*PLEASE READ THIS * NEED YOUR OPINIONS*

[kakkarot]

read the book of Ecclesiastes. it was written by King Solomon, attributed with being the "wisest person who ever lived". it's not too long, and it talks exactly about what you are asking. it probably won't give you an answer you like, but the answer it true.

~kakkarot

[Spirit_Gurl]

the bible!? no. no way. I have heard so many... miricle stories of enlightenment in the bible... no.

not that id have a bible, i am jewish.

[Spirit_Gurl]

sorry if that sounded rude. how about telling me what the bible is supposed to say instead of making me ask everyone i know if i can borrow a bible to look up something? im so lazy.

any other thoughts, people? Will any of this matter? please don't tell me what this guy said, or what a book said, tell me what you think.  how and why you truly do or don't believe that we matter...

~*~thanks a bunch~*~

[kakkarot]

what I understand would take too long to write. but the basis of it is what King Solomon (an israelite) wrote; my understanding just goes a bit beyond that.

and just so you know, that which is called the "old testament" of the bible is completely composed of Jewish texts. after all, christianity is based on the fulfillment of the Law; the Law that was given to the israelites a long long time ago. he who is called Christ merely fulfilled that Law, according to that which is called the "new testament" of the bible.

~kakkarot

[Spirit_Gurl]

I am sorry to say that I dont happen to have a torah with me , either.

come on! i wont get bored reading all you have to say! if i was worried about getting bored, or things being too long, i wouldn't have asked.

if it's about you getting bored, you can shorten it, right?

~*~thanks a bunch~*~

[Spirit_Gurl]

quote:Originally posted by Spirit_Gurl

my name is Tia. I am 13 4/12.
I dont believe in karma or enlightenment. i believe in reincarnation and God.

I have read throught these forums and found 2 things on the purpose of life. my question is different, however.


okay. how does my life matter? when I die and yaddayaddayadda, will my soul care? it's not because i effect others, because how do they mater? it's not an intertwining tapestry... how does anything matter? we're all gonna die anyway. who, in the long run, will care if i die tomorrow? how does it matter if I'm happy right now?

I'll always have another life to be happy in anyway.

thank you lots for your replies on this. I might get emmotional sometimes, but i try to be as fair as possible, and i will seriously think about each and every one of your beliefs, as long as it has nothing to do with karma because i don't think karma exists.

so please, tell me your thoughts on how our lives matter. how it will matter if we are happy now, when they'll always be another life to be happy in.....
so who cares about this one?

[cainam_nazier]

In my opinion.....A single person does not matter.  Neither would a group of a hundred.  What matters is what you do.  If you do nothing or make no attempts to do anything then what purpose would you have?  And who is to say that if you waste one life you will be given another to try again?  This just may be your last chance.  

What I mean by doing some thing is this.  You must make an impact in some form or another.  If you can go through your whole life and not effect even just one person then you have wasted your time here.  You do not have to effect the entire city, nation, or world, but just one person.  The effect that you have on that person is your choice.  You can decide to have a possitive or negative effect.  It is a matter of what you believe and what goals ae been set.

As far as happyness.  That will come from effecting others.  If you are happy then you know that you are spending your time here well.

[kakkarot]

when i said that it would take too long to write, i wasn't saying that because i thought it would take too long to read. i really do mean that it would take me a few days to write it, and i don't think that one post would hold it all. and i have a lot of schoolwork (which i really should be getting back to[B)]) to do for the next week.

well, i guess i could do a condensced version: "there is no point to life without God". and that's it.

~kakkarot

[jilola]

Why does your soul care?
Because you ARE your soul. There is no difference.

One lifetime in and of itself is not relevant or important. ONe lifetime as a step in the progression of several lifetimes experienced by th esame soul is as each experience is part of a lesson we must master on our way back to the unity of all. (God perhaps?)

As is obvious one banana split is yummy, ten thousand is living hell. Same goes for lives and lessons neglected. One life may be happy and sweet but the same over and over again gets a bit stale, huh?

Live, experience, learn and find existence beyond your wildest dreams.

2cents & L&L
jouni

[Fat_Turkey]

My belief is that we should all try to spiritually enhance ourselves as much as we can so that we can teach others to do the same when the time comes. I'm speaking of the year 2012, which most religions believe will be the Apocolypse, or "time of revealing." I believe that during this time the Astral shall fuse with the physical, and a great catastrophe will happen in which everybody will leave their physical vehicles and ascend to the Astral. All the spiritually enlightened ones will come together to form another higher being, possibly a god if there is enough, and we can teach others of our ways and make them all contribute to the one higher being of humanity.

Sorry, that was just a silly theory I thought of.

But whose to say that this life is not the last? You ARE your soul, so your soul would care. There is no difference. If you have a depressing life then you will drift endlessly in the afterlife as a lonely soul, haunting people. If you are happy you will become motivated to find a new life, or thats the way I see it.

My mind just went blank O.o

Bye
-FT

[Spirit_Gurl]

interesting, but like i said i dont believe in enlightenment, which means i dont believe in re connecting with god at the 'end' as a 'reward'.

but if I say... okay.
I effect someone. woopdidoo. how do they matter? because they effected someone? on and on? like a huge tapestry right, we're all interconnected? how does that interconnectedness matter? (interconnectedess?! is that a word!?) [V]

thanks for taking the time to reply...

but your saying that the only reason I exist is to effect others!?
[?]

