Why am I here? What’s the purpose of life?
by Vic Shayne
author
13 Pillars of Enlightenment: How to realize your true nature and end suffering
If you want to know why you exist, whether there is a purpose to life, or why life is so difficult, the place to begin is with the sense of self. Once you can grasp the reality of this self then all else falls into place. The self is that which states “I am this” or “I am that,” and it makes proclamations such as “I exist because…” or “My purpose is to…”
Transitioning from the objective to the subjective
Asking why you exist seems to mark a transitional stage, because it has to do with turning your thoughts to the source of what is experiencing the world. The attention moves from the objective to the subjective, which is not common among human beings. However, even with this quantum leap, the sense of self still has not been attended to, because if it were then you wouldn’t be compelled to ask the question of why you exist or what your purpose is. So, it’s back to Socrates who simply said, “Know thyself.”
The biological and the ineffable you
You exist because you happened. You are the product of a biological melding of your parents; it’s the stuff of Biology 101 and explains your physical existence, but the deeper issue is that there is really no “me,” no “you.” Have you ever seriously looked into this by way of observation — not by studying, gaining information, watching videos, praying to God, philosophizing, accepting the ideas of other people, or trying to think your way through, but rather by mere observation?
The “me” is an idea created by those who have influenced your mind over the earliest years of your life. Out of these influences by parents, authority figures, culture, teachers, etc., a sense of self was created. This self is just an idea and not a reality; it is a belief system. It’s a belief of what you take yourself to be. With enough observation of the self it becomes apparent that there is no you. As you read this you are considering the information put forth, but whether you accept or reject it is unimportant unless you really need to look into it for yourself to take it out of the realm of secondhand information. You need to make it a personal revelation. Can you do this? Of course you can, if you really want to. All it takes is persistent observation without criticism, judgment, or thinking. Just see what is.
The self is selfish, self-centered, and scared
Above all else, the sense of self wants security, so it asks questions about why it exists, what will happen to it, how it can be protected, how it can find pleasure and avoid pain, and so on. It is only the self that clings to ideas such as hereditary traits, religion, how its hair looks in the morning, whether other people like it, and other things that keeps it apart from the totality of consciousness. It takes persistent observation of this self to finally realize that it is no more than an accretion of thoughts that is immersed in — completely distracted by —ideas, beliefs, fears, and memories. Instead of just seeing things as they are, the self sees the world through the lens of the limited and conditioned mind.
Laying the self bare
We return to the question, “Why do I exist?” What can you say unless you have observed the self to finally figure out what it is, how it was formed, and why you still hold onto it as your identity? When the self is laid bare then there is obviously no “I” who exists; there is only existence, and that is what you are.
