By Leo Babauta
I imagine to find highly effective practices for transformation wherever we will discover them. And the Stoic philosophers Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca are big inspirations for me.
I’ve discovered there to be an enormous overlap between Stoicism and Zen Buddhism, even when there are additionally some key variations. The overlap between Zen & Stoicism are issues I share under, and they’re highly effective practices.
1. What We Management
One of many fundamental Stoic ideas is to concentrate on what you’ll be able to management, and let go of what you’ll be able to’t. And most of life is what we will’t management: different folks’s opinions and actions, the climate, world occasions for probably the most half, accidents, loss. Too usually we let these issues have an effect on our happiness, even when we will’t do something about them.
Take into consideration how usually you get annoyed or confused by one thing you’ll be able to’t management. What when you declared that that was none of your small business — your small business as a substitute is specializing in doing all your greatest within the current second.
Zen additionally focuses on doing all your greatest within the current second, from a spot of compassion. I discover this focus to be easy, highly effective, and liberating.
2. Reminder of Demise
The Stoics would remind themselves that they have been going to die, frequently. Buddhists do that too — one department of Buddhists will meditate in a graveyard for this goal, one thing that I do as nicely.
Life is brief and valuable, and we take it as a right. We have to remind ourselves of this usually, in order that we will benefit from every day, and every second.
3. Loving What Is
The Stoics didn’t use the time period “amor fati” (that was Nietzsche) however Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus positively espoused the concept we should always embrace what is definitely occurring quite than what we want issues can be.
Epictetus: “Don’t search to have occasions occur as you would like, however want them to occur as they do occur, and all might be nicely with you.”
It is a Zen thought as nicely, to embrace actuality as it’s, and the methods we endure are based mostly on wanting issues to be totally different.
What when you may be taught to like every second, precisely as it’s? To do that, you must discover the wonder in life because it occurs. Begin with the simple moments (a quiet morning, a pleasant cup of tea, seeing the face of somebody you like) after which slowly work in direction of tougher ones (somebody is being destructive, you’ve a troublesome process earlier than you). Go away the toughest issues as a complicated problem for later (loss of life, sickness, struggle).
4. Ponder Misfortune
Seneca had a observe referred to as “premeditatio malorum,” or considering adversity prematurely, the place you’d visualize all of the unhealthy issues that will occur to you, as a rehearsal.
For instance, when you’re about to make a journey, you may think all of the issues that would go mistaken — you forgot your passport, you misplaced your baggage, you bought robbed, you bought misplaced, you bought sick. Really visualize all of these items occurring. And picture that they aren’t traumatic, however impartial — there’s no downside. Possibly you truly beloved the expertise!
Then, if any of them truly did occur … you then’re ready. Nothing can occur to you that’s worse than what you’ve already skilled within the contemplation! You’ve already gone via all of it.
On this method, we’ve ready ourselves, like placing ourselves into ice chilly water to organize for swimming within the Atlantic.
The Zen custom is extra about present-moment meditation … however in a method, after we meditate, we face the whole lot that comes up for us within the current second (boredom, distraction, discomfort, frustration, and many others.) and so when the identical issues (inevitably) come up for us later, we’ve already confronted them.
5. A Larger Perspective
There’s a method I like to visualise taking a “God’s-eye view” of humanity — wanting down on all of humankind, like we’re the scale of ants.
This sort of larger perspective jogs my memory that:
- My issues are literally small, even when they appear large; and
- We’re all interconnected, even when it feels we’re alone.
This makes my life simpler.
The Stoics referred to as this the “larger view.” In Zen, we observe reminding ourselves of our interconnectedness. It’s the “fact” of actuality (versus having a separate self) that helps us to really feel related and compassionate.
These practices assist me tremendously in my life. They’re liberating and motivating on the similar time. And so they take observe — a lifetime’s value.
