Discovery of the day

[darren_stranger]

From the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius:

 
(as translated by Gregory Hays)

 

When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I meet today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own - not of the same blood or birth but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together, like feet, hands, and eyes, or the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are obstructions.

...

Your ability to control your thoughts - treat it with respect. It's all that protects your mind from false perceptions - false to your nature and that of all rational beings. It's what makes thoughtfulness possible, and affection for other people, and submission to the divine.

...

Forget everything else, keep hold of this alone and remember it: each of us lives only now, in this brief instant. The rest has been lived already, or is impossible to see.

...

If you do the job in a principled way, with diligence, energy and patience, and keep the spirit inside you undamaged, as if you may have to give it back any moment - if you can embrace this without fear or expectation - can find fulfillment in what you're doing now, as Nature intended, and in superhuman truthfulness (every word, every utterance) - then your life will be happy. No one can prevent that.

...

No random actions, none not based on underlying principles.

...

People try to get away from it all - to the country, to the beach, to the mountains. You always wish you could get away too. Which is idiotic, because you can get away from it any time you like - by going within. Nowhere you can go is more peaceful - and more free of interruptions - than your own soul.

...

Choose not to be harmed, and you won't feel harmed. Don't feel harmed - and you haven't been.

...

It can ruin your life only if it ruins your character. Otherwise it cannot harm you - inside or out.

...

Anywhere you can lead your life, you can lead a good one.  Lives are led at court - then good ones can be.
...

If you had a stepmother and a real mother, you'd pay your respects to your stepmother, yes, but it's your real mother that you'd go home to.  The court ... and philosophy. Keep returning to it, to rest in its embrace. It's what makes the court - and you - endurable.

...

If anyone can refute me - show me I'm mistaken or looking at things from the wrong perspective - I'll gladly change. It's the truth I'm after, and the truth never harmed anyone. What harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.

...

I do what is mine to do; the rest doesn't disturb me. The rest is inanimate, or has no logos, or it wanders at random and has lost the road

...

Forget the future. If and when it comes, you'll have the same resources to draw on - the same logos.

...

No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be good. Like gold or emerald or purple repeating to itself, "No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be emerald, my colour undiminished".

...

But what are you doing here, perceptions? Get back to where you came from, and good riddance. I don't need you. Yes, I know it is force of habit that brought you. No, I'm not angry with you, just go away.

...

Everywhere, at each moment, you have the option

- To accept this event with humility
- To treat this person as he should be treated.
- To approach this thought with care, so that nothing irrational creeps in.

...

Think of yourself as dead, you have lived your life. Now take what is left of it and live it properly.

...

You want praise from people who kick themselves every fifteen minutes, the approval of people who despise themselves.

...

Objective judgment, now, at this very moment.
Unselfish action, now, at this very moment.
Willing acceptance - now, at this very moment - of external events. 

That is all you need.

...

Today I escaped from anxiety. No, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions - not outside.

...

Do what nature demands, get a move on, and don't worry if anyone will give you credit for it. And don't go on expecting Plato's Republic. Be satisfied with the smallest progress, and treat the outcome of it all as unimportant.

...

Epithets for yourself.  Upright.  Modest.  Straightforward.  Co-operative.  Sane.  Disinterested.   Try not to exchange them for others. A nd if you should happen to forfeit them, work on getting them back.

If you maintain your claim to these epithets - without caring if others apply them to you or not - you'll become a new person, living a new life.

...

As you move forward in the logos, people will stand in the way. They can't keep you from doing what's healthy; don't let them stop you from putting up with them either. Take care on both counts. Not just sound judgment, solid actions, but tolerance as well - for those who try to obstruct us or give us trouble in other ways.

...

There's nothing manly about rage. It's courtesy and kindness that define a human being - and a man. 

...

Note to self - Must read up more on the Stoics.

Comments

[trayce.livejournal.com]

Wow. Thats some fantastic words to live by. Thanks for posting it.

Though I must admit, the mother/stepmother one has me a little baffled :)

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

I came across the first quote in a comment on morgan303's journal, which seemed to mesh perfectly with a lot of Buddhist philosophy i've been reading lately.

I'd heard of the Stoics before, but never looked into them or realised how much of their philosophy fits with common elements in Buddhist, Hindu and Taoist thought.

[trayce.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is very Eastern in it's approach, that suprised me too.

Do you find generally that the taikwando (is that what you do?) helps you on a meditative bent as well as physical? Silly question I guess, but I'm into Tao as you know and really should extend it to physical work.

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

The forms/patterns part of TKD in particular can be a meditative activity (there's bits at the beginning and end specifically for clearing and calming the mind) and even doing it as competition is partly an exercise in doing that to still the nerves in front of the judges. Most of it's anything but tranquil though.

