The Purpose Of Life Is Life Itself

When was the last time you did something just for the joy of it? Or not even for the joy, but just because?

Doing things for the benefits

I’ve noticed we do so many things for the benefits that are supposed to come with doing it. For instance, some people run because they want to lose weight or because they think running is good for health. Same with eating healthy. How many people drink green smoothie just because they love the taste and the feeling within them when they drink it? How many people run just because?

And many of us work to get the paychecks and the benefits, not because they like what they do.

This way of living is so ingrained in our mindset that we hardly stop and question it. And we constantly compare and evaluate things and people for the benefits they are supposed to bring.

Even enlightenment

Some people even approach enlightenment for the supposed benefits of it, like bliss (or the right to boast about their spiritual development).

This is absurd. At least when you define enlightenment as clear seeing, as seeing and accepting things as they are. How can this kind of clear seeing prevent people from having so-called negative emotions such as anger or sorrow? Judging something as “negative” is the very thing that left with enlightenment.

Of course, events that bother us keep happening with or without enlightenment. I mean, if it’s something that is caused by your judgments and distorted worldview, then you won’t have that any more with enlightenment. But enlightenment doesn’t prevent your spouse to cheat. Your kids may still get into trouble. Your loved one might die. And you yourself will still do silly things, small or large.

The only difference is, with enlightenment, you are kinda “okay” with everything. It’s a feeling that is hard to nail down with words. How can a spouse cheating on you is okay? Because you quit judging something as good or bad. So you recognize the event as “it just is”. He (or she) did such and such. That is what is happening, and you don’t repress your feelings nor attach stories around it, like “I should have been nicer to him,’” or “He is such a jerk, I wasted my time with him” or “Cheating is morally wrong.”

It just is. Period.

What’s wrong with the benefits?

Enough about enlightenment. As I wrote in the linked article, I don’t particularly like discussing enlightenment because there are way too many misbeliefs and (ironically) ego investment there. (Like, who is more enlightened, or what is the best way to get enlightened, kind of discussions.)

My point is we are so conditioned to seek benefits in all areas of our life that even enlightenment has become the means to an end.

And what’s wrong with the benefits, you may ask? Nothing is wrong with benefits themselves or receiving benefits. The problem is our attitude, or the mindset, of doing things as a way to get benefits.

Here are some of the issues when you live to get benefits:

1. We devalue the life experience
When we do things as a way to get benefits, we devalue the experience itself. When you run for the benefits of weight loss, the experience of running is devalued. You see it as a means to an end. It could really be any other form of exercise, and your heart is not in it.

When you work for the paychecks and benefits, you devalue your work. The work experience, in such a case, doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t have to be that job.

2. We forget the love for the experience
And when you devalue your life experience, you forget the love you may have had for it. It’s possible you actually love running — but got so overwhelmed with all the information of the various benefits of running that now you see running as a means to the end.

When you forget (or never had) the love for the doing, life’s unique experiences are treated like commodities, something you can comparison shop or trade.

3. We devalue the Now
And what do you plan to do with all the benefits you collect? See, when you live this way, your attention is not in the Now but in some future time. When we are focused on getting benefits, we devalue the Now and live in our mind, the fantasy land of the future.

4. The benefits may be a lie anyway
And, of course, in many cases, we don’t receive the benefits anyway. Many benefits are only mind constructs or sales strategies.

The purpose of life

It’s time we realize the unhappy nature of this approach. Do things, anything, just because. Quit doing things for the benefits.

This brings us back to the experience of doing, in the Now. For the sake of experience itself. And when you do that, you notice a simple truth: Life’s purpose is life itself.

It’s so simple and self-evident. Life is not a means to an end. The “end” includes some nice-sounding “purpose”. Nay, the meaning of life is living it. I’m afraid so many people are in the search of life purpose because they think it comes with nice benefits. Turn around — what you have been looking for is right here.

Life’s purpose is life itself. In other words, life’s purpose is Now. Whatever you are doing. Whatever you are experiencing.

Why I am writing this

So you know why I am writing this blog? Because I love writing and sharing. If I am not blogging, I am writing basically the same things in my journal. That’s fine, but I also like sharing. It’s fun to get some feedback.

But if reading is not your thing, please feel free to close the computer. I don’t say this in a mean way. I myself have reduced the amount of time I spend on reading blogs and books these days. I still like reading, but I like doing other things, too. I want to read only when I feel like reading, and read only what I enjoy reading.

Enjoy your life today. Live just because.
(Photo Credit)

The Second Step Of Self Realization

Have you ever wondered why each of us is unique? I mean, there are so many of us, with different appearance, background, each with unique way of thinking, feeling, and acting. Why do we need such a wide diversity, or is this some kind of error by God?

There are two levels of existence. One is the realm of absolute and the other is the realm of relativity. I think it’s helpful to be very clear about this and not to confuse the two. Yes, you exist in each of the two realms, whether you have noticed or not.

