class: center, middle, inverse, title-slide .title[ # Buddhism and the meaningful life ] .date[ ### PHIL 2350 The Meaning of Life - FS23 ] --- # Agenda for this week 1. Video Lecture 1: Buddhism and the meaningful life. 2. Video Lecture 2: Confucianism and the meaningful life. 3. Exam 1: (read Exam instructions on Canvas). ### For next week 1. Two readings only. 2. Commentary to *one* reading. 3. Reply to *one* commentary. - Reading 1: Arthur Schopenhauer: On the Sufferings of the World (pp. 43-48) - Reading 2: Albert Camus: The Myth of Sisyphus (pp. 66-75) --- # Main ideas in common in both readings - Readings: - Reading 1: Christopher W. Gowans: The Buddha's Message (p. 27-34) - Reading 2: Henry Rosemont, Jr.: The Confucian Way (pp. 35-40) - Main ideas in common: - Anti-individualism - Pragmatism --- ## Anti-individualism The person's self (understood as the aspect of being independent of other beings) is _not_ of primary importance and significance in life. - Buddhism - Desires that presuppose the belief that oneself has primary importance are the source of suffering (_disvalue_). - Confucianism - Confucian selves are not defined as autonomous individuals but are defined in terms of their relationships with others. --- ## Pragmatism - Pragmatism - _Pragmatic_ (OED): "dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations." - The focus of these views is not on answering the _why_ question but on addressing the _how_ question. - Theoretical questions: - Does it _make sense_ to live a life? What is the _main purpose_ of life (or _in_ life)? Is life _important_? - Pragmatic questions: - How to live a meaningful life? How to live a valuable/important life? --- # Buddhism .pull-left[ <img src="assets/buddha.jpg" alt="" width="500"/> ] .pull-right[ - Religious tradition based on the teachings of the Buddha. - Buddha was a wandering ascetic and teacher. Lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE. ] --- # Parable of the poisoned arrow "The Buddha described someone wounded by a poison arrow who would not allow a surgeon to treat him until he knew the name and class of the man who wounded him, his height and complexion, where he lived, and so on. The Buddha pointed out that the man would die before finding out the answers to all his questions, and that he did not need these answers in order for the surgeon to operate successfully to save his life. For the practical purpose of healing his wound, there was no reason to answer the questions." (p. 28) --- # Gowans' _The Buddha's Message_ Main thesis: True happiness in life is _Nibbana_, which is achievable through the elimination of our attachment to our self-centered desires. Four noble truths (summarized): 1. __Condition of suffering__: Human lives are regularly in a condition of suffering. 2. __Self-centered desires__: The cause of suffering is our craving for the satisfaction of our self-centered desires. 3. __Detachment of self-centered desires__: Suffering can be alleviated by getting rid of the attachment we have to our self-centered desires. 4. __Path to Nibbana__: To accomplish (3), knowledge, moral virtue, and concentration are required. --- class: medium-font ## First truth: Condition of Suffering .shadow[ .emphasis[ __First Noble Truth__: Now this, _bhikkhus_, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering. ] ] - "Human lives regularly lack contentment, fulfillment, perfection, security, and the like." (p. 29) - Analogy with the alcoholic: - "if an alcoholic is told his life is in bad shape, he will probably point out, perhaps correctly, that he has lots of good times; nonetheless, he has a serious problem and could have a far better life without alcohol and the ‘good times’ it brings." (p. 29) - Life does have happiness, but it's not enduring. We try to achieve _real_ happiness, but instead we get partial, limited happiness. --- ## Second truth: Self-centered desires .shadow[ .emphasis[ __Second Noble Truth__: Now this, _bhikkhus_, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving which leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there; that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for extermination. ] ] - We are unhappy because we do not get what we desire. - Desires of status, power, wealth, friends, health, comfort, and so on. --- class: medium-font ## Third truth: Detachment of self-centered desires .shadow[ .emphasis[ __Third Noble Truth__: Now this, _bhikkhus_, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, nonreliance on it. ] ] - Abandonment of the desires that presuppose that oneself has primary importance. - Self-centered desires: of status, power, wealth, friends, health, comfort... - Importantly, some desires are not self-centered, so they both don't cause suffering and should not be abandoned: - Basic desires: food, sleep, etc. - Compassion: desire for others to fare well. - These "selfless" desires: - do not lead to an unhealthy drive or obsession. - do not lead to feelings of past regret or worries about the future. - are compatible with the idea that one is not a self distinct from other selves. --- class: center "For a person who has attained _Nibbana_, life is a process of living selflessly in which, unencumbered by the false belief that we are selves, we are enabled to live compassionate and joyful lives. To this it may be added that our lives would also possess great peace and tranquility. They would be lives of perfect contentment and true happiness." (p. 32) --- ## Fourth truth: Path to Nibbana .shadow[ .emphasis[ __Fourth Noble Truth__: Now this, _bhikkhus_, is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering. It is this Noble Eightfold Path; that is right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. ] ] - Three basic components: - Knowledge (or wisdom): right view and intention. - Virtue: right speech, action, and livelihood. - Concentration: right effort, mindfulness, and concentration. --- # Questions - What about the suffering that can come from the selfless desire of compassion? - Suppose other people suffer due to injustice or natural disasters. - Suppose you care about them selflessly. - Can you really not suffer (or be anxious) about it? - What is the value of this mindful mental state of always-present joy and peace? - Is this another way to escape from the reality of the suffering in our world?