Stoicism and Meditation - A Comparative Study

Aelius the sage, a stoic philosopher, was renowned for his profound wisdom. He was a stoic practitioner who had the ability to remain calm and composed in the most challenging of situations.

One day, while walking outside his village, he came across a secluded lotus pond. The water was clear, and the lotus flowers bloomed beautifully in shades of pink and white. There was peace and tranquillity everywhere. He climbed on top of a small rock, closed his eyes, and started his evening meditation. He was enjoying the silence, and he could feel and even hear his breath as he slowly transcended into deep meditation. A lot of thoughts came to his mind, like water flowing down a valley, but Aelius just observed them with a feeling of detachment, and those thoughts went like passing clouds. 

As he continued his mediation, he realized the presence of a young woman. She was sweeping and had swollen eyes, and Aelius realized that her heart weighed heavily with grief. Upon enquiring, the woman told him that she had lost her husband recently and that ever since despair has taken control of her.

In a trembling voice, she asked Aelius, “Great sage, why does life bring such pain? Why must we suffer?”

Aelius looked at her kind-heartedly. He said, “Life is similar to the lotus pond that you are seeing in front of us. The roots of these lotuses are in dirty, murky waters, but these lotus flowers are always rising for the sky, to reach a higher level, to reach heaven. Their roots are anchored on earth, but they are striving to reach heaven. The same is the case with us. We are also firmly rooted in the murky waters of this world, where there are a lot of hardships, sufferings, egos, destitution, etc., but we should always strive to elevate ourselves to reach heaven. We are anchored firmly in this world, but we should strive to reach higher levels by cultivating higher ideals and thoughts in our minds. There are external events happening to us that are beyond our control. But by practicing stoicism, what we can do is control our response to those specific situations. If a storm is raging around, you can either panic or remain calm like those flowers.”.

The woman was all ears to the great sage, and she asked, “But what about my grief? How can I conquer it?”

“Meditation,” said Aeilus, “is our only refuge. In the same way the lotus draws nourishment from the depths, we should learn to draw wisdom from stillness. Please come, sit by this pond, breathe, and just observe your thoughts. Let the thoughts come and go in your mind like ripples in water. You will be able to find lasting peace and happiness in that stillness.”.

The woman sat beside Aelius, and she closed her eyes. For the first time in her life, she started observing her thoughts. Slowly, she began to have a feeling of stillness in herself, and she started to feel calm and composed.

She came and meditated alongside Aelius the next day, and days turned into weeks. Her grief was still there in her mind, but soon she realized that she could carry it lightly through meditation. She began to practice the same thing again and again, and her mind developed the ability to remain calm and composed in any situation, much like the lotus plants. She realized that wisdom blooms in the quietness of the heart in the same way the lotus blooms in the stillness of the pond.

And Aelius, the great sage, what happened to him? He continued his stoic meditation and was willing to face all the problems that he had to face, remaining calm and composed like those lotuses, because he had achieved the greatest thing that any human being ever managed to achieve – he had conquered his thoughts.