Narayan was asked to respond to this question from the Excellence Reporter website. She wrote it just weeks before the current coronavirus crisis.
A friend once had an awakening experience and went to a master to ask whether this experience meant he was now enlightened. The master asked my friend: “Do you have complete confidence in the indestructible nature of your heart?” This is such a lovely and essential question, especially now, in our increasingly fragile world. In the fact of the possible extinction of our species, the question is ever more poignant.
The meaning of life is to know the heart free from its torments. We are here to awaken out of the trance of self-preoccupation. We are learning to release attachment to forms (limited and conditioned) and thus let go into the formless (measureless and unconditioned). Out of emptiness or formlessness, we learn to love ever more completely, leaving no one and nothing out. The authentic expression of formlessness and non-preoccupation is unconditional love.
The reason we are alive is to release and transform greed, hatred, and delusion into generosity, love, and wisdom. We find great meaning in our efforts to alleviate suffering within ourselves and in one another. Our efforts lead to wise view and a path to liberation.
One of this life’s great mysteries is not knowing what the future will bring. In this very next moment, conditions can arise or pass away. What a remarkable and wondrous situation! But how are we to find meaning when this moment is the only dependable one? What are we to live for, if not for something in the future? If there is no future, what then? We are here now, alive right now. How are we living in this moment? How do we thrive and live with creativity and curiosity, extending compassion to all beings everywhere? Do we have the courage to love when we know all will be lost?
Along with asking what the meaning of life is, we ask how to live and how to die. The answer is that we must really live, rather than having a pseudo-life spent lost in mental concoctions. If we are awake and aware, each moment has meaning, and the sacred is always beckoning.
As Master Sheng-yen’s death grew near, he wrote: “Although this universe may someday perish, my vows are eternal.” Because he was dedicated to exploring the dharma, what he meant by his “vows” was living a life dedicated to wisdom and compassion. Just so, our vows, our dedication to the dharma, is our meaning. And in living accordingly, we know an unquenchable joy.