Sign in with Facebook
Walter's Reviews > Meditations
Meditations
by
by
Another great influence in my life; this was the personal philosophical diary of the last "good emperor" of the Roman Empire. In this work Marcus Aurelius draws a picture Stoicism as a philosophy that I call "Buddhism with balls". It is a harsh self discipline that trains its practitioners to be champions (of a sort). Champions of what? Mastery of the self.
The heart of the book is that in order to make oneself free, they must train themselves to become indifferent to externals. The externals are those elements in life of which we have no or little control: our ethnicity, sex appeal, intelligence, lifespan, the opinions of others, etc. We must also become very aware of the one thing which we do have control over: our perceptions. Through harsh self analysis, training of the reason and self discipline, we can learn to take control of our perceptions, and in this way become impervious to all misfortune/suffering. Through this practice one cuts the puppet strings by which most people are jerked through life: pleasing others, seeking fame, sexual dominance, material goods, etc., and in the process also is freed of the suffering that stems from not having these false goals met.
This is a book that is extremely empowering. Even if some of the ideals and aims might be utterly impossible (but for a handful of great sages), they are worthy and worth striving towards.
Another aspect that I found interesting, was that here we are able to open a window into the life of a great and noble soul who was struggling to come to terms with the universe. We read the personal thoughts of the master of the civilized world, a man utterly alone and free of peers, who is grappling with the need to find meaning in life. His efforts and obvious agonies are touching. This is a deeply humane work. In many sections he has to repeatedly remind himself of the nature of death (that it is an essential and good part of nature), and often repeated are metaphors relating to the death of a child. These reminders are made very poignant when you understand that several of the Emperor's children (who he apparently loved very much) were taken by disease. This was the one understanding that he seemed to have the hardest time coming to terms with or accepting.
The heart of the book is that in order to make oneself free, they must train themselves to become indifferent to externals. The externals are those elements in life of which we have no or little control: our ethnicity, sex appeal, intelligence, lifespan, the opinions of others, etc. We must also become very aware of the one thing which we do have control over: our perceptions. Through harsh self analysis, training of the reason and self discipline, we can learn to take control of our perceptions, and in this way become impervious to all misfortune/suffering. Through this practice one cuts the puppet strings by which most people are jerked through life: pleasing others, seeking fame, sexual dominance, material goods, etc., and in the process also is freed of the suffering that stems from not having these false goals met.
This is a book that is extremely empowering. Even if some of the ideals and aims might be utterly impossible (but for a handful of great sages), they are worthy and worth striving towards.
Another aspect that I found interesting, was that here we are able to open a window into the life of a great and noble soul who was struggling to come to terms with the universe. We read the personal thoughts of the master of the civilized world, a man utterly alone and free of peers, who is grappling with the need to find meaning in life. His efforts and obvious agonies are touching. This is a deeply humane work. In many sections he has to repeatedly remind himself of the nature of death (that it is an essential and good part of nature), and often repeated are metaphors relating to the death of a child. These reminders are made very poignant when you understand that several of the Emperor's children (who he apparently loved very much) were taken by disease. This was the one understanding that he seemed to have the hardest time coming to terms with or accepting.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Meditations.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Started Reading
January 1, 1997
–
Finished Reading
December 3, 2007
– Shelved
Comments Showing 1-11 of 11 (11 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Jose
(new)
-
rated it 5 stars
Jan 06, 2008 01:32PM
"Buddhism with balls".....?!?!?!?
reply
|
flag
You bet. I thought it presents most of the good ideas from that philosophy, but in a way palatable to a man from the West.
There's definitely a strong correlation between the two. Both are hedonistic; the purpose of life is to achieve true happiness, and both say the way to get there is to not allow external stimuli to affect us negatively by realizing that even if some asshole cuts you off on the highway, it's still your choice weather you let it anger you and screw up your whole day.I for one, as you mentioned Walter, don't aim to achieve this 100%, nor do I think it's practical. But it is very empowering, especially when you truly realize that depression and fear are completely within our control, and are a choice, not a side effect of our environment. Of course there's depression and anxiety disorders that manifest themselves through mental illness...but even those can be cured through this kind of introspection over time, if one can even loosely master these techniques.
I don't buy it. I know, from this one post, that Chris really doesn't "get" Buddhism, (hell, I don't either, but I know it ain't "hedonistic") and I doubt Walter understands, either. However, Walter, this review makes me want to read the "Meditations", so I will....
A.V. thanks for the post. I stand by my "strange" metaphor. I don't make the claim that Stoicism makes use of Buddhism in any way or attempts to dilute it to make it more palatable to the West. What I was getting at is that some of the end goals and approaches of Stoicism have overlap with some aspects of Buddhism ...but Stoicism takes an approach that I feel is more active. I shall attempt to justify my reasoning:Of course Buddhism is extremely diverse, but I think the general impression to me and most Westerners is that it is very passive philosophy (detachment, quiet meditation, pacifism, discarding the self, etc.). Of course, the Buddhism that inspired the Samurai or Japanese imperialism is far from passive, but I'm talking about the general impression. Where Buddhism tells one to release negative mind states, Stoicism tells us to rationally challenge them. Where Buddhism stresses experience, Stoicism stresses reflection and analysis. A dominant form of Buddhist meditation aims to quiet the mind to experience reality, whereas Stoic meditation requires sharpening and disciplining the mind to avoid falling victim to false impressions of reality. Both aim to aid the practitioner in attuning themselves to reality and discard negative mental states, but one approach is, in my opinion, passive and the other active.
Don't get me wrong, I really like Buddhist philosophy and find it very appealing. I don't think one approach is superior to another. I just find Stoicism more in line with my own mode of life and seems, in general, more like something that would appeal to men in the West. I suppose an anecdotal piece of evidence would be the large gender imbalances that I have observed at Buddhist retreats or events in America (heavily favoring women). When I've been involved in Stoic events, it's been a regular sausage festival. However, I think men and women could benefit from learning more about BOTH traditions. These are just my opinions though. I might be ignorant, but that's just your opinion.
Very well said. Kudos
Whether metaphorically or not, I love the reference to Buddhism. Stoicism embodies the simplicity of Buddhism.
You sure have written a well good review!
"Stoicism is Buddhism with balls"*chuckles*
Well said.
"Love the fact that you hi-light one must train oneself and one's thoughts to reject erroneous impressions like Epictetus
I totally agree with your review and its reasoning
