What is the meaning of life from the Buddhist way of looking at things?

Answer 1

As with all things Buddhist, you have to determine that for yourself.

Buddhism does not tell you what to believe, it only gives you a practice to find it for yourself.

Answer 2

One fundamental belief of Buddhism is often referred to as reincarnation -- the concept that people are reborn after dying. In fact, most individuals go through many cycles of birth, living, death and rebirth. A practicing Buddhist differentiates between the concepts of rebirth and reincarnation. In reincarnation, the individual may recur repeatedly. In rebirth, in a person does not necessarily return to Earth as the same entity ever again. He compares it to a leaf growing on a tree. When the withering leaf falls off, a new leaf will eventually replace it. It is similar to the old leaf, but it is not identical to the original leaf.

After many such cycles, if a person releases their attachment to desire and the self, they can attain Nirvana. This is a state of liberation and freedom from suffering
So to answer your question, it appears the purpose of life for them is to "release their attachment to desire and the self."

Answer 3

To nurture compassion in your heart for all insentient beings
and to attain enlightenment through meditation.
The guidance for all who are on the way is;
Right view or understanding
Right thought or invention
Right speech
Right action
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right concentration (Meditation)
Here is the Dalai Lama's prayer, which expresses what I think is the meaning of life from a Buddhist point of view.

"For as long as space endures,
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I, too abide
To dispel the misery of the world".

I would like to express my support for a free Tibet, unshackled from Chinese tyranny.

Answer 4

This one question "meaning of Life" is the most asked question on the Internet. Why?


Every Human Being wants to know and understand the Philosophy behind the meaning of Life! Why are we here... what is the purpose of our living on Mother Earth... what is the real meaning of Life? The queries are numerous... there has got to be a justification for our living. What is the basis of existence of Life on planet Earth?


Before we indulge into knowing "the meaning of Life" we need to understand Life itself. How do we differentiate between a mortal (living being) and an immobile material (having no Life within)? For this we need to start from the beginning of the Cosmos itself... The time of the big bang!

At the time of the big bang when God, the Almighty Creator which is but the size of half a thumb explodes itself... all Atmans (Souls) get scattered all over the cosmos and in doing this they lose their pristine purity and as a ball coated with honey gathers dust while rolling... these Atmans (Souls) also get impregnated with impurities. This is the fundamental cause of Life... if these Atmans (Souls) had remained pure all the time... the need for Life in whole of the cosmos would not have arisen.


These Atmans (Souls) in their cosmic journey now need a body so that they can purify themselves and come back to their original pristine form. These Atmans (Souls) do not have the power to purify themselves without the aid of any external body. They need a body to work out its Karma and in the process the dross within the Atman soul shall get removed.


Let me explain this further but before that I need to explain the definition of God.


At the time of pralaya as we call it in Hinduism (the time of complete dissolution of the cosmos)... the total cosmos which consists of many universes dissolves back into its original pristine form... this is the form we know as God, the Almighty Creator! The size of the whole cosmos at this moment of time is half the size of a thumb, which is nothing else, but the collection of all purified Atmans (Souls) in the cosmos.

For purifying themselves why do the Atmans (Souls) need a body? This feature can be explained further by the example of mining.


If I need to extract one KG of pure gold (say an individual purified Atman in its pristine pure form) from a lump of hundred KG of gold ore then I need to pass the lump of hundred KG of gold ore through the requisite mining process. It is absolutely clear that this one KG of pure gold can not on its own separate itself out from the hundred KG of gold ore without the help of an external medium... it needs requisite machinery to remove the 99 KG of dross within the ore.

Similarly, the unpurified Atman the soul within cannot on its own remove the dross within... it needs an external medium... a body in order to come back to its original pristine form. And in the process... this so-called impure Atman is required to manifest a body, which consists of a long chain of manifestations... a total of 8.4 Million manifestations and a Life cycle of 96.4 Million earthly years... a long journey indeed! More on meaning of life here- http://www.godrealized.org/what_is_the_meaning_of_life.html

Answer 5

Not to judge, or place value. I think this is important advice in finding out. Use your heart first, then your mind.

Answer 6

Click this link and find the detailed answer..

http://meanoflife.blogspot.com/
http://www.squidoo.com/life_meaning/

Answer 7

“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it”
- Siddhartha Gautama -

In other words, find out for yourself, and then dedicate yourself to it..

