I noticed several times that Schopenhauer referred to Eastern philosophy. Though he did make direct references towards the end (page 411) to Hinduism and Buddhism he mentioned the "four ages" on page 321 and I wondered whether or not he was referring to the four stages of life in Hinduism: rebirth, marriage, religious, and renouncing your name and belongings.
Though I could find a direct explanation of how Schopenhauer thinks humans should live, I believe the Eastern Philosophy has a lot to do with what he does think. There is much talk in Hinduism and Buddhism about detachment. In these pages Schopenhauer mentions detachment for the world of representation. Then he connects art by bringing back the idea from earlier pages that art and music allow us to detach from the world of representation and be exposed to Will directly.
I also found Schopenhauer's thoughts about desire to be interesting. He believes that desires are bad and there is no lasting happiness only satisfaction of our desire. It was interesting to see how closely the ideas of Schopenhauer related to the Eastern philosophy I am learning about in my first year seminar.
Yes - remarkable coincidence between S and Eastern philosophy, and it is just that - coincidence. He developed his ideas on his own, published them in 1819, and only then discovered Eastern thought. In the second edition, then, in 1847, he made those connections explicit (and we're reading the third edition).
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