Lao-Tzu's Lessons On Finding Happiness In Your Life

Lao Tzu and Machiavelli have different perspective on how a leader should lead, one believes in a compassionate leader while the other believes in a cunning leader. These seemingly contrasting ideas can be combined to form an effective leader. Lao Tzu’s idea of a compassionate leader is compatible with Machiavelli’s idea of a cunning leader, because these ideas are complementary. For a leader to become respected and praised, one must be compassionate to one’s subjects. A leader must try to act for the benefit of the citizens, one must have empathy towards the people. It is of great importance that a leader understands one’s people, for this understanding between leader and subjects form mutual respect. A leader must attempt, if the means are

In the novel Fahrenheit 451, firehouse captain Beatty remarks, “ Someone’s writing a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping ? Burn the book. Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag.”(Bradbury 57). In other words, he believes that if controversial or uncomfortable issues are eliminated from society, in turn, the public will be happy. The world of Fahrenheit 451 reflects this greatly, in which many people are unhappy, but choose to sweep their troubles under the rug rather than face them head on. They use gadgets like TV parlor rooms, Seashell ear thimbles, and payed actors to drown out their sorrows. Driving down the road at 95 mph they don't only speed towards their destinations, but away from their distress. When

Bertrand Russell, a famous philosopher, once said “as soon as we abandon our own reason, and are content to rely on authority, there is no end for our troubles”. This quote reveals how authority can completely make our lives more difficult and unsuitable to live in. This symbolizes that authority may overpowers us, and how we are naturally prone to follow power people. Once we follow an authority figure we tend to lose hope in our dreams. Losing contact in our dreams pushes us to focus on reality. In the short story “Antaeus”, by Borden Deal, it uses characterization of T.J. to exhibit that when man is unique, he will fulfill people's dreams with determination, only to will realize that he will be defeated by a strong authority figure.

Human history is abundant in examples of individuals who have amassed such power with themselves that have allowed them to control entire populations, and often unleash tyranny and oppression upon millions of people. Throughout history there have been individuals who have held an iron grip over entire nations, concentrating totalitarian power with themselves, denying any freedom to people, crushing any form of dissent, and often unleashing mass violence, terror, and in some cases genocide. These people have shaped the future of peoples, regions and continents, starting wars and conflicts, and determining the course of millions of lives. And because of this very fact, that a single person could such a huge impact over the lives of so many people, it is very important to study the very factors that caused these individuals to make the decisions that they did, specifically, the factors and that shaped up the personality of these

“We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, one, indivisible and forever.”(19) The leaders of the society in Anthem enforce the idea of all men being one, true equality where all work for the good of their fellow men. In this society no one is capable of being hurt by another's pride or abilities. All people are given the numbing safety of having no talents, no favoritism, and no ego. “Preach Selflessness. Tell a man that he must live for others.”(The Soul of a Collectivist) By being one and the same, everyone is promised a sense of equality, something mankind fights over relentlessly.

Lao-Tzu’s writing is mainly based off the religion Taoism. This type of religion believes that the way of the universe is the natural way of life and that it shouldn’t be interfered with by man. Lao-Tzu believes that one shouldn’t have total control of the government, that everything should run its course as it is supposed to do not as the humans want to make it. He believes that the ruler should be carefree and should not rule forcefully but be kind and silent. That he should stay in the shadows

The pursuit of happiness is defined as “the fundamental right mentioned in the Declaration of Independence to freely pursue joy and live life in a way that makes you happy.” The ability to find happiness is a right guaranteed to all citizens in the United States, yet many countries do not possess the same rights as America and instead are plagued by corruption. Procuring contentment is a difficult journey for all people, but those who do not have access to knowledge will find it to be a much more daunting task. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Montag’s struggle to find joy under an oppressive regime required him to challenge his knowledge in a way he never truly had before. Happiness is analyzed constantly in the real world as well, and the philosophers and scientists who study it consistently link it to knowledge, as shown in the articles by Main, Socrates and in the article about Individualism. By gaining knowledge, a person can find a true sense of happiness due to the fact that contentment is found through intellectual freedom, the capacity to view the world on a deeper level, and the ability to make empowered choices.

In “A World of Ideas” excerpt of Tao-te Ching, Lao-tzu speaks about how “The Master” should lead the people; this is an analogy to how a ruler, or a governing body, should govern its people. In Verse 57 of the Tao-te Ching, Lao-tzu instructs leaders to return to the Tao and let the people govern themselves. He says a government that involves itself in its people’s lives too much will have a negative effect. Lao-tzu’s explanation on how a government should govern its people is still relevant in today’s political environment.

