The Purpose of Life.

The Purpose of Life.

What is the purpose of life ? This is a very common question that people often ask. It is not easy to give a satisfactory answer to this apparently simple and yet complex question. 

Although some people have given certain answers, according to their way of thinking, it seems that they are not very satisfactory answers to the intellectuals. The reason is that they have not learned to see life objectively and to understand the proper perspective of life. They have created imaginations in their own minds about life according to their understanding capacity. At the same time we also know that many religious teachers, great philosophers, well-known poets and great thinkers are also not satisfied about life. 

When we read what they have to say about life, it would appear that some of them, too, are unable to give a clear picture of life. 

Some say that life is full of suffering; uncertainty and unsatisfactoriness. Others would say: "How nice if we were never born." Still others would ask: "Why were we born to this world full of suffering ?"

According to their concepts we can understand that they have seen life objectively, as it is. But the ordinary man only sees life superficially as it appears to him, and not as it really should be.

Some people say that there is no specific purpose in life and that it can be utilised for any purpose. Based on this theory there is something for us to ponder over wisely: to make use of life for purposes beneficial to ourselves as well as to others instead of wasting it for unnecessary things. In this manner, the purpose of life can be said to be dependant on the way we handle and use it. If we mis-use it by violating good humane qualities, by disgracing human dignity and committing immoral practices, or by giving in to our human weaknesses, it is impossible for us to achieve something worth-while in our life. But on the other hand, if we act wisely by observing universally accepted moral and ethical principles such as exercising patience, tolerance, sympathy, humility and kindness, as well as render some service to others and train the mind to be unbiased, then we should be able to achieve something noble and beneficial to all. Those who cultivate such virtues would experience peace, happiness, calmness and satisfaction. Life would then be worth-while living. That type of life would be more meaningful and beneficial to everybody.

~ Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda