What is the point of living anymore? What is the purpose of life? Many of us might have asked this question and came by many similar “theories” by the people you already searched and known of. It’s time for a change, let’s see what Taoism have to say about life and why you should keep living or you should just die instead?
A Story
There was once a world, it already has everything to start with, and a flash of light, there goes some people and living beings. Everyone is confused about what to do, so they look around and figure things out. Some people realized they are more powerful in terms of physical strength, they started helping others who are weaker – such as to carry big things or building shelters. Some are smart, they invented new things like tools and shelters, because there are tons of things that hit them like rain and wind. People are not really knowing what to do, but all they know is to survive. Nature is teaching them what to do already, nature does it by giving them problems, hurdles, and so that they can find the counter-force to deal with them. Shelters for rain, build walls to block winds etc. Eventually the place started to grow into a village, and then a city, and then a country. There goes life.
What is Your Purpose in Life?
First of all, what is the problems you are facing now? Everyone must have some problems or issues, and facing these is already your purpose of life here. Nature give you hurdles to polish you into a useful person, giving you lessons for you to learn and grow from the lessons. That’s basically why we are here. We are here to learn, to accumulate experience and wisdom, to get stronger and smarter, to prepare ourselves for the journey after this one – after death.
There are many things waiting for you when you die, such as spiritual bullies and tyrants, which we call evil spirits, who want a piece of you so bad. How can you know they are true? Well, we deal with them all the time and use our Taoist magic to fight them. We witness it all the time, how can we not know? The fact is, we can even travel into their world and see them, we are just here to tell you the truth that these things exist, and don't be a fool and let them take over you!
You are born here like a warrior, you need to defend yourself, you need to protect your family, you need to fight on and not let the other evil things out there get you, or your family.
What if I Give Up?
No worry, nature can allow you to “give up” and die, you just take a knife or something sharp and then stab yourself until you die, good luck and enjoy the pain. What’s even worst?
Imagine we call this world “room B”, and we came from “room A”, after room B is done, we die and move to room C. If you suicide, you get back to room A and start over. You did not even “stop” or “quit”, you just moved backward and start over the previous level of the game, how stupid.
We are born here to witness one power of nature that you cannot fight against, and that is “time”. Time flows forward and everything moves and happen as time goes forward. Once you decided to not “keep moving forward”, then you got left behind, since everything else start aging and moving forward and you don’t keep up with them.
Living on and fighting strong is going to the right side of the timeline, anything ELSE (like dying) is choosing to go to the left side. It’s just that simple. You think dying is quitting, but you are wrong, you will just go back to where you came from, and deal with the issues you once had to deal with in that life, that world, again.
Living a Life is Not About Happiness
Living ins not about just being happy, we have to also go through the up and downs to learn our lesson. It is definitely not about “freedom” or being “compassionate” etc. Living a life is about preparing for our next journey, the journey after death.
Being a Taoist, we know our journey’s destination is going to Dai Law Tin, our own heaven of Taoism. In order to get there, you need to prepare yourself and do your best in learning and cultivating here before you die!
Why do you want to go to this heaven? Because you can have a better life there, that’s all. Who doesn’t want a better life that is protected, secured and not one can bully you around? However, to start this journey and cultivation, you need to ordain to become a Taoist first.
Maybe let’s not set the goal so far ahead, maybe let’s just say your purpose of life NOW is to learn and witness the Taoist magic here, to fulfill your curiosity and see how things work in this path. Let’s try something new, something you have not tried yet.
