III. Pessimism, Optimism and the Middle Way

Let us now talk about human life. Some people are happy while others are not. Those people who have happy lives consider their lives to be meaningful. They are optimistic. Oppositely, those who are not happy with their lives consider their lives to be meaningless. They are pessimistic.

Such considerations -- to label their lives as being happy or not happy -- depend strictly upon the material elements. Such people are materialistic. They are controlled by the outside environment and its things. Since they are not satisfied with what they have now, they remain forever unhappy. They will never be satisfied with what the environment surrounding them offers nor with the material objects they possess.

From the viewpoint of a Buddhist, however, both of these views are wrong because they do not consider the deeper meaning of human life. In Buddhism, then, there is neither optimism nor pessimism. The Buddha, the Enlightened One, has told us that both optimism and pessimism are wrong because they are both forms of prejudice. Thus, his teaching followed the Middle Way and, furthermore, gave Indian society correct instruction, which guided his followers to the Right Way.

Westerners considered material objects to be important for life, so they invented, the sciences to help people to improve their material lives; and they enjoyed that kind of life. Confucianism, however, considered that ethics was important, understanding that we can use this philosophical view to harmonize society. This ethical view is very close to Buddha's teaching, but it is less perfect than Buddhism.

Buddha used the Middle Way, or Right Way, to teach his followers. There are eight Right Ways: correct view; correct thought; correct speech; correct deed; correct livelihood; correct zeal; correct remembrance; and correct meditation. The most important of these eight are correct view and correct livelihood. Correct view will give you wisdom and correct judgment, which will help you attain the Right Path of Buddhism. Correct livelihood is the Right Way to live in this world and is, also, highly important for all of us.