英文原文
I have been ruminating about some existential questions...."what is purpose of life"...."is there a creator"..."what is the best work for a mortal to undertake in their lifetime"...."is suffering from unnecessary burden of study or job justified if they are not bringing satisfaction but are necessary for social survival"... etc, etc. In what sutta(s) has Blessed One talked about this matters? what solution Master gave to get out of this vicious cycle (referring to the vicious cycle of "ruminating about some existential questions.")which drains the energy?
The Buddha's Teachings say Life's Purpose and Existence is to perform good deeds. For example, Dhammapada 53 says: As from a great heap of flowers many garlands can be made, even so should many good deeds be done by one born a mortal. The Pali word literally translated as 'mortal' above is 'macca', meaning 'subject to death'. If good deeds are not done, what follows from (upapajjati) this waste of life is hell.
About not purposelessly wasting life, the Buddha said: Faith and ethical conduct are kinds of wealth, Saddhādhanaṁ sīladhanaṁ, as are conscience and prudence, hirī ottappiyaṁ dhanaṁ; learning and generosity, Sutadhanañca cāgo ca, and wisdom is the seventh kind of wealth. paññā ve sattamaṁ dhanaṁ. When a woman or man Yassa ete dhanā atthi, has these kinds of wealth, itthiyā purisassa vā; they’re said to be prosperous, Adaliddoti taṁ āhu, their life is not in vain [not wasted]. amoghaṁ tassa jīvitaṁ. So let the wise devote themselves Tasmā saddhañca sīlañca, to faith, ethical behavior, pasādaṁ dhammadassanaṁ; confidence, and insight into the teaching, Anuyuñjetha medhāvī, remembering the instructions of the Buddhas.” saraṁ buddhāna sāsanan”ti. AN 7.6
Listen as I am going to provide an answer which is woven by my own mind taking threads from here and there (from Buddha and Krishnamurti). But I found a solace into it. I am by no way a Blessed One,but there is a possibility(though scarce) of it happening in future, so till that auspicious day occur there is a need to be ready for it. Below are three great questions which are asked in question. * What is purpose/meaning of life ?, * Do I need to Suffer for survival?, * Best way to live?, This questions are called 'Existential Questions',they are like a fire, if controlled then can result into creation else can be fatal. Nitzche died of it!
The Sabbasava Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 2[11]) also mentions 16 questions which are seen as "unwise reflection" and lead to attachment to views relating to a self. Whoever speculates about these things would go mad & experience vexation -acintita sutta. Vaccha, [any of these views] is a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views. It is accompanied by suffering, distress, despair, & fever, and it does not lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation; to calm, direct knowledge, full Awakening, Unbinding -Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta. Therefore, o monks, do not brood over [any of these views] Such brooding, O monks, is senseless, has nothing to do with genuine pure conduct (s. ādibrahmacariyaka-sīla), does not lead to aversion, detachment, extinction, nor to peace, to full comprehension, enlightenment and Nibbāna, etc. - samyutta sutta.
But these should not be taken as permit to suppress this questions else they will catch you when you least expect them and break havoc. Better understand that Purpose or meaning is creation of mind,life is reality. Flowers don't have purpose nor do mountains yet they are alive and do exist in peace. Life has no purpose nor meaning but has beauty, why not experience it? This is called philosophy of Existential Nihilism. But accepting that life as whole is pointless brings great suffering hence Buddha straight away avoided talking on it,( But it was due to Compassion as I think ) for me I think it's perfectly ok to embrace 'Absurdism'.
Suffering is avoidable to some extent. In cognitive psychology it is well received that addictions are outcomes of brain creating pleasure hormones when receiving certain sensations. All suffering is result of attachment or Karma. At Savatthī. “Bhikkhus, I will teach you the origin and the passing away of suffering. Listen to that and attend closely, I will speak.” “Yes, venerable sir,” the bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this: “And what, bhikkhus, is the origin of suffering? In dependence on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling comes to be; with feeling as condition, craving. This is the origin of suffering.
“In dependence on the ear and sounds ... In dependence on the nose and odours ... In dependence on the tongue and tastes ... In dependence on the body and tactile objects ... In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling comes to be; with feeling as condition, craving. This is the origin of suffering. “And what, bhikkhus, is the passing away of suffering? In dependence on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling comes to be; with feeling as condition, craving. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving comes cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence; with the cessation of existence, cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. This is the passing away of suffering. “In dependence on the ear and sounds ... In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling comes to be; with feeling as condition, craving. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving comes cessation of clinging ... cessation of existence ... cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. This is the passing away of suffering.” -Dukkha Sutta.
The best way to live is embrace life fully, but with no attachment and meditation. The Noble Eightfold path should be followed but not by taking second hand meanings of original pali terms, I realise that each one should act independently without accepting any authority, hence what is 'samyak' for you should be found out by you yourself. At last everyone should find his own light, teachings of Masters like Buddha and Krishnamurti are just fingers pointing towards Truth you have to walk by yourself to reach there. “Truth is a pathless land. Man cannot come to it through any organization, through any creed, through any dogma, priest or ritual, not through any philosophical knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it through the mirror of relationship, through the understanding of the contents of his own mind, through observation and not through intellectual analysis or introspective dissection...” - J Krishnamurti.
