The Higher Evolution and the Overman.

[PDF] Now it's obvious that there is a very great deal of similarity as between the concept of the Higher Evolution and the New Man on the one hand, and Nietzsche's conception of the Overman on the other. Not, of course, that the two are identical. As compared with the ideal, let us say, of Buddhahood, Nietzsche's overman is rather lacking in positive content, and this isn't surprising. After all, Nietzsche's conception of the overman is the product of thought, very brilliant thought, thought of a genius; but still thought, something intellectual, even though intellectual to the point of intuition, even though penetrating to the point of intuition, but still thought - not actual spiritual, not actual transcendental realisation. So for this reason, Nietzsche's conception of the overman is rather lacking in content, especially in positive content. But Nietzsche's main point is that the overman is not man as we know him, that the overman transcends man, goes far beyond man, goes beyond him as man himself transcends the ape. From this it is abundantly clear, starkly clear, we may say, that man is transitional. As we saw in Nietzsche's phrase, man is a rope stretched between the beast and the overman.

And this of course brings us back to the subject of the will to power, the will to a higher degree of being achieved through self-overcoming. I am going to suggest that the will to power corresponds in a very general way to The Will to Enlightenment. Both are active. The will to power is a will. The Will to Enlightenment is also a will. And both are concerned with the actual production, not just with thinking about, but with the actual production of the highest realisable ideal. One, of course, is the ideal of the overman. The other, of course, is the ideal of Buddhahood, Enlightenment, Supreme Enlightenment for the sake, for the benefit, of all living beings. And the achievement of both ideals, that of the overman, that of Buddhahood, both require the overcoming of one's lower self or lower selves, overcoming of all lower values, lower evaluations, lower ideas of every kind. So here there's a similarity, here there's a resemblance. At the same time there are differences. The Will to Enlightenment which constitutes the Bodhisattva is more altruistic, more other-regarding, more cosmic. It is the manifestation in the individual, in the Bodhisattva, in fact, of a universal, a cosmic principle; but the will to power is much more individualistic. It is much more concerned with one's own creation of the overman by overcoming oneself. But at the same time we must add, in fairness, that the altruistic side is not overlooked altogether by Nietzsche. Remember that Zarathustra, this great figure of Zarathustra, exemplifying perhaps the overman, wants to share his wisdom with mankind. He wants each man to realise that Man is something to be overcome.

And this brings us again to the most immediately relevant aspect, perhaps, of Nietzsche's whole thinking; that is to say, brings us back to the fact, to the truth, to the realisation, that we should be dissatisfied with ourselves; that we should look down on ourselves and without this dissatisfaction, there's no self-overcoming and no spiritual progress, no higher evolution of man.

This also brings out, or this also brings us to the weakest aspect of Nietzsche's thinking. We're exhorted to overcome ourselves and the necessity for this, the necessity for overcoming ourselves so that the overman may be produced, may be created. This is shown by Nietzsche with dazzling, with blinding clarity, he shows us this more clearly than almost any other teacher, certainly more clearly than any other Western philosopher or Western thinker. But Nietzsche does not show us - and this is where he fails, fails miserably though nobly - he does not show us how to do it. He says overcome yourself but he doesn't show us the way, doesn't show us the method. There are no practical instructions. We are left in a sense with the empty exhortation. And here we can see, at once, the immense advantage possessed by a tradition, an ancient spiritual tradition like Buddhism, with its methods, with its exercises, with its definite practices for self-overcoming. After all, it is not so difficult to see that a man is ill if he's groaning in fever, if he's in pain, if he's howling in agony. It's easy to see that he's ill, that there's something wrong with him. But it's only a doctor, only a physician who can prescribe the actual method of treatment so that he may get better. And Nietzsche certainly paints, we may say, a really appalling picture of the disease of modern humanity, the disease of man, the disease which is man, if you like. He even gives us a diagnosis, a very acute diagnosis. And he also goes on to paint a very glowing, a very beautiful, a very inspiring picture of the patient restored in the future to perfect health. But he does not give us an actual, a concrete method of treatment for restoring the patient to health; in other words, for overcoming oneself, for actually creating, producing, the overman. In Nietzsche's thinking, needless to say, there is no practice of mindfulness. There is no method of meditation, and so on. So despite the clear, the vivid picture of the patient and his suffering, and of the patient as restored to health, despite the acute diagnosis, the patient - certainly in the West, on the whole - continues to suffer.

But fortunately, in an ancient spiritual tradition like Buddhism we do find those very things which are lacking in Nietzsche. We find not only the abstract ideal - in this case the ideal of Buddhahood - but also practical means, practical methods for realisation. We find in fact a whole way of life prescribed. And what is true of Nietzsche, we may say in this respect, is true of almost the whole of modern Western philosophy. It is all a matter of abstract thought, abstract thinking, academic thought, dry and lifeless. Nietzsche at least does pulse with life, he is alive as a thinker. It all underlines perhaps, this whole question underlines, the need for closer contact, not to say closer co-operation, between Western philosophy on the one hand and Eastern spiritual traditions on the other. And I hope to this contact, to this co-operation, this lecture has made some contribution.

Friedrich Nietzsche, Buddhism and the Superman:

1. Friedrich Nietzsche, Buddhism and the Superman.
2. The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche.
3. The Superman, the Overman or Übermench.
4. Thus spake Zarathustra.
5. Man is something to be overcome.
6. Giving style to one’s character.
7. The will to power.
8. The Higher Evolution and the Overman.

By Urgyen Sangharakshita.

[in French] [Introduction] [Buddha] [Buddhism] [Meditation] [Sangharakshita] [FWBO] [the Centre]

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Dernière mise à jour:
04 avril, 2007.