Happiness Lies Not Elsewhere But Within Us. | Arthur Schopenhauer: The Wisdom of Life

There is a fable about a god who goes on a journey and meets a prince. The prince is young, handsome, talented and wealthy. His wife is beautiful and gentle, and his children are smart and adorable. However, the prince says sadly, It seems like I have everything, but I always feel like something is missing. I can't feel happiness. Can you give it to me? The god thinks for a moment and says, Alright. Then, the god takes away the prince's talents, destroys his looks, and strips him of his wealth, wife, and children. After doing all this, the god leaves. A month later, the god returns to the prince, who is now ragged, starving, and lying on the ground struggling weakly. The god then quietly returns everything to the prince and leaves. Half a month later the god sees the prince again, who now has a constant joyful smile on his face. Although this is just a fable, it reflects the reality of many people. Living in a complicated society, we often feel like something is missing. We continually seek externally, but forget to look within. However, true happiness is not found elsewhere, but within our hearts. Finding our true selves and regaining inner peace are what allow us to achieve lasting happiness. Hello everyone. Today we're going to discuss the book The Wisdom of Life by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. Born in 1788, Schopenhauer completed his main philosophical work, The World as Will and Representation, at the age of 31. However, because this book was too abstract, his ideas were not understood by most people for a long time. It was not until he was 63 when his book Parerga and Paralipomena was published that he gained widespread recognition and success. The Wisdom of Life is a selection from Parerga and Paralipomena. So, what exactly is Schopenhauer's view on the happiness of life in this book? Happiness lies not elsewhere, but within us. Have you ever experienced this in life? After scrolling through various social media platforms, sometimes you feel a sense of emptiness and boredom. Why do people in modern society so easily feel lost and directionless? Why can't the pleasures of the senses dispel the sense of emptiness? Where exactly does the meaning of life lie? In the book, Schopenhauer thoroughly analyzes the three basic abilities of humans and summarizes three types of happiness. The first type is the pleasure derived from maintaining vitality. This includes eating, drinking, resting, digesting and sleeping, the pleasures triggered by the body's metabolism. As people often say, there's nothing more satisfying than enjoying a delicious meal. This type of happiness can be easily obtained. The second type is the pleasure that comes from physical activities, such as walking, running, dancing, fencing, horse riding, and so on. The third type of basic ability is emotion, which is the ability to feel pleasure through observing, thinking, appreciating poetry, literature, music, or engaging in studying, meditating, reading, inventing, and philosophical research. Among these three types of happiness, the first two are physiological and sensory pleasures. Animals also possess these, often to a greater extent than humans. However, emotional pleasure manifests as mental strength belonging to human cognitive abilities, representing a deeper level of intellectual pleasure and is the greatest distinction between humans and animals. It does not depend on the environment or material conditions and exists only within the human mind, being the main reason for human happiness. Schopenhauer believes that the two greatest enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom. He says that life is like a pendulum swinging between pain and boredom, either intensely or gently. Often, escaping the pit of pain, we fall into the whirlpool of boredom. So, how can we eliminate pain and boredom and gain the ability to achieve happiness? The best way to achieve happiness is to focus on enhancing inner strength, learning to find peace within oneself, and maintaining a vibrant state of mind, thus leaving less and less room for pain and boredom. As Schopenhauer said, the richer the spirit, the happier the life. A person with a rich spiritual world, even without a penny, can still live joyfully. A gloomy person, even with vast wealth, cannot dispel the ever-present emptiness and boredom. Schopenhauer believes that all pursuits of pleasure are but fleeting clouds. The external world is changeable, and the norm of life is impermanence. The key to achieving happiness is to find one's true self in the impermanent and boring life and to attain one's own inner peace, leisure, and independence. The opinions of others are not that important. In everyday life, interacting with others is inevitable. Some people always feel like they live under the scrutiny of others. Some are particularly concerned about how they appear to others. When disrespected or neglected by others, some people feel their self-esteem is hurt. An offhand comment from someone else might linger in your mind for a long time, sparking intense internal drama. The book tells the story of two death row inmates. One is an apprentice named Thomas who, out of revenge, murdered his master. In prison, Thomas had no interest in confessing