2006-10-10 15:52:37 · 14 answers · asked by stacy q 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
"What is the meaning of life?" is a question many people ask themselves at some point during their lives, most in the context "What is the purpose of life?" Here are some of the many potential answers to this perplexing question:
Survival and temporal success
* ...to accumulate wealth and increase social status
* ...to advance natural human evolution, or to contribute to the gene pool of the human race
* ...to advance technological evolution, or to actively develop the future human
* ...to compete or co-operate with others
* ...to destroy others who harm you, or to practice nonviolence and nonresistance
* ...to die having succeeded in your purpose
* ...to gain and exercise power
* ...to leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book
* ...to live
* ...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction
* ...to protect one's family
* ...to pursue a dream, vision, or destiny
* ...to seek freedom, either physically, mentally or financially
* ...to seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure or celebrate
* ...to survive, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means (see life extension)
Wisdom and knowledge
* ...to be without question, or to keep asking questions
* ...to expand one's perception of the world
* ...to explore, to expand beyond our frontiers
* ...to learn from one's own and others' mistakes
* ...to seek truth, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom
* ...to try to discover and understand the meaning of life
* ...to understand creation
Ethical
* ...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context
* ...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace
* ...to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land
* ...to become like God, or God-like
* ...to be rewarded for your deeds
* ...to experience existence from an infinite number of perspectives in order to expand the consciousness of all there is (i.e. God)
* ...to express compassion
* ...to follow the "Golden Rule"
* ...to give and receive love
* ...to live in a way that you don't harm yourself and don't harm your environment
* ...to work for justice and freedom
Religious and spiritual
* ...to be a filter of creation between heaven and hell
* ...to die and become a martyr
* ...to live in peace with each other, and in harmony with our natural environment (see utopia)
* ...to produce useful structure in the universe over and above consumption (see net creativity)
* ...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment
* ...to reach Heaven in the afterlife
* ...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life
* ...to serve others, or do good deeds
* ...to turn fear into joy at a constant rate achieving on literal and metaphorical levels: immortality, enlightenment and atonement
* ...to understand and follow the "Word of God"
* ...to worship, serve, or achieve union with God
* ...to disprove the existence of a or all all gods
Other
* ...to achieve self-actualisation
* ...to contribute to collective meaning ("we" or "us") without having individual meaning ("I" or "me")
* ...to find a purpose, a "reason" for living that hopefully raises the quality of one's experience of life, or even life in general
* ...to live, and enjoy the passage of time
* ...to have fun
* ...to participate in the inevitable increase in entropy of the universe
* ...to make the conformists' lives miserable (see non-conformism)
* ...to participate in the chain of events which has led from the creation of the universe until its possible end (either freely chosen or determined, this is a subject widely debated amongst philosophers)
* ...to relate, connect, or achieve unity with others
* ...to resolve all problems that one faces, or to ignore them and attempt to fully continue life without them, or to detach oneself from all problems faced (see Buddhism)
* ...to seek and find beauty
* ...as there is no intrinsic meaning to life, to each individual, the "meaning of life" is whatever he/she decides it is. In that sense, every point above is potentially valid.
* ...an answer to the question "What is the meaning of life?" is that it is just simply being able to ask the question, "What is the meaning of life?" (see Sri Sri Ravi Shankar below)
* ...a combination of any of the above.
No purpose, and therefore...
* ...to simply live until one dies (there is no universal or celestial purpose)
* ...just a series of events
* ...just nature taking its course
* ...the wheel of time keeps on turning
* ...the cycle of life
* ...whatever you see you see, as in "projection makes perception"
* ...there is no purpose or meaning whatsoever (see nihilism)
* ...who cares?
2006-10-11 13:03:46 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
You are going to get a million answers. This is all i can say to you. Life is what you make it. Live a good one, be a good person and generally other people will be good to you, that is the foundation of most world religions (after the belife of God of course) True religion is a point of argument. But religions generally teach the same thing. If you are inclined to belive in an afterlife and salvation I belive God is a being that will accept good will as well as being in whatever is the true religion. (i mean god in whatever sense you take it, be it a supreme being, jesus, an unspoken force of nature, allah or any other personification) Basically everyone was put on this earth to find god, and god dosn't appear the same to everyone. Many find god in religiion, many find god in helping other, other will find god in nature, the stars, others in love. Whereever you find god run with it. The world is to learn, it may hurt but it will rarely destroy. You need some soul searching and much thought, and a better place to ask this question than the internet. Good luck though, whatever path you decide on. There are many paths to paraidise, no matter how many people disagree. Follow your own conscious and be a generally good and noble person and you;'ll be fine. Worry about living your life to and how you will be when you die...It is all about legacy if you decide to belive there is nothing fter death...if you do though, being a good person never hurt your chances...
2006-10-10 23:00:57 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Does your life have meaning?
If not, your asking the right question. You will get many results from this question. I feel that the true meaning of life is to live your life according to what it says in the Bible. Saying that, I mean life is all in how you perceive it. Were born, we live life to the fullest, and then we die and make our flight into heaven or hell. It all depends on if you get your spiritual life right while you have time. There is a spiritual life and a temporal life, you can live a successful life temporally and give the credit to God, and also live a spiritual life pleasing to God.
About true religion, there are people everywhere professing a form of religion. Which one is true? Well I'll tell you this, you can pray about it and ask God to show you and believe me, he will.
God bless you in finding the right answer!
2006-10-10 23:17:34 · answer #3 · answered by Travis W 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The meaning of life is to act like a crazy idiot on Oprah and jump up and down on her couch. The true religion is Scientology.
2006-10-10 22:54:36 · answer #4 · answered by TrainerMan 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is no one true religion. All religions are going to claim theirs is correct and the truth is no one really knows. That is why its called a "belief" and not a fact. You just need to find out which religion is correct for you. Do your own research don't allow others to tell you which one you have to be. Cause like I said they all are going to claim their religion is the one true religion and its not true cause it can't be proved.
2006-10-10 23:02:47 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
There is no meaning to life other than what you give it yourself. Life is simply being born, surviving and trying to reproduce, and dying. All the rest is up to you.
As for religion...there's no evidence of any kind that any of them are "true." Truth must survive critical thinking, be logical, be the same for everyone everywhere, and be testable. No religion meets any of those requirements. Relgion is about faith, not truth. If it's truth you want, go educate yourself and learn about the world as it is (through science), not by reading fairy tales written down by ignorant savages thousands of years ago who thought "god" punished them for being bad when the weather was bad...
2006-10-10 22:57:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
If U are serious, get off the computer, go to Wal-mart and for less than $4.00, U can buy a Bible, usually the King James version and start reading it daily.Only then will U understand more and U can start answering your own questions. Try it
2006-10-10 23:02:48 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
The meaning or "purpose" of life is procreation. (This is true of all living things)
The true religion is whatever one you want to be true.
I suggest you read about as many as you can, and seek your own path.
2006-10-10 23:02:36 · answer #8 · answered by knujefp 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Since I am a Christian, I say it is the true religion. I guess we will all find out when we pass away!
2006-10-10 22:55:00 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
There is no true religion. If there was we have misinterpreted it and screwed it up.
"SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH"
The meaning of life was a monty python movie.
2006-10-10 22:55:10 · answer #10 · answered by cosmiccastaway 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
instead of using bs Christianity why dont you meditate on there is only one G-d all that other crap is just crap it's idol worship. they all keep statues in their house which the bible sort of frowned on?
2006-10-10 23:03:55 · answer #11 · answered by IKnowAll 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