The Wisdom of Hypatia: Ancient Spiritual Practices for a More Meaningful Life (12 page)

56 seeking tranquility in the garden

Pain

If you want to choose pleasure, then you want to avoid pain, which may be physical or psychological (mental or emotional). Let’s begin with physical pain. Epicurus’ said that physical pain is always endurable, because if it is long lasting, then it is relatively mild, whereas if it is intense, then it does not last long (in some cases because the sufferer dies, which stops the pain!).46 While there is a nice symmetry to this idea, something seems to be wrong with it: we know that some people suffer from intense chronic pain. I will mention later how Epicurus dealt with his own extremely painful terminal illness, but it may be that the Garden does not have much to offer to the chronic pain sufferer, who might be better advised to continue on to the Stoics’ Porch. This is, after all, only the first degree of wisdom.

Dealing with Pain:
Consider the various sorts of physical pain you have experienced.

To what extent can you agree with Epicurus that “either the duration or the

intensity is slight” and therefore that the pain is endurable? Does this apply also

to mental or emotional pain? What, if any, actions have you taken to mitigate

the pain in each case? Summarize your own strategies for dealing with pain.

Replacing Pain by Pleasure:
Pain is unavoidable, but it can be replaced often by an active pleasure. In preparation for future pains, make a list in your journal of

some active pleasures you might employ. They could be purely mental, such as

remembering a past pleasure or day-dreaming about one to come. They could

be more physical, such as enjoying a conversation with friends, having a good

meal, playing with a pet, reading, playing some music, exercising, or sex. Ev-

eryone’s list will be different, but you should pick activities that are pleasant for you and that will hold your attention. The next time you are suffering physical

pain or mental discomfort, try replacing it by one of the active pleasures on

your list. Afterwards, record its effectiveness in your journal. In this way you

will develop a toolbox of techniques for dealing with pain.

seeking tranquility in the garden 57

Fear of the Gods

Mental pain or anxiety is, according to those of the Garden, a result of incorrect ideas, and these mental dis-eases can be cured by a proper regimen of Epicurean philosophy. Here we will look at the cure for a mental ailment that Epicurus thought was epidemic: fear of the gods.

The Garden was commonly condemned for being atheistic, but technically it is not,

for Epicurus said that the gods exist, but that they are made of atoms like everything else.

Since the gods are immortal, they have no needs, and so they have no desires, and therefore they are suffering no pain from unmet needs and desires. As a consequence they are in a perfect state of tranquility, which is the utmost pleasure according to those of the Garden.

We do not have to accept Epicurus’ claim that the gods are made of atoms in order

to agree with his conclusion. If we accept the Epicurean ideal that the height of wisdom, goodness, and blessedness is tranquility, then it follows that the gods (or God) will not be subject to the weaknesses of anger and jealousy, nor be swayed by flattery, nor be offended, etc., which are traits of imperfect mortals. Therefore we have nothing to fear from the gods. This argument is summarized in the following slogan:

That which is blissful and immortal has no troubles itself,

nor does it cause trouble for others,

so that it is not affected by anger or gratitude

for all such things come about through weakness.47

Both Epicurus and Lucretius considered this a very important conclusion, for it cured a significant cause of mental anguish and eliminated an impediment to human tranquility, namely fear of the gods. But isn’t it the fear of divine retribution that keeps people moral?

More on that question later.

The Garden also seems atheistic because the gods don’t interfere in our lives, for good or for ill, so they are irrelevant, except as models of the perfect Epicurean sage. This role is significant, however, since “imitation of the gods” (in their tranquility) is a goal of the Epicurean life. In effect, a god is just an immortal sage, and a true sage is a mortal god.

Because the gods are perfectly tranquil, Lucretius said that the wise do not worship them (for they are not swayed by flattery), but that philosophers might participate in worship services, for a tranquil human mind is capable of receiving the images of the gods that

58 seeking tranquility in the garden

the gods send into it. By thus witnessing divinity, and contemplating the gods, the sage is able to become more godlike.

Obviously the Epicurean view of the gods differed from the beliefs of ordinary peo-

ple, who thought the gods were touchy, vindictive, dishonest, greedy, jealous, egotistical, and—in general—displayed some of the worst qualities of mortals. This is how they act in traditional mythology. As Xenophanes (c.570–c.475 BCE) said, “Homer and Hesiod have

ascribed to the gods all things that among men are a shame and a reproach—theft and

adultery and deceiving one another.”48 But Epicureanism, like other ancient wisdom traditions, said that this picture of the gods is incorrect and that the gods are good.

Nevertheless, if you are reading this book, then your spiritual aspirations are probably rooted in belief of the existence of God or Goddess or both, or of the gods of ancient Greece or some other pantheon. Furthermore, you may be thinking, “I know the gods

intervene in human affairs, because they intervene in mine all the time!” What’s more, I have said that the goal of the more advanced spiritual practices of this book is contact and conversation with divinity. What’s the point if they are uninvolved except as objects of contemplation?

Remember, therefore, that ancient philosophy is a cure for the soul that progresses in stages. As in many cures, the first stage is a sort of purging or detoxification, in this case an elimination of toxic beliefs about the gods that may impede spiritual progress. The purpose is not to convince you that the gods don’t exist, but to encourage you to examine your beliefs more carefully. By first loosening up the congestion in your beliefs, you will be better able to breathe in the fresh insights that will come in the higher degrees of wisdom.

Fear of God(s):
Are you afraid of the gods (or God)? For this exercise spend some time thinking about your concept of divinity and feelings about it. Do you

think a god can feel angry or jealous? Do you think he or she would act on

those feelings? Do you think that making fun of a god or using his or her name

in vain could provoke divine retribution? Or do you think gods have only posi-

tive emotions? Record your musings in your journal. (If you are an atheist you

can skip this exercise!)

seeking tranquility in the garden 59

Fear of Death

The Garden also promises to cure us of another cause of mental discomfort: the fear of death. The reason is simple: at death our atoms dissociate, and therefore we are incapable of feeling anything, whether pain or pleasure:

Death is nothing to us;

for what has disintegrated lacks awareness,

and what lacks awareness is nothing to us.49

Therefore it is foolish to disturb our peace
now
in anticipation of a
future
state in which we will feel no pain (or anything else); that would be suffering a present evil in anticipation of a future evil that will not occur.

You can see why the philosophy of the Garden has not been popular with religions that depend on notions of heaven and hell. Instead, Lucretius said,

And, verily, those tortures said to be

In Acheron, the deep, they all are ours

Here in this life.50

He goes on to show how each myth of a sinner being punished in hell (Acheron) sym-

bolizes the pains we experience in this life when we don’t live wisely. He concludes,
In truth, the life of fools is hell on earth.51