Does Life has purpose?

[jimmoyer]

All these answers are so damn boring.

Didactic, pedantic, boring, predictable.

I'm Charlie Brown.

Listen to the teacher.

Wah wah waaah wah.

Are there no Buddhists on board ?

Are there nothing but White crackers here ?



)

 

[Tonington]

My chemistry professor had an acronym she would use, KISS. Keep it simple stupid. She wasn't calling us stupid. Just explaining to us that often times the most simple explanation works best, instead of trying to make the problem in question more complex than it really is.

 

[hermanntrude]

another name for KISS is occam's razor. the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

what would a buddhist say the purpose of life is? to acheive enlightenment? why? that's the thing with buddhism... to me it seems hard to do and with an unclear reward. some talk of nirvana and the clear light... others merely state that enlightenment is the only way off of the wheel of life, which by definition is suffering and pain.

Fact is (and more people should say this) I DON'T KNOW

which suggests maybe there isnt? after all why would there be a purpose without it being clear?

 

[china]

delite this post

 

[china]

hermanntrude :
Fact is (and more people should say this) I DON'T KNOW
which suggests maybe there isnt? after all why would there be a purpose without it being clear
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I agree with you 100% ,hermanntrude.

Please read the following which is part of Hindus philosophy:
The Hindu speaks most deeply of the ultimate reality of the universe, he applies the phrase neti, neti .That is why the Hindu describes in the Vedanta doctrine of the Upanishads the basic energy of the universe as "the unknown." It is never an object of knowledge, and so it is said in the Kena Upanishad that if you think that you understand what brahman is, you do not understand. However if you do not understand, then you understand. For the way brahman is known is that brahman is unknown to those who know it, and known to those who know it not.

Which brings a question , Why do we know when we don't know?...try it .Curiosity ,where are you?

 

[Asiyah]

What is the meaning and purpose of life?’ This is, perhaps, the most important question that has ever been asked. Throughout the ages, philosophers have considered it to be the most fundamental question. Scientists, historians, philosophers, writers, psychologists and the common man all wrestle with the question at some point in their lives.

Is Reason a Sufficient Guide?

‘Why do we eat?’ ‘Why do we sleep?’ ‘Why do we work?’ The answers we would get to these questions would be similar. ‘I eat to live.’ ‘I sleep to rest.’ ‘I work to support myself and my family.’ But when it comes to what the purpose of life is, people are confused. We see their confusion by the type of answers we receive. Youths may say, “I live for booze and bikinis.” The middle aged professional might say, “I live to save enough for a comfortable retirement.” The old man would probably say, “I’ve been asking why I’m here most of my life. If there’s a purpose, I don’t care anymore.” And perhaps the most common answer will be, “I really don’t know!”
How, then, do you discover the purpose of life? We basically have two options. The first is to let ‘human reason’ - the celebrated achievement of the Enlightenment - guide us. After all, the Enlightenment gave us modern science based on careful observation of the natural world. But have post-Enlightenment philosophers figured it out? Camus described life as “absurd”; Sartre spoke of “anguish, abandonment and despair.” To these Existentialists, life has no meaning. Darwinians thought the meaning of life was to reproduce. Will Durant, capturing the predicament of postmodern man, wrote, “Faith and hope disappear; doubt and despair are the order of the day… it is not our homes and our treasuries that are empty, it is our ‘hearts’.” When it comes to meaning of life, even the wisest philosophers are just guessing. Will Durant, the most noted philosopher of the last century, and Dr. Hugh Moorhead, a philosophy professor at Northeastern Illinois University, both wrote separate books titled ‘The Meaning of Life.’ They wrote to the best-known philosophers, scientists, writers, politicians, and intellectuals of their time in the world, asking them, “What is the meaning of life?” Then they published their responses. Some offered their best guesses, some admitted that they just made up a purpose for life, and others were honest enough to say they were clueless. In fact, a number of famous intellectuals asked the authors to write back and tell them if the purpose of life was discovered!

