Meet the Buddha, Reject the Buddha

Early in the book Siddhartha meets the Buddha. He finds his philosophy true but decides not to follow him as a disciple:

"Enlightenment has not come to you by means of teachings! And—thus is my thought, oh exalted one,—nobody will obtain salvation by means of teachings!"

Siddhartha discovered early on that enlightenment is a personal journey, that can not be short-circuited by following a prophet.