The Purpose of Life (覺悟)

 

1.）Moral Practice 修福田

 

• The Causal Effect （因緣果報）

In the physical world, everything is subject to the law of cause and effect（因果論）including reincarnation itself. So when we change our thoughts and our state of mind, our human relationships, health and financial circumstances change too. The causes of pain and suffering do not lie with others or the outside world but are actually created by ourselves.

• A Soul Draws Up A Life Plan Before It Is Born （斷惡修善，廣造福田）

Human souls draw up a life plan before being reincarnated on earth. We decide in advance on the best environment for our own spiritual development, on such things as the country where we will be born, our language, family environment, financial circumstances, religion, education and occupation.

Life is therefore A Workbook for us to work on. Every now and then we are confronted with human relationships and various troubles on earth but all these things are what we have planned for ourselves. Accordingly, when human relationships are at the root of our suffering, it is ourselves who decided to set these problems in our life plan.

Once we are aware that “life is a workbook” there is no longer any need to lament “why do I have to be put through this?” when confronted with difficulties and hardships. Instead, since these are opportunities for learning, we come to ask ourselves what it is that we can learn from them.

Sometimes people think that a husband and wife are not well-suited but, from a spiritual perspective, in fact it is the best possible pairing for their spiritual development. Couples are born promised to one another in order that they may learn a lot from their mutual differences.

Knowing that life is A Workbook of Problems to be solved, we therefore need to reflect on our thoughts and deeds and correct them through our own effort just like cultivating and ploughing a piece of land to achieve good fortune so that we can have a healthy body and fruitful life to carry on with the pursuing of the purpose of life .

• Suffering Hardships and Difficulties are Opportunities for Growth（消除業障，增長福報）

It is when a soul is placed in adverse circumstances, the earthly world（欲界）, that it can discipline itself, correct its misguided tendencies and make progress. That is why we periodically reincarnate to the earthly world, where people, whose wavelengths do not match, can gather together and refine their souls. The earthly world is also a place where we can encounter great souls whom we would never meet in the Spirit World（無色界）.

Everyone experiences troubles and hardships as a part of living in this world. We all would like to avoid them if possible. However, in the process of solving our problems in life, the soul acquires various experiences and learns many different lessons. These experiences and lessons are nourishment for the soul’s growth.

Suffering is an opportunity to reflect on the mistakes of our own mind and to reform ourselves. At such times it is important to have knowledge of the Truth – the teachings which represent God’s (Buddha’s) mind, and to practice self-reflection. The scriptures of God’s (Buddha’s) Truth are reference books given to us by God (Buddha) for solving “the workbook known as life.” The learning distilled from the experience of overcoming suffering becomes “wisdom.”

• Removing Our Clouds of Thought （斷惡即是斷煩惱，得清淨心）

The answer to the question, “Is it part of the soul’s nature to think and do evil?” is both “Yes” and “No.” It is “Yes” because the soul has been granted full freedom to think and create in any direction. But the answer is “No” because to do evil or to produce hell is not part of the original aim of the soul. However, we can create dark, dank regions in our minds and cut ourselves off from God’s (Buddha’s) light with negative thoughts such as complaint, anger, jealousy and envy, as well as selfish thoughts and our desire for self-preservation（貪嗔痴）. It is as a result of our own choices that we create clouds （煩惱）in our mind, block out the light, and live in darkness. That is why we must reflect on our thoughts and deeds and remove these clouds of thought （斷煩惱）to prepare our mind to be beefed up and restored to its original, shining state of eternal happiness.

 

2.）Spiritual Training 定慧雙修，離苦得樂，得涅槃

Although the Heavenly World（天道）, from which we reincarnate, is a wonderful world overflowing with love, harmony and happiness, it does not provide the soul with many opportunities for training and progress.

Life in the Spirit World（無色界）within Heavenly World is strictly governed by “The Laws of Vibration”, therefore, only souls that share the same wavelength can reside in the same realm.

This Earthly World（人道）is a training place for our souls, because we go through experiences we would not be able to go through whilst living in the Spirit World.

Humans are spiritual beings and the mind is our essence. It is the core of the soul. We are undergoing spiritual training to polish our mind hoping that it will ascend to the higher state of Spirit World and eventually restored to its original state of the highest level of awareness.

Spiritual Training is the first step towards enlightenment as we can understand that the difficulties and hardships of this world are not substantial but are opportunities for our personal growth. In this way, even in suffering, hardship and difficulties we can find the seeds of happiness and working towards enlightenment.

However, Enlightenment and full eternal happiness can only be attained through Self-Realisation and Mindfulness Meditation.

 

3.）Purpose of Life : Enlightenment （人生的目的，覺悟成佛）

As we can understand that the difficulties and hardships of this world are not substantial but are opportunities for our personal growth in the soul and spiritual development.

 

However, Awareness and Enlightenment is actually the sheer purpose of human life.

 

Buddha (God) reveals to us the universal truth of the Great Cosmos and his teachings are the guidelines for the evolution and cleansing of the human corrupted soul so as to achieve not reincarnation but awareness （覺悟）and enlightenment（成佛）, the sheer Eternal Bliss in the Real Spiritual World.

 

Enlightenment and full eternal bliss can only be attained through Self-Realisation and Mindfulness Meditation.

 

 

 

• Compassion 同體大悲 （拔苦解脫）

Compassion is the purpose of life and the reason of our existence. Our constant inner intent should be towards helping others to lessen their misery without asking for a return and be more compassionate. If you are unable to do so for any reason, make sure you have a sympathetic heart towards other's suffering, and also make sure that you do not hurt anyone. This is an indirect way to help those around you.

 

Service to others should be sincere and done from the heart; only then it is fruitful. When you do this, nature in turn will reward you and you will attain a kind of happiness. Happiness begins from the moment you do something for others. Those who consistently help others, are happy, and do not come across any obstacles in their lives. Research indicates that they are less stressed and experience improved mental health.

 

 

• Loving-Kindness 無緣大慈 （無相佈施）

 

Love is the purpose of life and the reason of our existence. It is about recognising your own gifts and using them to contribute to the world — whether those gifts are playing beautiful music for others to enjoy, helping friends solve problems, or simply bringing more joy into the lives of those around you. However, this Love is not the ordinary kind of love, it is a kind of universal love without any attachment to any being on the planet -- It is called "Loving-Kindness".

 

Life is love and love is life, and the more love flows through our veins, the more joyful we become, the clearer our vision gets, and the easier it becomes to connect not only with our own heart and Soul, but also with the heart and Soul of every living being that inhabits the planet. This kind of love is called "Loving-Kindness".

 

On the surface we might all look very different from one another but at the core level we are all the same. At the core level we are all ONE, connected with each other in a very deep and powerful way. At the core level we are essentially the same, all members of one human race. There is no separation except the separation we created in our minds because of our attachment to fear, and if we allow love back into our hearts, becoming one with it and allowing ourselves to live our lives from that place, then we will recognise ourselves in the world around us and we will finally understand that we are in the world and the world is in us… We are ONE.

 

 

• Meditation 靜慮心對治染污心

The tempo of modern life is rather fast and compacted. Most people suffer from distress caused by anxiety and insecurity. Therefore, in our daily lives, it is beneficial if we take a few minutes to practice the art of self-healing through mind calming and purification. When the “impurities” in our minds are cleansed, insight and wisdom will emerge from calmness.