Answer 8

suffering. and reaching enlightening to escape reincarnation.

Answer 9

Buddha: "Be enlighted and get out of this hell hole!"

Answer 10

Buddha was silent about the existence or non-existence of God. It may be that since India was drowned in idol worship and anthropomorphism that a sudden step to monotheism would have been drastic and hence Buddha may have chosen to remain silent on the issue of God. He did not deny the existence of God. Buddha was once asked by a disciple whether God exists? He refused to reply. When pressed, he said that if you are suffering from a stomach ache would you concentrate on relieving the pain or studying the prescription of the physician. "It is not my business or yours to find out whether there is God – our business is to remove the sufferings of the world".

Buddhism provided Dhamma or the ‘impersonal law’ in place of God. However this could not satisfy the craving of human beings and the religion of self-help had to be converted into a religion of promise and hope. The Hinayana sect could not hold out any promise of external help to the people. The Mahayana sect taught that Buddha’s watchful and compassionate eyes are on all miserable beings, thus making a God out of Buddha. Many scholars consider the evolution of God within Buddhism as an effect of Hinduism.

Many Buddhists adopted the local god and thus the religion of ‘No-God’ was transformed into the religion of ‘Many-Gods’ – big and small, strong and weak and male and female. The ‘Man-God’ appears on earth in human form and incarnates from time to time. Buddha was against the caste-system prevalent in the Hindu society.


V
MUHAMMAD (PBUH) IN BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES:

1.
Buddha prophesised the advent of a Maitreya:

A)
Almost all Buddhist books contain this prophecy. It is in Chakkavatti Sinhnad Suttanta D. III, 76:

"There will arise in the world a Buddha named Maitreya (the benevolent one) a holy one, a supreme one, an enlightened one, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious, knowing the universe:

"What he has realized by his own supernatural knowledge he will publish to this universe. He will preach his religion, glorious in its origin, glorious at its climax, glorious at the goal, in the spirit and the letter. He will proclaim a religious life, wholly perfect and thoroughly pure; even as I now preach my religion and a like life do proclaim. He will keep up the society of monks numbering many thousands, even as now I keep up a society of monks numbering many hundreds".


B)
According to Sacred Books of the East volume 35 pg. 225:

"It is said that I am not an only Buddha upon whom the leadership and order is dependent. After me another Buddha maitreya of such and such virtues will come. I am now the leader of hundreds, he will be the leader of thousands."


C)
According to the Gospel of Buddha by Carus pg. 217 and 218 (From Ceylon sources):

"Ananda said to the Blessed One, ‘Who shall teach us when thou art gone?'

And the Blessed one replied, 'I am not the first Buddha who came upon the earth nor shall I be the last. In due time another Buddha will arise in the world, a holy one, a supremely enlightened one, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious, knowing the universe, an incomparable leader of men, a master of angels and mortals. He will reveal to you the same eternal truths, which I have taught you. He will preach his religion, glorious in its origin, glorious at the climax and glorious at the goal. He will proclaim a religious life, wholly perfect and pure such as I now proclaim. His disciples will number many thousands while mine number many hundreds.'

Ananda said, 'How shall we know him?'

The Blessed one replied, 'He will be known as Maitreya'."


(i)
The Sanskrit word ‘Maitreya’ or its equivalent in Pali ‘Metteyya’ means loving, compassionate, merciful and benevolent. It also means kindness and friendliness, sympathy, etc. One Arabic word which is equivalent to all these words is ‘Rahmat’. In Surah Al-Anbiya:

"We sent thee not, but as a mercy for all creatures."
[Al-Qur’an 21:107]

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was called the merciful, which is ‘Maitri’.


(ii)
The words Mercy and Merciful are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an no less than 409 times.

(iii)
Every chapter of the Glorious Qur’an, except Chapter 9, i.e. Surah Taubah begins with the beautiful formula, 'Bismillah Hir-Rahman Nir-Rahim', which means 'In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful'.

(iv)
The Word Muhammad is also spelt as ‘Mahamet’ or ‘Mahomet’ and in various other ways in different languages. The word ‘Maho’ or ‘Maha’ in Pali and Sanskrit mean Great and Illustrious and ‘Metta’ means mercy. Therefore ‘Mahomet’ means ‘Great Mercy’.