I like to do things like sitting meditation, yoga and t'ai chi to work on that side, though it was taekwondo that sparked the interest in the first place. Even though i now live an hour closer to work, i'm back to getting up at six so i can do those things, but it's a great way to start the day.

With the constant chatter that goes on in my mind, it's nice to get a bit of peace and quiet from that sometimes.

[trayce.livejournal.com]

Thats fantastic :) I think I need to look into some serious meditation work in the mornings. The mind can get so noisy; I've always struggled with meditating because of that but its all about discipline.

[sharplittlteeth.livejournal.com]

It's all about self-control.

I'll admit, I know very little about Marcus Aurelius. My dad reads the philosophers in their original ancient Greek, but my Classical education is sadly lacking.

Off to wikipedia!

[trayce.livejournal.com]

Aye, self control is something I lack.

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

Likewise.

The first quote at the end of the wiki article, from Epictetus, is interesting:

"Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one's desires, but by the removal of desire."

In one sentence, that pretty much gets to the core of what Buddha was on about. It's fascinating to see how people in different times and places can come to the same conclusions.

[morgan303.livejournal.com]

It's fascinating to see how people in different times and places can come to the same conclusions.

A lot of Sufi philosophy say similar things.

All truth, at the end of the day, is the same truth, no matter what the words are and who says them.

[hbdeath.livejournal.com]

Marcus Aurelius was possibly the last great emperor of Rome. The ones that followed were fair to crap. (Constantine, obviously, wound up being a world-historic figure about 150 years after Marcus, but I don't know if he was a "great" emperor as such.)

The Meditations seem to pose an interesting problem for translators, in that (for whatever reason) Marcus chose to write them in Greek, which was not his native tongue and which he tended to write in a fairly unnatural and complicated style, hence, apparently, why translations of the book can be rather diverse in terms of accessibility. I've read the old Penguin Classics version, which is now rather hard to find, unfortunately, cos there's a new one in print which looks to me like a more literal rendering of the text than the older one, which makes it a lot harder going. I'll look out for this Hays translation.

[morgan303.livejournal.com]

You know, I didn't make the link (I'm a bit tired). So I'm scrolling down my friends-list and saw your post, and what I thought was how staggeringly lucky I am to have friends who post this sort of thing rather than, "Woke up, had a muffin. I like muffins!! Here are four webtests about which Harry Potter characters I am". So here I am being stoked that I have cool friends thinking about this stuff, and now I find out it's actually come full circle.

Thank you for this post. I've read a little Marcus previously, but never taken the time to read much or in depth. I'm going to try and hunt down this translation, too; what hbdeath had to say about his writing in Greek was interesting (the various civilisations' inferiority complexes and the way in which this is reflected in writing, are fascinating. For ages the 'formal' language at the English court was French, because it was regarded as more 'civilised' - a hangover from Norman invasion, etc. And the way language was divided up in Heian-era Japan was interesting, too; Chinese was used for official business, and what we now know as Japanese was pretty much exclusively used by women, privately behind closed doors. And of course the Romans had Greek).

Interestingly, it's also very similar to Sufi philosophy, as I mentioned below.

synchronicity

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

Just this morning i was thinking about someone who had been fuming after a humiliating incident at work. I was pondering whether a good way to deal with that sort of situation might be to take an approach of putting aside pride and thinking "well, does this materially affect me?", or perhaps taking solace in the thought of rising above that sort of petty power game, being secure in your own conduct, or even feeling a bit sorry for the other guy who has to belittle someone else to prop up his own ego. My train of thought drifted to something i'd read on a Buddhist community to do with looking at things that piss us off and realising that they're just extensions of ourselves, and i wondered if that could come into it too.

Then i read that first quote in a comment on your journal, which really seemed to sum up everything i'd been thinking. So it was off to google to find out more.

This sort of philosophy is something i've just recently started looking into, originally just as a topic of interest but more and more in terms of application to issues in day to day life. Funny how you notice these ideas all around once you start thinking about them.

Looks like i'll have to add Sufi philosophy to the list too. :)

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

The stepmother bit i read as a metaphor for keeping your heart where you belong while doing what ya gotta do.

(From what i've read, the Romans were pretty causal about marrying, divorcing and remarrying, so i guess you wouldn't get too attached to step-parents).

[morgan303.livejournal.com]

Marcus is basically saying that while your stepmother should be accorded the respect due to her position, no-one else but your real mother will ever be your real mother. By the same token, while your duties at court should be carried out with the diligence and dedication which is appropriate, your own philosophy is your true home, to which you should return always.

