The Unexamined Life and the Buddhist Four Noble Truths

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Unexamined Life
The Buddhist Four Noble Truths
David Hume vs. Buddha
Works Cited

Introduction

Philosophical elaborations on the meaning of life have always been very interesting and controversial within different historical time periods. As such, happiness as one of the essential components of life has been discussed over and over again since the earliest times of the current era.

Unexamined Life

Socrates, one of the most prolific philosophers of all times, used to deliberate on the notion of happiness and its possibility by deriving several reasons for happiness to be possible to exist. This chain is the following: happiness is virtue-dependent, and virtue is derived from knowledge, whereas knowledge is an eternally-seeking-for notion according to Socrates. Therefore, while a person is looking for answers to different questions, his/her self-improvement goes on. Once there are no interests and questions to struggle over, there cannot be any developments and, hence, happiness. Nevertheless, Socrates suggests that it does not mean happiness is impossible. Moreover, people do not stick to constant oblivion; they are likely to seek answers and review themselves continuously, getting closer to happiness. While getting closer to the truths, a person resides in the middle of philosophical happiness. Socrates used to say a life unexamined is not worth living (Plato 15).

This is true. Living without a distinct notion of what you strive for is purposeless, hence, unhappy. An individual has the sense to live for when the aims and goals are set up definitely. One is happy to see healthy grandkids playing in the green backyard of the beautiful house because the life goals are met and this brings happiness because there have been so many questions and uncertainties overcome to see such a scene. Globally, life would not have any sense without examining. No one knows how long the technical and communication progress would take if the unexamined life was a preference. The automobile industry, globalization, and technical progress are all possible because people want to live better, happier and they choose to examine life through many ways known to scientists. In a word, the unexamined life is not worth living because one has to take everything from life and, at first, it is necessary to find out what can be taken from it.

The Buddhist Four Noble Truths

The notion of happiness has been totally rethought by Buddhist thinkers. Buddha suggested that happiness is laid out in four main principles that are likely to help any person achieve happiness if one has a desire. So, the Four Noble Truths are linked into a chain of four step-by-step solutions to achieve Nirvana a feeling that is never known to a person if never experience before. So, the first truth is that life means suffering. Since our life is imperfect anyone experiences sufferings, such as sickness, old age, and ultimately death. Although life has its positive moments, the sufferings are part of it and no one can avoid this circumstance. The second truth unveils that the origin of suffering is attachment. Namely, a person is likely to attach to transient physical objects; which makes it impossible to look at the world unbiased. When one desires fame, wealth and prestige, he/she omits the thought that all this is impermanent. However, the objects people crave are not eternal and, hence, sufferings will inevitably follow. The secession of sufferings is possible through achieving Nirodha is the third Noble Truth by Buddhists. One just needs to become extremely dispassionate about physical objects and everything that can bring suffering or disappointment. The fourth truth is the path to this cessation. One can overcome this path if he/she finds a golden mean between self-indulgence and self-mortification. This process usually makes many lifetimes, so the actual truism is achieved through many rebirths.

So, according to these truths, the fundamental principle of reality is not craving for extreme wealth. One forgets about simple happiness when striving for popularity, money, physical things. Indeed, people have to remember that such physical temporary objects make one turn into a beast, sometimes. Perhaps, people will become a little kinder if the race for richness stops; at least, for a while.

David Hume vs. Buddha

Buddha and David Hume were the representatives of East and West respectively and had almost the same reflection of the human self. They both said that the self is temporary and they denied the self. However, the differences between their perceptions are in the actual continuation of the self. Hume used to denote that the human self is a collection of perceptions. The same though the Buddha. He used o deny any mental or physical permanence of self but through rebirths, the successive states that fill up his life are being continued (Sirswal 23).

So, there were lots of different philosophical views on happiness and life itself. One of the most frequently coincided ultimate opinions is that a person needs to develop and evolve mentally first of all and then think about physical temptations. Buddha offers a four-step guide to Nirvana the state when no sorrows are able to strike a human mind. Socrates suggested constant curiosity and answers seeking which was considered to be the greatest virtue. The old truths are still topical today and worth following.

Works Cited

Plato. Apology. New York: CreateSpace, 2011. Print.

Sirswal, Desh. Concept of Self in David Hume and Buddha. Satya Nilayam Chennai Journal of Intracultural Philosophy 17.1 (2010): 22-34.

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The Unexamined Life and the Buddhist Four Noble Truths

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