"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"-Epicurus.
James: This is the quote that introduced me to the ancient philosopher Epicurus who has since become one of my favorites. So I began to study Epicurus and found that he had much in common with Buddhism and its non-theistic nature.
What I was most interested in was that he believed and taught "that events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms moving in empty space." This sounds very similar to the pivotal Buddhist belief of interdependence or dependent co-arising, which says that nothing exists separate from anything else. All is interconnected in a web of cause and effect.
This includes sharing the belief that something can not come from nothing and therefore the Universe must be endless yet because of his belief in a shifting, interconnected web of atoms that same Universe can not be unchanging. It was his belief that the Universe is eternal but only in the sense that it goes through cycles of birth and death along the way. Yet another shade of thinking, which can be found in Buddhist philosophy. As well as a theory that can be found is still found in modern day science via the cyclic theory of the Universe.
He was also dedicated to over-coming pain and fear, which is not unlike the dedication that we Buddhists seek to over-come what we would call suffering in general. He taught that curbing desires are important if one wants to avoid that pain and fear, which is another teaching shared in Buddhism. This included going into the detail as to how desires cause suffering such as mentioning indulging too much on foods because it leads to pain that one might not be able to afford such delicacies in the future. The idea of short term happiness doesn't bring long term happiness.
He did believe that some pleasure is important, which has led some to believe he was a hedonist but he was more of a believer in the middle path of moderation. True he was no Buddhist monk following every precept. However, most argue that his ultimate definition of pleasure was actually tranquility, which is more akin to the Buddhist definition of enlightenment. This is because tranquility is defined as a state, which is free from stress and emotion; an untroubled state free from disturbances; a peaceful state. Enlightenment being (using a very basic definition) a nirvanic state of being freed from desire (emotions) and suffering (stress).
Epicureanism was often seen in ancient Greece as being a godless philosophy but while Epicurus denied being godless he also believed that if there were any gods that they most likely were ambivilant at best toward human beings. Thus they would not pursue punishing or rewarding us in this or any other life. In other words the idea being that a belief in a god or gods isn't important to man's day to day actions. In comparison Buddhists also usually do not concern themselves with a god as it is seen as irrelevant to realizing that the human condition is repleat with suffering and that praying to a god does not end our suffering. When we are honest with ourselves we realize that we are the only ones who can end our suffering.
Some Buddhists believe that there are gods living in a god realm but that they are like the gods of Epicureanism where they do not have power over human beings. These gods in Buddhism are subject to the same suffering as we human beings. According to these Buddhists being a god is a distraction where one is more concerned with pleasure and self adoration than certainly concerning oneself with human beings, meditation and over-coming the cycle of suffering. The problem is that even for these gods their pleasures and good karma run out eventually.
Epicureanism certainly does not mesh with Buddhism completely but Epicurus did teach many similar ideas. I wanted to do this post because I enjoy discovering how western and eastern philosophy and thought can be connected. We focus too often on how different we are and sometimes I wonder if that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The connections and shared ideals are there if we really want to see them and embrace each others cultures.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Epicurus and Buddhism
The connections and shared ideals are there if we really want to see them and embrace each others cultures.
Yes!
You're always a good read, James.
The connection between ancient Greek and Indian thought is real. There were ancient Greek kingdoms in parts of Afganistan, Pakistan and India.
For example: the King Milinda in the famous Buddhist sutra Milindapañhā is thought to be the Indo-Greek king Menander who ruled Bactria (in northern India and Pakistan) from approx. 155 BC to 130 BC.
It could also be a coincidence, but Pythagoras of Samos the mathematician and philosopher shared similar ideas to Hindu Brahmanism. He beleived in reincarnation, apeiron -'the boundless' a kind of impersonal 'super-soul' like the Hindu Brahma, and he also promoted a violence-free lifestyle which included vegetarianism.
I do have to say that out of all the Greek philosophers I've read about Epicurus would have to be my favourite. It's unfortunate that he has been much maligned over the years to the extent that "Epicureanism" is now cognate with "indulgence" when "prudence" would best describe it.
Great post once again James!
Uku:
There is so much wisdom, compassion and peace when we realize that we are all one.
EZG:
Thanks my man. I'm glad that people find my ramblings interesting. :)
Shunyavadin:
Great comment and excellent points. I was just watching a program on the History Channel here in America about the Bactrian civilization.
It was fascinating to see the artifacts found in the area from the Greek influence. It was mostly about the famous Bactrian gold, which somehow has survived all these years as a national treasure of Afghanistan. I would say that Epicurus is my favorite too.
Excellent and informative post. I love that you attempt to find these connections. I commend you.
Peace