中文翻译
我一直在反复思考一些存在主义问题……“生命的目的是什么”……“是否存在造物主”……“凡人一生中应该从事的最好工作是什么”……“如果学习和工作不能带来满足感，但又是社会生存所必需的，那么承受这些不必要的负担是否合理”……等等。世尊在哪些经文中谈论过这些问题？大师给出了什么解决方案来摆脱这种消耗能量的恶性循环（指“反复思考存在主义问题”的恶性循环）？
佛陀的教导说，生命的目的和存在是为了行善。例如，《法句经》第53偈说：正如从一大堆花中可以制作许多花环，一个出生为凡人的人也应该行许多善行。上面直译为“凡人”的巴利语是“macca”，意思是“受制于死亡”。如果不做善行，这种浪费生命的结果就是地狱。
关于不无目的地浪费生命，佛陀说：信仰和道德行为是财富，Saddhādhanaṁ sīladhanaṁ，良心和谨慎也是财富，hirī ottappiyaṁ dhanaṁ；学习和慷慨，Sutadhanañca cāgo ca，智慧是第七种财富。paññā ve sattamaṁ dhanaṁ。当一个女人或男人拥有这些财富时，Yassa ete dhanā atthi，itthiyā purisassa vā；他们被称为繁荣，Adaliddoti taṁ āhu，他们的生命没有白费[没有浪费]。amoghaṁ tassa jīvitaṁ。所以让智者致力于信仰和道德行为，Tasmā saddhañca sīlañca，pasādaṁ dhammadassanaṁ；信心和对教法的洞察，Anuyuñjetha medhāvī，记住佛陀的教导。” saraṁ buddhāna sāsanan”ti。AN 7.6
听我说，我将提供一个答案，这个答案是我用自己的思想编织的，从各处（从佛陀和克里希那穆提）汲取线索。但我从中找到了安慰。我绝不是一位世尊，但未来有可能（尽管稀少）发生，所以直到那个吉祥的日子到来，需要为此做好准备。以下是问题中提出的三个重大问题。* 生命的目的/意义是什么？* 我需要为生存而受苦吗？* 最好的生活方式是什么？这些问题被称为“存在主义问题”，它们就像火，如果控制得当，可以导致创造，否则可能是致命的。尼采就死于此！
《一切漏经》（中部尼柯耶2[11]）也提到了16个问题，这些被视为“不智的反思”，并导致对与自我相关的见解产生执着。谁推测这些事情就会发疯并经历烦恼 -acintita经。Vaccha，[任何这些见解]都是见解的丛林，见解的荒野，见解的扭曲，见解的扭动，见解的束缚。它伴随着痛苦、苦恼、绝望和狂热，并且不会导致厌离、离欲、止息；不会导致平静、直接知识、完全觉醒、解脱 -Aggi-Vacchagotta经。因此，比丘们，不要沉思[任何这些见解]这种沉思，比丘们，是无意义的，与真正的纯净行为无关，不会导致厌离、离欲、灭尽，也不会导致和平、完全理解、觉悟和涅槃等。 - samyutta经。
但这不应被视为允许压制这些问题，否则它们会在你最不期望的时候抓住你并造成破坏。最好理解目的或意义是心灵的创造，生命是现实。花没有目的，山也没有目的，但它们活着并和平地存在。生命没有目的也没有意义，但有美，为什么不体验它呢？这被称为存在虚无主义哲学。但接受生命整体是无意义的会带来巨大的痛苦，因此佛陀直接避免谈论它，（但我认为这是由于慈悲）对我来说，我认为完全接受“荒诞主义”是可以的。
痛苦在一定程度上是可以避免的。在认知心理学中，人们普遍接受成瘾是大脑在接收某些感觉时产生快乐荷尔蒙的结果。所有痛苦都是执着或业力的结果。在舍卫城。“比丘们，我将教导你们痛苦的起源和灭去。听好并密切注意，我将说。”“是的，尊者，”比丘们回答。世尊这样说：“比丘们，什么是痛苦的起源？依赖于眼和色，眼识生起。三者的结合是触。以触为条件，受生起；以受为条件，渴爱生起。这是痛苦的起源。
“依赖于耳和声……依赖于鼻和香……依赖于舌和味……依赖于身和触……依赖于意和法，意识生起。三者的结合是触。以触为条件，受生起；以受为条件，渴爱生起。这是痛苦的起源。“比丘们，什么是痛苦的灭去？依赖于眼和色，眼识生起。三者的结合是触。以触为条件，受生起；以受为条件，渴爱生起。但随着那同一种渴爱的完全消退和止息，执着的止息到来；随着执着的止息，存在的止息到来；随着存在的止息，出生的止息到来；随着出生的止息，老死、愁、悲、苦、忧、绝望止息。这就是这整个痛苦之聚的止息。这是痛苦的灭去。“依赖于耳和声……依赖于意和法，意识生起。三者的结合是触。以触为条件，受生起；以受为条件，渴爱生起。但随着那同一种渴爱的完全消退和止息，执着的止息到来……存在的止息……出生的止息；随着出生的止息，老死、愁、悲、苦、忧、绝望止息。这就是这整个痛苦之聚的止息。这是痛苦的灭去。” -Dukkha经。
