While Siddhartha and Gotama, the Buddha are separate people in the book, the historical Buddha’s name was actually Siddhartha and there are many parallels between the Buddha’s life and the life of the fictional Siddhartha.
In the book, Siddhartha is the son of a Brahmin, which is the highest Hindu social class. This is similar to the historical Buddha, who was a prince. They both left their father’s house to search for enlightenment, though in the book, Siddhartha left when he was still a boy, and the historical Buddha left when he was 29 and already had a wife an kid, whom he left. Both Siddhartha and the Buddha left to become wandering monks and lead an ascetic life, which means they abstained from all forms of indulgence, such as eating (contrary to what the fat Buddha statues imply). They both thought that this would help them reach enlightenment faster. After nearly starving to death, the Buddha began to reconsider his ascetic lifestyle, much like Siddhartha did when he left the Samanas.
In the book, Siddhartha leaves a life of luxury twice, while the historical Buddha only had to leave such a life once, for he was never tempted by luxuries after he left. After Siddhartha left the Samanas in the book, he found Kamala and became her lover and lived a life of luxury with her. Eventually, he realized how pointless it was, and left without saying a word. This is much like how the historical Buddha left his wife a child when he went to look for enlightenment. (Later, Siddhartha would find out Kamala had his son after he left). When Siddhartha left, he thought about drowning himself in the river. According to Wikipedia, the Buddha may have almost drowned as well while he was starving to death before he realized that asceticism was meaningless.
Eventually, Siddhartha became enlightened, just like the Buddha. Whereas the Buddha spread his teachings after finding enlightenment, in the book, Siddhartha just continued his life as the ferryman. Siddhartha found enlightenment while living near the river, whereas the Buddha attained enlightenment while sitting under a tree.
While there are many similarities between the book Siddhartha and the life of the Buddha, the author changed quite a few things. In the book, Siddhartha and the Buddha are separate people, even though the historical Buddha’s life paralleled Siddhartha’s in many ways. Both set out on a quest to attain enlightenment and both went through similar things in their quests.
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