[Tom]

While I am not suggesting that anyone convert to Buddhism, I do suggest studying it if only to compare with the religion you currently have. While it includes karma, reincarnation, and enlightenment it lacks some of the usual things found in religion: no soul and no God / Creator. Also, Buddha said nothing that anyone says should be taken on faith without being tested and experienced.

[Risu no Kairu]

Not really on topic but...

4/12 = 1/3

It's all about simplification.

[Spirit_Gurl]

simplification?


how do i expirience how my life matters?

[Tom]

What do you mean by references to how your life matters?

The version I know of to explain simplification is to evaluate what is important and to start letting go of what is not needed anymore.

[Spirit_Gurl]

quote:Originally posted by Tom

What do you mean by references to how your life matters?

The version I know of to explain simplification is to evaluate what is important and to start letting go of what is not needed anymore.

uh? references? it's my question! "how does my life matter?"

but how does simplification matter? this isnt helping. it's not how to live a happier life, it not how to find the answer, it's not tell me about different religions, it's "how does my life matter?"

how? who will care if i was happy in this life, when they'll always be another life to be happy in? i even have proof of reincarnation! and don't ask me what it is, i'll tell you when i have time. but in the long run, how will it matter that i tell you my proof? how the freak will i matter when im dead? how will everyone else matter? how will it matter that right now you guys are probably annoyed because of me? how will it matter that yesterday i went over to my friend's house? how will it matter that i die tomorrow, instead of next year, when we all die anyway? how will anything matter at all?
all i'm getting from you guys is that apparently my life as Tia is meaningless.
so what is it?
is it meaningless, or does it matter? and if it matters, how?

[Tom]

We all have to have a reason for living. My guess is that this is what you mean by that your life matters. For some people, their purpose in life is to make money and buy things. That is enough and they are happy. My purpose in life is to seek enlightenment as a Buddhist. If I did not have my religion I would have killed myself a long time ago. Clearly, after saying that you believe in future lives, it would be impossible to be satisfied with sex, food, shelter, clothes, decent health, and the other things that most people are satisfied with. You have also said that you do not believe in enlightenment (in any form?), so that cannot be your goal. Your purpose in life guides simplification, too. If you are wrapped up in several activities which do not contribute to your purpose, you might choose to remove them from your life. It is a popular new age thing to say that because you are alive and human you have enormous potential automatically and that you are loveable and so on. In Buddhism terms, you have the potential to be enlightened and to become a Buddha. A potential is not a purpose. What you need is a reason to live. A goal of some sort. That can provide the meaning you are looking for. It can take a long time to find that purpose, even when you study and meditate in the tradition of your choice. One Taoist text I read a long time ago said that if you live a good life and study and meditate then when you are sixty years old you might find your purpose in life. It is too early for you to give up. Even short term goals strengthen your ability to make decisions and carry out plans. You will need this.

[Spirit_Gurl]

but im not looking for the purpose. i believe i already know the purpose for all of us to be here on earth. i am just trying to figure out how we/I matter.

that's all im asking. how does my happiness matter. does it matter at all.


stop sidetracking the question. PLEASE just tell me if my happiness matters, and if it does, HOW?

besides. WHEN I AM DEAD, HOW WILL IT MATTER THAT I MADE GOOD DESCISIONS AND PLANS!?!?

[Tom]

It is not that I am trying to side-track any question. I honestly do not know what you mean by saying that anything or anyone matters. If you could put it into some sort of context, it would be easier to answer.

[Spirit_Gurl]

getting a good education matters because then you get a good job. a good job matters because you make a lot of money. making alot of money matters because you get to buy stuff. buying stuff matters because it makes you happy. being happy matters because ________.
(fill in the blank)

does that help?

[Tom]

Yes, that helps. It sounds like you are looking for a use for being happy. It is a condition involving more energy, better functioning of your internal organs, better social skills (no one wants to be around someone who is miserable all the time, but happy people have lots of friends), and it makes every goal that is worth accomplishing easier.

[Tom]

People are designed to seek pleasure and to avoid pain. The problem is that in many of the things we do to find pleasure, we cause more pain. Happiness is a good thing because it tends to lead toward better decisions than unhappiness does. There are cycles. You can do things to lead toward bettering your condition or you can fall into a cycle of making them worse. A healthy sense of seeking pleasure leads toward more happiness.

[Spirit_Gurl]

People are designed to seek pleasure and to avoid pain.
people.

The problem is that in many of the things we do to find pleasure, we cause more pain. Happiness is a good thing because it tends to lead toward better decisions than unhappiness does. There are cycles. You can do things to lead toward bettering your condition or you can fall into a cycle of making them worse. A healthy sense of seeking pleasure leads toward more happiness.


how does happiness matter?
I'm not just talking about happiness. im talking about everything. every single thing you can think of. will my soul care that i dyed my hair purple? when i will die my body will rot away. who cares if my hair was purpple. who cares if i was happy? when i die that happiness will be gone. maybe ill be happy in wherever i go, but it will be different. every single thing i did and every person i effected will be in the past. how will it matter then?

[Spirit_Gurl]

ps- when i die it wont matter that my inner organs functioned better. or will it? that's my question.

[Tom]

There will always be some level on which nothing matters. It is unavoidable. None of this is really real. If you are looking for meaning you can find it, but then if you jump up to a higher level that meaning will disappear. Happiness and unhappiness, good versus evil, and every other pair of opposites much be united. We are free to choose, however, which of a pair of opposites we want more of so long as we are not high up enough to see them as a unity.