Is our struggle for "Meaning" yet another craving that must be overcome?

Question

What would a Buddhist / a Christian / an atheist / a scientist.... say?

What would YOU say?

So many good answers that I am having a hard time deciding – I suppose the only fair thing would be to put it to vote. Thanks everyone.

Answer 1

I wouldn't say it's a craving , rather just a large question that involves everyone . So why shouldn't we ask it ? We're the only species on this planet with the mental capacity to do so , first starting as a survival trait which enabled us to plan and strategies. Since the dawn of thought man has been afraid to be ignorant and so we find answers that best suit the time and culture whether it's through science , spirituality or religion .
Also it motivates us to discover things which were never known before . We need meaning in order to search for meaning , if we didn't care we wouldn't look and if we didn't look we wouldn't advance , we would be in the same paralyzed state for all eternity . I believe searching for our purpose and knowing that there is one , is in itself our purpose , to evolve and progress and above all else to survive . Until there is proof that states other wise, those are the only apparent things in which we are accomplishing .

Answer 2

Man either has an expectation of meaning or he doesn't. I believe both are learned in humans as we are the only beings capable of contemplating "nothing." Do things have intrinsic meaning on a deeper, fundamental level? Is everything meaningless with mankind merely investing meaning because it is his nature to be more than just animal? Animals don't contemplate this, just us. Each individual must decide what he believes in his own right, this is not something that can be answered as a universal fact, just like you cannot answer a question like, "what is your favorite color?" and get a universally true answer. Thank you for asking this question, it was a provocative one.

Answer 3

Before we call ourself a Buddhist, christian, atheist etc, a human being looks for an after effect for whatever he does. The very expectation for that effect is "meaning". Overcoming that is the acceptance of complete voidness. That I do not think everybody's cup of tea. But, yes anyway we are all going to reach there today or tomorrow. All of us are not going to reach that stage at once. First I think you have to have a desire for meaning and then desire for desirelessness and then a complete voidness. If you get stuck in the desire to have meaning or desire to overcome that meaning, you are not complete. You will be complete when you reach a stage where you neither look for meaning nor meaninglessness. You may think this as a Buddhist view. But, even all other enquiry ultimately will reach that stage as...From molecules to atoms to electron,proton, neutron to quarks to complete emptiness.....so let us all accept the fact that, we are come out of emptiness.

Answer 4

I am an Atheist,

And I believe that our struggle for meaning stems from a clear purpose or role in society, most people who have clear important roles in there community rarely question their purpose. The search for meaning is not universal to all but mostly to those who feel inadequate as to their contribution to those around them. Now I have no formal training or experience with the subject nor have I read any research, this is solely my opinion.

However, I believe that if you were to ask Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Dan Rather or any other person who is driven to the top of their field or society, at that moment when they are at the pinnacle of their success they would immediately tell you the exact "meaning" of life, likely the answers would be brief, idealized, and all extremely different, but with one common thread "to contribute something positive to society as a whole."

Answer 5

In order to answer this question I would have to know what you mean by "meaning." I cannot get to the truth of any statement without first understanding its meaning. In this sense meaning is basic.

Yet, I think you are asking more about whether our struggle for meaning is a psychological need. It may be, but it seems that it is more connected to our beliefs. For life to be meaningful it has to make sense. Life makes the most sense when connected to reality. And there are different beliefs about the nature of reality. Not all are equally coherent. So all are not equally meaningful.

The alternative to a meaningful life is meaninglessness. Meaninglessness often leads to boredom. When one is bored one tends fill the boredom with all kinds of excess. This in turn may lead to the feeling of guilt. Sounds hellish to me.

I don't think one can escape the need for meaning. Its part of being human.

Answer 6

From my opinion , your question seemed to have missed the point.

As a Buddhist , the search for " Meaning " ( there's no need to struggle for it , really ) is the most natural thing to do.

It is not the same kind of craving that is like craving for nice food , cars, etc.

Lets look at this at another angle: say you do not search for this meaning in your life , what would life be ?

You grow up, you go to school . You finished school, you build your career. You meet a girl you like and then you get married and you start a family.

You have kids . You feed them, you clothe them, you send them to school . They grow up and they left you.

By then, you are old and weak and your next destination in life is to die and depart from this world.

This is the pattern that every human being on this earth goes through , including you and me .

In fact , this is the same pattern that every living being goes through .

Say you are at the end of your life and you look back , do you ever wonder what is all this about ?

If your life is made up of events that happned to you , of events , people and places that you been to , then those events, people places are no more and they will never come back.

What is it all for ?

I don't think we ourselves have to go to the end of life to get to this realisation

We are better than that . We can study the wisdom of the Buddha to realise the meaning of it all.

We are the only being on this earth able to think about this kind of things, to be able to wonder about this kind of questions.

I don't think a bee or a fly would think about this kind of search , it just live out its life span and die.

If we do not search for this "Meaning " what is it that we want to aim for , in this impermanent world , where we ourselves will perish one day ?

Well, I certainly would search for this meaning , but I don't think you need to struggle for it.

In each and everyone of us, there is the Buddha nature, which is the eternal brilliant essence of us that exist forever and are the same essence as the Universe.

Our meaning in life is to seek this Buddha nature , realised it and manifest it .

It is not a futile search and it is not a meaningless craving.

Hoped this helps.

Answer 7

The buddhist: meaning is one of the paths to greater inlightenment
The Christian: Jesus gives my life all the meaning I need.
The Atheist: **** Meaning!!!
The Scientist: Meaning is another way of saying it is a unproven fact. Everything that is not mumbo jumbo, must be a fact.

Me: a pleasure that you can not always find

Answer 8

It definitely varies depending on who you ask, even among groups like Christians and atheists. Some Christians would say that our struggle for meaning was made by God so that we come to him and so we can praise and worship him, others would say that our meaning is for progress and improvement. Some athesists would say that our struggle for meaning is natural and should be encouraged, others would say that there is no meaning of life and everyone should accept that truth.

However, my semi-agnostic opinion is that everyone must find their own meaning. Everyone must forge their own destinies and find their own happiness and truth.

Answer 9

It must be fulfilled not overcome.
I'm not a Buddhist, Christian, atheist or scientist. Just me.

Answer 10

I don't understand how someone could go through life not knowing the meaning? Its so right out there.

Answer this and think! When is the only time your truly happy? and NO, I'm not talking about love (but close). . .