The meaning of life Essay Example for Free

The subject matter of invigoration EssayDuring our brief beat, go around on this ball(a) of rock, dust and water, there argon uncertaintys that haunt almost every person on Earth. Why be we here? What is our purpose? And, what is the pith of our life? These questions have been rattling around in great minds since the beginning of history, and impart put out on until mankinds eventual extinction. Many plurality have pondered the relevance of their lives, exactly finding the true meaning is knowledge that is reserved only for God. though these questions may never truly be answered, numerous philosophers, authors, academics and holy men have given this question their full attending.I will explore two of these great minds, compare their philosophies, and try my best to excuse my own lifes doctrine. His Holiness the 14th Dalai genus genus Lama The first man we will talk over is a world-renowned get byr of peace and gaiety he has had a major motion picture do his life and its exploits, and is existently still alive to this day. His name is Tenzin Gyatso, otherwisewise known as His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The movement I chose the Dalai Lama, is because of the trials and difficulties he has endured. The Chinese forced him into exile from his home in Tibet to India because of his beliefs about peace.His strengths are estim qualified and he won the Nobel Peace Prize for attempting to free the Tibetan people from Chinese rule without military unit (The part of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, n. d. ). The Dalai Lamas supposition on the meaning of life stems from Buddhist religion and I will do my best to convey this wisdom in my own words. According to the Dalai Lamas ism on the purpose of life (n. d. ) the purpose of life is to be happy (The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama). That seems simple enough, right? That assertment is essentially the very beginning of his writings on the meaning of life.He continues on to elaborate on how this s eemingly easy task can be accomplished, and how champion can attain a life of meaning through felicitousness. The way that I interpreted his teachings is that, at every human bes core, we are all after unitary thing, and that is retire. Love is something we require from a very young age and that lifes meaning is derived from love and the acts of love that we all give and receive in our day-to-day lives. I also suppose that the Dalai Lama s meaning of life teaches individuals to be dependent by nature, and that our relationships with those whom we associate ourselves are generally based on love (The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, n. d. ).His Holiness believes that we gain our lifes purpose from our interpersonal relationships. These relationships can be our colleagues at race, teachers and fellow students at school. The Dalai Lama believes that our primary ambition in all of these relationships is to earn love. For example, at work we all strive to do our best in valu e to earn more(prenominal) m superstary. However, for many of us, it is not the money we are after, but the esteem from our superiors and subordinates for a job well done.We want to sprightliness valuable to that company, feel an importance, a cog within the great machine. I believe that deep mass these feelings stem from our inborn need to be loved. While love is a fundamental part of the Dalai Lamas philosophy, he also speaks of the role kindness plays in our lives. The Dalai Lama teaches that lifes meaning can be attained through true compassion, which should be derived from reason, not emotions, and that it should never waiver regardless of whether a person is being negative or positive toward you (The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, n. d).Aristotle The second philosopher we will discuss is one of the most notable to take out of the Ancient Greek Empire, Aristotle. Aristotle is to the day one of the most globally recognized philosophers, and was a student of Plato a nd teacher to Alexander the Great. I chose the philosopher Aristotle because his ethical beliefs are redeeming(prenominal) ones to live by in order to obtain the meaning of life. His studies give off the imprint that he knows the answer to the question, why? I was unfamiliar with his direct philosophies, but my research allowed the ability to render his point of view.Aristotles works focus primarily on theoretical, practical and productive sciences. He identifies the highest good with intellectual virtue that is, a moral person is one who cultivates certain virtues based on reason ( lucre Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005). He was extremely knowledgeable and able to absorb enough of an brain of these sciences to be able to interpret how life worked in a way to achieve enjoyment. Using his theories of practical science, Aristotle was able to wee-wee explanations relating to the actions and conducts of individuals within society (Cohen, 2008).He could easily comprehend how socie ty clicked and how the individuals within society adapted. Productive sciences are those relating to the crafts of individuals, what they produce, and how they have evolved. By using the basis of these three sciences, Aristotle was able to establish a sense of morality and rules of logic. He educated individuals throughout society to spread his beliefs and his understandings of the way of life. Aristotle used many factors when coming to an understanding about the philosophy of life.His main philosophy pertains to living one with nature and relating to society by expert being happy. He compares being happy to being Godlike however, happiness is not honest being happy, but instead living a life that teaches you to be happy by living morally (Aristotle, 350 B. C. E). Aristotle understood the meaning of life and would live and teach with that understanding. The