Buddhism: Temporary Reproduction Of Suffering

The Christian world view on life meaning and purpose is basic and yet different from other world views. Our main resolution in life is to work for God and have a strong connection with him at all times. First and foremost God desires to come first, and all else will tumble into place as long as we believe in him and have complete faith in him also. It is printed that we can only have one master (Matthew 6:24) and for that reason, God believes that serving him must be the highest significant thing for us to do with our period here on earth. (Christian Bible Reference Site)

Smith discusses in chapter two four things that people want according to Hinduism as part of the four legitimate ends of life, these are: pleasure, success, responsible discharge of duty and liberation. The first want is “pleasure,” meaning people often seek immediate happiness and “to the person who wants pleasure, India says in effect: Go after it—there is nothing wrong with it” (Smith, 1991). Along as it does not harm others in the process it is acceptable; however, pleasure is often seen as trivial and a private goal for one’s self. There is more to want which leads to the next goal, worldly success.

In sum, life is supposed to be about more than happiness. We are supposed to do something important, adhere to some ethic, and serve a greater good. We live for a goal, a principle, or a destiny—not just for pleasure.1

It is one of the four aims in life. The definition of the literal translation of the word in English, according to Wiki quote, is, “goal, purpose, meaning, sense an essence.” Two of the other four aims are Kama and Dharma as explained to us by a lesson titled, The Four Goals of Hindu Life: Kama, Artha, Dharma & Moksha by study.com. It continues to explain, Kama is the pursuit of pleasure and happiness in life and Dharma in Hinduism, is the law which governs each and every one of our actions and individual conducts in life. Through these two elements you will begin discovering your inner self. This is supported by the first principle of Hinduism in the Vedanta school. It declares that you will uncover you will true self after having gone through life’s trials.

free from the cycle of rebirth. However, under this religion moksha can only be attained is one 's

Susan Wolf addresses these questions an aim to bring out the distinctive characteristics of the reasons and motives that give our lives meaning. Wolf claims that "meaningful lives are laws of active engagement and projects of worth" (Wolf, 206). Suggesting that when a person is actively engaged in anything they feel alive and life is more worth living. Nevertheless, Wolf explains that neither religion or science is sufficient for leading a meaningful life, claiming that a life of passion could corrupt the pursuit of happiness if you decide to dedicate your life to how you feel. Suggesting that working toward some goal that is substantial than yourself, can be hard work if you don 't have any passion or connection to it. According to Wolf, the subjective element is necessary for a meaningful life and arises from active engagement in some activity that one loves. In addition, the passive attachment to objectively valuable things are not sufficient for meaning. The feeling of fulfillment originates when “one is doing what one loves, or when one is engaging in activities by which one is gripped or excited” (Wolf, 207).

In her book Meaning in Life and Why it Matters, Susan Wolf does not focus on this perennial question people have been asking over the vast confusion of human history rather she gazes her view at the question of how people seek and maintain meaningful lives. Seeking of meaningful life poses the question of motives that has driven us to engage in. Wolf judges the answer from philosophical point of view. Utilitarianism, a paradigm of teleological theory, accepts pleasure as the ultimate meaning of life. J. S. Mill argues, ‘pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things that are desirable as ends, and that everything that is desirable at all is so either for the pleasure inherent in it or as means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain’ [1863:10] Man demands and pursues the supreme good which comprises both virtue and happiness. Mill’s uses of the term pleasure confined it only in this physical world. Kant, on the other hand, uses it even after death. Virtue and pleasure, duty and inclination, are, according to Kant, heterogeneous notions. Their unity cannot be achieved within the narrow span of our life in this world. We, therefore, conceive immortal life for us. Hence, we seek pleasure not only in this material world, but also in the super sensible world as it is