or reflecting on his crimes, but was very concerned about others' opinions of him. Ridiculously, right before his death, he was anxious about how to appear braver in front of the spectators. To appear brave, Thomas refused any help walking to the guillotine and kept bowing to the audience left and right, which drew loud cheers from the spectators. Another person, Leconte from Frankfurt, was executed for regicide. He suffered immensely because he wasn't allowed to wear decent clothes during the trial or to shave and wash before his execution. He too did not care about the salvation of his soul, but was only concerned about the impression he would leave on the spectators and how people would talk about him after his death. Schopenhauer points out that, although these two cases are extreme, they vividly demonstrate the greatest weakness in human nature. Much of our anxiety, sorrow, trouble, confusion, unrest and toil stems largely from caring too much about what others think, from paying too much attention to and interpreting others' casual words and actions. Including every trivial, petty matter in our perspective can easily make us overly sensitive and cause internal suffering. Viewing others' opinions of us in the right way is greatly beneficial to our happiness. To achieve this, we must first understand that others are external to us, and each person can only understand others based on their own thoughts and intelligence. When your character, temperament, or level of knowledge and experience do not match with others, many misunderstandings can arise, and others' views about you can often deviate from the truth. Therefore, if you are attacked or slandered by others, the wise choice is to maintain a certain level of tolerance and have an objective confidence in your own value and strengths. This way, you can protect yourself from excessive mental anguish. If you still find it hard to overcome your excessive concern about what others think, Schopenhauer has a sharp saying that might help you. Most people are mediocre and do not possess any profound insights. Thus, their opinions are not worth your concern. So from now on, let's adjust our easily wounded, sensitive egos. Let's not be overly pleased when praised and not be downcast when disrespected. Try to reduce our sensitivity to others' opinions and return to the basis of our happiness, the health and comfort of our bodies, and the richness and breadth of our inner spirits. Socialization and Solitude Like many philosophers, Schopenhauer never married, had no children, and lived a life of seclusion. Let's take a look at how this philosopher spent his days. He would wake up each morning, take a cold bath, then bury himself in writing until noon, followed by half an hour of playing the flute, then he would dine at a restaurant called the English Hotel. In the evening, he would read at home until four o'clock, then he would take a walk with his poodle. At six o'clock, he would visit the library to read. In the evening, Schopenhauer would go to the theater or listen to music. After the performance, he would dine again at the English Hotel, then go home and read a few pages of the ancient Indian Vedas before bed. This was how the philosopher ended his day. Schopenhauer's daily life might seem dull and monotonous to outsiders, but he had long cultivated a peaceful mind. Social interaction holds an important place in everyone's life. People engage in a variety of social activities from morning to night, day after day. Naturally, this is understandable. After all, no one is an island, and everyone is involved in interactions with the outside world and other people. You might wonder, according to Schopenhauer's maxim, either alone or common, meeting a friend for dinner or a chat after work is considered common. Idly playing cards or shopping is also common. Then isn't everyone in the world common? Who can escape being common? But have you noticed? While social interactions bring momentary joy and a sense of belonging, why is it that after various social activities, people often find themselves feeling more loneliness and a sense of weariness and annoyance with crowds? If Schopenhauer were alive today, he might be viewed as someone with social anxiety disorder. But he had his reasons for his lifestyle. In Schopenhauer's view, most social interactions are not free. For example, some people panic when the phone rings, preferring to text rather than take a call. When interacting with others, we inevitably have to sacrifice some of our unique personal traits to fit into the conversational setting, and these conversations are often mundane and uninspiring in terms of intellectual insight. Despite this, most people continue to seek social interaction and entertainment, because the feeling of boredom from a lack of social interaction seems even more dreadful. Schopenhauer interpreted this boredom as a form of inner emptiness. It is because individuals lack sufficient substance and cannot separate themselves from others or engage their minds actively, that they tirelessly seek stimulation from the outside world. He pointed out sharply that those who are keen on social activities often lack rich content and deep thoughts. Importantly, Schopenhauer's aim was not to criticize social behavior, but to remind us to avoid inferior social