Let the Heavens “Speak”

If the philosopher has no definitive answer, perhaps the answer can be found within the heart and mind that we ourselves possess. Have you ever looked at the open sky on a clear night? You will see an incalculable number of stars. Look through a telescope and you will see gigantic spiral galaxies, beautiful nebula where new stars are being formed, the remnants of ancient supernova explosion created in a star’s final death throes, the magnificent rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter. Is it possible not to be moved by the sight of these countless stars in the night sky shining like diamond dust on a bed of black velvet? Multitudes of stars beyond stars, stretching back; becoming so dense that they appear to merge into delicate wisps of sparkling mist. The grandeur humbles us, thrills us, inspires a craving for investigation, and calls for our contemplation. How did it come into being? How are we related to it, and what is our place in it? Can we hear the heavens “speak” to us?
“In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day, there are surely signs for all who are endowed with insight, who remember God when they stand, and when they sit, and when they lie down to sleep, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: “O our Lord, You have not created this without meaning and purpose. Limitless art You in Your glory…” (Quran 3:190-191)

When we read a book, we accept that an author exists. When we see a house, we accept that a builder exists. Both of these things were made with a purpose by those who made them. The design, order, and complexity of the universe as well as the world around us are evidence of the existence of a Supreme Intelligence, a Perfect Designer. All the heavenly bodies are controlled by precise laws of physics. Can there be laws without a lawmaker? Rocket scientist Dr. von Braun said: “The natural laws of the universe are so precise that we have no difficulty building a spaceship to fly to the moon and can time the flight with the precision of a fraction of a second. These laws must have been set by somebody.” Paul Davies, a professor of physics, concludes that man’s existence is not a mere quirk of fate. He states: “We are truly meant to be here.” And he says regarding the universe: “Through my scientific work, I have come to believe more and more strongly that the physical universe is put together with an ingenuity so astonishing that I cannot accept it merely as a brute fact. There must, it seems to me, be a deeper level of explanation.” The universe, the earth, and living things on the earth all give silent testimony to an intelligent, powerful Creator.
If we were made by a Creator, then surely that Creator must have had a reason, a purpose, in creating us. Thus, it is important that seek to know God’s purpose for our existence. After coming to the realization of this purpose, we can choose whether we want to live in harmony with it. But is it possible to know what is expected from us left to our own devices without any communication from the Creator? It is natural that God Himself would inform us of this purpose, especially if we are expected to fulfill it..

Alternative to Speculation: Ask God

This brings us to the second option: the alternative to speculation about the meaning and purpose of life is revelation. The easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask the inventor. To discover the purpose of your life, ask God.

Source: http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/280/

 

[Asiyah]

Salaam

God, through His perfect wisdom, created us for a purpose. And it is those who believe in God, remember Him always, and show thankfulness to Him for all His blessings that realise life’s true purpose and meaning. And the purpose of life is simple:
And I (God) did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. (Quran 51:56)

God created us to test us, to see who would choose belief in Him over disbelief, to see who would devote his life to praising and showing thanks to Him over being negligent and arrogant towards Him, to see who would choose a life of righteousness over evil, and to see who would choose guidance over misguidance. Moreover, God would not leave His creation without guidance. So upon us is to seek the truth and find the guidance of God before death should overtake us. One might ask why would not God just show everyone a clear sign that would force all people to believe in Him and follow His guidance.
The Quran answers this question in the following verse:
Do they [then] wait for anything except that the angels should come to them, or your Lord should come, or that there come some of the signs of your Lord (i.e., portents of the Last Hour e.g., arising of the sun from the west)? The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come, no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before, nor earned good (by performing deeds of righteousness) through his Faith. Say, “Wait. Indeed, we [also] are waiting.” (Quran 6:15

Faith is precious because it requires diligence and effort. And those who pass the test of life do so because of their faith. They believe in and worship God even though they don’t see him. They seek out and follow His guidance and perform righteousness even though their whims and desires may persuade them to do otherwise. And God has promised an eventual benefit and reward for faith and righteous deed, as the Quran says:
Indeed, they who have believed and done righteous deeds and humbled themselves to their Lord – those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide eternally therein. (Quran 11:23)

This benefit is not restricted to the Afterlife. Rather, realizing our purpose in life is a means to eradicating the sense of emptiness and disarray we may suffer from in life, thereby instilling inner peace and contentment in our lives. And only faith in God supplies us with the hope and spiritual strength we require to overcome all of life’s adversities, the greatest of them being death. Thus, the fruits and benefits of faith are experienced both in our present life and in our eventual life to come.
Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of God. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of God hearts are assured. (Quran 13:2

Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do. (Quran 16:97)

Faith however requires that we following the guidance God has sent down for mankind to follow. Since how can one know the requirements of faith, worship, and obedience to God if one does not know His guidance? So upon us is to seek the true guidance.

Salaam.

 

[Curiosity]

Resurrection of this old topic reminded me of something....

What if our lives on earth as we know them - is a pattern - a first "try" to see how things shake out for homosapien and coexistence among differing tribes throughout evolution.

What if we are the prototype for a perfect something yet to be created and we are going through the motions of gifts and faults so the Higher Power (apologies to the devout) will know how to prevent
future errors which seem to live within our own world?

So our desire to attain perfection can never be - because we are a teaching model for imperfection???