"Cynic philosophy school?" the clown whispered.
Richard continued unaffected: "People of the Cynic philosophy school believe that true happiness is not based on external things, such as abundant material, noble status or a strong body.
True happiness does not rely on fleeting things, but rather on inner satisfaction. Human desires are obviously infinite, and following desires will only lead to suffering. Only when enough is enough, control desires, and abandon the pursuit of material things can we achieve happiness and joy, just like children.
And Diogenes, whom I talked about at the beginning, took this to the extreme. It is said that he lived in a barrel, and his only possessions were a cloak, a stick and a bread bag, but he was incomparable. Happy, without desires or desires.
There is a story about him that one day he was sitting by a barrel and basking in the sun. The king of his country, Alexander, came to see him and told him that "whatever he wants, he can be satisfied." He looked at the king and said seriously, "Please step away from me and let me bask in the sun, thank you." "
After Richard finished speaking, the clown fell into deep thought for a long time. He was obviously a little surprised by what Richard said, and his words touched him deeply. After a long while, the clown finally spoke and said to Richard: "So, do you think this... Diogenes is right or wrong?"
"My opinion is not important." Richard said, "But there are many people who hold different ideas from Diogenes, such as Epicurus."
"Epicurus?" The clown had obviously never heard of such a name.
"Yes, Epicurus." Richard nodded and said, "This man is the founder of the 'Epicurus philosophy school'.
In the Epicurean school of philosophy, everyone believed that happiness could be obtained through external objects. They do not think that happiness is special. On the contrary, they think that happiness is very broad-eating delicious food is happiness, taking a comfortable bath is happiness, spending a night with your lover is happiness, buying what you want is happiness, and doing things continuously and finally achieving something are happiness. hapiness.
In other words, the happiness of the body is the happiness of the soul. The only thing where spiritual happiness is higher than physical happiness is that you can learn to appreciate happiness without appreciating pain;
People from the Epicurean school of philosophy completely disagree with the views of the 'Cynic school of philosophy'. In their view, giving up readily available happiness in order to gain happiness is putting the cart before the horse.
They believe that if you want to be happy, you have to chase it. Happiness should be positive, not negative. The more happiness you want, the harder you have to work. In the process of hard work, giving up more short-term happiness to obtain greater, more lasting or more intense happiness is to sublimate happiness. In this way, you will not live up to your life and realize the meaning of life. Their famous saying is, 'God is not worth fearing, death is not worth worrying about, misfortune is easy to endure, happiness and joy are easy to seek'. "
Richard stopped talking, and the clown fell into deep thought again, muttering in a low voice: "God is not worth fearing, death is not worth worrying about, misfortunes are easy to endure, happiness and happiness are easy to seek?"
This time the clown was silent for longer than the last time. He looked up at Richard after a long while and said, "So, passerby, you are leaning towards this 'Epicurean school of philosophy'."
"Actually, that's not necessarily the case." Richard said, "There are many philosophical schools. Whether it is the 'Cynic Philosophy School' or the 'Epicurean Philosophy School', I don't like them too much. If I really have to choose, I Then I hope to choose other options, such as mysticism.”
"Mysticism? Who created this?" the clown asked.
"Well, there is really no clear founder of the mysticism school. It is generally considered to be a mixed school. In this school, many people believe that happiness cannot be obtained from external things, nor can it be obtained from the heart. Even if you get it, it is all false and not real happiness. Only by experiencing a larger self can you get real happiness.
The so-called greater self can be interpreted as 'heaven and earth', 'nature', 'world', 'universe', and of course some people call it 'Tao'.
People of this school believe that each of us is humble, insignificant, and meaningless. Only by trying to find your larger self and integrating into it can you find meaning.
In the process of integration, we will lose our small 'self', just like a drop of water disappears when it merges into the ocean. But disappearing is not the end, but the beginning, and the water droplets become part of the ocean. At that time, the small becomes great, and eternal and ultimate happiness comes. "
"Water droplets merge into the ocean, the small becomes great, and the ultimate happiness comes?" the clown said, his voice slightly shocked. It was obvious that he had never heard this idea from Richard and was very shocked.
After a long time, the clown looked at Richard seriously and asked: "Is this the reason why you do anything, to find the existence of a larger self, try to merge with it, and then achieve that kind of greatness?"
Richard shook his head and said seriously: "Actually, that's not the case, Mr. Clown. The reason why I do what I do can be said to be very simple, but it can also be said to be very complicated. If we really want to explore from the source, then we need to discuss it carefully. It takes many philosophical schools.
From the original primitive philosophical school, to the Socratic school, to the Platonic school, and then to the Cynic school, the Epicurean school and the mystical school we just mentioned, and then to the Neoplatonic school, the humanistic school, and the rationalist school. , materialist school, empiricist school, agnostic school, etc.
After talking about this, maybe there will be an answer. "
The clown was stunned, looking at Richard and not knowing how to talk to him for a moment.
At this time, Richard spoke up and asked: "Mr. Clown, are you sure you really want to discuss it with me now? By the way, you still remember the question you asked me in the first place, right?"
this!
The clown looked at Richard, with a strange look in his eyes under the mask. The next moment he said a little abruptly: "It's almost time for my performance again. I'll leave first. We... we'll talk when we have time."
After saying that, the clown turned and left.
Richard watched the clown leave, then turned around, and as expected, saw a familiar white crow on a roof next to the square. The next moment he raised his hand suddenly, a piece of ice had solidified, and the fragments peeled off from the ice quickly, hitting the white crow quickly, like arrows.
Plastic water-type ice branch spell·zero-level high-level·ice fragments!
The white crow felt the danger and flew up quickly to avoid the attack, then flew high and far away.
This did not surprise Richard, but looking at the slightly embarrassed look on the white crow, Richard narrowed his eyes and said: "Whether it is good intentions or malicious intentions, I will not cooperate obediently. After all... I have my own I hope you’ll pay attention to my thoughts!”