The meaning of life
Last night a TV programme featured ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) kids. A teenage boy said he thinks the meaning of life is to find the meaning of life. Once the answer is found, life will become meaningless, he concluded. If that's really what he thinks about life, his idea is very religious (Buddhism)inclined. Isn't that very close to the idea of Nirvana?I used to spend quite a lot of time pondering upon the same question. And I came up with a thought that the idea of reincarnation was indeed possible. By reincarnation I don't mean the religious-coloured version of the punishment and reward system, but I mean the nature law that governs the whole universe. In "A Short History of Nearly Everything", Bill Bryson talks about reincarnation from science point of view:
"Every atom a human possesses has almost certainly passed through several stars and been part of millions of organisms on its way to becoming you. We are each so atomically numerous and so vigorously recycled at death that a significant number of our atoms probably once belonged to Shakespeare. A billion more each came from Buddha and Genghis Khan and Beethoven, and any other historical figure you care to name. (The personages have to be historical, apparently, as it takes the atoms some decades to become thoroughly redistributed....).
Oh, sorry to have gone a bit astray. My point is this sort of topics are interesting but too enigmatic. I hope the boy wouldn't be committed to dwelling on this question for too long. Because my own experience tells me that there's no such thing as "The meaning of life". What we should care learning in our life is in fact the art of living. 林語堂 <生活的藝術> is a book full of wisdom and worth reading, although his language is a bit awkward by comtemporary standards.
posted by May @ 3:45 PM
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