The journey between our birth and our death is generally known as our life. While going through that journey, all of us, I believe, want to go through it as happily as we can. However, we inexorably stumble upon difficulties as none of us knows what lies ahead of us. Because of these very hardships of life, all of us suffer from depression, stress, misery and unhappiness. We all know very well that we cannot avoid hardships of life, including death, nor escape from them. Therefore, how to overcome the hardships of life has been the continual quest for the humans, the intelligent beings. In a deep sense, it can be said that human history is the history of humans in pursuit of solutions to life problems. In quest of answers to life problems, humans have inevitably encountered the more fundamental questions: Where did we come from? Where are we going? Who we are? What is the meaning of our life? What is our purpose of life? What is right? What is wrong?
At first, the questions seem irrational and absurd. However, after some thought, I think, they are as important and serious as they are difficult to be answered. In truth, all branches of knowledge, such as philosophy, theology, psychology, sociology and science, have come into existence in attempting to answer those questions. Personally, I was lucky enough to have a chance to take Philosophy, Psychology, Buddhism and Artificial Intelligence in the same semester, and this rare opportunity allowed me to look at those questions from different perspectives, normatively and descriptively.
Regarding the questions human beings are eager to know, it is quite interesting and fascinating to see how the Buddhism deals with them. Before delving into how the Buddhism answers those questions, it is important for us to see the world view offered by the Buddhism. The central ideas of the Buddhism are the ideas of impermanence, suffering and non-self (insubstantiality) [1]. In this sense, the Buddhism sees the world as the continuous flux of change, which has no beginning and no end. And it is the unstoppable and insubstantial flux of change that brings us suffering, which we see as the problems of life, such as misery, aging, death etc. In view of the continuous flux of change, the Buddhism avoids to answer the questions as to where we came from and where we are going. From the Buddhism perspective, neither the past nor the future is as important as the present. The present is the only reality, which defines who we are. “Do not dwell in the past; do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment,” the Buddha once taught us.
Who are we, actually? This is the primary question which the Buddhism tries to answer with great effort. Non-self doctrine denies the existence of self, which seems so apparent and so real to us. Interdependent origination explains that our existence is relative, thereby rejecting the ideas of absolute existence. In effect, the Buddhism suggests that we are not who we think we are. On the other hand, unfortunately, the Buddhism never suggests who we are actually. However, instead of giving us an explicit answer to the question of who we are, the Buddhism leaves us a path, to figure it out by ourselves, and points out that it is our responsibility to realize our true nature. The Buddha once said in the Parinibbana Sutta: "Be ye islands unto yourselves, be ye a refuge unto yourselves, seek not for refuge in others."
From the Buddhism perspective, our meaning of life depends on how we answer the question of who we are. Unless we know our true nature, our life is not as meaningful as it should be. It is due to our ignorance that we suffer. It is due to our ignorance that we do not know the reality. It is due to our ignorance that we are bounded in the wheel of existence (Samsara). However, it will be due to our wisdom that we will be free from suffering; it will be due to our wisdom that we will realize the reality; it will be due to our wisdom that we will be free from the bondage of life. The purpose of life, as the Buddhism believes, is to achieve the wisdom which will let us know our true nature, thereby allowing us to be free from suffering. Pursing the meaning of life is seeking the true nature of reality.
What is right? What is wrong? The question of what is right or wrong is more than an ethical question. It is, in fact, the question of our destiny.
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
The Buddhism suggests that the ideas of right or wrong come from within, thereby rejecting that the answer of right or wrong comes from the outside world [3]. From the Buddhism perspective, the world is defined by the concepts of conventional truth, which operates with duality and dependence and substantiality. All conventional concepts and ideas are all relative, dependent and conditioned, and therefore they will not lead us to the true nature of right or wrong. As long as we are bounded by the conventional truth [2], we cannot see what is right or wrong. In fact, the absolute truth is beyond the concepts of conventional truth, and it can be only realized through self-cultivation and intuitive understanding, in other words, through the eight-fold noble path.
It can be said that the source of knowledge is the question. In truth, human beings have extended their horizon of knowledge in attempting to answer the questions. The more we ask, the more we know about ourselves and the world around us. Some questions have definite answers, but the others do not have. Particularly, the questions about life are the most difficult to answer and the most important to human beings, since they are related to the well-being of humanity. In pursuit of the answers to the questions of life, we have come across different answers. Science gives us the scientific method, which leads us to the material achievement. Philosophy gives us reasoning and critical thinking, which allows us to question more. Theology lends us faith, to believe in and to appreciate the harmony. Likewise, the Buddhism offers us the answers to the questions of life, from its own perspective. Since the questions of life are open to everyone, I sincerely believe that different people will have their own answers to the questions of life.
References
1. "Buddhism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 16 Dec 2009, 07:49 UTC. 18 Dec 2009 .
2. "Emptiness." The big view. 16 Dec 2009, 07:49 UTC. 18 Dec 2009 .
3. "The World - Dhamapada." The big view. 16 Dec 2009, 07:49 UTC. 18 Dec 2009 .
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