How to beat evolution and be happy
I was reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari (awesome book btw highly recommend), and was really shocked by what I learnt about the agricultural revolution. I thought it was this amazing advancement that allowed people to produce more food, have a more consistent supply of food, and settle down for once rather than having to constantly move around to find food. It must have made people so much healthier and happier!! Fewer people must have died of starvation, they would worry less because they knew they had food for tomorrow, and people could build more comfortable and safe homes because they could live in one place for the rest of their lives.
Turns out I was wrong, awfully wrong.
Overall, the average person working on the farm was less happy than their hunter-gatherer predecessors. Yes, collectively humans had more food, but because people needed more hands on the farm, they had more kids, and the extra food was quickly consumed by the extra mouths. The amount of food per person was the same, and on average, people worked more hours a day. Hunter-gatherers worked about 6 hours a day, while the rest was spent playing with the kids or gossiping about the day. Labourers on the farm spent up to 12 hours sowing seeds, plowing the fields, and pulling weeds.
The agricultural revolution was good for the human species. It lead to crazy population growth, but life for every individual became worse. Evolution works to maximize the population of a species, not the wellbeing of each individual member.
That’s sad. The ultimate goal for most of us is to live a fulfilling, meaningful, and happy life, but evolution is working against us. It’s probably why society values the pursuit of money. Having money increases someone’s ability to survive, and provide for their offspring, but after a certain point, it doesn’t increase their happiness. So what is the path to happiness?
Turns out someone had figured it out a couple of thousand years ago. His name was Siddhartha Gautama.
Siddhartha Gautama
Siddhartha was born into a royal family as the son of the ruler of the Shakya clan. The Shakya clan lived in a village named Lumbini, apart of modern-day Nepal. A holy man had prophesied that Siddhartha would either become a great king or a spiritual leader. His father wanted him to become a king, and carry on the family’s legacy, so he insulated Siddartha from the outside world. Siddhartha lived a life of great luxury, with great food, constant entertainment, and not a hint of human suffering.
Then one day, Siddhartha ventured out of the palace with his charioteer. He first encountered an old man and was very confused and surprised. His charioteer explained that over time, people grow old and frail. Then he encountered a sick man, and then a dead man. Finally, he came across an ascetic. His charioteer explained that the ascetic had renounced the world, and was practising meditation in order to free himself from human suffering.
Siddhartha was so overcome by his journey that he decided to renounce his luxurious life to become a monk in hopes of discovering a way to relieve suffering. After years of living this way, he came up with … nothing. Siddhartha hadn’t found the answers he was looking for by living an extremely scarce life, so he sat underneath a bodhi (fig) tree, and meditated until he found the answers. After many days and a ton of thought, he found the path to relieve suffering! That’s when Siddhartha reached the state of nirvana, and became the buddha.
Oh yeah 😅, I guess I should have mentioned this earlier but Siddhartha’s the guy who founded Buddhism, currently the fourth largest religion in the world.
The 4 noble truths
Through his intense meditation, Siddhartha came upon 4 truths about the world.
There is suffering, and suffering is universal
Every living being experiences suffering, including that person on Instagram whose life seems so perfect.
The 3 sources of suffering
Suffering arises from desire (Epicurus vibes 😉). Buddha said these desires come from 3 main sources. They’re known as the Three Roots of Evil.
- Greed → Wanting something is clearly a desire. It’s a dissatisfaction with one’s current state because one thinks they lack something.
- Ignorance (Socrates vibes 😉) → Ignorance leads to a false understanding of how reality works, and what the true path to happiness is.
- Hatred → Hatred and ill will are terrible emotions that cause the one who has them to suffer greatly.
There is a path to liberation
There is hope. We can beat evolution and be happy.
Buddha believes the ultimate goal is to reach a state of Nirvana, which means “blown out”. It’s a state where all your desires have been blown out and you are content.
The path to ending suffering is by following the eightfold path.
Buddha literally made a manual on how to reach a state of happiness. Here it is:
The eightfold path
This is a series of steps one can take to reach nirvana.
Right view
It’s important to have an accurate understanding of the world. Buddha suggests we can do this by understanding the 4 noble truths.
Right Intention
We must first recognize that the goal is to live a fulfilling happy life. Then we must understand that in order to achieve this goal we must live selflessly. We should refrain from violence, and harming others in any way, and instead work in the service of others.
Right Speech
Speech is a powerful tool. We should not use it to lie, deceive others, or gossip. Instead it should be filled with love and compassion.
Right Action
Now that our intention is to live peacefully and refrain from harming others, we must go from intention to action.
Right livelihood
This refers more specifically to what people do to make a living. Buddha suggested that people refrain from earning money through certain types of businesses. They include the business of weapons, slaves, meat, intoxicants, or poison. All of these businesses lead to the harm of others (Buddha includes animals as beings to be protected) hence we should stay away from them.
Right Effort
We must prevent negative mental states, and cultivate positive mental states. Rather than falling into thoughts of jealousy or hatred, we must cultivate compassion and compassion, gratitude, and empathy.
Right Mindfulness
This basically means awareness. To be aware of one’s bodily feelings, and thoughts and ideas.
Right Concentration
This refers to the practice of meditation, which is an important practise in Buddhism, and allows one to train the mind.
These are all things that build upon one another leading to a happy life.
Some things you can do right now!
Start meditating
No no you don’t have to be like buddha and sit under a tree in the cold for days to get the benefits of meditation. Even just a couple of minutes a day can make a huge difference in your mental clarity and ability to focus. There’s also a bunch of apps like Waking Up and Calm that help guide you in meditation.
Be aware
Most of us spend the majority of our lives on autopilot. We do the same things every day and don’t think too much about how or why. It’s super important to break out of that and become aware of your thoughts and actions. Pay attention to the tone of your voice when you’re talking to someone, your body language and how it changes based where you are or the people you’re around. How often do you get distracted, and what are the causes. This will lead to a better understanding of yourself, and the world around you.
Help Others
One of the core philosophies of Buddhism is to let go of selfishness, and work in the service of others. This can be as simple as helping a friend with their lawn or volunteering at a local non-profit.
“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.“
Buddha wasn’t a god. He didn’t have magical powers that allowed him to get rid of suffering with the snap of his fingers. He was a human being like the rest of us, and found a path to relieve suffering without magical powers or even external things like money or fame. The answers lie within ourselves.
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without”
