Uncle Iroh & STOICISM | Avatar’s General Iroh and his Stoic Outlook on life
Avatar the Last Airbender is a show full with wisdom, knowledge, hope and love. It is a story of people overcoming hard times, dealing with the suffering and problems life presented as a challenge to everyone.
One seasoned and knowledgeable character who has faced failure, loss, and betrayal was General Iroh. However, despite the bitterness of life he experienced, Uncle Iroh kept his honor and integrity, not losing himself in the process as he guided the other characters, and us, the viewers, in our journey within the timeless epic we cherish and know as Avatar The Last Airbender.
I realised that Iroh’s wisdom has a lot of similarities to a 2300 year old worldview many people are trying to study and adapt even to this very day. The Philosophy of Stoicism.
What is STOICISM?
Stoicism was founded, at the beginning of the 3rd Century Before The Common Era, in the City of Athens, Greece by Zeno of CITIUM.
It is a philosophy that tries to logically explain how people should view the world and the tragedy and suffering it presented, guided by virtue and ethics, in order to reach eudaimonia which is fulfillment or the state of having ‘good spirit’. In Avatar terms, it’s spiritual enlightenment.
The term was derived from the Greek word Stoa, or “painted porch”, where Zeno of Citium taught and gathered his disciples.
Many influential historical figures such Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Seneca, and Epictetus have adapted and discussed the stoic philosophy.
The Four Virtues of Stoicism are Wisdom, Temperance (Self-control or Moderation), Courage, and Justice.
Stoic Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Author of Meditations
STOIC Lesson # 1: Regarding the things that are not within our control
There are things within this world that we cannot alter or avoid. Things that we can never change no matter how hard we try, and this causes a lot of people to worry and lose hope.
How are we supposed to deal with this then?
Epictetus answered, “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”
He further explained this idea by hypothetically putting himself in problematic scenarios, by saying,
“I must die; so must I die groaning too? I must be imprisoned; so must I grieve at that too? I must depart in exile; so can anyone prevent me from setting off with a smile, cheerfully and serenely?”
The Stoic Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius explained that,
“The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.” … “You have the power over your mind – not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.”
We should not focus on the things that are not within our control but focus on the ones that are within our control, as basic as I worded it. It’s about how we react to the situation. Instead of being overwhelmed by emotions, we must instead focus on thinking about our best response. What is the best move to do when we are faced with such situations. Think of it this way: Let’s say you have a big problem. We know that things are already bad as they are. Would worrying and panicking make the situation better or would it make it even worse? In most occasions, the best option for us to remain calm and not get overcome by our emotions so we could think of a good strategy in solving our problems.
Uncle Iroh realised all these things and that gave him the strength to endure the problematic scenarios he has encountered in the show, especially when he was betrayed by Zuko in the finale of Season 2 and was imprisoned on the first half of Book 3. Looking at the grim situation, if he allowed himself, he could’ve easily succumbed to despair and hopelessness. But he chose to react differently and he tried to focus on the things that are within his power.
Stoicism teaches us that we should control our emotions to prevent ourselves from suffering unnecessarily. To look at the problem in a logical and rational way, detaching oneself from extreme emotions. Be that as it may, though, I do not think that Stoicism teaches us to turn ourselves into emotionless robots. Iroh tried to control his emotions so he wouldn’t break in prison, yes, but that did not mean he didn’t feel anything at all. I mean, the man was broken. He was in anguish. He was sad. He definitely felt those emotions but the thing is he did not let himself be overcome by them. He actively chose not to lose hope.
He even said so himself,
“In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength.”
When Zuko, visited him in jail, Iroh still tried to teach his nephew a lesson, guiding him in figuring out his ancestry, making sense of his past in order to understand the kind of person he must strive to be. Iroh was treated like a fool by some of the guards in jail but instead of letting his feelings get hurt and his mind get crushed, he focused on training his body, building up strength, so when the opportunity comes, which is the eclipse, he would be able to break out prison, find the other members of the White Lotus, and plan to liberate Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation during Sozin’s comet.
Like what the Stoic philosophers preached, Iroh did not focus on the things that are not within his control but focused more on the things that are within his power, figuring out the best possible decision, so he could endure the sufferings brought by life and offer something more profound and wonderful to the world.
STOIC Lesson # 2: A lesson in patience. Great results often take time to be achieved
Epictetus said, “No great thing is created suddenly...”
