What's the meaning of life?

Mason · Post by **Mason** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:44 am

I mean really there are lots of answers bt what is the real one? What is the meaning of life?

AvatarOfLight · Post by **AvatarOfLight** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:15 am

Fiberfar · Post by **Fiberfar** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:48 am

There's a song by Ayreon that goes like this:
"The meaning of life is to give life meaning" (very deep, I know

)

No one can tell you what's the meaning of your life.

Tricky · Post by **Tricky** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:22 am

Fiberfar wrote:No one can tell you what's the meaning of your life.

If'n you ain' the grandaddy of all liars. The little critters of nature they don't know that they're ugly. That's very funny! A fly marrying a bumblebee. I told you I'd shoot! But you didn't believe me. Why didn't you believe me?

Fiberfar · Post by **Fiberfar** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:28 am

Tricky wrote:If'n you ain' the graddaddy of all liars. The little critters of nature they don't know that they're ugly. That's very funny! A fly marrying a bumblebee. I told you I'd shoot! But you didn't believe me. Why didn't you believe me?

A translation for us lesser beings, pretty please?

AvatarOfLight · Post by **AvatarOfLight** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:33 am

Fiberfar wrote:A translation for us lesser beings, pretty please?

As I have said...

42

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:43 am

In the event that nobody for some reason saw the other posts, the answer is 42.

Fiberfar · Post by **Fiberfar** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:51 am

No wonder certain people get so many kids if the meaning of life is 42.

BlazingFist · Post by **BlazingFist** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:05 am

Life

the sum of the distinguishing phenomena of organisms, esp. metabolism, growth, reproduction, and adaptation to environment. (according to [url]http://www.dictionary.com)[/url]

But (semi-)seriously, I haven't heard of anyone being able to answer that question in any spoken language, save Tricky just then. How did you figure it out?

AvatarOfLight · Post by **AvatarOfLight** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:05 am

Fiberfar wrote:No wonder certain people get so many kids if the meaning of life is 42.

Interesting theory, someone should research the connection between knowing who Douglas Adams is and the amount of children they have.

Tricky · Post by **Tricky** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:17 am

How did I figure it out? Let's just say it has something to do with bad country music. You'd have to be really, really.. REALLY happy and joyful to like it.

BlazingFist · Post by **BlazingFist** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:48 am

AvatarOfLight wrote:42

Not answering would give us a better idea than saying "42"

Do any of the "faithless" believe in a meaning to life?

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:53 am

BlazingFist wrote:Not answering would give us a better idea than saying "42"

Do any of the "faithless" believe in a meaning to life?

even a pure athiest who believes "well, we live and then we die and that's all there is to it" is giving a general definition to the meaning of life, there is always a meaning, it's how significant that meaning is what counts.

Claudius · Post by **Claudius** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 2:32 pm

wide open space - greet the rising sun

in this space mind is always active spinning meaning like waves. of course these are only apparent meanings. Apparitions. It is good to see through them....

Namo Guru Hasa Vajra

Samsara and nirvana are undifferentiable

And even though you realized this

To purify your thoughts of their attributes

You gained Buddhahood in just one life

Mighty hero, Shepa Dorje

At your feet, I bow with great respect. (Homage)

Genuine reality transcends birth and death

False appearances, birth and death are like watermoons

Knowing this will make it easy to

Cut through clinging to birth and death as true

Such an explanation of birth and death--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (1)

Since no actor exists, neither does activity

But in terms of appearance, they arise dependently

Just like dream happiness and suffering

And in this way, good and bad deeds result in joy and pain

Such an explanation of cause, result, and karma--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (2)

Samsara's suffering has never existed

Its appearance is like agony in a dream

Of the very nature of dependent arising

You can't separate appearance from emptiness

Such an explanation of suffering--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (3)

This human body that has faith, diligence, and prajna,

Is so difficult to find, we're told in many ways

But it too is just a watermoon

Dependently arisen, this you should know

This way of thinking about something so hard to get--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (4)

All phenomena outside and inside

Decay each moment, they have no power to remain

But this source of sadness, when examined closely

Reveals that impermanence doesn't exist either!

This way of meditating on impermanence--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (5)

Your friends depend on your enemies

And your enemies depend on your friends

All friends and enemies exist dependently

Just like the ones that you meet in dreams

This way of understanding friends and enemies--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (6)

Without joy, pain is impossible

Without pain, joy is impossible

They are the very essence of dependent existence

They are without the slightest substance

This way of understanding joy and pain--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (7)

When there is clean it is because of unclean

And unclean itself depends on clean

They are of the nature of equality

As they are when they appear in dreams

This way of eliminating thoughts of clean and filth

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (8)

Gain and pleasure, praise and sweet sounds--these four

They rely on their opposites for their very existence

Watermoons and dreams, they have no substance

The eight worldly dharmas are such wonderful miracles! (9)

Being learned depends on being stupid

And being stupid depends on being learned

Both are just dreams and watermoons

Scholar and fool not different--what a wonderful miracle! (10)

From the unborn mind, beyond conceptuality

Appearances self-arise, and by themselves are free

Just like waves dissolving into the ocean vast

The basic way of being--what a wonderful miracle! (11)

No one to progress, no path to progress upon

No progressing whatsoever going on

But the way of progressing that we see

From cause and condition, arises dependently

Like the moon dancing on the waves

This way of traversing the path--what a wonderful miracle! (12)

Nothing to realize, no one to realize it

No realization can be seen, not even a little bit

But our words can describe so carefully

The way of realization that occurs dependently

It is like seeing the moon in a dream

This way of realizing the fruition--what a wonderful miracle!(13)

Since fundamentally, there are no conceptual elaborations,

The basic state transcends all reference points and assertions

Yet from this expanse that concepts cannot experience

Conceptuality arises in great abundance!

