In Refusal of the Call, the Hero "refuses the journey because of fears and insecurities that have surfaced from the Call to Adventure."2 This stage communicates the risks that are up coming. If this risk were not present, the story would be trivial, and the audience would not feel the need to be invested in the Hero's Journey.
Siddhartha refuses to follow the Illustrious One as he realizes he must reach enlightenment on his own, marking the Refusal of the Call in Siddhartha. Noticing the Illustrious One's instruction does not contain "the secret of what the Illustrious One himself experienced,"1 Siddhartha decides to "leave all doctrines and teachers ... to reach [his] goal alone..." 1 Siddhartha communicates that if he can not reach his goal alone, he must "die." 1 This is a risk being communicated, an integral part of the Refusal of the Call, allowing the audience to be more invested in the Hero's Journey.
Siddartha's refusal to follow Buddha does not necessarily imply he has doubt in his teachings, as he realizes there is no truer doctrine than Buddha's, however he denies, in Buddhism, the fact that there is no record of how the Illustrious One felt. The conversation Siddhartha has with Buddha convinces him to leave his ascetic ways. Siddhartha is still on a quest to figure more out about Atman, his inner, spiritual self, though has not abandoned his identity view. He still does not have sensual desire, or ill will. He does not carry ignorance, as he has recognized the truth behind suffering: material possession. At this point, he is likely at once-returner, though potentially, at best, non-returner.
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