In my own development as a western, rather reluctant sceptical Zen practitioner, I have found it interesting and useful to trace the ways in which Buddhist insights into the human condition have parallels with ideas found in Western thought. Here are a couple of examples – two process-based philosophers from ancient Greece: Heraclitus, who was active around 500 BCE; and, Epicurus who lived around 341 – 270 BCE. In sharing these brief thoughts, I will be skimming over complex arguments and issues. [Note: Buddha c.480-c.400]
Heraclitus (active c. 500 BCE)
Heraclitus was born in Ephesus on the Greek island of Ionia which during his lifetime was under Persian rule. He was active around 500 BCE and as far as we know (which is very little) he was an independent thinker unattached to other philosophical schools of his time. What we know of his thinking comes from around a hundred fragments of text – which are thought to be part of one book or papyrus roll said to have been placed in the temple of Artemis in Ephesus. I ought to stress that Heraclitus is notorious for the obscurity of his writing. Even in ancient times he was known as ‘the dark’ and ‘the obscure.’ His writings are full of seeming contradictions and paradoxes, but these are very indicative of the ideas he puts forward. Heraclitus has had a considerable impact on Western philosophy, and his thought seems particularly relevant to life in the twenty-first century. There are a few key features of Heraclitus’s thinking: that everything is in flux, like the constant flow of a river; that ‘all things are one’; and that all arguments, judgments and views are relative.
In suggesting that ‘you can’t step twice into the same river’, Heraclitus provided a memorable image for his thesis that everything is in flux – nothing stays as it is for long – everything is in process, motion and change – ‘the sun is new every day.’ This is a fact of existence and human beings need to confront this fact and learn to live with it. [Note the echoes of Buddha’s emphasis on impermanence – anicca.]
Although Heraclitus suggests that there is a unity to all things, this unity is a unity of opposites and differences in dynamic ever-changing equilibrium – the world is simultaneously one and many. He uses the image of fire, flickering, consuming and transforming – a universe of opposing energies that counterbalance each other. This interdependence [again note the Buddhist connection] means that all things should be considered as relative: ‘the way up and the way down is one and the same’; ‘cold things become warm, and what is warm cools’; ‘in the circumference of a circle, the beginning and the end are common’. Day and night, living and dying, are bound together in mutual dependence – take away ‘night’, and we take away ‘day’; take away dying and we take away living. This relativity and interdependence, this unity of opposites, also applies to our value judgments: ‘good’ only exists in relation to ‘bad’ – and notions of good and bad differ from place to place, time to time, and person to person. In order to be wise, we should stand back from our own limited viewpoint/judgment and see things from a more detached perspective. [Note the affinity with Buddhist ideas about interdependence, causality and relativity]
Epicurus (c.341-c.270 BCE) Lucretius (c.99 – 55 BCE)
Epicurus established a school of philosophy in Athens known as ‘the garden.’ It is thought he allowed slaves and women to join his school as a matter of course – which was unusual for the time. Epicurus was renowned for his simple, frugal way of life and for the wide range of topics and perspectives discussed in his school. Only a few letters and other fragments survive of Epicurus’s writings. The most thorough outline of Epicurus’ thought is in the Roman poet, Lucretius’, epic poem, De rerum natura, ‘On the Nature of Things’ – written around 50BCE.
Epicurus takes a theory about atoms, first suggested by Democritus (c.460-c.370), and develops it into an eloquent theory of how the universe is structured. As a brief introduction here a few of the most significant features of Epicurus’ thought – as described by Lucretius.
- Everything is made of invisible particles (atoms) – constantly in motion, gathering and separating in everchanging structures and forms
- The elementary particles of matter are eternal – permanent building-blocks of everything that exists
- All particles are in motion in an infinite void – there is space for movement, even between atoms in an apparently solid form
- The universe has no creator or designer
- All things come into being as a result of a ‘swerve’ – leading to collisions of atoms that generate endlessly variable forms – nothing is predetermined (eg. by fate or gods). We can act as we wish within a framework of motion, chance and impermanence.
- Humans are not unique
- The soul dies – being made of the same atoms as everything else
- The highest goal of human life is freedom from pain (pleasure) – achieved by being able to reflect on our cravings and desires with equanimity and equilibrium
- The greatest obstacle to pleasure is not pain, it is delusion – the delusion that our desires are satisfiable
- Understanding how the world is, generates deep wonder.
Note the affinities with Buddhist thought – and how Epicurus anticipates ideas and approaches found in modern science.
According to David Konstan, ‘Epicurus was famously content with little, since on such a diet a small delicacy is as good as a feast, in addition to which it is easier to achieve self-sufficiency,’ and, Epicurus argued, ‘the greatest benefit of self-sufficiency is freedom.’ (Konstan 2022) Making up one’s own mind as to what one believes and living by ethical values developed for oneself, as well as taking responsibility for one’s thoughts, beliefs and actions, was a fundamental strand of Epicurean philosophy as it is of a Buddhist way of life.
For Epicurus, ‘A life free of mental anxiety and open to the enjoyment of other pleasures was deemed equal to that of the gods.’ (ibid.) To live a simple life, enjoying everyday pleasures, frugal as to material needs and friendly to others, was for Epicurus the basis of wellbeing and fulfilment. This seems very similar to what is meant in Buddhism by the term, sukha – a life free of avoidable suffering, a life of creative fulfilment, kindness and peace.
Bibliography
Long, A.A. Heraclitus. 1998. Essay in Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Vol 4.
Konstan, David. 2022. ‘Epicurus,’ The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Fall 2022 edition. Online at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/#EpicLife – accessed 6 March 2025.
Greenblatt, Stephen. 2012. The Swerve. Vintage – excellent account of Lucretius/Epicurus.