The Middle Way (Sensible Living, Sensible Goals)

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Chris

I’ve been wanting to return to the topic and write in-depth about how Stoicism and Buddhism essentially convey the same message, but in different ways. I touched upon it previously, here. An imperfect description is that Buddhism is more right-brained (creative/intuitive) and Stoicism is left-brained (logical/analytical)…it’s not a perfect description of these different approaches, and it doesn’t matter how we approach it, the message is basically the same. As I begin this quest, I know that it will require several installments, so stay tuned. I will dive deeper and deeper as we go.

I’ve been putting this one off for awhile. There are some things, that when you discover them to be true, you sense they are right even though they are difficult to put into words. So, now I will try to begin…

Both Buddhism and Stoicism stress living a sensible and peaceful life. They de-emphasize passions and desire, and emphasize being content with your position in life while doing as much good and as little harm as possible. Both philosophies focus on detached contemplation of your actions, instead of absolutes of “this is right” or “this is wrong.” Both philosophies invite you to search for yourself, rather than preach at you. For these reasons, I was attracted to both philosophies. As I continue to study and practice both concurrently, I realize I have internalized my outlook on how to live a virtuous life. In short, this outlook is best described as living The Middle Way (term borrowed from Buddhism).

Monks Practicing the Middle Way

The Middle Way. Maybe I could replace the words a little: The Sensible Way. Possibly, The Pragmatic Way. For sure, the extremes are a place to avoid.

“The body should be treated more rigorously, that it may not be disobedient to the mind. Eat merely to relieve your hunger; drink merely to quench your thirst; dress merely to keep out the cold; house yourself merely as a protection against personal discomfort.”–Seneca Letter 8

A bust of Seneca…a Stoic.

The Buddha…seek what he sought.

“There are these two extremes that are not to be indulged in by one who has gone forth. Which two? That which is devoted to sensual pleasure with reference to sensual objects: base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unprofitable; and that which is devoted to self-affliction: painful, ignoble, unprofitable. Avoiding both of these extremes, the middle way realized by the Tathagata — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.”–Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion” (SN 56.11), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight, 12 February 2012, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.than.html . Retrieved on 17 January 2013.

When will you be happy? You decide!

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Chris

I have read several studies that have stated that once you are beyond a certain level of subsistence, more wealth does not bring you more happiness (see here, here, and here). If you are reading this, you are probably one of those people with enough to live on. So the question is what are you after? Certainly not power; that too, is ephemeral and it just brings more desire.

Happiness…that is what you are after. How do you obtain it? The third article above states that we tend to have a “set point” of happiness, regardless of our life condition. This may very well be true.

Happiness from virtue?

As I have mentioned many times, I think our happiness is derived from our perspective on how things really are. Our perspective can be widened by understanding the three Stoic concepts of control, fate, and impermanence. Understanding these concepts takes work. That’s the theme of my entry today, that you can read my interpretation of the Stoic philosophy, you can reach the end and say, “Ah-hah!” and you are not even close to finding happiness through virtue. This pursuit has to be done through constant tending of your mind. Wouldn’t it be great if we could throw some seeds down, and a garden would just grow itself? Unfortunately, this is not the case. We have to nurture those seeds constantly, water them, feed them with fertilizer, look out for pests, pull the weeds, and THEN we have to know when is the right time to harvest. Wow! All that for a garden!

Seems happy. I wonder if he has a garden?

So imagine how much work it takes to nurture your own virtue. I maintain that this endeavor is far more tedious than growing a garden. Maybe a simple meditation based on a Stoic viewpoint, performed daily or whenever needed, could help. Maybe right before bed and also before you place your feet on the floor when you wake up, you can simply remind yourself:

Control – There will be much I cannot control, but I can control my attitude
Fate – Many things will happen to me, much will be unexpected
Impermanence – Someday I will be gone, someday it will all be gone
So (Telling yourself in the day): Live as if today were your last, but serve as best you know how, and be mindful and pleasant
So (Telling yourself before bed): Sleep deeply, leave it behind for now. If you awake tomorrow, you will be ready.

It’s just a suggestion. Maybe you can make your own Stoic Meditation or your own Creed.

How You Can be Happy Forever!

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Chris

“I search myself first, and then the world about me.”–Seneca

Seneca captures so much with these words. Happiness is indeed a state of mind. We expect our happiness to be affected by external factors, and it certainly can. There is no denying that our environment affects our happiness. Meeting someone new, being proposed to for marriage, getting a pay raise, getting together with friends and relatives can all make us very happy, at least for a while. How about these: a successful business venture, getting a new job, completing a project, even winning the lottery? All of these things can affect our view on life and our happiness, too. However, I repeat, none of them bring permanent contentment. That kind of happiness requires introspection, continuous mindfulness and effort.

If only you could meet her, you would be happy.(Photo by Belovodchenko Anton)

Certainly we can enjoy the external joys in life, but just like saving for a rainy day we should realize that all of these external things are ephemeral. Their happiness effect will fade eventually. It is during these times of joy that we should build our happiness capital. The perspective that the reflective, philosophical life gives us can help us build this capital. In the end, happiness is an internal function. We choose to be happy or not.

