Tralfalmagita

As I write this blog, I’m thinking of trying to finish it in time to do other things before it gets too late. If I expect to accomplish this, then I may be greatly disappointed, while if I don’t expect anything at all, I will agree with any outcome. The Handbook of Epictetus, much like the Bhagavad-Gita, teaches us to accept the future and whatever it brings. While the Handbook of Epictetus instructs us to cope with the future by accepting everything unchangeable as unchangeable, the Bhagavad-Gita commands us to “be intent on action,/ not the fruits of action;/ avoid attraction to the fruits/ and attachment to inaction!” (38). The Handbook of Epictetus is a text which promotes focusing on the acceptance of the fruits of action, however they appear to be, while the Gita indoctrinates to ignore the fruits altogether and learn from the journey, which is a win-win situation: You will learn either way if the fruits are rotten or not.

The Tralfalmadorians of Slaughterhouse-Five can be easily compared to the teachings of the Gita: They both encourage the focusing of attention on the journey rather than the outcome, which is a much more constructive experience than simply accepting every result. In this sense, I believe that the Handbook of Epictetus is lacking a fundamental trait in living. If we merely “do not seek to have events happen as you want them to, but instead want them to happen as they do happen” (13.8), as the Handbook of Epictetus advises, we let ourselves be carried away by the current of life, learning nothing from the journey. Experiences are very valuable and the Handbook has proven to be a guide to simply live life neutrally, without focusing on the fruits, but not focusing on the journey either.