This way of explaining genuine reality--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (14)

The completely false appearances that you see

Transcend both true and false in reality

But to stop you from thinking that they are true

You are taught that they are false

To halt this clinging to falsity, it is not explained that they have any reality

Liberation from true and false--E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (15)

Genuine reality's dharmakaya

Cannot be experienced by conceptual mind

But there is the way the sambhogakaya

Appears to the noble bodhisattvas

And to the various beings, the nirmanakaya

Appears in a watermoon's style

This way of explaining the three kayas--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (16)

We have so many thoughts that we are suffering

But this suffering is just like a dream!

And if you can recognize these thoughts' true nature

Suffering will be self-liberated as soon as it appears!

The ice so easily melting into water

Transformation explained like that--what a wonderful miracle! (17)

Though the wisdoms five and the kayas three

Are all explained individually

Like a sound's impermanence and composite nature

Kayas and wisdoms are really undifferentiable

This explanation of ultimate union--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (18)

Through great compassion, the Buddha's activity

Accomplishes the benefit of sentient beings

But the benefitted ones really don't exist at all

Completely falsely, benefit performed is as in a dream

This explanation of Buddha activity--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (19)

Pure and impure are just imaginary,

They do not exist in the expanse of equality

Equality's expanse encompasses absolutely everything

And nothing can ever move from it at all

This explanation of equality--

E ma! What a wonderful miracle! (20)

Why are these all so incredibly miraculous?

Genuine reality, true being, free of conceptuality

Appearances transcending truth and falsity

E ma! All phenomena are wonderful miracles!

When you grasp all of this

You realize Mahayana's profound meaning

When you grasp all of this

You are a worthy vessel for the Great Secret

When you grasp all of this

You help everyone in a natural way

So may all you fortunate ones

Realize this meaning well!

So was the casual talk of Dechen Rangdröl in the Garden of Translation, near the Great Stupa of Boudhanath, Nepal, on December 17 and 18, 1997. Translated by Ari Goldfied. Translation revised February 25, 1998.

Tricky · Post by **Tricky** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 2:46 pm

BlazingFist wrote:Do any of the "faithless" believe in a meaning to life?

Do the Russians love their children too?

AvatarOfLight · Post by **AvatarOfLight** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:15 pm

Tricky wrote:Do the Russians love their children too?

You win @ life

I consider myself and atheist and very much believe there is a meaning if you want there to be one.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:17 pm

The Meaning of Life...from [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47P59ha9k9s&feature=related"]cradle[/url] to [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoBTsMJ4jNk"]grave[/url]... (slight language warning

)

Mason · Post by **Mason** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:36 am

I founbd out the answer your all wrong! It's 23 not 42 everything revolves around that number look it up! It's amazing

Ode to a Grasshopper · Mon Mar 17, 2008 2:15 am

To eat, to have sex, and then to die.
As it has ever been.

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 6:40 am

I don't think the question itself really means anything. At best, it's vague and fuzzy. At worst, it's simply not defined. Either way, it's a meaningless question.

I think you could find a few satisfactory answers if you asked more specific questions. But the questions you ask have a lot to do with you personally, so I don't know if we would be on the same wavelength.

I will say this, though: our outlook, perceptions, beliefs, and convictions are greatly affected by the chemical states of our brains. This makes objectivity difficult, if not impossible. In the end, we believe whatever "feels right" to us, and that sort of thing is subject to change. If you've ever taken drugs or received a big dose of hormones, you might understand what I mean. I'm not saying that it makes all truth inaccessible to us; but it does make it difficult for us to know whether our own beliefs are based on proof and logic or based on our feelings ("confirmed" only after the fact by evidence we selectively choose to accept).

I believe that much depends on whether we are acting rationally and making choices rather than simply "drifting" through life. If your life is "just a bunch of stuff that happened", how can it be meaningful? On the other hand, if you set goals, make choices, and act according to conscious intentions, I think it's much easier to ascribe some sort of meaning to your life.

For example, suppose you were born because your mother unexpectedly got pregnant without meaning to (or perhaps in a situation in which she was actually trying to avoid getting pregnant). That makes your entire existence "accidental", or perhaps a "biological inevitability". Leaving aside the question of whether a greater being such as God "willed" it to happen, you cannot point to a decision made by your mother and say, "I was brought into this world for a purpose."

On the other hand, let's suppose that your mother's pregnancy was planned and intentional. At the very least, there is one reason why you were born: your mother wanted you to be born. That really does mean something. It creates a responsibility on her part, and it means that at least at the beginning of your life, your purpose was to fulfill your mother's desire to have a child. Again, that really does mean something.

There are other ways to look at it, but at least that's a start.