I find many Buddhist meditation practices have begun to integrate into my day to day life in a way that leads very much to a better day to day life. There’s the extremes of any practice that work for some, but consistent practice has transformed my very engaged life
I haven’t done many stoic practices yet but I’m very curious. I’ve read some William Irvine which caught my attention. Do you have a recommended starting point?
Depends on where you are and what you're looking to get out of Stoicism.
Are you looking to ground yourself with a comprehensive philosophy of life? Do you like a not-going-to-pull-no-punches curmudgeon, or a more sympathetic pep talker? The ancient Stoic primary sources come in varied flavors, and some people bounce off one but love others.
Not knowing anything else about you or what you need, I'm going to suggest two modern secondary sources: Breakfast with Seneca https://amzn.to/439iOCe and How to Think Like a Roman Emperor https://amzn.to/43arMip
Some people find them more digestible than the ancient primary sources, and they certainly offer a more comprehensive overview of the philosophy as a whole.
Well, Budha take the exreme route from lavish life to extreme poverty. But in the end, he abandoned those two extremes way of life and choose middle way. This is how he achieved enlightnment. And many lay people( not monks) also achieve enlightment by following the middle way. So it is not true that to gain enlightment in Buddhism you have to become a monk.
Fair point, but Buddha's middle way, or at least how he enacted it, is not very moderate. Sure, he was no longer a emaciated bag of skin and bones, but he was still ascetic and not involved in everyday life. He was essentially a monk.
This isn't a criticism of his achievements. I find many Buddhist ideas and practices worthwhile. But it's noteworthy the manner in which the depths of a spiritual practice can be reached, and by who.
There do seem to be accounts of non-monks meditating, etc, but again, many of them appear to be living lives of leisure. Not really in the thick of it. In western philosophical terms, many of these people would be closer to Epicureans.
I find many Buddhist meditation practices have begun to integrate into my day to day life in a way that leads very much to a better day to day life. There’s the extremes of any practice that work for some, but consistent practice has transformed my very engaged life
I haven’t done many stoic practices yet but I’m very curious. I’ve read some William Irvine which caught my attention. Do you have a recommended starting point?
Depends on where you are and what you're looking to get out of Stoicism.
Are you looking to ground yourself with a comprehensive philosophy of life? Do you like a not-going-to-pull-no-punches curmudgeon, or a more sympathetic pep talker? The ancient Stoic primary sources come in varied flavors, and some people bounce off one but love others.
Not knowing anything else about you or what you need, I'm going to suggest two modern secondary sources: Breakfast with Seneca https://amzn.to/439iOCe and How to Think Like a Roman Emperor https://amzn.to/43arMip
Some people find them more digestible than the ancient primary sources, and they certainly offer a more comprehensive overview of the philosophy as a whole.
Cool, thanks!
Well, Budha take the exreme route from lavish life to extreme poverty. But in the end, he abandoned those two extremes way of life and choose middle way. This is how he achieved enlightnment. And many lay people( not monks) also achieve enlightment by following the middle way. So it is not true that to gain enlightment in Buddhism you have to become a monk.
Fair point, but Buddha's middle way, or at least how he enacted it, is not very moderate. Sure, he was no longer a emaciated bag of skin and bones, but he was still ascetic and not involved in everyday life. He was essentially a monk.
This isn't a criticism of his achievements. I find many Buddhist ideas and practices worthwhile. But it's noteworthy the manner in which the depths of a spiritual practice can be reached, and by who.
There do seem to be accounts of non-monks meditating, etc, but again, many of them appear to be living lives of leisure. Not really in the thick of it. In western philosophical terms, many of these people would be closer to Epicureans.