2.
Buddha’s doctrine was Esoteric and Exoteric:

According to Sacred Books of the East, volume 11, pg. 36 Maha-Parinibbana Sutta chapter 2 verse 32:

"I have preached the truth without making any distinction between exoteric and esoteric doctrine, for in respect of truths, Ananda, the Tathagata has no such thing as the closed fist of a teacher, who keeps something back".

Muhammad (pbuh) on the commandment of Almighty God delivered the message and doctrine without making any distinction between esoteric and exoteric. The Qur'an was recited in public in the days of the Prophet and is being done so till date. The Prophet had strictly forbidden the Muslims from hiding the doctrine


3.
Devoted Servitors of the Buddhas:

According to Sacred Books of the East volume 11 pg. 97 Maha-Parinibbana Sutta Chapter 5 verse 36:

"Then the Blessed one addressed the brethren, and said, ‘Whosoever, brethren have been Arahat-Buddhas through the long ages of the past, they were servitors just as devoted to those Blessed ones as Ananda has been to me. And whosoever brethren shall be the Arahat-Buddhas of the future, there shall be servitors as devoted to those Blessed ones as Ananda has been to me’."

The Servitor of Buddha was Ananda. Muhammad (pbuh) also had a servitor by the name Anas (r.a.) who was the son of Malik. Anas (r.a...) was presented to the Prophet by his parents. Anas (r.a...) relates: "My mother said to him, 'Oh Messenger of God, here is your little servant'." Further Anas relates, "I served him from the time I was 8 years old and the Prophet called me his son and his little beloved". Anas (r.a...) stayed by the Prophet in peace and in war, in safety as well as in danger till the end of his life.


i)
Anas (r.a.), even though he was only 11 years old stayed beside the Prophet during the battle of Uhud where the Prophet’s life was in great danger.

ii)
Even during the battle of Honain when the Prophet was surrounded by the enemies who were archers, Anas (r.a...) who was only 16 years old stood by the Prophet.

Anas (R) can surely be compared with Ananda who stood by Gautam Buddha when the mad elephant approached him.


4.
Six Criteria for Identifying Buddha:

According to the Gospel of Buddha by Carus pg. 214:

"The Blessed one said, ‘There are two occasions on which a Tathagata’s appearance becomes clear and exceedingly bright. In the night Ananda, in which a Tathagata attains to the supreme and perfect insight, and in the night in which he passes finally away in that ultra passing which leaves nothing whatever of his earthly existence to remain.’ "

According to Gautam Buddha, following are the six criteria for identifying a Buddha.


i)
A Buddha attains supreme and perfect insight at night-time.

ii)
On the occasion of his complete enlightenment he looks exceedingly bright

iii)
A Buddha dies a natural death.

iv)
He dies at night-time.

v)
He looks exceedingly bright before his death.

vi)
After his death a Buddha ceases to exist on earth.


i) Muhammad (pbuh) attained supreme insight and Prophethood at night-time.

According to Surah Dukhan:

"By the books that makes thing clear – We sent it down during a blessed night."
[Al-Qur'an 44:2-3]

According to Surah Al-Qadar:

"We have indeed revealed this (message) in the night of power."
[Al-Qur'an 97:1]


ii)
Muhammad (pbuh) instantly felt his understanding illumined with celestial light.

iii)
Muhammad (pbuh) died a natural death.

iv)
According to Ayesha (r.a.), Muhammad (pbuh) expired at night-time. When he was dying there was no oil in the lamp and his wife Ayesha (r.a.) had to borrow oil for the lamp.

v)
According to Anas (r.a.), Muhammad (pbuh) looked exceedingly bright in the night of his death.

vi)
After the burial of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) he was never seen again in his bodily form on this earth.

5.
Buddhas are only Preachers:


According to Dhammapada, Sacred Books of East volume 10 pg., 67:

"The Jathagatas (Buddhas) are only Preachers."
The Qur’an says in Surah Ghashiya:
"Therefore do thou give admonition, for thou art one to admonish. Thou art not one to manage (men's) affairs."
[Al-Qur'an 88:21-22]


6.
Identification of Maitreya by Buddha:

According to Dhammapada, Mattaya Sutta, 151:

"The promised one will be:

i) Compassionate for the whole creation

ii) A messenger of peace, a peace-maker

iii) The most successful in the world.


The Maitreya as a Preacher of morals will be:

i) Truthful

ii) Self-respecting

iii) Gentle and noble

iv) Not proud

v) As a king to creatures

vi) An example to others in deeds and in words".