Or summat like that.:)

[trayce.livejournal.com]

OK that brings it well into focus :) Thanks!

[i-beloved.livejournal.com]

Thanks Tripitaka!

Soul searching stuff... never knew this type of philosophy came from that part of the world - damn interesting! xo

[morgan303.livejournal.com]

Most of our philosophy comes from that part of the world. They thought of most of it first, leaving the rest of us to handball it about ever since.:)

[i-beloved.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but I've never delved into it plus I always attributed the better stuff to the east.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

The Hellenic world (Greco-Roman) invented philosophy. Had something to do with having a lack of religious censors (or at least until they killed Socrates)

Have a read of this one for a great introduction: http://socrates.clarke.edu/

[i-beloved.livejournal.com]

Yeah I know it originated there but I never got into it. The only thing I really got into was some Hindu philosophy but that was a long time ago.

lol.. I realise now my initial statement makes me look like a complete airhead - sigh.

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

*shrug*

Plenty of dicussions on philosophy forget Asia exists, so evening it up is fair enough. :)

[i-beloved.livejournal.com]

Well, I never ventured into anything but philosophies from Asia. Probably your influence. :)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

*nods* He was a great individual with wise words.

Also, he gave the Parthians, the Germanic barbarians and a rebel a serious kicking. :)

[morgan303.livejournal.com]

Yeah, given how dedicated he was to kicking Goth arse up and down Germany, I'm inclined to be a little careful of him.:P

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

No goths involved thankfully. It was the Marcomanni, the Naristi, the Quadi and Iazyges; and furthermore they started it! :)

[morgan303.livejournal.com]

I know, although admittedly my Roman history is shaky enough that I actually checked on Teh Nets first - they weren't goths, but I figured they were close enough to warrant making the lame joke.:)

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

A righteous arse-kicking, it would seem. :)

[laura-seabrook.livejournal.com]

It helped that he was also Emperor of the Roman Empire, so he had a lot of time to sit and ponder. Or rather, he didn't - he spent most of his time defending boarders and fighting campaigns. His son (and also Emperor) was much disliked.

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

I have to admit the first time i heard of Marcus Aurelius was courtesy of the film Gladiator, though i had read a little about him since, via wikipedia. Commodus likewise, though he sounds an even more 'colourful' character than the Hollywood version.

The Stoics i'd also read a little about, and thought sounded interesting, but hadn't looked into any further. I'm glad the universe sent me a reminder. :)

[morgan303.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to share this review of the inaccuracies of Gladiator, because it still makes me chuckle.:)

The Flick: Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott present the epic tale of Maximus, a Roman general who became a slave, a slave who became a gladiator, a gladiator who defied an emperor and an actor/director team who threw all the audience goodwill they'd earned on this away by releasing A Good Year six years later.

The Inaccuracies: Commodus, the hare-lipped Roman Emperor who lusted after his sister in the film, was in real life held in high esteem by the senate and ruled for a successful 13 years (rather than the ineffectual few months depicted in the film). Also, though the Emperor did, in fact, have an enthusiasm for gladiatorial combat (he did so incognito), he didn't get his ticket punched in the arena. He was killed in the bath by a wrestler named Narcissus to prevent him taking office as consul.

Why It Would Have Sucked Otherwise: No one wants to watch Russell Crowe take 13 years to murder an emperor, who is basically a decent guy, only to get beaten to the kill by a wrestler. We like our villains like we like our Books of Genesis: with implied incestuous relationships. Also, since any Roman unit that broke ranks when in combat against barbarians would have been mercilessly slaughtered, the movie would have ended within about 15 minutes.

From here: 11 Movies Saved By Historical Inaccuracy, that Cam and I found after watching Fearless and wondered if the story really happened like that (it didn't).
http://www.cracked.com/article_15014_11-movies-saved-by-historical-inaccuracy.html

[laura-seabrook.livejournal.com]

Ah, but maybe Russell Crowe could have been replaced with Guy Pierce, who becomes a wrestler that...

Nah - you are correct. People want that genre look, especially in plots (worse luck).

[laura-seabrook.livejournal.com]

While I liked the film, I wish it'd been more true to what happened in history. Commodus actually enjoyed displaying prowess in the arenas, and rather than using poison, would have taken on Maximus in an honest fight!

[damien-wise.livejournal.com]

Excellent stuff..very thought-provoking. Ta for the quotes!
The Stoics sorta get lumped-in with the Epicureans, and I'm a big fan there. :)

[hbdeath.livejournal.com]

Parenthetically:
http://news.smh.com.au/world/roman-emperors-statue-found-in-turkey-20080826-42zm.html