What is the meaning of life?
A great master once said, “Human life has no meaning, no reason, and no choice, but we have our practice to help us understand our true self. Then, we can change no meaning to Great Meaning, which means Great Love. We can change no reason to Great Reason, which means Great Compassion. Finally, we can change to no choice to Great Choice, which means Great Vow.”
This is a very interesting statement. Many people have some idea about the meaning of life. Some may even think that their idea is correct. So who is correct? What is it that gives life meaning? Where does the idea of meaning and life come from, anyway? We come into this world with nothing and we will all leave with nothing. If we truly look and investigate these questions with sincerity, we realize that we really don’t know. Don’t know is the experience before thinking. Before thinking, there is no life. There is no meaning. There is no “I” or “you”. There is nothing at all.
If we take another step from this point, we can reflect this world just as it is. This is where truth is universal. This universal truth is before our ideas, beliefs, or opinions. It is not dependent on the color of our skin, what religion we believe in, what ideas we may have. The truth is something every human being can perceive intrinsically. It is already clear in every moment. When we perceive clearly the difficulties and dissatisfaction in our own lives, then we can see the difficulties and dissatisfaction in the lives of others. We can see that many people are in great need of help. When we perceive that need clearly, then responding to this world is necessary. So no meaning turns into the Great Meaning, which is actually a vow to recognize our true selves in every moment and help this world. Then love and compassion naturally appear in this world.
