Sunday, October 02, 2005
Struggles with Stoicism
Of all the classical schools of philosophy, the Stoics have the greatest resonance for me. I find the concept of perfect detachment (apathea) to be the best for navigating unscathed through the unspeakable horrors and seductive wonders of life. That this school was shared by an Emperor and a slave speaks to me as well, suggesting the universality that is the hallmark of any good philosophy. The similiarity to the teachings of the Buddha is obvious. Trouble is, I'm not very good at detachment.
I find detachment difficult, because of the notions I have of action. Surely, one must act to improve one's self, much less the world one finds one's self in? Surely, we are not to be so perfectly removed as to turn a blind eye to the suffering of others? The best historical expression of detached action can be found in the bushido code of the samurai, as expressed in the Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo (see the edition translated by William Scott Wilson, ISBN 4-7700-1106-7). When the common fighting man takes the oath to serve his master, his life is over. Rather than a fatalistic point of view, this is one of complete liberation. Every single second of life counts, is meaningful, because of what one can accomplish in that second. Life is precious not in itself, but because of it's very fleeting nature. Note this is not living for the moment, but truly living in it. To me, this seems very much the same as what Marcus Aurelius meant when he wrote " you would give yourself relief, if you were to do every act as if it were your last."
But how to act? I turn to Hindu dharma for that one: in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna tells the
great warrior Arjuna that he must act in accordance with his nature. Arjuna is given the task of starting the final battle, by blowing a signal on the conch shell. At the penultimate moment, he hesitates. To paraphrase this great work, Arjuna asks "Who am I to do such a thing?" Krishna tells him (again, paraphrasing) that he is Arjuna, and must so must be Arjuna; he can be no other. This seems very much like the Stoic philosophy to me, as expressed again by Marcus Aurelius: "Whatever the nature of the universe puts before any man at any time is for the good of that man at that time." There is an order to the universe, and we are each a part of the universe, and so we can't go against the natural order of the universe and expect things to go well or easy for us. For me, then, these are the potent lessons of the Stoics: we can not control the universe, but we can control ourselves in it. Swimming against the current is a futile, fruitless exercise. Act in accordance with your own nature, realizing that much of life, the universe and everything is beyond your control. Discipline your own nature so that you may flourish, that you may act well. I think these are the kinds of things Epictetus had in mind when he said, 'Wherever I go it will be well with me."
It's a good way to live, in a complicated life. Now if I can just pull it off..