This is very important because not only do those external happiness drivers not always exist, but in fact there will also be many external things that make us unhappy. Do I need to list them? Take all of the things I mentioned above and reverse them. Here we go: losing an old friend, getting a divorce, taking a pay cut, missing your friends and relatives, a failed business venture, being fired, failing to complete a project. Finally, you may have your heart set on winning the lottery, and never win a dime. You could even win and then be poisoned! (click for full story)

Poison!

Your philosophy is your happiness shock absorber. Your perspective, your equanimity is yours to control. Look within for change, and look within for answers. Seneca is right!

The Inevitability of Change

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Chris

“Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are and to make new things like them. For everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be. But thou art thinking only of seeds which are cast into the earth or into a womb: but this is a very vulgar notion.” –Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations

Everything around me is always changing. Birth, death, creation, destruction. Things exist for a time, then they will be gone. Eventually our very own sun will begin to “burn out,” but first it is expected to grow into a red giant. The outer limits of this red giant stage will engulf the Earth, unless its orbit increases. In any case, the biosphere will be long gone by then, which means that all life as we know it will be long gone. All the oceans are predicted to be gone at just over 1 billion years from now, and all the water on Earth is expected to be gone by about 3 billion years from now. (get more details here). So we’ve got some time.

The sun is coming to get us; it will eventually.

Actually, most of us have about about 90 years +/-30 years or so. At this point, it is unlikely that there is anything I can do about this.

So, in the grand scheme of things I will relax, enjoy the day, enjoy the moment, and realize that BIG problems aren’t as big as they appear.

Disorder (uhh…Entropy)

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Chris

Entropy is the measure of energy in a closed system. When something has more energy, there is more disorder. Think of the molecules in a an ice cube versus that in water vapor. The molecules in the ice cube have less energy and they are all arranged nicely in a solid. Water vapor’s molecules, on the other hand, are warmer and are all over the place…disordered. So, scientifically (and in engineering, of course), the concept of entropy is used to measure the amount of disorder and energy in a system. In a closed system, entropy NEVER decreases. This is called the Second Law of Thermodynamics: “entropy of an isolated system never decreases, because isolated systems spontaneously evolve towards thermodynamic equilibrium — the state of maximum entropy [disorder].” (Thanks Wikipedia)

This is a scientific law, but it necessarily has had philosophical implications. Many, regardless of whether or not they have a scientific background, have referred to entropy to explain why things are the way they are. Everything naturally flows towards more disorder; if left alone, things will become disorderly. So accordingly, something must tidy it up. At the worldly level, it must be man. At the cosmic level, it must be the divine. For some, it proves the existence of God.

But I am straying from my original intent. I do think that the Second Law of Thermodynamics can have philosophical implications. That is, it can give us some perspective on life in general. At this point however, I would like to turn my thoughts away from what determines order or disorder, and limit the discussion to the fact that there simply is disorder in our system. In other words, since the tendency in a system is toward disorder, then there will definitely be disorder in your life.

This flows nicely into the Stoic triad of control, fate, and impermanence. If my life is orderly and just so right now, then I better enjoy it while it lasts. Something will upset this order, because it is the natural way of things. I cannot control most of it; it will happen as it is fate; and things that are so now, will not be so later…they are impermanent.

If your life is in disarray now, if it is messy, then maybe you should consider yourself lucky: it is the natural way of things and you are in harmony with nature. I know, that may be a sick joke, but in humor there is truth, no? Seriously though, you can take heart in the fact that this is just the way things are. Hopefully, you have already prepared for this state with your reflections on reality.

Which brings me to our place in a world of disorder. If there is much I cannot control, this means that there ARE things I can. I need to concentrate on those things I can control: my mental outlook, reactions to the insults, tragedies and attacks that come my way, not to mention my ability to reduce the chaos as much as possible for those around me. I can reduce the entropy in my world. I would definitely concentrate on the “world” inside my head, then limit my efforts to anything around me within a stone’s throw (or soccer ball’s kick, if you will), but that’s just me.

Remember, that entropy/disorder increases in a completely closed system. Since our own “system” is nothing even close to being closed, and we are surrounded by “systems” that are not closed, we can add order to each in our own way.

Just be mindful that the march toward disorder will continue, no matter what you do.

OK now, how about a quote from a Stoic giant. I think this one applies from Epictetus. Think of the onion and shellfish as the order in your life, and the ship as the reality of disorder: “Consider when, on a voyage, your ship is anchored; if you go on shore to get water you may along the way amuse yourself with picking up a shellfish, or an onion. However, your thoughts and continual attention ought to be bent towards the ship, waiting for the captain to call on board; you must then immediately leave all these things, otherwise you will be thrown into the ship, bound neck and feet like a sheep. So it is with life. If, instead of an onion or a shellfish, you are given a wife or child, that is fine. But if the captain calls, you must run to the ship, leaving them, and regarding none of them. But if you are old, never go far from the ship: lest, when you are called, you should be unable to come in time.”