Life's Hard Journey: Exploring the Mysteries of Self-Destruction by Famous Figures from Around the World

Author: Li Dongshan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Rewarding to read. After finishing Dongshan's The Hard Journey of Life, I felt a bit heavier, but more importantly, it inspired my thinking—or rather, this thinking is my interpretation of the text The Hard Journey of Life. Life and death are counterparts to each other; without life, there is no death, and vice versa. Similarly, beginning and ending are always in opposition; without beginning, there is no end, and without end, there is no beginning. Therefore, people often say that one should not start something without finishing it, but should strive to do so well from beginning to end. The same applies to life and death. Although people avoid and fear death, even saying that "a bad death is better than a slow death," the saying "Since ancient times, who has not died?" is also common. Since we are born into life, we are inevitably destined to return to death. Therefore, the correct attitude is not to fear death but to face it with composure, just as we face life with composure. In this sense, establishing a correct "view of death" is as important as establishing a correct "view of life." Only then can we treat both life and death as "joyous events," albeit with different emotional tones. In folk terms, these are called "red and white affairs," because they are all victories of dialectics. Only in this way can we love life without fearing death, cherish life without fearing death, and ensure that life has both a good beginning and a good ending—what is called a good start and a good finish. The death described and explored in The Hard Journey of Life is merely one form of death—suicide—and only a group or class within suicide—suicides of famous elites. What is suicide? émile Durkheim, author of Suicide, defines it as "any death directly or indirectly caused by a positive or negative action taken by the deceased, which the deceased knew would result in such a death." For a long time, Chinese culture has had a tradition of valuing life and avoiding death, and has held a negative attitude toward suicide. Later, someone elevated this negation to a political level, making it even more taboo to speak of suicide. If a family member or friend commits suicide, it is considered extremely shameful and is often concealed. In reality, this is a misunderstanding of suicide. Throughout history, both famous and wise individuals have died by suicide. Qu Yuan drowned himself in the river, and Tian Hua threw himself into the sea—these deaths were for a great cause and were heroic; even writers like Lao She and Shangguan Yunzhu, who committed suicide out of injustice and resentment, were driven by their anger and resistance against the "Cultural Revolution"—they died with the spirit of "a scholar may be killed but not humiliated." Of course, there are also suicide victims who were deeply troubled by guilt and remorse over their mistakes or even crimes, and ultimately took their own lives to atone for them. Even in this case, we should understand their inner realization and admire their courage and determination to atone with death. Of course, those who have committed heinous crimes and have no remorse, ultimately taking their own lives to escape punishment, are a different matter. said, "The power to end one's own life is one of our many innate abilities," and Montesquieu even questioned, "Why don’t others let me end my suffering when I am oppressed by pain, poverty, and contempt? Why do they cruelly deprive me of the remedy in my hands? Heaven has given me life, which is a blessing; but when life is no longer a blessing, I can return it, for if the cause does not exist, the effect should also be abolished." Citing these words does not mean to praise or commend suicide, but rather to show that there are such perspectives, ways of thinking, and viewpoints regarding suicide. Moreover, the paths to suicide vary greatly: some die for righteousness, some for benevolence, some for integrity; some die for honor, some for disgrace, some for hardship; some die for themselves, some for others, some for material possessions; some die for their bodies, some for their minds, some for emotions. These terms like righteousness, benevolence, integrity, honor, disgrace, hardship, self, others, material possessions, body, mind, and emotions are only rough descriptions and speculations. In short, regarding suicide, a social phenomenon that accompanies humanity and whose rate has increased with the development of human civilization, it is not right to hastily condemn or praise it. Why do people commit suicide? Numerous studies show that both objective social reasons and subjective psychological reasons cannot be ignored. The famous medieval physician Ibn Sina once conducted an experiment. He tied two rams together in the same place and gave them the same food, but allowed one ram to constantly see a wolf lurking nearby, causing the ram to live in constant fear and anxiety, with its nerves always in a state of high tension. As a result, this ram died soon, while the other ram, which did not see the wolf, lived well. The death of an animal is not the same as the death of a human, and the death of the ram near the wolf is different from suicide, but this experiment is highly meaningful