Discussion on the statement: 'When one lives solely for oneself, they become superfluous to others'

Prompt: Discussion on the statement: 'When one lives solely for oneself, they become superfluous to others'

Deliberation on the saying: 'When one lives only for oneself, they become surplus to others'

I. Outline for Deliberation on the saying: 'When one lives only for oneself, they become surplus to others' (Standard)

1. Introduction:

- Introduction to the issue

2. Body:

a. Explanation:
- Living solely for oneself is a selfish, self-centered lifestyle, lacking concern for others.
- 'Surplus individuals': those whom nobody needs
- The saying implies that living selfishly leads to loneliness and isolation in communal living.

b. Causes:
- Family influence: Originating from single-child families or gender discrimination. Spoiling children to the extent that they always follow their own desires and never pay attention to others.
- Environmental factors: Facing life problems, losing faith, withdrawing.
- Personal traits: Selfish tendencies manifested from an early age.
- Example: Vedan MSG plant discharging waste into Thi Vai River

c. Consequences:
- Alienation from others, becoming a social outcast.
- Subjected to societal discrimination and contempt, lacking friendships, love.

d. Measures:
- Embrace new relationships openly.
- Always empathize with others' situations.
- Live sincerely, with love and optimism.

e. Current Situation:
- The youth are adopting a pragmatic, selfish lifestyle, believing it to be right to live for oneself and disregarding others.

3. Conclusion:
- Selfish living is condemnable.

II. Sample Essay on the saying: 'When one lives only for oneself, they become surplus to others' (Standard)

Tố Hữu once said: 'Living is not just about receiving for oneself, but also giving,' this statement reflects his life philosophy, living means dedication, giving, like a river always flows to the sea, always branching out. The way of life, the personality of each individual in life is something everyone ponders. Not everyone born is cruel, an evil person, selfish, and wicked, but as we grow up, the interests around us change, we will choose how to live for ourselves? Should we be selfish, calculating for our own benefit? Does living with such selfish thoughts make us richer and better? Or is it: When one lives only for oneself, they become surplus to others?

Every relationship we have in this life according to Buddha's teachings is a predestined fate from past lives. Five hundred times of bowing heads in past lives can only change one meeting in this life. However, to continue to maintain that relationship to become beautiful or wither away depends on how we treat each other. So is the statement 'When one lives only for oneself, they become surplus to others' correct in this society? When humans have passed the era of living by natural instinct 'eat, sleep, reproduce', through the period of being afflicted by hunger, thirst day by day and people are gradually moving towards a life full of material and spiritual abundance, civilization, and progress?

The lifestyle of 'living only for oneself' can be understood here as a selfish, self-centered lifestyle, pragmatic thinking, disregarding others. While 'surplus individuals' mean redundant, nobody needs them, nobody cares, nobody worries. These two concepts seem unrelated but are close and complement each other. The statement seems to be just a slip of the tongue but is actually a very correct viewpoint in today's society. The selfish lifestyle is gradually creeping into each individual, but if you only know how to live for yourself without knowing others, sooner or later you will only be outsiders in society, no one will care or love such people!

A person exists with many relationships: friendships, love, family relationships, ... But whatever the relationship, all must be based on sincerity, love, giving, and receiving. So where does the selfish lifestyle 'just for oneself' come from? There are two reasons to start for the selfish lifestyle, one is the environment and education, the other is personality, oneself.

The first reason, you can look at single-child families or families with a preference for boys over girls! Children raised in the love and indulgence of their family, parents. They can achieve anything they want, as long as they don't get it, it will be a tantrum, crying, and nagging. From there, they develop a 'me-first' lifestyle, where no one can refuse or disobey them. That is the reason for the formation of the selfish lifestyle of some young people today. Also, it is due to the pursuit of personal interests, only caring about their own interests and forgetting about others. At all costs, they must achieve their goals without caring about anyone. Anyone who stands in their way is pushed out of sight. A typical example is the Vedan MSG plant incident in 2008. This plant discharged untreated waste into the Thi Vai River, causing heavy pollution, severely affecting the people in the area. The waste they discharged exceeded the permitted level by up to 10 times, with a quantity of about 5000m3/day. This has caused ecological imbalance, resulting in diseases for the people around. They - the ones who decided to discharge waste into the environment for personal gain - have made hundreds of thousands of households near the company live in pollution. They are selfish, they only pursue their own interests. They have turned themselves into 'surplus' individuals in society.

The second reason is personality, oneself. The ancients often said 'Human nature is inherently good,' but not everyone born maintains the inherent goodness. The inflated ego may be the cause of selfishness. They prioritize themselves, always considering themselves the 'best', everyone must obey them. That is the reason for selfishness, and it is certain that they - the people with individualistic lifestyles - will soon become the 'surplus' of society!

The selfish lifestyle can cause many significant harms, one of which is social ridicule, social ostracism. Every person is born with a role, a purpose in society, but the selfish lifestyle can kill off relationships, friendships, love, and community spirit. With the lifestyle of 'Mine is mine, theirs is for them to worry about', those people will become the 'surplus' of society. They are just 'existing' rather than living. They are despised, alienated, gradually becoming isolated, affecting their mental and physical health. Society is the exchange between people, if one only lives for oneself, it will no longer be a society. Without communication, empathy, they are just 'corpses' in life. Imagine if our ancestors also lived that way, only knowing to be selfish for themselves, would we have achieved independence as we do today or have achieved glorious achievements, 'echoing around the world, shaking the earth'?

However, nothing is impossible to fix. Selfishness is the same, there are effective ways to treat this disease. Each person must learn to improve themselves. Everyone has an ego, but the ego must be placed in the right place, in the right direction to be effective. Learn to listen to others, pay attention to your own behavior to see if you treat others fairly. Approach others with sincerity, sharing, love, and care, replace jealousy with satisfaction and happiness. You will see life in a new, optimistic, and cheerful way. To achieve these things, determination is indispensable!