The problem of evil as suffering is a problem of what to do with the obstacle for the believer but also an obstacle to unbeliever to converge because they do not think it harmonising. In contradiction to compatibility, an atheist often suggested that the present of evil entails the absence of God. Atheist argued, if God exists, then as an omnipotent, he is able to prevent the evil occurrence. For omniscient, it implies under any circumstances evil will occur if he does not act. Then, being perfectly good, he will prevent its occurrence and so evil will not exist. Based on this above proclamation, the existence of God does not compatible with the evil of whatever kind. However, theists response to this logical problem of evil by an atheist is that necessarily perfectly good being, foreseeing the occurrence of evil and able to prevent it, will prevent evil. The essay will first, define what evil is according to Swinburne as one of the philosopher of religion, Second, Swinburne four categories of evil will be discussed (Physical evil, mental evil, state evil, moral evil). Third, Phillip logical and existential problem evil will be discussed through. How will all these above assertions be a problem to those that and does not believe in God.

Throughout the first part of the novel Siddhartha written by Herman Hesse, each chapter represents one of the Four Noble Truths. This chapter “The Brahmin Son” represents the Noble Truth “Life is Suffering”, in translation life consists of suffering and dissatisfaction. Suffering does not only come from the body but there also forms of mental suffering. On page 5 of the novel it states, “That was how everybody loved Siddhartha. He delighted and made everybody happy. But Siddhartha himself was not happy.” This quote shows that Siddhartha is in fact mentally suffering because he is not happy. From this it is clear that Siddhartha lives a life of suffering which demonstrates that Siddhartha wasn’t happy because all that he was taught by his father

Once one determines their purpose, one may achieve fulfilment through living a righteous life. Specifically, by determining ways to benefit and contributing society. Socrates touches on how righteous attributes are beneficial to not only to yourself but to the community as well. “Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively.” (Plato, n.d.). One may live a fulfilling life through mission work and focusing on the needs of the people around them.

What is the purpose of a human being? “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence” (Nicomachean Ethics). When one thinks about happiness, these words said by Aristotle allow us to understand its significance. Through Aristotle’s teachings, he made it clear that the point of life is to be happy. Aristotle uses the word happiness as having to do with a person’s life as a whole, and not as the constant desire of wanting to experience pleasure (Aristotle’s Ethics). People tend view happiness as an emotion that is not long lasting, while it is really about accumulating the good experienced an entire lifetime. To Aristotle, happiness is about flourishing, virtues, focusing on our well-being, and self-sufficiency.

I believe that human being’s all have an underlining purpose in life and it is within their nature to realize their potential and fulfill their goals. Human beings are driven to seek wholeness in their lives and that will always be a continuing journey for most humans. Humans adapt to life’s changes as they encounter various challenges. How one handles those various situations; will directly affect their behavior and personality. I believe humans are capable of dictating the outcome of their destiny.

According to Hinduism, at the most basic level, the purpose of life is to perform one’s social duty and live the exemplary life of the householder by marrying, having children, providing for them and observing the rituals required by the gods. Later, the Upanishads claimed

What is my ambition in life? What is everybody’s ambition in life? That is a question, which gives rise to many other questions, like why do we exist, what is the purpose of our life? There is the thought that out reason of existence is only known by God. That he has chosen it for us before we were ever born, and that point of the reason is to be here for anyone else. The fundamental principle of utility explicit that actions or behaviors are right in so far because they motivate contentment or pleasure, wrong as they tend to develop unhappiness or sadness. Therefore, usefulness is a teleological principle. This once again gives rise to some of the similar fundamental issues concerned with hedonism, as discussed in the earlier section on

The First Noble Truth of Buddhism is also referred to as the truth about suffering or dukkha, which posits that suffering, comes in various forms such as pain, desire and or deaths. However, the three types of sufferings coincide with the ones the Buddha witnesses on his journey outside his palace: they were sickness, old age, and death (Hardy, 2005; Young, 2013). Buddha argued that human beings are exposed to cravings and desires and even if they are able to satisfy these particular desires that satisfaction is merely temporary. In that case, pleasure is ephemeral and whenever it lasts it results into monotony (Velasquez, 2011; Besser-Jones & Slote, 2015).