meaning of life, anyone?

[cordis]

Originally Posted by Mark Lapierre

Sorry I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. It seems as if you're agreeing with me, i.e., matter first exists outside your body, therefore 'not you', then it exists, the same matter, inside your body, therefore 'you'.

I guess it depends on your perception of time.

[QUOTE]"...past, present and future are only illusions, however persistent." ---Albert Einstein[/QUOTE]

"...the general view today of scientifically minded philosophers concerning temporal passage is that it is a subjective illusion."
Quoted by permission from A Model of the Universe by Professor Storrs McCall. (Bibliographic Note: "A Model of the Universe," ©by Professor Storrs McCall, of the philosophy faculty, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; published by Oxford University Press, New York, 1994; paperback, 1996.) source; New Analysis of Time

However you choose to interpret this existance (life on earth) has everything to do with the way any statement is perceived. It is generally agreed that the entire universe is composed energy in it's many forms. Human thought is a form of energy, that has and can be measured.

So if you accept the theory that time is just an illusion and really the universe is just made up of infinite seperate 'instants', or different configurations of the Universe.

Then time being illusory and the universe being nothing but a series of separate "instants," is like frames in a movie, they appear to have motion only when viewed through a projector when in fact they are all just motionless complete and seperate frames. Everything we call "the past" is, literally, nothing but present memories. Likewise, everything we call "the future" is nothing but present memories inverted, or rearranged, to form a prediction or expectation. The appearance of "time" is little more than a trick of memory, as the Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower Ornament Scripture) says. You can easily discern this for yourself: simply figure out what it is you consider "the past" and "the future." You will discover that it is nothing but thoughts--nothing but memories, nothing but expectations, nothing but mental commentary. It's "all in your head," so to speak. There's really no such thing as time. There is really only Now--an eternally present Present with no beginning and no ending. Everything is completely new, distinct, and original every instant, with no real "change" or "motion" at all. The mystic-philosopher Heraclitus, explaining this point, said, "A man cannot step in the same river twice."

Zen Buddhism, in particular, stresses this very significant insight. Here's the Sixth Patriarch, Ch'an Master Hui-neng:

"In this moment there is nothing that comes to be. In this moment there is nothing that ceases to be. Thus there is no birth-and-death to be brought to an end. Thus the absolute peace in this present moment. Though it is at this moment, there is no limit to this moment, and herein lies eternal delight."

Enlightenment is remembering.

And I believe we have digressed from the original spirit of this thread where Joe asked

Originally Posted by joethejoeguy

I have been stuck this question for quite some time now...


as far as i can tell, after you die there is nothing. this seems the most logical explanation to me. if this is true then there is no point to living, considering that everyone will eventually end up as one big ball of nothingness.


anyways, what are your thoughts?

[beautyscientist]

Life is the result of the development of replication. It is an amazing story and well worth getting to grips with.

[Mark Lapierre]

Originally Posted by cordis

And I believe we have digressed from the original spirit of this thread where Joe asked...

Yup, true. I've started a new thread to continue the discussion.