最好的生活方式是充分拥抱生活，但没有执着和冥想。应该遵循八正道，但不是通过接受原始巴利语术语的二手含义，我意识到每个人都应该独立行动，不接受任何权威，因此什么是“正”应该由你自己发现。最后每个人都应该找到自己的光，像佛陀和克里希那穆提这样的大师的教导只是指向真理的手指，你必须自己走到那里。“真理是无路之国。人不能通过任何组织、任何信条、任何教条、祭司或仪式，也不能通过任何哲学知识或心理技术来到达它。他必须通过关系的镜子，通过理解自己心灵的内容，通过观察而不是通过智力分析或内省剖析来找到它……” - J·克里希那穆提。
文章概要
本文探讨了佛陀关于生命目的和存在的教导，特别关注如何应对中年时期的存在主义问题。文章从佛教经典中引用了相关经文，如《法句经》和《增支部》，强调生命的意义在于行善和积累七种财富（信仰、道德、良心、谨慎、学习、慷慨、智慧）。同时，文章讨论了存在主义问题（如生命目的、生存痛苦、最佳生活方式）的危险性，指出过度思考这些问题可能导致执着和痛苦。佛陀教导痛苦的起源在于感官接触引发的渴爱，而通过消除渴爱可以止息痛苦。文章建议通过拥抱生活、无执着、冥想和遵循八正道来找到个人真理，最终强调每个人需要自己发现光明，大师的教导只是指向真理的指引。
高德明老师的评价
1. 用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容
这篇文章就像在说，当我们长大到中年时，有时候会想很多大问题，比如“我为什么活着？”“我每天辛苦工作有意义吗？”佛陀告诉我们，生命就像一朵花，我们可以用它来做很多美好的事情，比如帮助别人、学习新东西、做个善良的人。如果我们整天只想这些问题而不行动，就会像掉进一个黑洞里，越来越累。所以，最好的办法是行动起来，做好事，同时学习智慧，这样生活就不会白过啦！
2. 佛学的各个宗派视角评价，突出《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角
从佛学宗派视角看，这篇文章触及了显宗和大乘佛教的核心教义。显宗强调通过经典学习和道德实践来积累福德资粮，正如文中引用的《法句经》和《增支部》所示，这符合显宗“诸恶莫作，众善奉行”的修行基础。大乘佛教则进一步强调菩提心和利他行，将生命目的提升为成就佛果以利益一切众生。
特别从《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角，这篇文章展现了显密圆融的智慧。该经典主张显教与密教相辅相成，显教为体，密教为用。文中提到的“七种财富”可视为显教的福德积累，而“拥抱生活、无执着、冥想”则暗合密教即身成佛的实践。准提法作为显密圆通的典范，在此视角下尤为突出——它结合了显宗的持戒修善和密宗的观想咒语，为修行者提供了一条直接应对存在主义困境的捷径。准提法的优点在于其简易性和普适性，通过持诵准提咒和观想，修行者能迅速净化业障、增长智慧，从而在中年危机中找到内心的安定和方向，这正是显密圆通精神的体现。
3. 在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题
在修行实践上，这篇文章提供的教导可以应用于解决人们的以下十个问题：
（1）解决“生命无意义感”：通过行善和积累七种财富，赋予生活具体目标和价值感。
（2）缓解“存在主义焦虑”：减少对抽象问题的过度思考，转向实际行动和冥想，打破恶性循环。
（3）应对“中年危机”：拥抱生活的同时保持无执着，平衡责任与内心平静。
（4）减轻“工作压力”：理解痛苦源于渴爱，通过正念减少对工作结果的过度执着。
（5）改善“人际关系”：培养慷慨和良心，提升社交质量。
（6）提升“学习动力”：将学习视为财富积累，增强持续成长的动力。
（7）克服“恐惧死亡”：通过智慧洞察生命无常，减少对死亡的恐惧。
（8）增强“自信心”：通过信仰和道德行为建立内在稳固性。
（9）培养“感恩心态”：体验生命之美，减少抱怨和不满。
（10）实现“心灵自由”：遵循八正道，逐步解脱束缚，达到内心自在。
准提法在这些应用中尤为有效，其咒语持诵和观想能快速净化心念，直接对治存在主义困惑，帮助修行者在日常生活中保持觉知和慈悲，这正是大乘佛教自利利他精神的完美展现。