Epictetus. A former slave. Later became a Stoic Philosopher.
This is not to discredit the successes and victories that are achieved quickly. I personally think that a dub is a dub and that there is nothing wrong in celebrating wins, but I guess the Stoics want us to appreciate the idea that many times, great things are accomplished through a gradual, consistent, and incremental process, so a grain of salt must be taken in this section.
Epictetus further explained,
“Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig, If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.”
Seneca also said that,
“It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.”
How did Uncle Iroh embody this wisdom?
When he was training Zuko, he was adamant in making him first understand and master the basics of firebending, not rushing or speeding through anything. Only when the impatient Zuko complained strongly against it did Uncle Iroh give heed to his request, allowing him to move on to the more advanced set. Maybe Uncle Iroh wanted Zuko to learn the importance of gradual progress himself through his own failures. And what happened an episode after that, didn’t Zuko fail to bring Aang to the Fire Nation, because of his own incompetence?
Only after a comprehensive and well-scheduled training under Iroh’s guidance did Zuko gain many of the essential skills to master his element.
Iroh also told his nephew the importance of taking his time to heal and rest, not rushing recklessly in order to get what he wanted.
Iroh was an old man and much of his greatness was achieved through his years of experience, practice, and discipline.
Even Avatar Roku acknowledged this stoic lesson when he was training to become a fully-realised Avatar. Spending 12 years of his time in rigorous training. It was bitter work, but the results were worth it.
STOIC Lesson # 3: Wisdom can be found in Adversity
Everyone in this world experiences suffering but not everyone can be considered wise. And it’s because different people look at things differently.
As for the Stoics, they viewed pain and trials to be inevitable, however, like what we discussed earlier in lesson 1, it’s all about learning how to deal with it.
Epictetus even said that, “Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests,” and that, “The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.”
General Iroh has tasted defeat, loss and betrayal yet he still ended up as a man who practiced what he preached.
Didn’t he learn to look at things more profoundly when he lost his son in the war?
Iroh learned that, “Sometimes, the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else.”
Didn’t he become more helpful to others, especially to his own nephew, Zuko, whom he considered as his son, as atonement for his failure to help his own son Liu Ten. He was even shown saying to the late Liu Ten’s image, “If only I could have helped you.”
Among many other profound things, Iroh learned this wisdom in his pain and grief. In his loneliness and despair. Something he wouldn’t have even realised if he didn’t undergo such unfortunate situations.
What else did Iroh learn while experiencing adversity?
Only when his worldview was shattered did he learn how to look at the bigger picture.
Only when he lost his reputation, prestige and status, did he learn how to be grateful and give importance to what he has left?
When he no longer lived in splendor, he learned that there is a simple honor in poverty.
And when many people consider him to have fallen from grace, he understood what it meant to be truly honorable.
Humility, Gratitude, Kindness, and Honor. These are all Stoic values.
How did Iroh become very wise and knowledgeable about these things? Well, it’s because all his hard-won lessons are a product of overcoming things. Epictetus said that it isn’t the things themselves that disturb people, but the judgements that they form about them that causes people to suffer greatly. And what Iroh did was change how he perceived everything, looking for meaning behind his unfortunate experiences and that gained him great wisdom which circles back to Lesson 3: Wisdom can be found in adversity.
What about us?
I know that many of us are also facing a lot of challenges and sometimes, we end up being overcome. Especially when our backs are pressed up against the wall. Isolated and cornered. Speechless. Not having any idea where to start and what to do.
Before I end this coverage, I would like Uncle Iroh say the right words for me,
Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel. You can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel. But if you always keep moving, you will come to a better place.
Closing
Avatar the Last Airbender is the show that I loved the most. It is a story that deals with tragedy, failure, and loss but it also teaches us to never lose hope. It encourages us to learn from our mistakes and do better when get the next opportunity, gathering our inner strength, moving forward to a better tomorrow.
For me, Uncle Iroh is one of the best characters of all time because he taught me all these lessons that helped me out the most when I was struggling with my own problems in life.
Regarding Stoicism, what I covered earlier was just the tip of the iceberg. There are deeper lessons of Stoicism that I did not cover in this article because I can admit that I am not an expert in the topic and I’m still learning about this philosophy even to this very day.
I’ll put down the links for the articles which have greatly helped me out in this post and a list of books regarding stoicism in the page that you can also check in your own time, if you want to develop a deeper understanding of it.
I wish you the best.
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