choices individuals would make pertain to the ultimate goal of achieving actual happiness. This happiness triggers an unkno wn pleasure within an individual and essentially becomes a desire and drives one to guard that happiness.With his education of theoretical, practical and physical sciences, Aristotle was able to make sense of it all. His beliefs of obtaining happiness were collected together by using knowledge and unpolluted goodness. He felt as if knowledge, like happiness, needed to be in condition(p) through education and life get it on. Aristotle believed that, there is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses, meaning that our knowledge is mainly absorbed through our conveys (Turner, 1907).To Aristotle, happiness cannot just be found one has to be able to live their lives in a virtuous way to obtain honor and the great good. Individuals need to understand what the reality of what happiness is and how to be a rational being in order to obtain it (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005). His meanings and interpretations have made a significant influence to many and still continue to influence and educate. Both, the Dalai Lama and Aristotle share similar feelings relating to their philosophies of life.The main objective for the both of them is essentially to obtain pure happiness through compassion and pleasure. The Dalai Lama strives to use love and peace to reach this goal, where on the other hand, Aristotle uses virtue and knowledge. They imply to live a life that one would be proud of, taking the trials that life gives to you and turning them into an experience and strive towards happiness and love. My Philosophy My own lifes philosophy is in all likelihood pretty cliche, but I firmly believe that if something makes you happy, do more of it, and that one must work to live and not live to work.I believe that if all you do is work then you cast out on all of the things the world has to offer outside of whatever structured work surroundings you may be a part of. That is not to say that some people do not love their work and that for them their work is their purpose. I think that is what everyone should strive for, but I believe that one time work takes precedence over your family, your friends, and most of all your happiness, then it threatens all youre working for. I have seen this in too many career soldiers, and unfortunately, myself.I can admit that my steadfast attention on work during my last deployment was without a doubt, a contributing factor in a failed relationship. Since that time in my life, I have become determined not to let that happen again, and to let happiness be my purpose in life. Earlier I said that if something makes you happy, do more of it. This means that if you love to sing, but cant carry a tune, then sing. If you love to work on cars, but cant find the time, make time. For me, it is making people laugh, I love to do it, and so I will Life is cruelly short, so lets all find just a little time to do what makes us happy.In comparison with the Dalai Lama, I feel that my philosophy is quite simila r. We both feel that lifes meaning is directly derived from happiness. He feels that we gain this happiness from love and those that surround us, while I feel that we have additional happiness to gain in life if we could just find the time to do the things that make us happy. I feel that my philosophy differs from his in the area of work. I believe that you must work to live and that your work should not come before those you love, yourself or whatever it is you work for.As for Aristotles philosophy and my own, I believe that his theory on using virtue and honor to obtain happiness is very accurate. I too believe that living a life filled with honor can lead to a sense of conceit that is able to coincide with being happy. I also support his opinion on happiness principal to pleasure. Being happy is like an addiction and the more happiness that you attain, the more that you strive for. However, Aristotle also believes that happiness corresponds to making decisions backed by knowled ge and experience.I somewhat disagree and believe that life experience does not necessarily have to be a main factor pertained to happiness. If you want to be happy, then just be, and live your life honestly and virtuously. The main things that I have learned from the teachings of the Dalai Lama that I would like to apply to my own life, is that happiness is the meaning of our lifes and that we should show patience and compassion towards everyone no matter what. If even 25% of the world could manage that, we would not be in the state of constant war weve been in for the past decade.I would also like to take away his cogency for love, I think his philosophy of life involving love is inspiring and makes me want to live a more peaceful, loving life. Aristotle on the other hand, has taught me to be more open-minded to knowledge and experience. To take in an experience as a lesson learned instead of just another day on the calendar and to just appreciate every moment, good or bad, and u se it to the best of your advantage. References Aristotle. (350 B. C. E). Nicomachean ethics. Trans. W. D. Ross. Retrieved from http//classics. mit. edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen. 1. i. html Cohen, M.(2008). Aristotle. Retrieved from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy http//plato. stanford. edu/entries/aristotle/ Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2005). Aristotle (384322 BCE). Retrieved from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy http//www. iep. utm. edu/aristotl/ The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama (n. d. ). A brief aliveness. Retrieved from http//www. dalailama. com/biography/a-brief-biography Turner, W. (1907). Aristotle. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved April 17, 2012 from New Advent http//www. newadvent. org/cathen/01713a. htm.