Growing up in a secular home, I was never exposed to religion or its effects on others. My mother never understood the significance of the religion she grew up with, and in turn decided she was going to raise us without a particular religion. With this in mind, her intent was for us to be able to guide our own way of thinking.
As I began to read Sophie’s World, I was able to relate to many of the schools of philosophy. Finding common ground with types of schools made me feel more connected with this book and began to see the similarities of the schools with the way that I think. This was exciting for me because I finally had come upon ideas that engaged thoughts.
The Stoics and the Cynics were the two schools I agreed with the most. For example, the stoics are known for their “calm” because they do not allow feelings to overcome their everyday lives. I was able to relate with this because I am often caught in this middle sense of calm throughout the day. As for the Cynics, I agreed with the fact that they believe that material object make others unhappy and thus one finds happiness within.
I was then able to see many similarities between the Cynics, Epicureans and the Mystics to Buddhist ideas. The Cynics believed that happiness is found within and that is why the Buddha meditated. As for the Epicureans, they were Buddhist in the way they wanted to attain the highest amount of enjoyment. The Mystics also seemed to share ideas with Buddhism because they believe in the fusion of human with the divine and this was like a Buddhist saying that a raindrop will soon fall and become one with the sea. With these schools of thought, I found common ground with Buddhism.
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