for exploring the relationship between life, death, and the environment. Clearly, it was the presence and surveillance of the wolf that caused the ram's nerves to become highly tense, and it was this high tension that directly led to the ram's rapid death. The wolf lurking nearby was the ram's direct living environment—a fearful and harsh living environment. It was the horror and harshness of this living environment that led to the terrifying state of the ram's life. The harshness caused the ram's nerves to become highly tense, ultimately leading to its death. Here, both the harsh objective environment and the subjective mental tension were the reasons for the ram's death; and they were the result of the combined action of objective and subjective factors. It is inappropriate to emphasize only one aspect. However, for different individuals, the importance and role of objective and subjective reasons are different; in fact, more often, subjective psychological reasons are more important and direct. Because when faced with the same objective environment, not everyone chooses to end their life by suicide. Here, individual psychological differences directly lead to different choices. In short, when faced with such a major decision between life and death, why do some people choose death over life? There must be reasons behind it; the reasons must be complex, and the process of formation must be long. It is not right to make simple and abstract deductions about it. Given the vastness of the world and the complexity of things, the fact that you and I have the fortune to be born as humans is truly a blessing. Moreover, life is finite—even if one lives to a hundred years old, it is only a fleeting and insignificant moment in the infinite natural society; and it is a one-time event with no afterlife. Therefore, cherishing life is the essence and instinct of life, as well as the responsibility of continuing the infinite human race. Although "the power to end one's own life is one of our many innate abilities," from the very essence of life, no one has the right to abuse this ability. Although every suicide victim has sufficient reasons for their choice, and believes that only death can free them from their troubles, when we consider the infinite sorrow, unbearable pain, and irreparable loss they leave behind for their families, others, and future generations, the act of abandoning life and escaping suffering through death reveals a certain indifference to the lives of others, and may bring them unbearable and irreparable pain to their lives. Cherishing life means creating a good and relaxed living environment for it. On a grand scale, the prosperity, peace, and progress of society are the ideal living environment for life. This depends not only on the efforts of every member of society but also on the perfection of social institutions and the wisdom of the ruling authorities. Families, workplaces, relatives, colleagues, and friends are the direct living environments that life faces at all times. A little more communication, understanding, tolerance, care, kindness to others, and harmony and warmth are things that each of us can do and is what each of us longs for. We all have the responsibility to create a suitable living environment and realistic climate for life to thrive. Cherishing life also means creating a good mindset for oneself. Practice has shown that isolation, hypersensitivity, suspicion, depression, and are psychological factors that cannot be ignored and contribute to suicide. Open-minded people are cheerful, tolerant people are broad-minded, benevolent people love others, and benevolent people live long. It is important to cultivate a good mindset, adjust abnormal mindsets in a timely manner, and care for mental health as much as physical health. Only then can one have the courage to face the surging waves of the external world and the strength to absorb and endure the hardships of the journey of life, truly remaining fearless in danger and calm in change, and resolving everything with ease. Su Dongpo once said, "It is difficult to understand human nature; the depths of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers cannot compare to its depth, the dangers of the mountains and valleys cannot match its peril, and floating clouds cannot liken its changes." Although with the continuous development of human practice, our understanding of the world beyond ourselves and our understanding of ourselves have deepened, this will always be an infinite process without an ultimate answer or final mystery. Because once humans exhaust their understanding of themselves, they may also exhaust themselves. In this sense, Dongshan's The Hard Journey of Life is only a limited exploration in the infinite deepening of human understanding of themselves, but Dongshan's ability to quietly read a large number of books, gather extensive materials, and contemplate such profound questions, writing tens of thousands of words, is truly admirable. Dongshan's home is filled with over ten thousand books, and buying, reading, and writing books are his greatest joys. "Read books that benefit the body and mind often, and avoid doing things that benefit the family and the country." Dongshan is diligent in his thoughts and actions, and I sincerely wish that the diligent will succeed and be healthy. October 2002, on the banks of Yuehu Mountain.