In this thirty-fifth installment of the ongoing live series with Wendy Nash inquiring into meditation practice on and off the cushion we delve into this question from user “xXHishamXx” we received at the end of last month’s session: “Is There An Objective Purpose In Life?” including relevance to meditation practice.
My short answer is answering it with what the Buddha taught: dukkha and the end of dukkha or suffering and the end of suffering.
We also mention neighborhood apps and community engagement; give existential reflections that include Buddhist principles and personal anecdotes; the role of ego; the importance of community and belonging vs individualism; cultural sensitivity in service (especially regarding indigenous communities); how meditation fosters clarity, kindness, and skillful intentions; we caution against unskillful motivations like revenge or the “drama triangle” while emphasizing relationality, humility, and learning as pathways to meaning. We end inviting consideration that life’s purpose can be reflected upon in this very existence and in our relational interactions.
I forgot to mention a few things like the potential dangers of gamifying life. If we look at everything in life through the googles of game theory as merely games to be won we open can after can of nasty worms, vomit, excrement, etc. How much of a winner or loser will one be on one’s death bed? How much will past wins and losses matter then? Discarding winning and losing, and being calm, and being wise is the alternative:
Victory breeds hatred,
The defeated live in pain.
The wise one, discarding both victory and defeat,
Lives in happiness.
~ Dhammapada verse 201
There’s also the dangers of falling into the extremes of eternalism and/or nihilism when considering the purpose of life. There’s potentially a lot to mention so I’ll just boil part of it down to when there’s an overemphasis on wisdom and/or moving away from the heart and pushing and pushing this to the extreme one could then get into nihilistic tendencies which are not beneficial for oneself and others — even in the long term. You’ll have to investigate, reflect and contemplate this for yourself as I’m not going to unpack it now.
Conversely, those giving too much emphasis on certain aspects — especially certain heart qualities — without wisdom seem to be more prone to falling into eternalism which can be a trap on the other end of the spectrum from nihilism. It goes like this: What if you want to get off the wheel of foreverness of the eternal? Well too bad because you can’t because you go on forever and there’s no option or choice to do otherwise.
So what would then be the point, especially of being urgent about anything? What would any one action really matter given its place in the vast amount of time of foreverness with no way off or no way out? Do you see how these extremes can even feed on each other? These are just a few reasons I can see why the Buddha advised against them.
Another high water mark is existence and non-existence are not even really relevant when it comes to the point of “spirituality”. Of this quadlemma the Buddha (here Tathagata) expounds:
Vacchagotta, the position that ‘the Tathagata exists after death,’ does not apply; ‘the Tathagata does not exist after death,’ does not apply; ‘the Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death,’ does not apply; ‘the Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death,’ does not apply. This is because the Tathagata, having abandoned all physical and mental aggregates, is deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom, like the great ocean.(Majjhima Nikaya 72)
To wrap up there’s the drama triangle podcast episode I mentioned and a somewhat related 50 some part series Awaking from the Meaning Crisis:
*There’s naturally an ongoing open call for meditation (related) questions for the (roughly) monthly “Meditation Q & A” either by the various social media means listed; integratingpresence[at]protonmail.com or just showing to type/ask live.*
Background
Regular, current and past visitors to Integrating Presence may recall the monthly series “Ask Us Anything” I did with Denny K Miu from August 2020 until January 2022 — partially including and continuing on with Lydia Grace as co-host for awhile until March 2022.
For a few months thereafter I did various Insight Timer live events exploring potential new directions and/or a continuation of the Ask Us Anything format while weaving in other related teachings to these events.
Then, after chats with meditation coach Wendy Nash, it became clear to start a new collaboration similar to “Ask Us Anything” simply and clearly called “Meditation Q & A” especially due to the original intent of the Ask Us Anything’s being “discussions about meditation and related topics.”
Audio: Is There An Objective Purpose In Life? | “Meditation Q & A With Wendy Nash” #35
Or listen via Insight Timer (app or website)
Past chats with Wendy:
Integrating Presence 
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