Sages are able, by heroic efforts, to rise above the demands of the Will-to-Life: they see the natural drives within themselves towards selfishness, sex and vanity… and override them. They overcome their desires, live alone (often away from big cities), never marry and quell their appetites for fame and status. In Buddhism, Schopenhauer points out, this person is known as a monk – but he recognises that only a tiny number of us can go in for such a life.
