What’s our purpose?

We’ve been considering the Buddha’s teachings on how to live ethically and harmoniously in community. Each of us must decide for ourselves how to make use of those teachings. If we think generally about the precepts (non-harming, generosity, ethical sensual behavior, truthfulness, and sobriety) and the perfections (giving, virtue, patience, energy, concentration, and wisdom) do any of them seem to be well established in our lives? If yes, we can build on the strength of character already present in us and use it to sustain further growth in wholesome directions. It’s important to be aware of where our strengths lie and not undervalue them; these characteristics are more precious than any material possession.

If we think broadly about community and our place in it, the question comes, how do we affect others? Kamma dictates that whether we intend it or not, our actions influence all around us and all who hear of us. We can’t know the full extent of our influence, but we can be conscious of the fact that we are always exercising it.

George Bernard Shaw: “I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatsoever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no ‘brief candle’ for me. It is a sort of splendid torch, which I have got hold of for the moment; and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

The above quote from George Bernard Shaw is not out of place among the Buddha’s teachings. This very life that we now embody, this is our chance, our opportunity to make a difference for ourselves and others. It incorporates the concept of spiritual urgency (saṃvega) that the Buddha often cited.

Thanissaro Bhikkhu: Saṃvega was what the young Prince Siddhartha [the Buddha to be] felt on his first exposure to aging, illness, and death. It’s a hard word to translate because it covers such a complex range — at least three clusters of feelings at once: the oppressive sense of shock, dismay, and alienation that come with realizing the futility and meaninglessness of life as it’s normally lived; a chastening sense of our own complacency and foolishness in having let ourselves live so blindly; and an anxious sense of urgency in trying to find a way out of the meaningless cycle. …  (from https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/affirming.html)

For many of us, saṃvega presents as a general confusion or distress because we’re not sure what we should be doing, what our purpose in life is. A complete answer may not be readily accessible, but we can have confidence that if we commit to developing the qualities the Buddha emphasized in his teachings, we will at least be going in a right direction.