The realm of absolute

Nondualism often discusses this realm of absolute. In the realm of absolute, we are all One. There is only one existence ever, often called the Self. Some other ways to call this single existence include: the one Life, God, All That Is.

I am the Self. You are the Self. We are not just related or connected, we are essentially One.

In the realm of absolute, everything is just is. What is not doesn’t exist. Not even time and space. I mean, can you possibly imagine time when there is only one being there, containing everything in it? How do you define space in such a realm?

The realm of relativity

The realm of relativity is the world we are familiar with. Here, things and people appear to be separate. As separate beings, we assume individual uniqueness. It’s a dynamic world where things appear to change (therefore the recognition of time) and be separate (recognition of space).

Some “spiritual” people condemn this realm of relativity, saying things like, “Oh, this is only an illusion.” If I ever sounded this way, too, I apologize. The realm of relativity is wonderful. Yes, it is indeed a type of illusion, or a virtual reality simulation game or a dream or an experiment, but it exists for a good purpose.

Without individual differences, how can you possibly realize who you are? Let me illustrate this with an example. I guess I am petite as an adult human. But this realization is possible only when I compare myself with other humans. Well, perhaps the realization of my size is not that important, but how about the realization of love? How do I know if I am a loving being or not without other beings? How do I know the qualities or aspects of my love without actually loving another person or thing?

So the realm of relativity exists for a very good reason. We are meant to explore this dynamic, vivid realm.

Dualism in the realm of relativity

The problem of the realm of relativity is that we have many false beliefs about it. The biggest misbelief is dualism.

Yes, there is a wide range of various diversities in this realm of relativity. Let’s get back to the issue of size. There are people of various heights. The difference is continuous, forming a spectrum. But we tend to categorize people into two groups, tall and short, by setting up an arbitrary point of standard.

Now this is okay if we know what we are doing, like for a practical purpose of manufacturing clothes. But this way of seeing a continual spectrum of a feature in dualistic manner is now so ingrained in our mindset that many of us think there are actually tall people and short people (or, maybe the middle range people, too).

Even worse, we have extended this dualistic way of seeing this world to things we cannot measure. So now we think there are beauty vs ugliness, love vs hate, light vs darkness, truth vs untruth — essentially, what is vs what is not.

Surprise! Whereas there is only what is in the realm of absolute, we think there is also what is not in the realm of relativity.

The rise of judgment and fear

This dualistic view, that “what is not” can actually exist, have caused us to be judgmental and fearful. Of course, right? If you believe one choice can make you a success while another choice can make you a loser, why wouldn’t you use all your wits to figure out which choice is the better choice? And how can you not be afraid in such a cruel worldview?

This rise of judgment and fear, however, is so ironical because the very reason we have manifested this dynamic realm of relativity was to explore love.

The One being in the realm of absolute is love itself. It knows nothing but love. Everything is within itself, so how can it know anything but love? The awareness of the One Self is love.

But the Self wishes to learn love in a more tangible way. So it has split into many pieces, forming this realm of relativity — also called the field of experience or the field of expression.

And by doing so, it has also created the perception of non-love.

Self-inquiry and Self-exploration

I intuitively knew these two levels of existence, and before I wrote articles describing how the Source had formed Higher Selves and souls. But it wasn’t until I worked on my Self-inquiry I got really clear about these two realms.

Because we exist in these two realms, the Self-realization process is also a two-step process. The first is the Self-inquiry, as I wrote in the linked article. Keep asking yourself, “Who am I?” If you don’t settle with the easy answers (like your name, role, personality, etc) nor the nice-sounding answers that the mind creates, eventually, you will arrive at the point of “I don’t know.” I mean, do it for yourself rather than just reading my words.

That “I don’t know — I am aware I am here, but I cannot describe who I am” is the realization of oneself in the realm of absolute. You notice this realm that underlies the world we have known.

However, Self-realization doesn’t stop there. The second step is to consciously explore yourself in this realm of relativity. In a sense, that is what you have been doing all your life, but now you are doing it consciously.

I am essentially the One Life. And now, I am aware I am incarnated as me — Akemi. From this specific perspective, with this incarnation’s unique path and features, how do I experience myself?

And the answers to this question can be realized only through experiences, through experiencing other people and things. So I need to get out of my meditation room and interact with the world.

Nondualism

It’s really good to know I am One and One with all others, that appear to be separate from me. But life doesn’t end there.

I am very glad I have come to this realization. Now life, with all its interesting twists, is so much more meaningful. I am inspired to “do” so much more.

What the ancient sages said about these two realms

The idea that there are two levels of existence is not my original. About 2600 years ago in ancient China, Lao-tsu wrote Tao Te Ching. Here is the first chapter:

The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.

(Note: Here, the word “darkness” is not used with negative connotation. It indicates the condition before the manifestations. There are many English translations of Tao Te Ching, but I think this one by Stephen Mitchell is the best.)

And here is a quote by Rumi, which is perfect to conclude this article:

“If a spiritual explanation alone were sufficient, the creation of the world would have been vain and pointless.” ~ Rumi

(Photo credit)

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