What do you think our purpose is? Spread goods word? Smoke as much weed as we can? Explore our universe? What do you think the human purpose is?
well baha'u'llah said something about growing spiritualy and carrying forward and ever advancing civilization. whatever the heck he ment by that. i think yyyesiam had the right idea there, as much as there needs to be one at all, which as i see it, there doesn't. =^^= .../\...
purpose is a uniquely human idea that comes from the human psyche. in our view, as tool-using creatures, things need to have a purpose, a utility, in order to have value. of course, things don't have utility until we give it to them (a hammer is just a piece of metal until we drive a nail, a sunset is a bunch of light until it makes us feel good), so your life will be without a purpose until you give it one...
this whole needing of purpose is probably not inherent in the human psyche, but instead put there by a society that has perversely become obsessed with the idea.
all living things act with purpose. we have elvolved a higher and more complex system of analyzing, organizing and defining the various reasons we do things. example: eat to live. animals eat and kill to survive. they will also fight to protect their young or territory. some groom each other, because they see that when they do this for another, they receive similar. they don't give it as much thought as we do, but it's still there. if you stand back and look at the process as a whole, or as large a part of the whole as we are capable of seeing, it is an ongoing and ever evolving process that hasn't come near to the end with us. i still see it as: live through action and learn, while hopefully contributing something to the process as often as possible while you're still living and acting.
we dont NEED a "purpose". what we need, is to learn how to stop screwing things up and to do so! individualy we each have OUR OWN inhierent purposes, uniquely individual to our uniquely individual intrinsic personal natures. we all have something positive to contribute to what could be, but above all, it is still up to us to avoid screwing everything up for each other (and everything else). =^^= .../\...
i agree that purpose is inherent, themnax. it isn't something we need to create or make up, because it is already there. contribution seems to be important, but i feel that more important is the process of learning from your actions. growth of the soul seems to be the main reason we are thrust into this process of pain and pleasure, attachment and non.
I agree, I think we are blind to this though and we go on beliving we are hear to advance our civilization, do god work ETC
I think our purpose is to live to the fullest of the human potential. I would say we are currently each using a tiny fraction of that potential. The first step is getting earth into a state that is truly life sustaining for our species, where all people have food and shelter and can begin to meet the higher life needs. When a significant portion of us have arrived at a self-actualized state, we can begin making sensible decisions and work on the problems that face the planet and then the solar system, galaxy, universe, etc. However, I think it's important to state that because our environment is in such peril, preserving what we already have (choosing alternatives to fossil fuel, protecting endangered species/threatened ecosystems, monitoring air and water pollution levels) should be considered neck and neck for importance with ending world hunger. I do believe that ending world hunger is the first step towards progressing as a species. You can worry about the problems we're facing if you yourself are starving. Think how much brainpower we'll have if 6 billion individuals are all fed and thinking on a higher level than how they are starving to death. It would be a huge step in elevating the collective consciousness of the planet.
“Love, work, and knowledge are the wellsprings of our lives, they should also govern it.” Wilhelm Reich
we know we are a part of life , and life is matter with a certain wonderous and specialized character of motion . as life defeats entropy , our life purpose is eternal life acting for sake of a sustainable universe . all of life does this . i wouldn't know the purpose of universe , i just like to hear it sing .
I once saw a little blurb on the nightly news about someone who did an on the street poll and they asked the same question. 90% of the people they asked said they thought their purpose in life was to HAVE FUN. OMG. You know, that answer never even occured to me. If we have any purpose at all (as assigned by the "greater power") it would be to care for the earth and every being on it. Otherwise we are just parasites.
earthmother I agree. I also think that nothing is more gratifying than connecting with others and helping them. Save the world, and feel good doing it. It's a simple goal but it takes a lot of courage and strength. It's not easy reaching out to those in need, especially when we're brought up as kids to fear strangers.
Help yourself to sort out vows, views, life. It's essential- like rain for Earth. People naturally presume. It cannot be destroyed. But it doesn't mean you can't question it. Just don't look at things as if they are a "matter". The mind is everything. You just have to learn how to access it. It is difficult to understand the world as it truely is. For, although it seems real, it is not. And although it seems false, it is not. Ignorant people can not know the truth concerning the world. There is no real or false, nor good or evil. The world simply is as it shows. A being struggling for existance will naturally look for something of value. There are 2 ways of looking at things: >Wrong Way: Means that, while he recognizes the sickness, old age, and death are unavoidable, he searches among the same class of empty, transitory things. >Right Way: Means that, he recognizes the "true nature" of sickness, old age, and death- and searches for a meaning which "forsends all human suffering". ((The world of delusion is a burning house. But the people, unaware of the fire, are in danger of being burned to death. Compassion devises ways of saving them. The world od delusion is a burning house.)) <<If you take a look at, or take some views of "The Way" of Zen, Buddhism, and Hinduism.. There are many 'possible' explainations that can be accounted for.>> Sometimes I think that, "everything happens for a reason". In some ways it can be true.. but.. It is not that one thing seems to lead to another, that describes the "way things are". It could be considered somewhat of a fault, though. Life goes around and around. And its possible im might never have an end. You aren't you without your passions, ideas, and attatchments... but, its implict that nonattatchment is one of the ideals.. including: To achieve total peace, and to explore & purify the mind & soul. Don't deny enlightment. It's constant- and should be sought for. Such as that, everything is a force. Life itself a force. There is no such thing as time. It was made up by man. We must learn how to deal with life and its confusion and contradictions. Learn, and help direct people to better understanding. That's all one can do. And, it's possibly why people are reincarnated- because their reason for "being" was not fufilled... Maybe one life can never be fufilled. One doesn't know in our state. Once we achieve what should be achieved, then there with be a great realization. (I tend to ramble) These are just my opinions, tho.. ;] Peace out, then -Haruta
