-been-full-of/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Browse all 91 Siddhartha quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siddhartha/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I do not seek to walk on water,\" said Siddhartha. \"Let [them] be content with such feats!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hermann Hesse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-do-not-seek-to-walk-on-water-said-siddhartha-let-them-be-content/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Siddhartha" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-do-not-seek-to-walk-on-water-said-siddhartha-let-them-be-content/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hermann-hesse-130_siddhartha_i-do-not-seek-to-walk-on-water-said-sidd_2514836.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hermann-hesse-130_siddhartha_i-do-not-seek-to-walk-on-water-said-sidd_2514836.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hermann-hesse-130_siddhartha_i-do-not-seek-to-walk-on-water-said-sidd_2514836.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I do not seek to walk on water,\" said Siddhartha. \"Let [them] be content with such feats!” — Hermann Hesse", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hermann Hesse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I do not seek to walk...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-do-not-seek-to-walk-on-water-said-siddhartha-let-them-be-content/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-do-not-seek-to-walk-on-water-said-siddhartha-let-them-be-content/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```