What is The Meaning of Life with Buddhism Explained.
#meaningoflife #philosophy #creativity
Throughout our lives, we often find ourselves pondering: What is the meaning of life? Why was I born? Is our existence merely the result of a fleeting attraction between two individuals, or are we part of some longer-term commitments made by others? Such questions can inspire us to seek answers and find meaning in life, or they can lead to depression when satisfactory answers elude us.
For thousands of years, astrology has also attempted to provide answers to these personal queries based on the date and time of one's birth. Various religions and philosophies have similarly strived to provide fulfilling answers to these profound questions.
Chapter 1: What is the Meaning of Life?
The concept of "meaning" is irrelevant to life itself. Life is neither meaningful nor meaningless. Yet, for centuries, human minds have been conditioned to believe that life holds some grand significance. All such meanings are arbitrary. Thus, in this century, for the first time in human history, the question, "What is the meaning of life?" has become one of the most pivotal questions. This is because all the old deceits have been exposed. Life is said to have meaning if there is a God. Life is meaningful if there is an afterlife. Life is meaningful because churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques continually hammer this idea into people's minds. A certain maturity has come to humanity, not to everyone, but to a very small minority.
I want you to remember five significant names. First is Soren Kierkegaard. He was the first to raise this question and was condemned globally because even asking it sparked doubt in people. No one had ever dared to ask - What is the meaning of life? Even atheists, who denied God, denied an afterlife, denied the existence of the soul - even they never questioned the meaning of life. They said, "To eat, drink, and be merry" - that is the meaning of life. To them, it was clear that these pleasures - "to eat, drink, and be merry" - encapsulated all of life. But Soren Kierkegaard delved deeper into this question. Unknowingly, he sparked a movement: existentialism. Following him were four other names: Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, Gabriel Marcel, and last but not least, arguably the most important, Jean-Paul Sartre. These individuals continued to hammer into the intellect of the world: life is meaningless.
Now, anyone with any sort of intelligence will eventually confront this question, and he must find a way to face it. I do not agree with these five great philosophers, but I hold great respect for them. They were courageous because once you remove meaning from life, religion disappears, for so far, religion has been nothing but an effort to inject meaning into your life: to fill it so you do not feel empty; to surround you with God and angels so you do not feel alone... You do not go to churches, synagogues, and temples without reason.
Existence is merely a challenge for creativity.
Throughout millennia, humans haven't bowed to priests without reason. They gained something in return. Indeed, they were exploited, but even within that exploitation, they found a measure of comfort. They weren't alone; they were cared for. Life was not pointless-it held great, spiritual, mysterious, and profound meaning... so vast and deep that it was beyond your intellect to grasp. Yet, most people, ninety-nine percent, aren't troubled by the question. How could they be? They easily find comfort in a past that is not dead to them.
The meanings that religious figures have instilled in human life are arbitrary. These individuals expose the arbitrariness of the meanings given by religion-but that does not imply that life is meaningless. It simply means that the meanings infused into life so far have been found invalid: God is not the meaning of life. Life after death is not the meaning of life. Jesus is not the meaning of life. However, that doesn’t mean life lacks meaning.
Because you thought these were the meanings of life, when they suddenly collapse, you gravitate toward the extreme opposite idea of meaninglessness.
Remember this perspective. Be existential. I want to tell you that life is not about having meaning or not having meaning. The question is irrelevant. Life is an opportunity, a potential unfolding. It depends on what you make of it. It depends on what meaning, colors, songs, poetry, dances you bring to it. Life is a creative challenge.
The beauty is that it doesn't have a fixed meaning, or else there would be no challenge at all. It would just be a given: you are born, and the meaning of life is handed to you, and you carry it throughout your life; that is your life's meaning. No, existence is deeper than any meaning. Existence is merely a challenge for creativity.