Two of the most important people that have different perspectives on how they feel about war is Machiavelli and Lao- Tzu’s. They talk about how to be a great leader in different ways. One of the biggest differences is their aspects on war. Machiavelli point of view is that leadership should be your only profession and your only focus, that it’s very important to be ready and have a skilled army to be a successful ruler. While Lao-Tzu saw it in a different way, he didn’t support war believes in being peaceful, that war should not be resort because it effects the society in many ways.

Machiavelli and Lao-tzu both ruled over a group of people at one time or another and they both had extremely different views of government and on how to rule their groups as well. Machiavelli was a man that ruled during the Renaissance in Italy while Lao-tzu ruled in China. The word government is defined as the governing body of a nation, state or community. Machiavelli was an aristocrat that lived from 1469 to 1527. He also wrote The Qualities of the Prince in 1513 and he talks about what a prince needs to do to be liked and successful. Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching is the thoughts of the Tao-te Ching that were written down by Lao-tzu before he went into self-imposed exile. Three of the many differing views are that

On the 26th of February, I composed a small experiment so as to assess the validity of Transcendentalist Thoreau’s statements about nature and experience the force of nature as he did. Primarily, I would focus on the validity of an ideal depiction of nature and the effects of nature on human thought and feelings. The following is an excerpt of my observations and findings:

Many centuries ago people have brought authority to the most of human activities themselves; therefore, it still controls and imposes individuals in actions and wishes. Eventually, ¬nowadays freedom has become one the most desired thing. People instinctively think that freedom is the thing that cures the world and authority is the thing that infects the world. Even though, step by step human beings are getting to be used to believe that authority is a dangerous and terrible thing. Humans return to authority even if they have the freedom, because their answer lies in comparison. Societies’ common sense becomes higher than people’s nature, so they start to understand that for the bright future they need the authority, because the freedom is very quick and unstable moment and the source of freedom is authority. Surely, at the beginning concept of freedom is very tempting, you feel free to do everything you want. Freedom gives you opportunities to live in a way you want. However, humans’ egoism and selfishness disturb others’ freedom, because they think freedom is something that will solve their life problems and reduce responsibility from them. These circumstances make humankind incapable of using their freedom and create chaos. Thus, persons realize that it is necessary to create something that can control them and prevent chaos.

A man must be willing to learn. He must be willing to go against his nature in order for him to achieve the state of sage. Hsun Tzu claims that a man’s true nature is simply evil. He believes that the only way a man has reached his state today is because he once had a teacher to enlighten him on the good. Tzu argues that man must be careful of his acts. He urges man to not become distracted. He explains that these distractions will only further the man’s journey from becoming a gentleman and in order for a man to reach such a stage they must go against their nature. They must first be guided and taken under the wing of a teacher. This teacher must be able to correctly guide the man so that he too can become a gentleman. However, becoming a gentleman is not easy. One must learn to accept patience, they must learn how to persevere, but not become too fond of oneself to think that they do not need to learn anymore. Thus, creating the ultimate image between the difference of a petty man and a gentleman.

Although the story of the Minotaur is only a myth, there is much one can learn by thoughtfully considering each of the various characters and their behaviors or reactions. In the story, one can observe how Minos, the King of Crete and the stepfather of the Minotaur, was cruel, ruthless and selfish. As the story continues, one comes to understand that how one behaves impacts countless others not just him- or her- self. When Minos was selfish and did not sacrifice the white bull, not only were his wife and “son” affected, but also countless innocent Athenians. As time went on, the king became more cruel and ruthless, rather than learning from his selfishness and striving to repair the damage he had caused. Today, one can envision that egocentricity occurs countless times in this present society. Granted, there are several generous people who offer great empathy to several who might never receive kindness. Just so, there are those who are not generous with their resources and often become figuratively cruel and vicious. Most of today’s difficulties are results of one’s selfishness. Those often affected are the unborn, the elderly, and the neglected child. If one had altruism and compassion for others, our world would not be as it is today.

How does someone know if they are truly happy? Much of society have come to associate happiness with the pursuits of personal pleasures or that which makes us “feels good”. When we feel good we display positive expression of emotions such as joy, laughter, kindness and fewer negative emotions such as anger, hate, and sadness. To some people our happiness is already determined through our genes. Some people seek happiness through money and material possessions. However, many would argue that true happiness comes from within and gratifies a state of well-being. In my opinion, the understanding of true happiness is a personal experience and will vary among us. It's what makes us as individuals satisfied and content.