Deliberate Desire For Deliverance-Spiritual Tranquility Under Covid-19 Comparison Between the Philosophical ideas of Siddhartha and Socrates
Author: Yiting Sun, ysun22@lacademy.edu
Lawrence Academy, Groton MA, United States
Advisor : N/A
ABSTRACT
In 2020, COVID-19 has disrupted people’s daily routine: the stable, materialistic life is now replaced by relentless turmoil, fear, and uncertainties. However, this situation is not new in the human history, the solution to people’s anxiety has already discovered two thousand years ago by Socrates and Siddhartha, two sages from distinct cultural backgrounds but focused on a common goal, namely the attainment of freedom during the turbulent, constraint situation (Bhattacharyya, 1970; D. Gallop, 1975; Sprague, 1993; Mahayanadeva, 2008). The author contrasts, compares and introduces the spiritual insight of Socrates and Siddhartha through their students’ work on death, desire, and wisdom. The paper concludes on Theaetetus and summarizes that the constraint to freedom can be reduced through adjusting desire by using wisdom, which leads to ultimate freedom and tranquility suggested in Buddhist teaching.
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