BOOKLET 3
Understanding life
Chapter 1: Different kinds of life Chapter 2: The Giver of life Chapter 3: Which way of life?
Chapter 1: Different kinds of life
One morning, many years ago, I went for a run. During my run, I went past an Old Folk's Home. I noticed that many of the people there had blank looks on their faces, as if life had no meaning for them. Many were on wheelchairs and they were pushed out to the porch each morning. They would sit and stare blankly in front of them. Later, they would be brought back again into the room.
I felt very sad as I looked at them and thought of what life meant to them. Many of them were old and they were living longer because of medical care that they had received. However, this did not bring meaning and joy to their lives. At that time, I was studying medicine in my first year in the university, in Australia. I pondered over what I could do for others through the practice of medicine. If all I could do was to prolong their physical lives, what good would I be doing for them?
If all that we have is being alive physically, what meaning is there for us? What difference would there be between us and plants and animals which also have physical life? When we look at plants and animals, we know that we should be different from them in some important ways. We know that there is much more to life for us than for them. Are there different kinds of life?
This myna stood there, nearby, as if waiting to be photographed. Would you think that it was vain and proud?
What if this were a human being?
This squirrel stood there with its front paws brought together.
Was it saying, "How are you?" Was it wishing you well?
What would you think if this were a human being?
We think differently when we look at the bird and the squirrel when compared with human beings because in our hearts we know that there is an important difference between us and the animal world. We do not think of the bird as being vain or proud, neither would we think that the squirrel stood at the edge of the cliff to wish us well. For a human being, we may wonder if this were the reason within his or her heart because as human beings we can be vain and proud; we can also think of the well being of others and wish them well.
Some people may say that there is no more to life than our physical life. They may say, "There was no meaning for the old people in the Old Folk's Home because they were old and sickly. When a person is weak and sickly, the meaning of life will also be taken away. When they were young, there would have been meaning in their lives."
I once read in the newspapers while I was in Australia that two young children of about twelve years of age were found dead at the seaside, after having drowned. They had left behind a note saying that they had found no meaning in life. They were physically healthy but they did not find meaning in life.
Others may say that it is because they were too young and they did not know that so much could await them in the future.
Some time after I graduated, I once worked with a doctor who had recently graduated. His working hours were very long, often up to eighty hours or more per week. He was often lacking in sleep and doing many routine things in the ward. He felt very discouraged and upset. He said to me that he had looked forward so much to being a doctor. He had earlier thought that the many years of studying hard at the university would be worth it when he graduated. However, he said that he then realised, "this is only the beginning of a dog's life", by which he meant a life of misery. He was healthy and he had gone through many years of study and had succeeded. Yet, at that time, he did not find life meaningful.
What is the difference?
As human beings, we have a body similar to that of animals. We also have physical life like that of animals. What then is the main difference between us and animals?
What are the different kinds of life that you know? What are the implications?
Why is it that we feel sad for others who are physically alive but do not find life meaningful but we do not think in the same way for animals? Why is it that grasshoppers, birds or butterflies do not become sad and depressed because they have not found meaning in life but human beings do?
What is it that will bring meaning to our lives? What is the difference between "a dog's life" and "a doc's life"? Is a dog's life miserable? Is it like that of a doctor's life when he (the doctor) has not found meaning in life? Would a doctor find deep meaning in life if he does not have to work so hard, if he can do the things that he wants to do in this world?
Would it be possible for old people as well as young people to find true meaning and joy in their lives?
If you have life and yet, life you do not find;
Then you do have life, but only of one kind!