activities and the excessive pursuit of cheap, easily obtained, fleeting pleasures. Those who enjoy solitude in life are not intentionally avoiding social interaction. Rather, they find pleasure in their own mental and intellectual pursuits. Meaningful solitude is not about the boredom and pain after entertainment ends, but about reducing the need for external social interaction, expanding one's inner freedom, pursuing spiritual and intellectual values, and achieving a truly peaceful state of mind. Properly moderating social activities, returning to one's own being, and becoming oneself is the correct path to happiness. Schopenhauer also specifically reminds us to be aware of our physical fragility, placing health first. When it comes to health, many people may have had this experience. Only when they are ill do they realize how precious and important health is. Life can only be experienced, not possessed. At the end of life, there is nothing one can take with them. A rich life experience depends entirely on having a healthy body. Schopenhauer stated that 8 or 9 out of 10 components of happiness depend on health. Without health, nothing else can bring pleasure, and life itself becomes dull and colorless. It is perhaps the height of folly for people to sacrifice their health in pursuit of gains, promotions, fame, or other external possessions, and even more so, to ruin their health for fleeting sensory pleasures. Such actions are utterly foolish and should be avoided at all costs. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, humans have not only basic physiological needs but also needs for safety, social interaction, self-actualization, and esteem. Among these, wealth and status have been relentlessly pursued by humans from ancient times to the present. We often hear people joke without money. There is distress. With money, there is trouble. Being too poor is certainly a pitiful situation, but having money does not mean being without worries. Wealth possesses a curious magic. The more you pursue and possess it, the more you desire it. This obsession is not always a source of joy. Sometimes, it can lead to inner pain. So what role does wealth actually play in achieving happiness in life? Generally, people often seek happiness and stimulation through consumer behaviors once they have money. However, Schopenhauer, born into a distinguished family of merchants, believed that the real function of wealth is to build a fortress against misfortune and disaster, not for enjoyment and squandering. You might think this standard is quite low. After all, money is power, a force that can actively affirm happiness. Why use it only to ward off disasters? Moreover, who knows when misfortune will strike? One might as well enjoy life while one can. But do not rush to dismiss this. Schopenhauer has his reasons. From Schopenhauer's somewhat pessimistic but seemingly realistic perspective, the world is filled with scarcity and suffering, and one can easily be struck by cruel fate. All phenomena in the universe exist in a state of mutual dependency, where one's existence leads to another's extinction. Therefore, the nature of any phenomenon is impermanent, manifesting in moments of arising and ceasing. Natural disasters, human calamities, aging, sickness, and death are all unbearable manifestations of life's impermanence and misfortune. Having a certain amount of wealth can help people avoid scarcity and toil as much as possible, maintain a stable and safe life, and thus focus on improving oneself and enriching the inner spirit. However, if this wealth is frivolously spent on hedonistic pleasures and extravagant living, it can easily lead to a poor outcome and, of course, a troubled inner state. In this light, Schopenhauer is actually considering the stability and long-term development of each individual. It is not difficult to see that in Schopenhauer's view, we should treat wealth in a more conservative and cautious manner, accustomed to rationally planning and protecting our assets. Let's now consider the issue of achieving status. Once a person has money and is free from poverty, pursuing status may become another goal. However, not everyone in reality can have a status that is recognized by the masses. Otherwise, status would lose its uniqueness. In the pursuit of status, we find that to gain something, one must first lose something. As the saying goes, to wear the crown, one must bear its weight. The responsibilities that come with status are also a major burden in life. As Schopenhauer said, measuring a person's happiness by what they possess, without considering what they wish to attain, is like calculating a fraction that has a numerator but no denominator, which is ineffective. Schopenhauer famously said, Either be common or be alone. He remained unmarried throughout his life, with only a poodle for company. To outsiders, he might have seemed like a solitary, grumpy old man. But Schopenhauer's inner world was at peace. This was because, for him, happiness did not come from external sources. It resided within his own soul. He believed that true contentment and peace are not to be found in the hustle and bustle of social life, or the pursuit of external approval, but from a deeper, internal source. Thanks for watching Wisdom Tree. Wishing you a wonderful day. God Bless.