Freedom from Pain

 I am re-reading Arthur Schopenhauer's "Counsels and Maxims", as I have found quite a few interesting things about this book which seem to relate to living ethically according to the Four Noble Truths. Schopenhauer was by no means a Buddhist, but he was inspired by Buddhism at the time when he was writing in the 19th century. I don't agree with all of Schopenhauer's philosophy at this stage in my life, though I quite resonated with his ideas when I was in my 20s. Recently, I found that I am sometimes embarrassed to say that I like this philosopher because he has quite a few antiquated and questionable attitudes about people. Part of my embarrassment comes from the fact that his attitudes seem to be aristocratic at times and he is certainly relating to the prejudices of the time in which he is writing. However, one thing I do like about him is how clearly he articulates the First Noble Truth of suffering, in a clear way that convinces his readers of the universality of suffering. There are many times when I feel that he has a very lucid and direct understanding of how people suffer, and there is a certain genuine profundity in his writings which I took to even prior to having any spiritual path.
    Schopenhauer's first 'maxim' is something he proclaims to borrow from Aristotle, namely the idea that "not pleasure, but freedom from pain, is what the wise man will aim at." (p.7) Schopenhauer proceeds to describe the vanity of using life to seek after pleasure or fame. His first argument is that the removal of something painful is more substantial than getting what one supposedly wants, because the former involves removing an obstruction to a person's will.
  Actually, even if one doesn't agree with the logic of this argument, it's clear that relief from pain is often much more rewarding than finding what is pleasurable in life. I can think of two examples off the top of my head. The first is when I was in ninth grade, when I had looked forward to having summer vacation to read, only to find myself catching a cold as the time arrived and also not really getting into the books that I thought I had wanted to read. The 'pursuit' of the pleasurable experience turned out to be what Schopenhauer refers to as a 'chimera', and one which even risks a great deal of loss. In contrast, when I recently had a problem of my right ear feeling clogged for no apparent reason, it was such a relief for me when it had finally cleared up. This substantiates the claim by Schopenhauer that the 'freedom from pain' is so much more substantial and satisfying than the pursuit of pleasure.
   The problem is that no sooner is a person relieved of pain that they will start to take it for granted again. Schopenhauer suggests a few exercises, such as reflecting on worse conditions than what one is in today, as a way of making them feel grateful for not being in a worse state of suffering. But perhaps his most compelling argument is that living simply, with few desires, is the best way to enjoy the things one has. I think this is also the aspect which comes closest to what I have read in Buddhist teachings. This isn't to say that the practice is only about meditation. I think Schopenhauer offers a more reflective balance by getting his readers to consider: are the pleasures they hope to gain from what they don't have equal to the pains of losing what they do have? This is a very interesting reflection which I would definitely encourage as a daily practice.




Schopenhauer, Arthur (tr. T. B. Saunders) (1995). The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims. New York: Prometheus Books